# Viettxboii's 2.5g nano: REDO coming to a forum near you!



## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

The woodwork i did in a quickly and crudely drawn paint image..








I plan to raise the light up a big and double it ..., and perhaps start using DIY co2.. or some excel


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## pet-teez (Aug 17, 2007)

I can't quite tell what that new plant is (hygrophelia hydrosperma maybe) but I doubt you need to have tons of light that close to the glass and I doubt you need the co2, a tiny bit of excel every once in awhile might help with the algae though.
What is the temp in there with the light right over it?


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

Yeha i have ot figure out how ot raise the light up somehow..
I don't know hte exact temp atm as my thermometer for that tanks busted giving me a bad reading =/


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

hm sorry for hte bump that plant is indeed hygrophilia polysperma... i plant of which grows a good size for my tank i guess i gotta do alot of trimmings then .. and i need a rescape.. im keeping hte driftwood though!
i want ot add some rocks and elevate the wood a bit.
Any plant suggestions?
i want some grass type plants in there and some Anubias bateri var. nana
any any lighting suggestions?


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## Homer_Simpson (May 10, 2007)

Viettxboii said:


> hm sorry for hte bump that plant is indeed hygrophilia polysperma... i plant of which grows a good size for my tank i guess i gotta do alot of trimmings then .. and i need a rescape.. im keeping hte driftwood though!
> i want ot add some rocks and elevate the wood a bit.
> Any plant suggestions?
> i want some grass type plants in there and some Anubias bateri var. nana
> any any lighting suggestions?


Populating your tank with fast growing stem plants such as rotala indica, moneywort, Ludwiga Repens, and even ambulia will help you get a grip on algae as the tank matures. As far as slow growing hardy plants go, you really cannot go wrong with Anubias and Java fern. You may want to coordinate this with a good fertilization dosing scheme. Personally, I found Seachem dosing tapered down to 2.5 gallon worked best for me.

I would not recommend injecting c02. When I put in a C02 drop checker and experimented with DIY c02 injection for a 2.5 gallon nano, I noticed that the drop checker solution turned a bright yellow, indicating c02 levels above the safe 30 PPM. I dare would not risk exposing fish to this as I witnessed the ordeal the fish in my 40 gallon went though when the drop checker solution turned yellow. Luckily, I was able to bring all but one back from the brink of death by quickly plugging in the bubble wand aeration and increasing surface agitation to drive off the excess c02. I would not inject c02 in anything less than 5 gallons. Stick with Fluourish Excel to give the plants carbon.

As far a lighting goes, I found that a split photo period of 8 hours with 2 15 watt compact fluorescent bulbs worked best. 

And don't be surprised if you get all kinds of algae as the tank matures. Sometimes achieving balance on such a small level takes time. I had a 2.5 gallon nano and a 10 gallon that went through bouts of all kinds of stubborn algae imaginable over a span of 6 months. At one point, I was ready to tear the tanks down and start all over. I just persisted in fertilizing the tanks the way I was and doing 30-50% weekly water changes. When I approached the 6th month mark the algae seemed to slowly disappear. I believe once healthy plant growth is established and the tank becomes balanced, you will not see too much algae growing. Algae usually makes its appearance when the tank is out of balance and plant growth is weak.


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

At my lfs (last i checked 2 weeks ago) carried rotala rotundfolia and indica, really pricey though ($11 CAD) carried quite a number of stem plants...
Suggest i do anything with the hygro?
Any aquascaping suggestions?
At this point the hygro hasnt really grown just it has just taken in roots onto the driftwood.


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

bump?
any suggestions to improve the tank...
and id liek to revise he stocking for some small >1 inch fish->more suggestions?
and some ideal plants for this tank where id like to create a moutnain valley..
basically 2 forested moutnains on both sides and a plain in the middle.


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## mpodolan (Mar 27, 2007)

Viettxboii said:


> bump?
> any suggestions to improve the tank...
> and id liek to revise he stocking for some small >1 inch fish->more suggestions?
> and some ideal plants for this tank where id like to create a moutnain valley..
> basically 2 forested moutnains on both sides and a plain in the middle.


franksaquarium.com has a nano-fish list. There's also a nano-fish sticky at the top of the nano page. Check it out for fauna ideas. In a 2.5, if you want to make mountains, etc., you need smallish plants or be willing to trim a lot. Lots of people use HC, dwarf hairgrass, microsword, etc. Just look around at other tanks on here for good ideas as to what would work. There are lots of well-done nano tanks with that look. Also, you might want to consider a different substrate if that's what you're looking for. In addition to helping smaller plants grow better, a smaller substrate will help visually (ie. it will make the tank look bigger). HTH


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## Zaxol (Oct 14, 2007)

Do you want all that Java Moss


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

Ill probably get some endlers from a person in the city a trio of males.
and hm i want to buy this super fine "river rock" substrate by ecosystems(hagen) which is available at my lfs and seems alright.
As for the plains in the middle i could always do a moss carpet.
But for the plants on the side im not sure yet...
For the forested mountains basically im gonna do somehting liek what Ryzilla did on their tank to acheive the mountain/hill effect.
Im gonna miss up the rock itself and on the top of the mountain a small stem plant. Something like HM or rotala indica.
On the otherside ill just plant my mass of hygro.


