# 2.5 Gallon New Planted Tank



## erodstrom (Apr 9, 2007)

Here are a few photos of my new 2.5 gallon planted tank. It has plain aquarium gravel, DIY CO2, a 20gph HOB, currently one 15 watt bulb (although there are two in the hood), and gets water changes about 2-3 times per week.



















I have about 5 ghost shrimp, one small guppy left from cycling, one small oto cat, and one chinese algae eater, an impulse buy that I'll either move to a larger tank or bring back to the LFS when he grows. The shrimp have been carrying eggs, although I think the guppy may have been picking off the babies.



















The tank has been up for about 5 weeks, and you can see the Rotala has taken off, while the Baby Tears became algae infested and started dying off. I trimmed it back to about two inches tall, below the algae infestation, and there are new shoots growing in. The Wisteria on the right is probably good for plant mass right now, but is such a large plant that it really doesn't look right in this small tank. It will probably be picked out as soon as I can figure out where to put it.

The small Cryptocornes have taken off as well, they suffered an almost complete melt-off when I planted them, and have now all put out leaves. I was considering pulling out the wisteria and allowing them to take over that area, along with the micro swords, which have also taken off along the front. 

I have a constant algae fight in this tank, although since I put in the Oto and the Chinese Algae Eater they've kept the micro swords and Cryptos pretty clean.

Thanks for looking, any tips are always welcome.


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## cjyhc4 (Dec 18, 2006)

It looks so much bigger than 2.5!!


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## Badcopnofishtank (Jan 20, 2004)

I know what you mean by to big of a plant for that size tank. It looks nice so far.

I will have some Myriophyllum mattogrossense and HM clippings in the next couple of weeks I can send ya if you would like them. PM if your interested .


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## speedy_t (Mar 29, 2007)

It was a very nice and it looks bigger than 2.5Gal tank. I just bought a 2.5 Gal tank and began my project which it will be an office setup. Anyway, keep us update! :thumbsup:


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## yoko (Mar 16, 2007)

DENG! That doesn't look like a 2.5 :0O

I guess it is all about scale, huh?!!?


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## erodstrom (Apr 9, 2007)

Thanks for the comments! It's kind of a weird tank shape, its a Betta 4-plex with the glass dividers removed. It's about 6 inches from front to back x 16 inches long. 

I'm trying to stick to plants with smaller leaves in order to keep everything somewhat proportioned. Even the small cryptos are threatening to be too big and too numerous... When they melted off, I just stuck the stumps in the gravel off in the corner; now they're all putting out leaves and probably should be separated a bit, they look like a jumbled mess in my opinion, but the shrimp and the fish like hunting through the leaves so I've just let it be.


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## yoko (Mar 16, 2007)

Yeh, your scale is on the money  :thumbsup: 

I think I have the same tank at home, but it is divided in 3??

I will have 18W light no CO2, don't think I can use plants like yours, though.


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## erodstrom (Apr 9, 2007)

Hi Yoko, Mine had three glass dividers -- so 4 betta slots. It's a lot like the 3 slot tanks except just add one more on, so the shape is more "wide angle". I saw a very cool "6-plex" betta tank at the LFS, it was VERY long, but still only about 8 inches tall and 6 inches wide. Very cool, but it cost like $70.00!

I picked up a cheap aquarium hood built for incandescent bulbs, and am using the screw-in type CF bulbs that replace them. I just used a 15 watt "bright white" from OSH; they're very cheap and I've had oxygen forming on the leaves.

I also picked up an extra incandescent socket at OSH and installed it in the other side of the hood. At the time I was thinking "the more light the better" then when I turned everything on, it was VERY bright! I realized I was putting in over 10 watts per gallon, and the bulb is probably no further than 4-5 inches from most leaves! Overkill?:icon_eek: 

By the way, don't be hesitant to do a DIY CO2 setup, it was really easy to do. I think I used the instructions on Cichlid-Forum.com in the DIY section...but the instructions are all pretty similary wherever you get them. I think the entire setup cost me about $7.00, including a BIG jar of yeast that was probably more than I'll use in several years! It's basically yeast and sugar in a 2L bottle with an oxygen tube running to the tank, with an airstone and a check valve. That's it.


