# Spit1A's Low-Tech 60P



## Spit1A

Hey everyone,

So as I mentioned in my Fluval Flora journal, I purchased an ADA 60P tank recently.
I'm about to move to a slightly larger apartment so I'm using that as an excuse, to get a second aquarium :bigsmile:










It's probably going to be 2 weeks before I can even set up the tank but I would be interested in getting some feedback.

I want the tank to be pretty low maintenance (no Co2, minimal water column ferts, etc.) so it will be a low tech planted tank.

However, I still really really want some sort of carpet plants...

_( I ended up not doing the hybrid start...)_ So I'm going to try a hybrid dry start method that I've seen some people use (there's a post on the barrreport). My understanding is that you use the dry start method to let your plants get rooted and spread out a little. Then once you flood the tank, you initially dose Excel or Co2, and then slowly reduce the amount of Co2 you add to the tank. It could all go very wrong, but I'd like to give it a try.

Here's my equipment list so far

*Tank:* ADA 60P with black background
*Filter:* Aquaclear 50
*Heater:* Aqueon Pro 100W
*Light:* Current Satellite Led + 
*Light Controller:* DIY Arduino IR controller
*Stand:* Reinforced Ikea Besta with door & DIY riser box 
*Garden Mat:* Camping sleeping pad from MEC

*Substrate:* ADA Aquasoil Amazonia + Pool Filter Sand 
*Hardscape:* Ohko Stone (Dragon Stone) + Manzanita Branches

*Proposed Flora:*
- Staurogyne Repens
- Marsilea 
- Anubias Nana
- Anubias Nana Petite
- Needle Leaf Java Fern
- Rotala Colorata
- Ludwigia Brevipes
- Weeping Moss

*Proposed Fauna:*
- Amano shrimp x3
- Harlequin Rasboras x6
- Corydoras x6 OR Dwarf Corydoras (Habrosus) x 8
- Maybe a few Otos?

Here's the mock up of my hardscape.










And here's my current planting layout.
*Question 1:* Any thoughts on this layout? Am I setting myself up for failure?










I'm planning on embedding some sort of plastic divider between the sand and the aquasoil.

*Question 2:* Even with a permanent divider, am I setting myself up for a lot of pain by having separate aquasoil and sand regions?

Most Recent FTS (19/10/2014)


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## 2wheelsx2

Answer to question 1: I think the hardscape and layout looks nice, but it'll be a lot of work to keep the foreground separated. I started out with HC,, S. Repens and then went to S. Repens only as the HC went wild. Then I tried some UG but then that went all out of control and I pulled it all out so now I only have S. repens which is much more manageable. Maybe it's not too much work for other people, but some of the fast growing foreground plants are way too much work for me.

Answer to question 2: I have seen people make it work, but you have to not have anything which would stir up the substrate at all or even swim near it. And yeah, you'll have to be diligent to keep it all from getting mixed together as you replants and rescape etc.


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## Spit1A

> but it'll be a lot of work to keep the foreground separated.


Are you using Co2 in the tank where you tried HC and UG? I was hoping that once I stop adding Co2 their growth rate will slow down and will be easier to manage.



> I have seen people make it work, but you have to not have anything which would stir up the substrate at all or even swim near it.


Hmmm...I really want to have some Corys so I figured I would need a sandy area for them to dig in. Does anyone have experience with Corys and just Aquasoil? 
Maybe I can add Corys last once the foreground plants have really grown in around the border between the substrates.


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## 2wheelsx2

Spit1A said:


> Are you using Co2 in the tank where you tried HC and UG? I was hoping that once I stop adding Co2 their growth rate will slow down and will be easier to manage.


Yes, I don't know about UG, but I know people have grown HC without CO2 but they don't very nice though.



Spit1A said:


> EHmmm...I really want to have some Corys so I figured I would need a sandy area for them to dig in. Does anyone have experience with Corys and just Aquasoil?
> Maybe I can add Corys last once the foreground plants have really grown in around the border between the substrates.


The cories will for sure mess up your substrate. The other problem you might have, and I had it, was that most cories like high O2 and low CO2. I still have 2 C. habrosus left of the various groups I have tried but most of them didn't make it.


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## Reckon

I think without CO2 you probably won't see what you are hoping for with the carpeting plants. If anything it will take a very long time. Marsilea is your best chance to carpet. Consider looking for Dwarf Saggitaria as a carpeting plant for a low tech tank.