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

Okay after some moving around and ripping out handfuls of algae and brown moss, i moved the hygro bundle over and added a small albeit LOUD HOB filter.
3 Weeks Ago:








































The substrate isn't growing the hygro very well at all...
i'm considering to convert this tank to a Natural Planted Tank. Due to my lack of time.
Also hair algae is taking a stronghold in this tank, because moss=slow growers, and the planted hygro bundles i have around aren't growing because the substrate isn't adequate.
I'm dosing API LeafZone- due to its Potassium Sulfate derivatives.


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## bluerat (Dec 10, 2007)

roud: cool pics


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## mrbelvedere (Nov 15, 2005)

I can guarantee Hygrophila polysperma doesn't care about substrate. It will grow floating just fine.

You have other issues causing algae. Probably fertilization and/or CO2.


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

i'm using no co2, and possibly fertilization, but i'll need to keep this at hand, also my hygro is actually starting to die off...
any advice?
i've stopped fertilizing.


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## mrbelvedere (Nov 15, 2005)

No fertilization means your plants have no food. 

Why would you stop fertilizing?


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

as it feeds the algae as well...
how often should i fertilize, using API leafzone


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

An update- ripped out the plants off the driftwood, took out the driftwood, stuck with a ball of algae, hygrophila , and java moss.
Going to change to a different substrate, not sure what, i bought a 22lb bag of gravel if wanted to use that on top of something like kitty litter or peat moss.
Currently dosing api leafzone weekly.
note: since the picture i have done a water change and glass cleaning.
Any suggestions on what to do from here on?

Edit: Front view after wc/ don't mind microbubbles







Another edit: I NEED ADVICE/SUGGESTIONS BY TOMMOROW, AFTER MONTHS OF PROCRASTINATING I'VE FINALLY DECIDED TO GO TO THE LFS TOMMOROW...


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

Redid the tank, drained out all the water, bleached the giant ball of plants, reused some of hte dwarf hygro in the corner
I'll be getting more plants in soon (thanks to werner of the AA Forum)
There will be more updates to come.
Also, it's peat moss and lots of mulm capped with reg, gravel.
I'll also be getting excel, if not i made a DIY system sitting here.

Edit: plants coming in are - HC "cuba", Rotala Rotundfolia, and Narrow Leaf Java Fern.


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

Update after 4 days growth, plants should be coming in within the week.
Some excel should be coming in soon, if i wasn't going to use excel, i would've used some pellia instead of HC, but oh well.

Edit: I'm also in dire need of a hardscape. It would be more visually appealing to me lol.


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## fishbguy1 (Feb 29, 2008)

Put the rotala in one of the back corners, and the hygro in the other. Then, get a largish piece of drift wood and put that in the center left or right....so it's not completely centered, but it sorta is...kinda...then put the HC all over in the front. Tie the java fern to the drift wood.

sound good?


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

Yeah, or i could do a row of rocks as well, but rocks are pretty exp at the lfs and msoth te driftwood is pretty big (evidence in the 1st version of this tank)
i'll try and find a small-ish piece of wood when i have the time..


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## FrostyNYC (Nov 5, 2007)

Regarding driftwood, keep in mind that if you find an interesting piece that is too large for your tank, you can just take a saw to it and chop it up. You'll have driftwood for multiple tanks or multiple scapes. I did this with the driftwood I'm currently using, which was originally too large for my 5 gallon.


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

Well i'll see i might have the ferns covering one corner and rotala along the as the background...
Otherwise i think i might try getting one piece of wood chopping in two, and covering with moss and ferns, or i may just use rocks instead.

Edit: this tank is now also temporarily home to a full grown bronze cory.


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## FelixAvery (Jan 11, 2007)

get rocks out of your garden and use a weak bleach on them for about an hour


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

My garden has no rocks =(.
Also it's housing a peppered cory not a bronze, and it's apparently scaring the crap out of my betta, and stalking the guppies.
I'll look around though.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Cories need to be kept in small schools- it probably is trying to school with the other fish. Get him a few cory friends and the fish-chasing will probably stop.