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## erodstrom (Apr 9, 2007)

By the way, I see you're from Sac town; Capitol Aquarium is AWESOME! Viva la Delta Breeze!


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## yoko (Mar 16, 2007)

[email protected] Town 

Ok, so basically, does that mean your divided sections are smaller than mine?? Since it is the same volume?? :redface: 

Honestly, I am new to plants, so you can imagine CO2 seems very intimidating to me. I would think it's difficult to keep the equilibrium between plants and fish with the CO2. I think of CO2 as steroids, is that wrong? :redface: 

Since it is $7, I will have to research (something else to research!!!!) and maybe try it on a plants-only tank... :redface:


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## yoko (Mar 16, 2007)

I forgot to welcome you to the Forum!

Welcome!!!!!!!! Nice to meet you :0)


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## erodstrom (Apr 9, 2007)

I was scared about the CO2 at first also, I've only had it up now for about 5 weeks. I figured though, that since I have a lot of light and a lot of plants right off the bat, and I change the water pretty often, that it wouldn't be too big of a deal. Small tanks are so unstable that they go bad without attention anyways!

I felt the same way about CO2 as you, but with the DIY thing it was soo cheap, and my tank was small so if I lose my plants I'm really only losing about $20.00 worth... And it turned out to be no big deal. 

Two points though, since I did the regular 2L bottle recipe, I figured this would be a lot of CO2 for this tank, so (1) I kept using my 20gph HOB filter which turns over the water alot and probably lets a lot of CO2 out of the tank, and (2) I also just ran the tube into the tank with an airstone, I didn't do one of those "diffuser" plates that capture the C02 in the tank until it dissolves into the water. This would be considered inefficient and wasteful in a regular tank, but in mine I think it's probably necessary in order not to overdose.

I had my water tested at the LFS, and he did say my PH was much closer to neutral than regular Santa Monica water, indicating I probably had a lot of dissolved CO2.

The fish and shrimp have done well. Except for the shrimp tackling and eating some of guppies I put in for cycling....:eek5: I currently have about 5 shrimp, an oto, a CAE, and one last Guppy who has developed nice colors and looks healthy (or tasty, apparently...). These fish have been ok now for over a month, so I wouldn't worry about the C02 too much... just start on the safe side.

I noticed that the recipy for C02 says, more yeast = faster C02 production, so this time I'll probably cut WAAAY back on the yeast compared to the regular batch, which is for bigger tanks. It will also run longer this way as the yeast don't consume the sugar as fast.

I wonder about the size of the tank... I'm pretty sure my tank is a 2.5, because I used to top it off with those 2 gallon-ish water bottles from Safeway... But I could be wrong...

By the way, my plants have gone CRAZY compared to other planted tanks I've had. I trimmed the rotala, basically cutting it in half, and within about 48 hours, every leaf node on the original stems was now sprouting an entirely new stem!! Also the foreground plants are rapidly sending up new shoots and the cryptos have all put out about 3 new leaves each in one month! 

If that's not a reason to take the gamble, I don't know what is!

What are the measurements for your tank? I'll check mine tonight. I have seen betta divider tanks that were a bit deeper and taller than mine, which is only 6 inches from front to back.


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## RESGuy (Jan 15, 2007)

Your tank looks really nice  Glad to see other members who are hesitant on whether to use DIY CO2 or not


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## yoko (Mar 16, 2007)

Ok, I just got home and measured my tank and it's 12" long, 6" deep and 8" high.

Where did you get your tank??? I want one!!


I don't know. Being inexperienced in the planted scene, I tend to think of CO2 is to plants, as NOS is to cars :redface: hahah That is the only thing I can think of.... I could be totally wrong...