Carpeting plants available are here: http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/planted-tank-specific-13/carpet-plants-list-low-tech-high-tech-pictures-90353/

Also, depending on the species Crypts are usually a shorter plant - meant for midground, use lots of substrate to prop them up back there.


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## Spit1A

> I think without CO2 you probably won't see what you are hoping for with the carpeting plants.


I guess I was hoping using the DSM would let me 'cheat' and use foreground plants that typically need CO2 to carpet. Once the tank is running as a low tech tank I was hoping to basically just keep the foreground plants alive. But maybe that's just wishful thinking...

Thanks for the link to the list of carpet plants, I had looked at that before. Maybe I will have to just go with dwarf Sag.



> Crypts are usually a shorter plant - meant for midground, use lots of substrate to prop them up back there.


I plan on having about 3" of substrate back there, but that is a good point. Any suggestions for taller plants?

Thanks!


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## Reckon

A fellow from Toronto uses sand in this set up:









It uses CO2, but you can see he applies java fern and anubias to really nice affect. Alternanthera Reineckii Rosaefolia I think will be a nice reddish highlight for your tank as well. Then place the crypts closer to the front.


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## 2wheelsx2

Reckon is right. Even with Java Fern and Anubias, if you want really dense growth and broad leaves, you need CO2. Without CO2, you get very slow growth and skinny leaves, even in the slower growing plants. Nothing wrong with that, but it may not be the effect you're doing after. As for the carpeting plants, they will recede when you remove the CO2 and slowly wither.

I did a similar scape with sand in my big cube, but was adding a lot of Glute. Eventually with the higher temperatures needed for discus and the fact that I didn't want to add so much Glute, the whole scape just fell apart as the plants withered away. Now I have tons of moss in it and a few Anubias.


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## Spit1A

> A fellow from Toronto uses sand in this set up


Wow, that's a very pretty tank! Do you know if he uses any root tabs? I guess the Java Fern and Anubias don't need those. 
Hmmm...the Rosaefolia is very pretty as well.



> Without CO2, you get very slow growth and skinny leaves, even in the slower growing plants.


Yea, I totally understand that I'm not going to get the super lush and full look you get with CO2. I don't expect that really.

I'd still really like to try S. Repens and the Marsilea. Maybe I'll move the S. Repens to where the DHG is in the pic. Maybe put some Crypts where the S. Repens are shown, or move the rocks back a bit and put the crypts between the foreground plants and the big rocks?

Hmm......


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## Spit1A

Finally moved to my new place. Starting to get things set-up.

I'm using the Besta stand but I decided to reinforce it a little bit because I'm paranoid.
I glued some 3/8" MDF to the thin hardboard back panel and added a cut out for cables to pass through. 









I also added a 2x2 frame to the inside. 









I also added some vinyl self adhesive shelf liner (same I used for the black background) to the top of the stand to help protect the stand from water damage.

Instead of the ADA garden mat, I used a camping sleeping pad from Mec and used a sharpie to colour the edges black. 









Hoping to get the substrate and plants in this weekend!


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## Spit1A

Another update.

Yesterday was the big day! I got the tank set-up.

I used the egg crate/ light diffuser panel trick to tie down some of the wood.









Here is the hardscape with the aquasoil and sand. I ended up using Caribsea Sunset Gold sand.









And here is everything planted! A huge thanks to Bien Lim for providing me all these plants at a fantastic price! I'll try not to kill them all. Although a few of them may not survive my low-tech setup...









Here's a shot from the side. The water is still pretty cloudy. I hope it will clear up in another day or two.


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## Reckon

Looks great! I'm interested to see it fill in! Is that Staurogyne Repens in the front there and Limnophila Aromatica hiding in the back?


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## peppy2013

Looks very nice


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## Spit1A

Thanks guys!



> Is that Staurogyne Repens in the front there and Limnophila Aromatica hiding in the back?


Yep, that's Staurogyne Repens in the front. I think the plants hiding behind the branch are Ludwigia Brevipes...?


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## Spit1A

Hey everyone, 

No real updates so far. Just waiting for the tank to cycle. I put some of the biological filter media from my Betta tank into this tank but it doesn't seem to be doing much. I think I may have accidentally killed off the beneficial bacteria in my Betta's tank too =(. I was doing a water change and I forgot to add Prime to the water. I poured the un treated water directly into the HOB filter...I'll be checking the water params more frequently for awhile now...

