Brian's ADA 60P (17g) Rimless - Journal

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Brian_Nano12g

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Jan 13, 2010
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Location
Arizona
Well alrighty then... Finally getting my ADA 60P Build underway. I honestly didn't expect on getting this tank but a lot of things fell in to place to make it happen. (1) I got a good deal on the tank [discount + gift] (2) I have extra "stuff" laying around from other builds (3) ADG's sale on substrate + free substrate (4) Most plants are on hand already in other tanks...

So in other words, I'm getting this tank with some investment, but not too much (or too bad) to make it not 'happen'. I'm trying to keep the build (for now) nice and budget friendly with the potential for upgrades in the future. Also with the 'budget friendly' angle in mind, I want to experiment in trying something a little different than the norm. I'm going a little new-school and old-school mixed in with a little taboo in the world of "ADA" yada yada yada... I'm going to put on a black background and use black equipment to be stealthy, and at the same time, allowing things to "pop" more in color -- allowing my lighting choice to really shine! Colorful with contrast is what I'm going for. Perhaps, later I will upgrade to the full-on glassware and all -- as with everything, it's subject to change and things evolve. With that said, here we go!

As an aside... I agreed to myself and my GF to not keep more than a certain amount of tanks going simultaneously. So this tank is replacing my OG tank, the 12g Nano Cube -- it's going on hiatus. But in the living room as the "main tank," this is a welcomed addition -- no doubt.


Here are the particulars:

Tank+Stand:
  • ADA 60-P (17g = 24in X 12in X 14in)
  • Ikea Besta

Lighting:
  • Current-USA Satellite LED+ (x2)
  • Current Single Ramp Timer (coming soon)
  • RGB LED mood lighting strip (behind the tank)

Filtration:
  • Fluval C2 HOB
  • SunSun 301 w/ surface skimmer (more on this later) :brows:
**Might upgrade to a Fluval 206 + Lily Pipes early next year (or earlier if I hate the HOB idea)**

Substrate:
  • Brian's "Special" Blend (more on this later) :brows:
  • Sand (possibly Caribsea supernaturals 'white' sand)

Hardscape:
  • ADA-style DW (not sure what it is... I'll post pics)
  • Yamaya Stone
  • Seiryu Stone

Plants: (subject to change)
  • Collectoritis Style for now! TBD

Fauna:
  • TBD

CO2 / Ferts:
  • PPS-Pro "dry ferts" from GLA
  • Aquatek Paintball Setup
  • Glut (occasional)

Okay... got that out of the way! Here are some pics and some more text! (y)

iJBLW1eC7BqEn.jpg


With the RGB mood lighting strips I removed from my 12g. Wasn't sure what else to do with them so I put them behind the tank for fun. Notice how my HOB's almost disappear with the black background? Well, at least for me it does!

ibfOvL6qgmAg9q.jpg


So I have these Do!Aqua pipes on hand, and I was really tempting myself with a Fluval 206 purchase. But then I remembered I have a Fluval C2 being unused in my closet so I decided to save some money and go with the C2. I'll just keep the glassware on hoarding status for a later time. ;)
igYTwPq9fcwRG.jpg


And the lighting! Current-USA Satellite LED+ fixtures (X2). I should be getting around 72+ PAR with these at the 12" distance from light to sub. Let's see what I can grow (hopefully not just algae):

ibcmcCAEhvDPch.jpg


On the tank:
ibjHgzFfVpAhVQ.jpg


More to come... stay tuned!
:thanks:
 
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So more about this choice in filtration: Fluval C2 + SunSun 301.

I really wanted to go with the lily pipes and canister filter, not only for aesthetic reasons but also for lily pipes being functional in removing the protein layer that is very distracting in a topless rimless build. HOB's aren't that good at dealing with it when the water level is kept high close to the top of the tank. Which is usually the desirable thing to do in a rimless tank.

So I researched some protein skimmer ideas... and stumbled across the SunSun 301. If it works out to plan, I'll have extra filtration plus (the main purpose) surface skimming.

ibyeaETvnsBGI1.jpg


I found it being recommended in the SCAPE forum by cGaR: here

I also found one YouTube video here:
Mini surface skimmer - YouTube

With it being black and all, it will sit nice and semi-stealthy next to my C2 dealing with the dastardly oil slick (aka: protein layer).

So... I ordered it and tested out the surface skimmer attachment in a glass of water. It apparently adjusts automatically to the water level based on buoyancy. Pretty neat and inexpensive solution (if it works!).

Check out this video of the surface skimming attachment demo.
SunSun HBL-301 surface skimmer attachment - YouTube

Here's how it looks up close next to the C2:
iAag7ct61O9OG.jpg
 
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Brian's "Special Blend" substrate! LOL

Can you guess what substrate is what? Left versus Right?



(hint: click on the picture for the answer... don't cheat! guess first!)
 
The Hardscape Plan (subject to change):

So here's that DW (not sure what species it is exactly) I kept around from my old halfmoon dwarf puffer tank. I got it at Nature Aquarium in Santa Monica... and I'm sure it came from AFA in SF as I know the owner of NA makes his orders through them -- especially ADA stuff.

Needless to say, this is a very interesting piece of DW and I'm excited to use it again.
ibeBpya5jG5Gdj.jpg

iDstfSttQXgl1.jpg


My stones... Yamaya + Seiryu. Some came from my rescape of my GLA tank.
ijnCTj4HfEHny.jpg


And a quick rendering of what I have planned (loosely and not to scale):
iJGLFBGpkbH3B.jpg

iq4g6TdnSpC4M.jpg
 
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Thanks guys! That's funny you mentioned that about aqua soil, Bud. Before I ever got any, I used to always make fun of it to my GF and call it rabbit poop! LOL
 
I'm trying to learn more about plants and aquascaping, so I'm following along.

Quick, and potentially dumb, question:
How did you do that layout rendering?
 
I'm trying to learn more about plants and aquascaping, so I'm following along.

Quick, and potentially dumb, question:
How did you do that layout rendering?

Welcome aboard!

That rendering was done in the Photoshop app of my galaxy note 10.1. I took a picture of my tank and then drew away.
 
Brian's "Special Blend" substrate! LOL

Can you guess what substrate is what? Left versus Right?



(hint: click on the picture for the answer... don't cheat! guess first!)

Right: ADA Aquasoil
Left: More Aquasoil??

This looks like it's going to be a really interesting build. I'm following along :)
 
Did the click work to reveal the substrates? Lol

I know I'm going to catch flak for this (I already did on TPT) but I'm mixing fluval stratum and aqua soil. I got a FREE large bag of FS from my LFS for some plant trimmings, and just 3 liters of AS Amazonia from ADG. Since I bought the africana AS, which ADG only had (the larger) 9 liter bag, I didn't feel like spending 70$ on substrate to get two 9 liter bags. Anyhow, IMO, the substrates look identical as shown in the pic.

I'll see how it works out :)
 
Interesting combo, Brian. It should workout fine. I'm gonna go read what they said on TPT. They probably are going crazy because you're mixing AS and FS. :lol:
 
It was through a PM from my WTB UG post. But it's no biggy, it's just a little sacrilegious. It will work :)
 
I would think that mixing it would be fine - or at least, I don't see any reason why it wouldn't. What can I say, rabbit poop is not my specialization. I'm interested to see how it goes!
 
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Thanks bud. So I take it you won't be using 'rabbit poop' in the upcoming rimless endeavor?

I actually did buy some, I think it comes tomorrow - I figured that worst case scenario, I hate it and resell it :lol: Just haven't done a ton of research on it. I will most likely continue to make fun of it without hesitation, though :)
 
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