I want to have a low-maintenance and natural environment as possible for the animals. Pumping the tank with CO2 is just a weird concept to me, with the animals in there. I just worry.
Also, I think it's unnatural, I mean most of the tanks I see look too good to be real, you know what I mean? They are very nice and I can appreciate it, but it is very strange to me... I guess I mean "unreal". Not neccessarily in a bad sense, but just very _abstract_ to me........ I don't know, I am weird, I guess, hahah :redface: 

I will most likely try the DIY CO2 in a tank with no fish, JUST because you make it sound so simple and, you're right, it is very affordable...
I will probably put ghost shrimp in there? Only becoz they are only 30 cents here HEHE. I only have experience with bettas, so other animals will be new experience for me


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## erodstrom (Apr 9, 2007)

By the way, thanks for the welcome to the forum! I didn't see that post before! 

I thought the same as you about CO2 before, and I tend to prefer "all motor" too...  I was trying to think of a car metaphor that would counter yours  , so what about this: 

(1) Putting NOS (or a big turbo) on a factory NA car kind of pushes the car beyond what it's really engineered to do reliably.

(2) Unlike an unmodified car, which is basically reliable and not going to blow up on you, an aquarium is already a tweaked, distorted version of an aquatic environment -- unlike an unmodified car, you are not starting from scratch with an aquarium, you've already got a 500 horsepower civic!

(3) So, instead of the CO2 being the NOS or big turbo that threatens to blow up your engine, it's more like the CO2 is high octane fuel that brings everything relatively back under control...

(4) So, without CO2, you're pinging!! 

Ok, so I don't really buy it either, but it's the best I can do! 

I can tell you I felt the EXACT same way as you, and I just did it this time because I was setting up a tank primarily for plants this time. My LFS actually gave me some ghost shrimp for free to cycle the tank, then when they didn't put out enough waste to cycle it, he gave me the guppies, which the shrimp went after... They all did fine, but if you put too much in, it can poison them. 

I would just do water changes and use less yeast than the DIY recipe asks for. This will give you a slower rate of CO2 Production. I didn't do this because I was impatient and wanted to make my tank go crazy, but it was probably not wise! Either way my fish were ok and are doing well.. the Shrimp are even trying to breed!

Now watch, you'll try it and kill everything and be mad at me... 

Oh, checked my measurements -- 8" tall x 6" wide x 16" long. I got it at a Petco in San Diego a few years ago. I guess it's not 2.5...weird, that's what the sticker said. Maybe it's like a 3 gallon or something...

Did you look around at Capitol Aquarium? they have tons of Bettas there, I'll bet they've got lots of betta tank type things to choose from. I'd go for the really long one, it's like 8" high x 6" deep x 20-24" long. Really cool.

Also, someone dumped non-native aquarium plants in Putah Creek in Davis a long time ago... now they grow there! Free stem plants! I think it's like cabomba and something that looked like Baby Tears..


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## yoko (Mar 16, 2007)

Yah, I understand that a tank ain't really "natural" haha, 
but I guess I kind of related the two, because both are "on the bottle" :biggrin:


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## erodstrom (Apr 9, 2007)

Oh, that one hurt! I suppose your performance will really suffer if you get a clogged injector?  

I guess I'm running out, that was pretty sad.

I checked my measurements, It looks like my tank is either 3 or 3.5 gallons. So that's why it looked bigger -- I guess I'm not the master of small-scale after all... :icon_redf


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## yoko (Mar 16, 2007)

hahaha you can still be the master of small scale  Oh I'll get on the bottle on a lill one, after I finish my other projects


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## FelixAvery (Jan 11, 2007)

really nice! i love it


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## yoko (Mar 16, 2007)

I don't know, man... I may get on the bottle sooner than I thought...
I am actually reading a DIY CO2 set up in another window-- and, I may do it JUST because I am so fascinated by the JELLO:icon_eek: :icon_eek: and the whole "science" of it. I mean, I got tons of jello from Birthday Jello shots.... and I am just amazed...
Also, while I was at Ikea a couple of weeks ago I saw some bottles in the kitchen section and I told myself I would totally buy it if I was to ever do CO2, but I'm not ever going to :icon_roll so hahaha We'll see, I have to work this weekend so I will probably end up just making Jello shots... :icon_roll buahauahuah


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## erodstrom (Apr 9, 2007)

hahahaha, or to make things REALLY interesting, do jello shots THEN set up the DIY CO2! 

