# Ada



## curtisonrad19 (Oct 31, 2010)

Hey everyone!
So i went for a 5g tank today! Now, I am gonna set up a planted tank with some shrimp! (Not set on what kind...) and possibly some hets (tiny livebearers). 
So I figured id do it right the first time and go for the ADA gravel! Which I have heard makes the shrimps colors "pop" out a bit more? 
The only thing is I have been been able to find any... 
So the question is! 
Where can I get some? How much should I get for my 5g, and how much will it cost roughly? 

Also! a side question, My 5g came with a incandescent lamp, but i was not sure if it would work well for a planted tank (which wont get much sunlight) so i got a 50/50 coralife mini compact fluorescent light as well. Will i need this light? should i go trade it for another? or will this work well? :] 

Thank you for your time! 
Curtis


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## curtisonrad19 (Oct 31, 2010)

Oh! just thought of another question, 
The filter seems to be in two stages, carbon and... idk what the other one is.. They are "bio carb and bio carb clear".... 
Will it be good just to use these or should i replace one for something else? 

I often hear of people switching around their media. So i thought i would ask.

Thanks again!


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## O.C.D Fishies (Apr 21, 2010)

Ada is suppose to lower the ph for crystal red shrimp, it is hard to find it locally, once in a while Pat (Mykiss) at Canadian aquatics brings it in. You could shoot him a pm. I was told that 9liters will do a 15 gallon tank. So you maybe able to get away with a 3 liter bag. It is pretty pricey the most expensive substrait. 

You need a 6700 kalvin light, the 50/50 bulbs are no good for planted, so i would bring it back and get the life-glo i think it is called. My tank does good with this bulb in a 5 gallon hex. 

Good luck though and keep a journal, We all love to see pics.


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## Tn23 (Apr 21, 2010)

I think the only type of Shrimp which will truly benefit from ADA are Crystal Red shrimps, other then that if you keep cherries or other types of shrimps it won't make a huge difference in which type of substrate you use. Pat(MyKiss) from canadian aquatics might have some left or I believe he is doing an order..... 
good luck!


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## curtisonrad19 (Oct 31, 2010)

The life glo eh... and it comes as a bulb? alright! Ill do that tomorrow! 
And that is the thing... Im torn on what to get... I wanna try something with a "bang" (CRS) but wouldnt be able to keep it with the hets... Maybe ill just go with a different kind. keep it simple for the shimp.. 

And i currently dont have my computer cord for my camra... but! I will take pictures and post them over christmas!


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Hey, Curtis! I have a new shrimp tank too, about 2.5 gallons with a 7 Watt fluorescent light. It's for my desk. I got it from April today and I'm really looking forward to setting it up.

I agree with OCD Fishies about the light. I tried a 50/50 daylight/actinic light and it was too cold and blue for me. It's not the best for plants. But lots of people use them, anyway. I don't know what kind of fixture you have, but here's a mini compact lamp that might work as it is meant to screw into an incandescent fixture: Mini Power Compact Fluorescent Lamp ColorMax

I have successfully grown plants in tanks with an incandescent bulb, by the way, using low light plants.

I've never used ADA so I can't say much about it. But Fluval has a new substrate for shrimp that comes in small bags. I've got it in my Fluval Ebi tank. It's small black balls, so it looks a little like Eco-Complete but tidier. Eco-Complete would be nice, too, if you want something for plants, but I'm not sure if it comes in bags smaller than 20 lbs. However, you can order that from BigAls online. You can also get natural black river gravel, which I personally find quite pretty. I forget who sells that; it's one of the big companies.

Just out of curiosity, what kind of tank did you get? Is it a kit, like an Eclipse? I have a lot of experience with Marineland Eclipse tanks and think that low light plants grow quite well in them.

Good luck! I hope that you keep a tank journal so that I can follow your experience as I set up my new nano-nano tank.


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## curtisonrad19 (Oct 31, 2010)

I am quite excited to get this all cycled and what not!  Get some plants and such in it.
I will check both the suggested lights out at the store tomorrow  (Would these lights give me a 3wpg? =] ... i think i said that right?  )
I was thinking about getting flourite for the tank, if the ADA plan fell through... But I will check out eco-Complete and the shrimp substrate out as well 

I ended up going with the Marina 5gal.. 
It came with the slim S10, which seemed decent, has a cover for the intake. And the reveiws were decent.


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