Brian's ADA 60p - Revival v3 Journal

[Brian_Nano12g]

Hey AA community, I'm back! After a looong hiatus and moving around a couple of times, I finally settled in my new place and decided to revive my ADA 60p cube garden. Some of you that got to know me through this great hobby can attest to my appreciation and passion for planted tanks. While life got in the way of some fun things I got to spend my free time on, I managed to preserve my love for these mini eco-systems we get to create... hence my return! Too bad I didn't take all this time off to study layout skills. I think my aquascape ability has not improved, unfortunately...but I'll give it a go regardless... LOL

Instead of reviving my old 60+ page thread on this tank (old thread), thought I'd start on a fresh slate here.

So here's the skinny:

Tank: ADA 60p - (17g = 24" X 12" X 14")
Lighting: 2x Ecoxotic E-Series
Filter: (Not Sure Yet)
Substrate: ADA Aqua Soil Amazonia + Sand (Yup, back to the sandy beach front)
Hardscape: Ohko Stone

Plants:
HC
Staurogyne repens
Alternanthera reineckii Mini
**Might add something else in the back. Either Blyxa japonica or a stem plant like Rotala macrandra red or something.

Without further ado, some pics:

Conduit Light Hanger DIY project + Ecoxotic E-Series hanging kit! Dual ramp timer enabled for photoperiod and moonlighting automation

Added faux potted green grass decor on the sides to fill the gap between the tank and wall):

Slight modification to the hardscape... I felt that eventually the smaller Ohko stones were going to get harder to see as the plants grew. So I decided to place a much larger dominant stone. Let the DSM (dry start method) commence!

Thanks for any comments and critiques

 

[TMaier]

Very nice. I like the big rock. How long do you let it grow before flooding?

 

[Fresh2o]

First to reply!!! Welcome back! Looking forward to this build.
I have some Ammania bonsai that I got from Old Scales back in 2013. You could squeeze it in between the stones or place along the back. Holler.

 

[Brookster123]

I'm in!

 

[fishenthusiast]

I think this will end up being a great scape! I like your scaping and plant placement! Just an idea, but have you ever considered some small-leaved Bucephalandra to place between the rock crevices? I don't know how that'd look in the end though.

Any thoughts on possible fish or inverts?

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Very nice. I like the big rock. How long do you let it grow before flooding?

Thanks.. You basically use plants that are capable of growing emersed. With a good nutrient rich substrate and lighting, you can create a humid environment by covering the top with plastic wrap. To sum it up, it's called the dry start method (DSM).

First to reply!!! Welcome back! Looking forward to this build.
I have some Ammania bonsai that I got from Old Scales back in 2013. You could squeeze it in between the stones or place along the back. Holler.

Hey Fresh, yeah that would sound cool. I might have to take you up on that. Maybe when it cools down a bit here tho. I'm not sure how they'd do with our harsh triple digit summers here in AZ in the mail. Crazy, my AR mini, what little I have left, is from the original clippings from OldScales. His legacy continues through our plants.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

I'm in!

Sup Brookster! I lurked a bit on your mancave tank room. I need to skim that again to catch up. Are you breeding any cool dwarf cichlids?

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

I think this will end up being a great scape! I like your scaping and plant placement! Just an idea, but have you ever considered some small-leaved Bucephalandra to place between the rock crevices? I don't know how that'd look in the end though.

Any thoughts on possible fish or inverts?

Thanks.. The plants I have now were just what I had around. I've never kept Bucephalandra before. I've seen them at a LFS a couple years back but they were expensive.. I'll need to search the buy/sell community to see. Are they still pricey? How's care on them? Good suggestion tho. I feel I'm old school and that Pogostemon helferi would be okay too! Guess I need to up my game on plants. Haha

 

[fishenthusiast]

Thanks.. The plants I have now were just what I had around. I've never kept Bucephalandra before. I've seen them at a LFS a couple years back but they were expensive.. I'll need to search the buy/sell community to see. Are they still pricey? How's care on them? Good suggestion tho. I feel I'm old school and that Pogostemon helferi would be okay too! Guess I need to up my game on plants. Haha

I've seen them go as low as 3-5 dollars a plant actually (Apple Leaf, Green Wave, some Brownie varieties, etc.). Their increasing popularity has decreased the price. Han Aquatics and Junglefowl sell them for nice prices. They are rather easy to care for, but grow slowly. There is a thread on it if you if it interests you (http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f24/bucephalandras-340097.html).

Downoi seems like a good option! When I had some, I could only get it going once. I look forward to seeing this tank grow in.

 

[Barliman]

Welcome back!

This looks like a great start, and I've long been curious about the dry start method. I shall watch this with eagerness.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Fast forward a few months.. We have growth! DSM in full effect. Geez, didn't know S. Repens can grow that tall emersed! I'll need to trim it down before the great flood. Also, a lot of it was just temporary as I plan to have something different in the back. S. Repens have a pretty robust root system so I'm dreading yanking some out. Yup never kicked the habit of wanting too many plant species. What's that syndrome called again? Lol

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

I've seen them go as low as 3-5 dollars a plant actually (Apple Leaf, Green Wave, some Brownie varieties, etc.). Their increasing popularity has decreased the price. Han Aquatics and Junglefowl sell them for nice prices. They are rather easy to care for, but grow slowly. There is a thread on it if you if it interests you (http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f24/bucephalandras-340097.html).

Downoi seems like a good option! When I had some, I could only get it going once. I look forward to seeing this tank grow in.

Thanks for the info. Glad the buce aren't that rare to drive those crazy prices I once seen..guess that goes for anything. I recall pre-tissue culture days of downoi used to command $20 a crown.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Welcome back!

This looks like a great start, and I've long been curious about the dry start method. I shall watch this with eagerness.

Thanks.. Just posted a fast forward timelapse. Much have since grown in. I'm past due to flood this thing already.

 

[Fresh2o]

Oh, I forget where you live... It's only in the upper 90s here. We can wait a bit for things to cool down.
My AR mini is from OldScales as well.
Have not tried Buces yet. Seems to be the hot thing. Would like to know where I could find a vendor with a sustainable source (rather than wild harvest).

 

[Brookster123]

Sup Brookster! I lurked a bit on your mancave tank room. I need to skim that again to catch up. Are you breeding any cool dwarf cichlids?

Hey bud! I'm not breeding much, intentionally anyways. Some panda Cory just dropped anchor if you know what I mean busy with the new mixed reef.. coral is about as addicting as you'd expect haha

 

[Brookster123]

What are you using for photo sharing? I'm getting broken links

 

[Fresh2o]

What are you using for photo sharing? I'm getting broken links

I believe Brian is using FLICKR and I'm using Imgur.

 

[Bert2oo1]

Welcome back! Love a good Ada tank![emoji106] looks great and definitely following along to see how it all end up. Great choice of plants and even better choice of tank [emoji6]

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Hey bud! I'm not breeding much, intentionally anyways. Some panda Cory just dropped anchor if you know what I mean busy with the new mixed reef.. coral is about as addicting as you'd expect haha

SW.. Finally made the move. I thought I was headed there, looks like it'll wait even longer. I barely have time and energy to get this up and running again! Haha

What are you using for photo sharing? I'm getting broken links

Still broken? I noticed that on the preview thumbnails here. It loads and it doesn't, but if you tap on the image it'll open. I might need to try imgur as fresh is using. What do you use?

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

I believe Brian is using FLICKR and I'm using Imgur.

Yup.. Guess I need to try something different. Is imgur solid for posting pics? Noticed earlier that photobucket is no longer accepted.