My setup doesn't use jello, so that's even more complex than mine. Mine is super basic, just a 2L bottle w/ sugar, water, and yeast with an airline ( with a check valve and an airline) bringing the CO2 to the tank. 

There is one other BIG reason to do it. You'll feel really cool and "sciency"  when you can tell people you have a CO2 system for your tank!


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## erodstrom (Apr 9, 2007)

*Erik's ~ 3 gallon planted nano Photo Update 5/1/20 (56k Warning)*

Ok, updated photos. Sorry, didn't clean the tank first so it's a bit messy in there. Also, I've got this weird, colorless agae attacking the tank right now. The plants are growing and healthy, so I'm just letting it pass, as the other algae attacks have all come and gone.

Currently adding a small amount of fertilizer and DIY CO2 - with a STRONG dose of CO2 - 1/4 teaspoon of yeast...I messed up the recipe and I'm too lazy to fix it. The fish aren't dying so I'll just see how it goes.

Photo Update -- Last week before Badcopnofishtank's cuttings arrived:










Today -- Thanks Badcopnofishtank, the cuttings are great and already growing! Fertilized last night and the rotala grew a full inch overnight.:




























Also, the cryptos are back from their initial melt-off, and are growing like crazy; I use waay to much light so they're very brown. When I got them the leaves were Kermit-the-frog-green!










Thanks for looking! And thanks again for the cuttings, badcopnofishtank!


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

very very nice do you plan to add more fish or shrimp? Yoko go for co2 you will not regret it. do it! do it!


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## yoko (Mar 16, 2007)

[email protected] peer pressure :icon_mrgr 

I've been meaning to check on you!!

Did you get rid of some plants???


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## RESGuy (Jan 15, 2007)

Sweet! The tank looks really nice 



P.S. Do it! Do it!


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## erodstrom (Apr 9, 2007)

Thanks guys! Update on that mass of algae growing on my micro swords; it's staghorn algae, and from what I read it's a pain... 

I picked up a Siamensis this morning when I was buying dog food, but I think I"m overstocked now...oops... I guess it's, "whoever takes a bite of staghorn algae last goes!" 

By the way, the fertilizer is making my plants go CRAZY! I updated yesterday, after the rotala grew an inch, and last night it grew another inch!

Yoko - Do it! Do it! 

I pulled out the wisteria, it was just too big a plant to fit in there. the leaves were touching 3 walls at once! I brought it back to my LFS because he said he wanted it, but after he saw how much I cut it down, he was like ".....Uh......thanks....." and just stuck my entire bag under the counter! hahaahahah, I guess it's not going in his plant tank to regrow!


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## yoko (Mar 16, 2007)

hahaa you guys :icon_mrgr I already have most the parts, just need the actual "dry yeast pack" or whatever it is I am supposed to use.. or Jello?!?

I got the airstone, but I've been trying to think of the best way to diffuse it in the water column  

What fertilizer??

And what LFS??


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## yoko (Mar 16, 2007)

OH and I don't understand why there are so many different kinds of algae???


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## erodstrom (Apr 9, 2007)

If I were you, doing a DIY CO2 in a tiny tank, I wouldn't even bother using anything to diffuse it beyond an airstone. My tank has only the airstone, and I'm more concerned about TOO MUCH CO2 than not enough... even with the way mine is set up, I've had pretty big PH changes when the LFS tested my water.