Anyway, I'm looking for opinions on stocking!

I was originally planning to add about 6 Harlequin Rasboras, but on another forum someone said a 60P tank doesn't have enough room for them... Is that the consensus here as well? 
I also like the look of a school of Cardinal Tetras, but it looks like they get to about the same size as the Rasboras...

I was considering Ember Tetras as well, but I'm a little bit red/green colour blind so I'm worried they won't stand out from the plants for me.


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## charles

I think you will like the cardinal tetra better.


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## Bien Lim

Great looking scape!!1 What kind of sand did you used? Looks really nice


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## Spit1A

> What kind of sand did you used?


Thanks Bien! I used Caribsea Sunset Gold Instant Aquarium sand.


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## Spit1A

Little update guys,

Most of the plants seem to be doing alright aside from losing some of the darker colouration.

I was surprised at how fast the Ludwigia Brevipes is growing!









The rotala is turning more light green but it seems to be growing decently too. The original clump I planted is looking much denser now.









The S. Repens are doing alright for the most part. The leaves are covered with specs of algae or diatoms? 
The Blyxa is still alive but its leaves are definitely starting to melt. Not unexpected I guess with my setup.









I've started to see a few little pond snails milling about as well.









FTS


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## Momobobo

Looks like a sample tank straight from an ADA catalog! :bigsmile:


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## Bien Lim

Your tank is taking off quite quickly.... Really nice!! Blyxa , I find can be sensitive on new set up but it should recover even after all leaves melted.


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## Spit1A

Thanks for the comments guys! 

I'm glad to hear that the Blyxa has a chance of recovering.

I've just noticed today that the S. Repens that are in the shadow of one of the branches have really started to melt away...Not sure if they will recover.


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## Spit1A

Weekly Update

My S.Repens seem to be melting off one by one...

You can see the plants in the centre of the picture are melting away...
I thought it was just due to them being in the shade under the branch, but even the plants right in the light are starting to melt.

EDIT: I just realized that the flow looks very weak around the area where the S.Repens were melting. Could a lack of water flow cause the melting? 









I've removed quite a bit of the S.Repens now =(









The Rotala is starting to get pretty dense. Do I have to worry about the shaded parts of the plants dieing off?

Thanks!


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## Reckon

You can try increasing flow with a small powerhead but that might not be the reason for the melting.
Feel free to trim the rotalas like a hedge if you'd like but these plants tend to do well as a bush.


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## Spit1A

So I'm still waiting for the tank to cycle.

It's been about 3 weeks now I think... I was expecting it to cycle faster since I added filter material from my Betta tank.

Now I'm starting to wonder if the Betta's tank is cycled properly? I've been testing it pretty regularly and the water parameters are always fine..

Anyway, I thought I'd try to make an animated gif of the plant growth over a week and a bit.
The Rotala really grows fast! And the Blyxa actually seems to be doing quite well even without CO2.


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## Bobsidd

That GIF is very cool! As is your tank. Love it.


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## Vancitycam

Sweet little clip, I really like this layout and will be takin notes  hope the new upgrade on my dads planted tank goes like this has here.....good job.


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## Bien Lim

that was very cool animated gif!!!!!!! I really like your scape. you might need more stem plant though just to fill the back.


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## Spit1A

Little update.

It's been about 6 weeks now and the tank still shows no signs of cycling . Ammonia is still up around 3-4ppm, temperature is at 26-27 degrees, I use Prime for water changes, I've added filter squeezings from my other tank...I'm not sure what else I can do at this point but wait...

If anyone has an idea as to what I'm doing wrong, please let me know.

In the meantime, I've been working away at setting up an Arduino IR remote control. It will allow me to set an automated light schedule. For example, I have it set up right now so that the light turns onto the 'sunrise' setting in the morning, switches to 'full spectrum' during the day, and then cycles through the night modes in the late evening.

There is a fantastic tutorial online at the PlantedTank forums by a user named Indychus that pretty much shows step-by-step what to do and also includes the required code. (am I allowed to link directly to the thread here? I feel like I should give credit to him and the others who contributed to that project)

Here is the hardware. The only change I made was I went with a slightly more accurate real time clock (DS3231 instead of DS1307).









