# 5 Gallon Fluval Chi



## GMYukonon24s (May 3, 2009)

Nice pics, plants, and tank


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## FisheriesOmen (Jan 14, 2012)

Great looking tank so far!


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## Aheartlessfish (Apr 19, 2012)

thanks  wish i could have gotten the breeding on video...was very exiting action going on in the tank...eggs being scattered everywhere like grains of salt ^^


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## Aheartlessfish (Apr 19, 2012)

05.16.12. I cheated and was impatient ^^. Actually i just had Elatine growing very well for me in the bigger tank so i transferred some down here. Loving the whole idea of low maintenance and only 2 plants to worry about. Added 2 more ottos to the tank and boy are they doing very well. When i had 1 he barely moved around but now that i put 2 more in they are CONSTANTLY in search for algae...maybe its a competition for food thing ^^. Only 2 of them are ever together, the 3rd one does his own thing (prob cause he was the original one). Im thinking of removing the Black neons and replacing them with some crystal reds. Black neons would do alot better in the big tank anyways. Also added a black background (was gona paint it but ran out of paint)

L. Aromatica is growing like a bast. Beautiful colorful plants. Compared to my pressurized co2 and Halide lighting (main 40 gallon) Im gona have to say a nano tank is way better to manage than a bigger tank. Very tempted to shut down everything and just do Nano tanks.

Also does anyone know a good dosing regime for a 5 Gallon Tank?

EI method im using so far: 
Sat 50% wc.

x3 a week
1/16 tsp Kno3
1/64 tsp K2so4
1/64 tsp Kh2po4

x3 a week off days
1/64 csm+b
10 drops of Flourish Iron

on wc day
1/16 Epsom
1/16 Cacl2

Any help would be appreciated


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## dreamechoes (May 14, 2012)

Absolutely lovely. I really love the look of the Chi. I plan on getting one at some point. Fabulous job!


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## Aheartlessfish (Apr 19, 2012)

can i talk you out of it? 

I only like the tank...everything else that comes with it is useless ^^ (doesnt even come with a heater!!)

It comes with the built on filter/led light that is completely useless unless ur using it for a beta tank...if ur thinking of planting something besides javamoss good luck  not to mention the LED's on it are super dim. only good for reading books if anything.


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## GMYukonon24s (May 3, 2009)

It's cool how it's so simple but really nice.


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## Aheartlessfish (Apr 19, 2012)

05.21.12

New shots of the tank this week. Elatine going crazy. L aromatica getting taller and taller. Going to prune it next week. Thinking of removing the black neons. They getting big.

Looking for white sand to do a river effect that runs from the back left corner towards the front ditch. have white sand pouring down the front rocks like a water fall. Still havent decided yet.

Also added a background to the right side of the tank. When i view it from the front (on my computer chair) backgrounds black, and when i view it from the side (bed) its a blue back ground. (the black side was dirty)

















You can see both backgrounds in this shot but its a reflective shot pretty cool. blue is suppose to be on the right side and black suppose to be on the left side


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## philemon716 (Aug 14, 2011)

Great looking tank. I like your alternative floor covering. 

Thanks for the warning on this package as I was thinking about buying it myself.


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## Aheartlessfish (Apr 19, 2012)

Haha, i purchased my tank off of craigslist for $20. I would never pay the full $80. But thats just me and im cheap. I love the tank and thats pretty much all i love about the kit. Its my cheap way of getting an ADA tank xD. I dont know about clarity or anything between ADA and Fluval Chi, but i dont see a tank getting any clearer than this lol. Glass is glass but im prob just saying this because i never owned or saw ADA in person.

05.30.12. Pruned the L. Aromatica and replanted the clippings, also pruned some of the Elatine that were growing against the glass and tall ones. So i went away for a weekend trip accidentally leaving the timer mode off, so my lights were on on my planted tanks for a good 24-48 hours. Results = brown algae all over glass and plants, but more on glass. Cleaned it up but some still dwell in between the elatine on the bottom. 
A cool factor tho, check out the L Aromaticas. They seem to developed a deep maroonish color on the tops. Camera doesnt do it justice.


