The Dry yeast is sold in the baking aisle at grocery stores, you can buy little packs that look like old kool-aid packs or in a larger amount in a jar.

I just bought the cheapest liquid fertilizer, making sure it had iron, as my plants were getting really light. The fertilizer label says: 

Kent Freshwater 
Freshwater Plant
Formula K * Fe
Micronutrient Plant Supplement with Potassium & Iron

It's blue with a picture of an amazon sword plant on the front.

I think the algae exists solely because this hobby would be too easy without it!!


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## yoko (Mar 16, 2007)

OKOK!:icon_lol:


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## RESGuy (Jan 15, 2007)

Sweet, Maybe I should use fertilizers in the new tank I am setting up ... And I am going to use an airstone for my DIY CO2 in that tank because it's 24 inches tall, and I think the CO2 will dissolve before reaching the top anyways :thumbsup:


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## erodstrom (Apr 9, 2007)

It seems to me everywhere I read it's like, if you've got low lights and no CO2, then ferts won't do that much, but once you've got good lighting and CO2, you need ferts, because the plants are going to want more nutrients than are in the water. once they take everything out of the water they want, there are other nutrients still there that they dont take. Those nutrients are then consumed by algae since the plants aren't competing for them. Fertilizing balances out the nutrients in the tank so (1) the plants keep growing like crazy, and (2) they outcompete the algae for food.

But seriously, I don't know much more than generalized stuff.


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## yoko (Mar 16, 2007)

huhhhhh


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## erodstrom (Apr 9, 2007)

Sorry, last post too ADD? 

All I meant to say was that if you increase light, CO2, or Fertilizers, you should probably do all three. If you don't things will be unbalanced and you'll end up with algae


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## RESGuy (Jan 15, 2007)

yoko said:


> huhhhhh


Could you be more specific, what didn't you understand? Sounded pretty simple to me roud:


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## uncskainch (Feb 22, 2005)

Lovely small tank -- really nice!


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## yoko (Mar 16, 2007)

I got it the first time, more like a "ughhhh" (frustration) :icon_mad: :icon_mrgr


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## erodstrom (Apr 9, 2007)

yoko said:


> I got it the first time, more like a "ughhhh" (frustration) :icon_mad: :icon_mrgr


 I figured, but sometimes I ramble  I guess I'm not very good at interpreting typed out grunts! :icon_mrgr


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## RESGuy (Jan 15, 2007)

erodstrom said:


> I figured, but sometimes I ramble  I guess I'm not very good at interpreting typed out grunts! :icon_mrgr


haha Ditto.


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## yoko (Mar 16, 2007)

OKOK-- that particular "huhhhhh" was like, the equivalent to the average "ughhh". I am a slacker, what can I say:icon_lol: 

Hey, do you have apple snails!?!?


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## erodstrom (Apr 9, 2007)

yoko said:


> Hey, do you have apple snails!?!?


Ummmmm.......the guy at an unidentified LFS told me that apple snails are illegal.....ummmm......he said the snail he was selling me was a "mystery snail".....ummmmmm......  what snail? I don't see a giant gold colored snail in my tank..... 

He said it was about the only thing he'd ever seen eat staghorn algae, and sure enough, I saw him clear an entire micro sword leaf of it. I was sooo happy!


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## yoko (Mar 16, 2007)

Ummmm.......... ....................... Outlaw!!!


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## yoko (Mar 16, 2007)

I'm getting nervous. I think I have more lighting than you and basically the same size tank. Is it too much light!?!? :icon_neut 
How's school going:icon_mrgr


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## James From Cali (Dec 15, 2006)

erodstrom said:


> Ummmmm.......the guy at an unidentified LFS told me that apple snails are illegal.....ummmm......he said the snail he was selling me was a "mystery snail".....ummmmmm......  what snail? I don't see a giant gold colored snail in my tank.....
> 
> He said it was about the only thing he'd ever seen eat staghorn algae, and sure enough, I saw him clear an entire micro sword leaf of it. I was sooo happy!


