# 6.6 gallon rcs planted nano tank



## Phoenix-cry (Dec 25, 2008)

Love it so far! CPD rock. How about some taller plants for the background? Also putting a layer of black paint on the back of the tank will go a long way for making it 'pop'.


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## Phoenix-cry (Dec 25, 2008)

Oh, as for 'instant cycle' It's not really instant. It just makes it all go faster, but with such a small bioload you should be able to get away with it. You'll find readings are the worst 3-4 days after getting a tank going.

The water is cloudy due to New Tank Syndrome, that's bacteria floating in the water. The shrimp may not take well to that.


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## crimsonbull57 (Jan 7, 2009)

I love those tanks, i really wanna get one but I'll have to wait. Your tank look good but like phoenix said taller plants would really help the scape.
Nice start

-Crim


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## ClPat (Apr 30, 2009)

Hi.
If I were you I would add 3 more cpds and 2 more corydoras because they really like to live in groups of 5 and more...In nature they school by hundreds. I really like your rock and wood. I would also advise taller plants and/or epiphytes.
You're on a great start!


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## finfan (Jun 16, 2008)

thanks guys, i also agree on adding stem plants, i made a big mistake of not adding much substrate (about 1/2 inch to an inch thickness), so i think eventually i will have to redo the entire tank, but i will wait till it is settled in, any suggestions on how i'm going to capture all the shrimp, i'm afraid if i just dump more sand they will get berried, i will have to go look for some more cpd's and corys, but i will wait a little so that i don't have a sudden doubling of bioload, please advise on how to best add more substrate (catch the shrimp)

btw, the cloudiness has considerably gone down this morning


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## crimsonbull57 (Jan 7, 2009)

check out the 99 cent shrimp trap in the shrimp&invert section
and you could probably cut a large peice of PVC in 1/2 then put it on the side and poor the sand in, then spread it out then repeat untill you have depth


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## finfan (Jun 16, 2008)

a quick update, i have not been able to find time to get some more sand for substrate and do a rescape, but i did put some trimmings from my 65 gallon a few days ago and they have alreredy grown a little, heres a full tank shot as of 10 minutes ago










here's from the other side










i do not intend to keep any plant in the front, i will put them all in the back when i do rescape, also, i really think i need to put a background, that filter looks awful in the back

the shrimp have all colored up, some more than others, here's a fat one, is she pregnant?










here's another one, sorry about poor pix quality, my camera is really not for shrimp pix










here's a shot of cpd, they have really colored up and they are not really as shy as i have read in most places, i went back to LFS for more but they have all sold out!



















here's all three, i could not get a clear one, they move very fast










so far i don't think i have had any losses shrimp or fish

any advice is welcome


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## Phoenix-cry (Dec 25, 2008)

Looks good, I bet if you added sand slowly the shrimp would move out of the way.


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## finfan (Jun 16, 2008)

yes, i plan to use a tube of some sort, but i also want to move around the hardscape (wood/rock)


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## Reginald2 (Mar 10, 2009)

The shrimp may be quick to investigate, but they seem to have an innate understanding of mortal peril. They will probably get out of the way when it starts really coming down.


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## Strick (Apr 6, 2009)

Nice tank. Coming together very well!

I recently added a layer of black gravel over my flourite in my shrimp tank. If you don't just dump it all in at once the shrimp will have plenty of time to scoot away.

I can't tell from your pic if that female RCS is pregnant or not. If she is, she'll be carrying yellowish or greenish eggs under her tail and she'll "juggle" them with her swimmerets almost constantly.

Here's a pic of my currently "berried" girls:


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## finfan (Jun 16, 2008)

thanks for the advice, cool pic there strick


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## finfan (Jun 16, 2008)

quick update, i have not been able to add more sand/substrate or change the scape, the plants have grown a little bit, the moss actually has some growth, although you can't see from pic, all inhabitants doing well, here's a FTS










i added a sparkling gourami couple of days ago, this little guy is really neat looking and got comfortable right away and already colored up a little bit...brilliant blue irridescent, i tried to take pix, but my bad camera is just not working for this tank, so it does not do the little thing justice


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## mgdmirage (Mar 30, 2009)

Tank is looking great, I just started the same tank check it out and lemme know what you think i should do with it next. I want cherry shrimp but not sure what plants to get to make it "friendly" for them to breed and populate. 

Also what do you use to clean the inside and outside of your tank? This plastic seems to scratch if you look at it funny.


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## Phoenix-cry (Dec 25, 2008)

Oh my! I LOVE that fish! WANT!!! Giggle. I've never seen one.


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## finfan (Jun 16, 2008)

mdg, i just saw your post on your tank, i personally think that java moss would be very helpful for shrimp, my moss actually is doing well and has already had some nice growth, it will also give lots of hiding places for any little one's, i am personally afraid that more light in this size tank (specially since the height is so low) might make it a huge algae factory, i guess if you do CO2, it might be ok, but i am going to stay with low/medium light plants and no CO2, you can try many different types of crypts too, i might get a crypt or two for mine, my problem is i have less than and inch thick substrate and i need to add to it (hopefully soon), as far as cleaning inside, i have been using cloth to clean the sides/acrylic, i don't ever clean the substrate on any of my tanks, any fish waste becomes fertilizer for my plants

phoenix, i am more and more loving the sparkling gourami, s/he is very interactive for being such a small fish, i wish i had a pair


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## mgdmirage (Mar 30, 2009)

finfan said:


> mdg, i just saw your post on your tank, i personally think that java moss would be very helpful for shrimp, my moss actually is doing well and has already had some nice growth, it will also give lots of hiding places for any little one's, i am personally afraid that more light in this size tank (specially since the height is so low) might make it a huge algae factory, i guess if you do CO2, it might be ok, but i am going to stay with low/medium light plants and no CO2, you can try many different types of crypts too, i might get a crypt or two for mine, my problem is i have less than and inch thick substrate and i need to add to it (hopefully soon), as far as cleaning inside, i have been using cloth to clean the sides/acrylic, i don't ever clean the substrate on any of my tanks, any fish waste becomes fertilizer for my plants
> 
> phoenix, i am more and more loving the sparkling gourami, s/he is very interactive for being such a small fish, i wish i had a pair


Cool thanks for responding  So you just use cloth to clean the inside of aquarium? I bought a scraper for acrylic but it scratches this plastic too so pretty frustrating.


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## [email protected] (Mar 3, 2009)

I have the same tank. Have you changed the lighting any? Do you use ferts or Co2? I'd like to do a similar setup since I've already got the tank and I'm on a budget, but would love to have a nice planted tank for my platy females to give birth in with lots of hiding spots for fry.


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## mgdmirage (Mar 30, 2009)

nice, the 6.6 club


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## finfan (Jun 16, 2008)

6.6 club... like that

i did not change anything, the standard light, no c02, very simple


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## mgdmirage (Mar 30, 2009)

I changed my light to 20 watt and diy co2, and i have all the trim off. I love the tank but i hate how it scratches soooo easy  I liked the stock light but i figured if i was doing co2 i may as well up the light too.


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