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

Well he's a bit big for this tank i'll stick it + i'll get 2 more peppered cories for my friends newly set up 5gal.
I rescued this cory that's the reason i have him, otherwise i would've chose pygmy or habrosus cories instead.
Peppered cories are quite large, my betta keeps hiding within the corner behind hte hygro.
Also i'm happy that my substrate is actually growing my hygro this time, unlike last time where the hygro didn't grow in the substrate, but grew floating (and got infested with algae).
Basically as said before i used peat and mulm capped with regular gravel.
I dose api leaf zone every now and then, but this newly incarnation of the tank is still new, so we'll see what the future holds for it.


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

Crap. So i have no filter. The HOB is too loud........ WAY TOO LOUD.
So i need to find a cheap solution.
An elite stringray 5 impeller is cheapest i would think.
If not i'll look around.
What kind of cheap filter would you reccomend..


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## chaos theory (Feb 16, 2008)

Viettxboii said:


> Crap. So i have no filter. The HOB is too loud........ WAY TOO LOUD.
> So i need to find a cheap solution.
> An elite stringray 5 impeller is cheapest i would think.
> If not i'll look around.
> What kind of cheap filter would you reccomend..


What type of HOB did you have?

I have a 2.5 gallon planted Betta tank as well. I bought one of the Red Sea Nano filters and it has worked perfectly! I customized the media a bit so I could make sure to fully cycle the tank. It's very small, the intake is clear so you don't really notice it in the tank, and it's virtually silent!

Here is a link: http://www.petco.com/product/12148/Red-Sea-Deco-Art-Nano-Filter.aspx


And here is the filter on my Betta tank.









It sits in the middle of my living room and you can't hear a thing.

Hope this helps!


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

Mine's a knockoff lol.
I was too lazy to bus to big al's on the otherside of the city, which caries the redsea nano.
That's similar to what i stuffed into my hob.
My hob performed excellent with an impeller from another filter, but with the stock impeller it's ... well it's hum is loud enough to override the music i'm blaring.
It's like loud as a microwave.


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

Tiny amounts of HC i have quite a bit more:








Full tank shot:








I'll get better pics tommorow after i finish planting and get sufficient plant mass in.


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

New image with plants, still need rocks for a hard scape, i'll get that arranged on monday as it's a PD day.
Still need to arrange pick up for my excel.., dosing API leaf zone 1x a week @ 1ml
Also using the elite mini with a new impeller, the HOB(elite hush is on friends 5 gal, which is getting planted right now as well) was way to loud.
Also since i had to remove the flow control in order for it to effectively work, i had to add a means of flow control, which is a vinyl tube with my old AG HOB intake on at the end for flow dispersal, i've managed to diffuse the flow to the level that doesn't bother the betta : D.
Also i still have A LOT more HC, getting lazy so i'm planting it bit by bit.
Also i have more ambulia and rotala to add as soon as i get off my lazy but.
Also a few narrow leaved java ferns, waiting for me to get some rocks to be attached to in between each of the stem plant bushes =).
Compliments to werner from AA for all the beautiful plants.


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## D.C._United_Caps_Fan (Mar 9, 2008)

FelixAvery said:


> get rocks out of your garden and use a weak bleach on them for about an hour


Just make sure that when placing any rocks you find outside, in any tank, to do the vinegar test. Basically just drop a small amount of vinegar on the rock. If there is any foaming, DO NOT put it in your tank. Its a reaction to different rock types, and the foaming vinegar is an indication the rock contains things that WILL alter your water's chemistry and mess with things like the PH. Limestone is definately a NO NO. Or anything with Calcium Carbonate in it for that matter. No Marble either, at all. Sort of that, you should be good to go with most rocks, just clean them thoroughly first. Some people even pour boiling water over them after bleaching them just to ensure anything bad, does not survive. I like your little tanks alot too btw! I have a 2.5G for my betta, and its partially planted. I love that tank!

As for filtration, I didnt want anything elaborate, and something that was going to create the least ammount of current in the tank. (betta's dont like too much water movement) I got a very inexpensive, and TINY little Tetra Whisper filter that is air driven, and has a mini biobag. It fits basically in the tank level w/ the top, and is attached to the side w/ small suction cups. So far its silent, and works great. Its meant for 1-3 gallon tanks, and it moves about 20 gallons per hour. I may switch to a mini HOB kind, but then I wouldnt be able to set my glass top w/ my light on it all the way down and it would be crooked.