Yeah than I guess those Mystery Snails are illegal as well!  . They are the same thing lol. I've never seen a Mystery/Apple snail eat anything but Diatoms. Nice little tank BTW.


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## erodstrom (Apr 9, 2007)

Thanks James from Cali!

Yoko, I think in our tanks what matters more than anything is how far the lights are from the plants. In my tank, I've just stuffed two spiral fluorescent bulbs into the tiny little traditional aquarium lighting fixture that sits right over the water. 

I really can't have both bulbs on together for too long or everything starts cooking in there!!

I'd like to find some small @ 5-7 watt spiral bulbs; I have a feeling they'd work better for me. Right now, i've got two 15 watt bulbs, its too much. 30 WPG right on the plants in a 3 gallon.... everything is turning red, even plants that i don't want to turn red; plants that shouldn't turn red unless they're getting too much light. I found 9 watt bulbs at OSH, I might try those and see if they work. 

The problem I'm having is that when I have just one of my 15's running, all the plants bend towards one side of the tank. there's really no way for me to center one bulb over the tank, so lately I've been switching which bulb is on halfway through the day.

As long as you can adjust the height of your bulb over the water, you can really adjust how much "burn" your plants get and you should be ok. IKEA has those cool metal architect desk lamps that clamp onto the back of a desk and can be positioned anywere; I'm thinking of just putting one of those over my tank instead. I think IKEA only charges like $7.00.

School is rough. Finals. I've got a Criminal Procedure exam on Monday at 8:00 in the morning and a Business Associations exam the next Monday. Business Associations...blah.


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## yoko (Mar 16, 2007)

haha I frowned at my comp when I read about school... haha:tongue: 
So, like, basically, there goes your weekend?  

Well, deng, I think I have 18w.... and don't laugh, I have a 50/50
Shut up! I want to experiment!! :flick: 
My house will probably catch on fire, too... it's Odyssea but it was... affordable... and I know the owner of the store. I figure I can always replace the bulb later anyways, I just wanna see how it does as part of my little.. experiment...

It sits about 4" above the tank....... I mean, how does that sound?!??!


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## erodstrom (Apr 9, 2007)

I think that's a big difference. My bulbs are no more than an inch off the surface of the water! :icon_idea I had a wisteria leaf grow out only to be scorched at the surface and die where it left the water! 

I used to have an 18 watt fluorescent tube over this tank, and it sat like 4 inches up, and everything grew perfect.

I don't think you'll have trouble. Plus, even if it's too much light, your plants won't go limp and die, they'll just grow like crazy at first then turn red and get kind of ugly..and you might have algae problems with it.

At least that's what happens when I have both of mine on too long.


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## yoko (Mar 16, 2007)

Man, I don't want my plants to go limp n die :icon_frow 

Well, I can't get the light any lower, unless I set it on the glass top, coz the fixture legs are cheap and kind "tall" :icon_neut


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## RESGuy (Jan 15, 2007)

yoko said:


> Man, I don't want my plants to go limp n die :icon_frow
> 
> Well, I can't get the light any lower, unless I set it on the glass top, coz the fixture legs are cheap and kind "tall" :icon_neut


S/He said that if it's 4" above the tank "the plants will grow perfect" (provided you have the right light of course).


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## yoko (Mar 16, 2007)

RESGuy said:


> S/He said that if it's 4" above the tank "the plants will grow perfect" (provided you have the right light of course).


I know, I can read, RESboy :flick: :wink: :wink: 

I am jus stressin :hihi: You think it's ok with the stoopid 50/50??

ahahah *erodstrom*, he called you a she-man!:icon_lol:


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## erodstrom (Apr 9, 2007)

Hahahah HEY WAIT A MINUTE! YOU'RE LAUGHING AT ME!!!!  I'm a guy, alright, JEEZ!  

The 18w I had over my tank was one of those little @17" small fluorescent tubes; it was a gro-light; I don't know if it will make much of a difference or not. 

