And so it begins...

[aciport]

...the start of my new ADA 60P planted tank. Here's just a quick shot of the tank on the stand. There are still a few items that still need to be purchased (CO2 for one) before the tank will be started.  As an avid mountain biker, I love the local north shore mountains around Vancouver and that is where my inspiration is coming from. The target date for the set up will be November 10 as that is when the plants are coming.



There will be more to come.

[charlie]

Welcome & thanks for inviting us to you build.
I`m very interested in this build since I see you are using the Tropica soil system, can you share where you got it from & price if you don`t mind.
Regards

[aciport]

Errol,

It's my personal stash that I have before it will be available to the general masses  . I'm wanting to test it for myself so I've got the first hand knowledge of how it works. The layout is coming along and so is the plant list.

Kyle

[charlie]

Ahh LOL, I`m inline for the next stash.
Welcome Kyle

[daworldisblack]

Welcome! Definitely going to be following for the Tropica substrate as well! Looking forward to futher details as to the hardware

[exv152]

Welcome indeed, the more nature aquarium enthusiasts the better!

[aciport]

Thanks for the kind "welcomes". Now for a quick update on a couple of things;

Lighting - Kessil Amazon Sun
Filtration - Eheim Ecco Pro 35
Glassware - VIV - lily pipes, diffuser, bubble counter

Plants - it will be a long list, but my vision is to recreate the underbrush in the mountains where the plants are varied in colour and texture. It looks great in my head right now...we'll see how it translates into the tank.

Limnopila sessiflora
Didiplis diandra
Pogostemon erectus
Alternanthera reineckii 'mini'
Heteranthera zosterifolia (or Pogostemon helferi)
Staurogyne repens
Prosiperpinaca paultris (or Hygrophila pinnatifida)
Ranunculus inundatus
Hemianthus callitrichoides
Eleocharis acicularis 'mini'
Vesicularia ferriei 'weeping'
Taxiphyllum 'spiky'

Once I get all the plants, I'm sure there will still be some changes. It will probably be a case of planting them and simply seeing how they look.

[Pyrrolin]

I would like to get a good look at the colour and size of the substrate

[aciport]

Pyrrolin,

There are two sizes of granules. The "Soil" is about 2-3mm in size and the "Soil Powder" is about 1mm in size. With respect to colour, they are comparable to the ADA Amazonia soil. Both come in 3L and 9L bags.

[aciport]

It's almost time to plant. That's tomorrow afternoon's project.

[aciport]

Just a quick shot from tonight after a couple of days. The one thing that I would say is that it's surprising the amount of plant material that is in the 1-2-Grow! tubs. The vision is almost there, but I have to wait for the tank to grow in. It will be a work in progress for a while yet.

[aciport]

So the final plant list ended up being this.

Limnophila sessiflora
Didiplis diandra
Pogostemon erectus
Alternanthera reineckii 'mini'
Pogostemon helferi
Staurogyne repens
Prosiperpinaca palustris
Hygrophila pinnatifida
Hemianthus callitrichoides
Eleocharis acicularis 'mini'
Vesicularia ferriei 'weeping'
Taxiphyllum 'spiky'

I forgot that the Ranunculus inundatus hasn't been approved by CFIA for import yet. I was a bit bummed by that as it was one of the plants that was key to the tank. Not bad though...almost all the plants were 1-2-Grow!.

[aciport]

Here is an updated shot of the tank from last night with a few so so pictures of a few plants. These aren't the best as I quickly took the shots with my iPhone.

Full tank shot



Hygrophila pinnatifida - starting to turn colour



Proserpinaca palustris - leaves are narrowing out and turning colour



Alternanthera reineckii 'Mini' - starting to come to life



All the other plants are doing well. Finally the Pogostemon erectus is beginning to grow. There was some die off, but after cleaning it up and replanting, it is growing well. The Didiplis diandra is also really starting to take off.

Some lawn maintenance may be required over the weekend.

[lucius]

Very nice.  I've tried hygrophila pinnatifida twice and both times they melted away.

[aciport]

So far so good with it. There is new growth emerging. Like anything, I'll give it time.

[charlie]

Nice growth, keep an eye on the pinnatifida , with the right conditions it is very invasive.