# My Nano Planted Journal - rimless 10 gal



## Rozski (Apr 8, 2008)

This is the tank 2 weeks on, with the filter, heater, thermometer, drop checker and guppies:









The glosso is growing fantastically. Its actually a few days since that photo, and its looking great, sending out runners and new leaves every day. Can't wait to get my hairgrass and get that going (and shielding that shiny heater!!)

Thermometer will be coming out, its just there for the first couple of days to check the heaters on the right temp. Will shift the drop checker around to the side (it gets the front at the moment as its brand new and I want to look at it haha). Didn't know we could get them here in NZ, and my bf spied this one in our LFS:








Works a little different to the ones I've mostly read about in the states in that you can use it for whatever kh your tank is. You use tankwater in it, and read according to your kh. The water I put in my tank has very low kh (2) so I have buffered it up to 5 with baking soda. So as you can see from the readings, my CO2 is ok  Was quite cool, we took it out the tank today to see if it would turn blue, and it did. So good to know its working.

And one of my guppies:









Comments etc more than welcome  and ideas for what other plants to use :smile: 

Rozski


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## mizu-chan (May 13, 2008)

Coming along really nicely.
Can't wait until you put the hair grass in there, and everything starts to fill out.


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## ChadEmrick (Jun 21, 2008)

I love that tank model! It looks great. And I love those rocks.


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## nanojimbo (Jul 2, 2008)

i NEED to see these plans for THAT good looking light! im starting a 6 gallon rimless cube soon and that would be a perfect match!


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## Rozski (Apr 8, 2008)

Thanks for the positive comments 

As to the light, my partner made that for me. He welded it from steel, and we spray painted the outside black and the inside white. He ran the wiring out through the pipe which holds it up. As to plans... there was "I want it this long" and the lights dictated width and depth lol.

Glosso is growing really well, and I have hairgrass planted in the back and a couple of dwarf chain swords in there that I got given. Hopefully getting pressurised CO2 in a few days too. 
Tank is a bit murky though, so am cutting down photoperiod to see if that helps.


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

Wow that guppy is...endowed:wink::hihi:

Maybe some Swords or Rotala to cover up the background? Looks awesome:thumbsup:


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## Rozski (Apr 8, 2008)

Latest update:



























Still waiting on pressurised CO2 unit. My DIY bottle ran out a week ago and I have been too busy to replace it lol. Everything seems good though. Had a green water bloom a few weeks ago which has now cleared.
Lost a few guppies though. 3 in 2 days, sadly 2 of them were my fav little gold spotties. I have a feeling my young burmese cat is to blame. No fish bodies in the tank, and none around it and the remaining guppies are happy as.


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

glosso looks great! filling in nicely. are the guppies going to stay?


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

very nice simple and suttle i like it.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

I really like how clean this looks. That glosso is amazing with the hairgrass  I really like the sand and the rounded corners on the tank. You will love pressurized co2 and the growth will be amazing


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## mott (Nov 23, 2006)

Great tank! any pic's detail of the DIY lighting?


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## rice n curry man (Jun 18, 2008)

The glosso is looking nice.


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## FrostyNYC (Nov 5, 2007)

Great growth! I love how green this tank is. Very nice.


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

I love this tank. It reminds me of an alien landscape. Familiar yet otherworldly.


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## aquaphish (Dec 20, 2002)

That light system style will give the ADA Solar a run for their money!!! That is the best DIY canopy/light system I have seen, besides my DIY light canopy of course!!!LOL!!! Do you have a bottom plate that the tank sets on also?? It looks like it.

Great setup I'm just waiting to see it grow in abit. Keep it up!!!


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## mizu-chan (May 13, 2008)

Wow I love how much this tank has filled out. A nice sized tank with amazing growth. Can't wait for more updates!


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## MedRed (May 20, 2008)

absolutely fantastic. Your glosso looks sexy.


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## mizu-chan (May 13, 2008)

MedRed said:


> absolutely fantastic. Your glosso looks sexy.


LOL :hihi:
I don't think I've ever heard anyone refer to glosso as sexy.


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## purplecity (Jul 28, 2008)

did ur water cloud up when u put the substrate and sand and then filled it up with water


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## Rozski (Apr 8, 2008)

Hey all. Thank you SO much for all the awesome comments, they're really appreciated 

I'll see if I can remember the questions people posted... 

Guppies are still all thats in there. I don't think they'll be staying for the long run, something like cardinals or a pair of rams in there would be cool, but tank needs to be well cycled first (they are very expensive fish here). I also have neon blue tux guppies in another small tank next door and think they would look cool in there, so maybe will try that one day.

Partner is away with our good camera at the moment, but will get more photos of the lighthood and post them when he gets back in a weeks time. Good to hear you like it aquaphish  There is NOWHERE in NZ that stocks ADA gear, and absolutely no good lighting systems available for nano tanks, hence we made our own. And yup, theres a bit of a base plate that sits under the tank. Plus it hooks onto the edge of my desk.

Purplecity, I rinsed the sand really well before putting it in the tank. Plus tried to stop the fert mix underneath from coming through, so didn't cloud up too bad.

Now its just a matter of me being impatient and wanting my hairgrass to be twice as tall NOW instead of in many weeks time haha


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## Aquamadman (Aug 10, 2007)

What I am curious about is how you made that light fixture . Could you post any plans our a sketch of it ?


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## Aquamadman (Aug 10, 2007)

BTW your tank looks awesome . I want the same for my CRS tank in Turkey but like NZ they dont have ADA merchandise here and lighting isnt the strongest feature here too so that light fixture could get me a long way into a nice planted Nano . Thanks in advance and keep up the great work on this estethic piece of art .


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## Rozski (Apr 8, 2008)

Oh wow, sorry for the big gap between updates. I have been very busy with uni rosters and have completely neglected the nano in the meantime. So all the guppies jumped out haha, so when I get more fish the lid will be staying on I guess. The hairgrass is fine but the glosso looks sick as it hasn't had any ferts or CO2, so no tank photos today.

But I promised some light hood photos....
So heres the pic from page 1:









My partner basically welded it together. Length, width and depth were basically dictated by the size of the bulbs I bought. The back, top and front are all one piece that he scored and folded to that shape. He then welded the end peices and middle brace in. 
The stand was a straight pole, where the curve is he cut 3/4 of the way through, multiple times, to allow it to be bent, then re-welded it and sanded it smooth. Cutting then bending is dodgy though, as it can break (as we had happen to us). Then a hole was dilled in the hood for the wires to come out of, and the pole was welded to the hood. It is heavy though (as its steel lol).
The base is another scored and folded bit, made to fit around my desk and under the tank. A base bit of pole is welded to that. Then the two fit together (was so convenient that the square tubing he found wedged in there so well).
Pictures explain the rest really:

































Any questions?


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## asimkhatri (Sep 17, 2007)

nice DIY stuff Iam also planning to make one for my 10g


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Great diy!


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## chase127 (Jun 8, 2008)

wow i thought that light was store bought when i first saw it!


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