Got everything working today. Now it's time to figure out how to mount everything in an enclosure. I'm actually thinking it would look cool if I mounted the LCD in the door of my aquarium stand.


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## currietom

I like your scape. I would like to do one similar to the layout one day.

As far as the cycling goes, its very possible that it was a "silent cycle" which can happen in a planted setup. Maybe try a different ammonia test kit and see if it reads the same.


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## Daryl

Very nice tank. What did you end up using for the plastic retaining barrier between your substrates? I saw it in one of your early pics, but I didn't catch what it was. I've been envisioning doing something similar and the substrate barrier has posed a bit of a problem... My wife has this paper thin plastic (I think?) cutting board that I was thinking of poaching and cutting up into usable strips... I'm assuming it must be safe enough to use in my tank if it's intended purpose is food prep.

But I'm interested to hear what you used.


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## Spit1A

Daryl said:


> What did you end up using for the plastic retaining barrier between your substrates?


Hi, I had some thin lexan scraps lying around so I just used that and hot glued them to the light diffuser grid I was using. I'd imagine the plastic you have available would be just fine as well.


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## Spit1A

So it's been almost 10 weeks now and this thing still isn't cycled! Why is this taking so long! I've completed a fishless cycle before in 4 weeks... I'm using Prime to condition the water, temperature is ~27C, All my plants are from cycled tanks, I've added filter squeezings from my cycled tank, I've got an airstone running...

Anyway, while I've been waiting I decided to add some more plants!









I moved the Rotala from the right side of the tank to the left side behind the piece of wood. Then I added some Ludwigia Palustrius on the right. 
I pulled out the Marsilea and put in some Crypt Parva.
I also added a patch of Flame moss that I'm hoping will be a good hiding place for shrimp.


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## Spit1A

Slightly different update today.

I finally got the light controller set up.

Here are the guts of it. The big enclosure houses the arduino uno, RTC, and IR LED. I also added a waterproof temperature sensor, which you can see at the top of the picture.
The smaller enclosure holds a 20x4 character LCD display.









I mounted the LCD display to the cabinet door









Here is how it looks when looking at the tank.









Here is a close up. It displays the time, the last light setting command sent to the light, and the temperature.









I was really happy with how things turned out. Until tonight when I was fiddling with things inside the aquarium cabinet. I closed the door to see this...









I checked the connections and they all look fine. The display flickers at time intervals that correspond to the times when the clock and temperature values should be changing, so I think it's getting commands from the arduino to some extent. The infrared led, RTC, and temperature sensor are still working fine based on the serial monitor output of the arduino.

Anyone have ideas as to what might be wrong?


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## Spit1A

Finally a slightly more interesting update
11 weeks in and the tank is finally cycled.

Today I picked up 6 Espei Rasbora (although looking at them, I think they might actually be Trigonostigma hengeli?) and 1 Amano shrimp!
I'm hoping to pick up a small school of Cardinal Tetras as well.



















At this point they will school briefly, and then break up and explore the tank for a while. One of them seems to like the current that runs along the front of the tank near the bottom. He's just swimming in the current there.









Here's the little Amano shrimp









FTS









Thanks for looking

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!


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## Spit1A

Picked up some Cardinal Tetras, more Amano Shrimp, and some Red Cherry Shrimp!


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## Daryl

Looking good. I've been busy assembling all the stuff I will need to re-scape my 75g tank into something similar to this (with the mixed substrate)... Just waiting on a solenoid and my CO2 will be ready for pick-up from J&L.

I'm really impressed with how quickly things are growing in - how much CO2 are you injecting and how long is your photo period?


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## Spit1A

Daryl said:


> Looking good. I've been busy assembling all the stuff I will need to re-scape my 75g tank into something similar to this (with the mixed substrate)... Just waiting on a solenoid and my CO2 will be ready for pick-up from J&L.
> 
> I'm really impressed with how quickly things are growing in - how much CO2 are you injecting and how long is your photo period?


Thanks! I found the planning and collecting the equipment half the fun haha. 
I'm only dosing Excel at the moment. However, all the plants came from established tanks with CO2 so the plants were already pretty big to begin with.
Photo period is about 7 hours in full spectrum mode. And another 3 hours using the lower intensity light modes (dawn/dusk and various moon light modes)


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## Daryl

The planning is a tonne of fun! But it's also a tough test for my patience!


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