You'll be able to tell if your plants are happy or not; they'll either be growing, or just sort of "blah" looking, like no new growth at all, and over time the leaves will wear down and start to die. I had plants in a 60 gallon before with not enough light and it was miserable.

I think 4" is probably fine; and if it's not enough you can always put a stronger bulb in. 

If you've got your equipment, just start it up and you'll be able to make adjustments as you go. 18w is probably still plenty for a small tank anyway; I wouldn't worry.

I'll try and update photos soon; stressing for finals though. The rotala in my tank are going nuts; they've grown like 4 inches since like Monday! It seems like if you get Light, CO2, and Fertilizer going, they're CRAZY!! I might even have to pull out stems completely just to fit everything!!


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## yoko (Mar 16, 2007)

hahahaha :flick: 

HEY I was just going to ask you if you had any other tanks!

Pics plz:wink:


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## erodstrom (Apr 9, 2007)

I used to have a 60g w/ some cichlids when I was in Davis; I never set it up in LA. also, just picked up a free 29gallon Tall on Craigslist; I was thinking of setting it up instead of this little one, but now that I've found the Nano tank forum, I kind of want to just keep this one and stay in the club!

Here's the old tank and fish:


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## yoko (Mar 16, 2007)

That is just awesome...... Props--- So big. I don't think I could ever do something that big.... You can still be in the Nano club. You would just also have to be in the MTS club :smile:


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## erodstrom (Apr 9, 2007)

Honestly, big tanks are WAAAAAAAY easier than nanos. WAAAAAY easier. The temperature doesn't fluctuate, it takes longer for water chemistry to go bad, there's more room so fish aren't fighting for territory as much, and you can actually get your hand in there to move things around without pulling up half your already planted stuff! Water changes only took me a half an hour, and I did 60% water changes!


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## erodstrom (Apr 9, 2007)

Did I say WAAAY easier? I meant WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY easier!


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## yoko (Mar 16, 2007)

HUmmmm Yah.... but they are so frikken big tho :icon_frow 

My biggest is I think 15-20 G but , you know, I haven't started that one either  

I like having a bunch of small ones around.. different things to look at :tongue: It is a lot harder to maintain, though. Chemistry-wise


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## erodstrom (Apr 9, 2007)

And time wise; and way more limited in the types of fish you can have, and the numbers of fish you can have. The best part of my bigger tank was having small cichlids that could live their entire life cycle in there; they started breeding like every 3 weeks; I used to be able to sell the fry back to Capital for like 1$ apiece. I traded the little guys in enough that my food was usually free.

In a little tank, you can raise one or two of something, but they're not as comfortable in there and they generally don't show the cool behaviours they'll show in a big tank. 

That said, I think little planted tanks are a fun challenge; I can't afford to do a big planted tank. yikes!

I was thinking it would be cool to just have a rubbermaid tub in a back room somewhere for growing plants to trade back to LFS, you know, not aquascaped, just in bunches according to species... I just don't have room. or do it....


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## erodstrom (Apr 9, 2007)

By the way, I finally got a picture of the products I'm using in the tank.

I've been struggling with different types of algae since I set up this tank. The micro swords seem to grow so slowly that they're always getting infested with something new and ugly. The SAE, CAE, and Oto all eat brown algae off when it shows up, but not the nasty staghorn algae attacking right now. So I cheated, and picked up "Tetra Algae Control" -- at one drop per gallon, this will last me a long time, and it wasn't too expensive. It says wait a few days for results, so I'll post then with an update on its performance.

Next is the Kent fertilizer; this was the least expensive fertilizer in the LFS; the LFS owner said it was his second favorite (out of about 5), but his favorite was double the price...  I've been using it about 4 full days now; with a 1/4 teaspoon dose per water change (twice a week) and one drop at night after the lights go off. Since using it, my rotala stems have grown literally an inch per night. I plan on updating photos of plants early next week before I trim again. The entire bush, seen in the update photos earlier this week as being about 3-4" below the water level is now within an inch of the waterline, and several stems are now emersed or floating at the top.

