# Wanna start 2.5G, filter, heat?



## thief (Jan 12, 2008)

I wish you best luck with this. For Filter I don't think there anything out there for a small canister filter for a 2.5g but I use the Hagen Mini on my 2.5g. It's been up for a year now on 24/7 and it runs like brand new! It is very powerful and convienent. I suggest you take a look at it!


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## chicken (Aug 22, 2007)

I use the Red Sea nano filter, and it works well for me. I feed the diy co2 line into the filter intake. I don't use a heater, and my red cherry shrimp do not seem to mind at all.


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## efish (Apr 23, 2006)

i've got a 5g without a filter. if you keep up on water changes, i don't think you'll need it. i'd keep looking around for more info since i didn't have the best luck with shrimp in my 20 gallon. 

GL.


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## Karackle (Dec 11, 2007)

I just ugraded the filter on my 5.5 from a Red Sea nano to an AquaClear 20, I loved the red sea nano, it's sort of my fault it was on its way out, in my search for a new filter (there's a thread on here somewhere about it) I found there are 2 mini canisters that people have used, the Toms Mini Canister and the ZooMed 501. With an intake and a spray bar though I don't know that they'd actually take up less space than the Red Sea nano it might even take up morespace. I have the red sea nano on a ~2.5g QT tank right now and it doesn't take up much space at all FWIW. For the price (i got mine for $7.00 at my LFS) i personally don't think you can beat the red sea nano on a tiny tank. The flow was not QUITE strong enough when my tank was thickly planted in the 5g, but i think it would do really well on a 2.5.

Anyway, that's my $0.02 on that


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

I have to agree with everyone here, the Red Sea Nano is the best option for a tank this small. If you're able to hide it with small stem plants or the like, the Hagen Mini Elite is also good but needs to be cleaned more often. It also takes up more space _inside _the tank being an internal filter & all. 
There actually is a nano heater, I believe it's made by [strike]Tetra[/strike] *Marineland*, I've seen it at Petland. It's preset at 78°F


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

Another plus to the elite mini is that you can easily mod it to become a very effficient CO2 Reactor.

And heater , 15w small ones from Wallyworld do aight,.


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## Wadoc (Feb 1, 2009)

All good info!! Many thanks!!

Anyone have any experience with attempting to have the glass top cut to fit the filter or other items entering the tank?


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## rrrrramos (Jan 24, 2008)

You could just but a glass cutting tool and do it yourself. Especially if it's only an inch or two.


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## Wadoc (Feb 1, 2009)

Got one. Never seem to have luck cutting anything I care about. :icon_cry: 

What I was thinking was conforming the cuts to the shape of items entering the tank. Don't know if that can be done.


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## Wadoc (Feb 1, 2009)

chicken said:


> I use the Red Sea nano filter, and it works well for me. I feed the diy co2 line into the filter intake. I don't use a heater, and my red cherry shrimp do not seem to mind at all.



Ordered the Red Sea Nano and Eco-Complete. Will figure the rest as I go. Will also try no heater and see how that works. I am thinking of bleeding CO2 off a 46G once I get CO2 set up on it...


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## Karackle (Dec 11, 2007)

Wadoc said:


> What I was thinking was conforming the cuts to the shape of items entering the tank. Don't know if that can be done.


I think if you can find a place that custom cuts glass they should probably be able to do it for you, you'll just need to have all of the equipment so you know how big the cuts need to be. I've never had much luck with cutting it myself either.


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## mithrius (Apr 28, 2009)

i use a small mini hydor heater and buried it under the gravel and glued the cords up the side so it looked good..
its working well so far for me because my house is pretty chill, even in the summer times.
And i liked that there was no tube in the background, very low profile!  and it heats it perfectly for my 2g tank


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## Dollface (Sep 30, 2008)

Those small flat hydor mini heaters will actually fit in the sides of red sea nano filters (you'll have to keep the top of the filter off though)
I'm not entirely sure on how effective it is but when I used it like that It bumped up the temperature one or two degrees in a 5 gallon tank.


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## mithrius (Apr 28, 2009)

just be careful with that Hydor heater.. i had another one i wedged behind the wall and the back of my tank and it melted some of the paint on the wall and almost got STUCK! 
AND the temp raised so much, it actually started to warp the plastic on my small bubble tank...

it does say on the packaging that it can be run dry with no ill affects, but i wouldnt suggest it. =/
i think it was because it was encased... and not submerged. but im not sure and i dont plan on testing it that way again


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## ch3fb0yrdee (Oct 2, 2008)

Why not try the zoo med 501 filter and have the intake and outflow replaced with one of fishman's custom made filter pipes. I have one for a 3.5 gal and its great! You can never have enough filtration.


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

It's too late as you ordered the Red Sea already (which is a fine filter, so no worries) but for future reference the Zoo Med 501 is perfect for a two point five gallon tank. I've got it on a Plant Glass 20, about two gallons, and it's spot on.

Marineland makes a really good ten watt heater that I have in my Mini-S. Check that one out when and if you decide to get a heater. It's much better than the Hydor ones in that this one's preset to seventy-eight degrees where the Hydor is set to be four degrees above the ambient room temperature. The Marineland one is smaller to boot.


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