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

Bit of an update, added a tiny piece of driftwood tht i obught from the lfs for $0.45 haha.
But it isn't waterlgoged yet, i boield it for half an hour 1st, and i tied a rock behind it. The driftwood has narrow leaf java fern and java moss on it, so list of plants is:
HC, Rotala Rotundfolia, Asian Ambulia (Limnophila Sessiflora), Hygrophila polysperma (beautiful leaves, much more beautiful than when they were in my previous incarnation of this plant, i love this plant, but feel it would look much better in a larger tank), Narrow leaf Java Fern, and Java moss, looking forward from the moss and fern, i hope to get this pice of driftwood covered in a spikey and beautiful green moss.
Also sorry for hte cloudyness i had to bury the driftwood so it wouldn't float.
Also one of hte guppies got ripped apart and eaten by the hungry betta, so stocking is 1 female guppy, 1 male betta, and 1 peppered cory that's in there temporarily (and it keeps knocking up my hc >: (.
Also i had the same filter as you, but i sold it off along with my 2gal hex, and it was loud.
My current solution diffuses the current quite well IMO.
Also if i get off my butt i may start planting all of hte HC. At this point it's covering alot of the front of the tank, i probably have enough to fill the front area, too lazy though atm, and once it fills in i'll have a nice HC carpet.
Still waiting on the excel.
Also i'm going to plant more of the rotala i got in my bag so that i'll have a nice background.
The ambulia however is my bettas favourite plant, as it likes hiding in the mass of tiny twigs.


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## garuf (May 30, 2007)

:| clean the glass and do a huge water change, you can't see anything of the plants


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

Cleaned the glass haha.








Also you know that HC i had in a cup, looked like it wasn't doing so well so i planted it quickly. If i have time tommorow i'll unclump it and plant it more properly tommorow so it will ahve a chance to fill in and grow better.
Filter seems to be dying on me.
I'll go see an lfs tmr and see what they have for impeller selection, there's one i have in mind that worked excellent on my currnet filter and my mini hob, and it wasn't meant for either.


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

Update, the hc seems to be doing alright but keeps getting uprooted by the cory.
Replanted things to makeroom and hygro is doing great, as is the ambulia.
Anyways in that room i think i'll be adding some microsword.
Oh and i now add excel daily, and just today i upped the lighting to 24w,
i use one 9watt cool white bulb and the 15 watt daylight as a combo, let's see results from this : D


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

Algae ugliness : D
The HC seems to be taking off sending runners, and low growing.
New lighting works : D. I may up it to 30 watts total.
Betta is out.
Cherry Shrimp in... i got 10+ of them in there...


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

and almost 4 months later (day off lol)
Still using the same lights, had an attack of hair algae after a month of neglect, tank ovverun with plant eating snails and cherry shrimp, i need ot remove those snails somehow... suggestions?
Getting a 27watt lamp over that sometime this weekend, after my hood is done.
Haven't dosed excel in awhile, will start to do that again.
I plan for another rescape, but i'd like to keep my current piece of wood, but i want some more mossy twigs in there. I plan to keep All the stem planted bushed up into one corner, and then wood and twigs sticking out from there covered in moss. On the other side i'll just have some pygmy chain swords & the HC growing a nice little tall grassy field.

So how to remove snails?
I'll get pictures up once I get maintenance done and snails OUT.


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## aquaphish (Dec 20, 2002)

Buy a dwarf puffer. They will take care of your snails in no time.


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

I have shrimp in there too**.
Hmm so say i have a container that i can chuck a cucumber in, and leave it overnight
and fish out a crapload a snails in the morning
would that work?
And wow i just realized how crappy my tank looked in the above pictures.

EDIT: 
Picture from about 5 weeks ago:









Anyways being filterless totally killed my plant growth, and induced algae growth, that AND lack of water chagnes and dosing.


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

I feel like a rescape.
Plants i want to use:
HC
Java Moss, 
and one of the following 3 stems : Rotala Rotundfolia / Ambulia Sessiflora / Hygrophila Polysperma.

Lighting: 24 watts of CFL. 
Filtration: To be decided.

Money is not an issue.
EDIT: By not an issue means i'm not super poor like before, but eh in moderation.


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

Bump T_T.


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## frasertheking (Jun 15, 2007)

well done tank looks 10x better and the cucumber idea should work:thumbsup:


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

After a bit of neglect the wood get's a trim.
Also stems i'm letting them grow out a bit before i trim.
But they all look pretty straggly (thin) right now ... why is that ?

EDIT: 








Lighting the tank uses. Note that one of the bulbs is only 5000k but this combo works great nonetheless.


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## FrostyNYC (Nov 5, 2007)

Stems tend to get thin when they're receiving inadequate lighting, but it seems like you have more than enough light for a 2.5 gallon, even if it is spiral CF. However, you can see from the growth of the HC/HM on the substrate that they arent getting enough light, since they're growing vertical.


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

Yeah, i pumped uyp lighting and trimmed the stems that were shading the hC... better growth.
Anyways bad news about this tnak: 
I'll be shutting it down for now.
It had a good run. I'll redo it later when i have it better planned out .


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

Hm well update:








So um . ew ?
HAHA. Tank redo coming soon to a forum near you.!

EDIT: will probably drain the tank, and pick out the algae, and let the HC grow out to be a decent carpet. Afterwards come addition of a moss wall & i want to get some wood in there w/ moss too. Some sort of stem in corner, probably hygro.


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