Because I've got several hungry little algae eaters and not that much algae besides staghorn algae, I've been dropping in Hikari Sinking wafers so supplement the algae diet my fish are on. I only give about one wafer every day or so; these fish have already gone several months eating only the algae in the tank; I haven't wanted them to depend on fish food. However, since I'm switching over to using the algicide chemical, I don't want them getting hungry so I'll start feeding more of these as the algae disappears. If it disappears.

I use the NovAqua water conditioner; I don't have any preference for these, it was what was cheap -- since this tank is not about fish, I would have prefered a simpler solution just intended to dechlorinate, etc, but I couldn't find any bottles, so I've got one that also includes ingredients to help with fish slime coats, etc...whatever.

Ok, thanks for reading. As always, any comments or suggestions are appreciated!


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## RESGuy (Jan 15, 2007)

Cool nice update, and indeed bigger tanks are a lot easier to maintain (just more expensive lol). Those Cichlids are beautiful by the way, Orange one is my favorite.  My largest tank is a 55 gallon non-planted tank.


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## erodstrom (Apr 9, 2007)

I didn't plant the 60 either; lighting big tanks has got to be the most expensive part. Nanos can be "high light" on 15-20 watts/gallon, can't beat that!


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## RESGuy (Jan 15, 2007)

erodstrom said:


> I didn't plant the 60 either; lighting big tanks has got to be the most expensive part. Nanos can be "high light" on 15-20 watts/gallon, can't beat that!


haha yeah the lighting and filtration is probably the most expensive especially if you want the tank to be high-tech lol


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## erodstrom (Apr 9, 2007)

Okay, here's an update; it's been roughly a week since the last photos were taken. The growth in the rotala has been pretty intense! they're actually taller than they look in the pics, they've grown so far the current from the filter is blowing them over now!

This week's photos:



















I'm planning on lowering my lighting soon, just need to get around to it. I'll have two spiral 9 watt bulbs rather than the double 15 w's I've got now.

Thanks for looking!


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## erodstrom (Apr 9, 2007)

Took a couple closeups of the rotala pearling.


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## MrJG (Feb 21, 2007)

Love the look of the tank. Did you top/replant tops to get your rotala to bush out like that? I'm hoping I can get mine to look like that granted its going to take longer with no co2. :O


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## erodstrom (Apr 9, 2007)

MrJG said:


> Love the look of the tank. Did you top/replant tops to get your rotala to bush out like that? I'm hoping I can get mine to look like that granted its going to take longer with no co2. :O


Thanks MrJG, Yes, my rotala started only about a 2-2 1/2 months ago as a single bunch from the LFS. I cut the bunch in half when I first planted it, as my tank is pretty low and I wanted to have it look more "grown in place" than "stuck in place". 

Since then I've trimmed the tops down about 2 inches a few times, and each time they are cut, they sprout multiple stems from the cutting location. Trimming it has definitely made it more bushy; I'm almost thinking I need to thin the entire thing out a bit!


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## erodstrom (Apr 9, 2007)

I've noticed over the last few days that the leaves on my stem plants start closing up before my lights shut off, like they're getting used to my light cycle and predicting it. Pretty cool. Here's a photo of the leaves just beginning to open up in the morning.


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## erodstrom (Apr 9, 2007)

Ok, I let it go for another couple weeks and the tank got pretty overgrown!










I spent the afternoon trimming everything back; I'm thinking of replanting all this into the 29 gallon tall tank in the next few weeks; I probably tossed about half of the plant mass in this tank as clippings and it feels like a waste, with a taller tank the plants could grow higher and really show off their length; also I'd like to get a pair or two of angels in all these plants.

Here's the newly cut tank, with some of my saved clippings bound up and waiting for transplant to the big tank. You can't really see the different species anymore because they're planted more for storage this time than for decoration!


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