ada products

[Nathan]

whats are the advantages of these products? why are they so special?
just wondering!

nathan

[Proteus]

I will allow others to get into the technical aspects of things, but all you have to do is look at any of Takashi Amano's tanks and book images and the answer is there.

[kevkoi]

I think I'm one of the very few on this forum that has actually had the good fortune of using ADA products myself being that I get to try it in Malaysia.

ADA has taken off like a rocket here in Malaysia even though for the average hobbyist in Malaysia (with the local earnings here) it is a very very expensive product.

The reason why it's taken off is IMO because the proof is in the pudding. It produces astounding results. Try planting an aquiarium with the same plants Takashi Amano uses in the dense natural layout that he uses with normal pea gravel or sand and your regular one-size-fits-all plant fertilisers and u will understand how hard it is to achieve what he can achieve. The stem plants get stringy and bald at the bottom, the foreground plants like glosso or hairgrass get smothered by algae, the slow growing anubias leaves get covered in spot algae or sting/brush algae, bolbitus ferns get smothered in algae and grow pathetically slowly.... and sooner or later u give up.

The most important thing to note in ADA tanks is the plants Takashi chooses to grow in his tanks. They are very often very distinctly different from the plants that many Australian 'aquatic plant' aquarist tanks hold. How often do we see any large Echinodorus (Amazon sword) type plant in his new layouts? How often do we see Nymphea (Lotus) type plants in his layouts? Why's that you ask? The reason is because these plants are no challenge and very invasive with their long roots and fast growth. With ADA, these plants would take over the whole tank!!

The plants Amano choose are usually in proportion to his tank size. To make the aquascape look big and impressive in a small tank, he often chooses plants with small leaves or fine needle shaped long leaves. These small leaved plants are especially hard to grow becuase they are prone to being covered by algae. Also, with small leaved stemmed plants, as the plants grow towards the light, with conventional gravel tanks, very often the bottom of these stemmed plants become thin and devoid of leaves (just stems). If you notice how Amano does the pruning on his tanks taking big chunks out of the tops of these stemmed plants (and the bottom half of the stems that remain are actually fat and full of leaves!!), and tossing out the top half of the plants, this is contradictory to what was commonly practiced in the old Dutch style tanks, where the top half of the plants are kept and the bottom stringy stemmed parts (without leaves) are thrown away. It just show how well this product takes care of the plants. I have yet to find a plant that didn't grow easily and well (almost like a weed!) using ADA.

It's hard for me to convince you in words, but try it once, follow the procedures set out by ADA, planting tanks like Amano becomes such a breeze u get addicted to make every tank in the house planted!!!

The glassware in ADA's range is an "art". The glass pieces are blown glass of the highest clarity. ADA uses the best quality glass money can buy and very often, u will see that Amano places his CO2 pollen diffusers and pH drop-checker things at the very very front of the aquarium and not tucked away hiding somewhere in the back corner. The glassware is so beautiful and artistic, and the clarity is so good it doesn't obstruct your view, so why hide it?? FLAUNT IT!.

The planting tools ADA has in their range again is the best quality lightweight stainless steel money can buy. The manufactureres for a majority of his line of plant scissors and pincettes is the top surgical tool manufacturer and some of the special special scissors like the "NUDE" scissor is actually individually handcrafted by highly skilled Japanese artisans (think the Samurai sword!). Every imaginable angle on the scissors or pincette has been carefully ergonomically thought of by Amano.

Amano takes no shortcuts with his products. He is a highly highly meticulously fussy man who strives for perfection. This can be clearly seen and appreciated in his art and his products.

Here's a link to a good read (in English) to understand the philosophy behind ADA and to learn about the man himself - Takashi Amano.
http://www.vectrapoint.com/

[jho51e]

Do you recommend a store to check out in Malaysia (KL) that has ADA products? I may be going there sometime this year...

[Proteus]

Why wait till you go to KL, I am sure within the next few weeks a tank will be set up locally that you can look at, or a store that has stock on hand...

:wink:

[kevkoi]

Wah, so many in Malaysia....

EastAqua @ Ikano Pet Safari - speak to the owner Kenny. BIG ADA fan.

Natural Aquariums @ Subang -- Mr Yee has a very good eye for layout of aquatic plants. All his planted tanks are using ADA.

88 Marine Aquarium aka 88 Pets Mart - http://www.88petsmart.com/
This one is a chain of very very well maintained and neat shop. The Planted tanks and Marine tanks are imaculate!! Plant tanks also use ADA.

.... geez, I could go on and on listing shops carrying ADA.

[OscarManAlpha]

Nathan read this book first then you can decide what type of layout and what requirement you need and the correct products you will need.

I bought it and it's a good guide for anyone to read before setting up and in my case even after that.

Also it features a Lotus plant on the cover :P

My favourite plant : )

Cheers,

Mark

[Merrilyn]

Kev, how about posting some pics of your planted tanks. I'm just about to start using some of the ADA range of substrates, and I'd love to see what you have done.

[kevkoi]

I'll post up a tank that was done last weekend at a planted tank workshop using ADA products. The organisers are some of my friends in Malaysia, big fans of ADA. :lol:

[duck]

Planted tank work shop now that's an idea,Can you give an basic run down on what you cover
Thanks