This picture is what the L Aromatica's were like before the 48 hour blast. Just green









This is After. Check out the tallest stem, he got blasted the most, also was pruned there as well.









I love the marroonish brownish color. Not sure how this will effect future growth tho.


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## shinycard255 (Sep 15, 2011)

The plants look awesome! Especially the ones turning red. They are turning red because you left the light on for a 24-48 period, which in turn they change color to help reflect light off of them (I think that's right, but they change color because of the higher lighting. Not sure the real scientific reason, but its to help protect them from the lights). I'm sure they will go back to green once you get the light cycle going on it's norm again.

The tank looks awesome! Keep it up!


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## Aheartlessfish (Apr 19, 2012)

thanks  that sounds scientifically right xD. Sucks if they gona be turning green again  i might just leave the light on forever!! hahaha!

love your status "Obsessed, wife unapproved"


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## shinycard255 (Sep 15, 2011)

I guess that depends on your light and how much light it puts out... I could be wrong and they might stay red (which would be awesome) if you have enough light (or at least the tips might turn red as they reach the water surface)

The wife doesn't like my obsession, but she just deals with it :icon_lol:


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## mojof1 (Sep 13, 2010)

looking great!

i did the exact same thing as you.. ditched the stupid OEM filter because my external light would never reach my plants. replaced it with the the aquaclear 10 as well

for the EI dosing, i calculated it to be this:
KNO3 - 0.22g -> 7.13ppm
KH2PO4 - 0.03g -> 1.11ppm
Trace - 0.05g -> 0.17ppm
(note that these are daily doses 3x a week alternating with trace and the other 2)
total K = 4.95, Mg = 0.04

how do you dose such small fraction of a teaspoon? are there teaspoons that precise? i have to use a scale everytime.. but once I get some containers i'll dissolve it into a solution and dose with a syringe


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## Aheartlessfish (Apr 19, 2012)

haha the way i see it scales are nice but very time consuming...i dont have time to drop little amounts of chemicals on a scale and splash them into the water...although very accurate.

I got my stuff on ebay for like 6 bucks i think. It came with "dash","pinch","drop", "tad", "smidgen" labled mini teaspoons. (stainless steel too ^^).

according to members you can find them cheaper at Kohls or Bed bath and beyond.

also according to members who have measured them out before, the "drop" equals 1/64 tsp, and the "dash" is 1/16 tsp. Makes sense to me, im not gona question the work that has been done for us.

Im currently dosing K2so4 becuase i have it on hand, i think i will discontinue the use of this chemical in the future (the less to dose = benefits me the most).


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## Aheartlessfish (Apr 19, 2012)

06.03.12.
Added some more aqua scape rocks today, i was thinking of just ploping them ontop of the elatine but i thought it be cooler to seperate the L aromatica. Also added some s. repens to fill in the empty spaces as i shifted some elatine around. Prob will take them out later if they dont fill in well. I took out the 4 Black neons and took out 2 of the otto cats. Took some cherries from my shrimp tank and placed them in here. Also moved a cherry that berried. Hopefully babies will feel comfortable in the elatine and not get sucked up the filter since i didnt block/cover it, i did however remove the extension to the intake so it only intakes from about 3-4" from the top. Hopefully baby shrimps dont like to swim around.










I give it about 1-2 more weeks before the elatine realy fills in the gaps. Right now its pretty thick. Cant wait to get a good carpet so i can start pruning for the 40 breeder.









This is my biggest cherry shrimp. She (i assume from the line runing down her back) measures about 1 inch. Very dark and nice color. looks very different from the other shrimps.


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## Aheartlessfish (Apr 19, 2012)

06.06.12. Was able to capture some cool shots so i decided to share them 

Berried cherry and also my largest cherry. the smaller ones an adult 1" the larger ones about 1.5" pretty cool









No idea how this got in the tank, like seriously no idea...must be hitch hiking on a strand of Elatine from Tom barre. pretty sure its pellia...that or a huge slab of algae.


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## Fishies_in_Philly (Dec 8, 2011)

that, my friend, is pelia, or subwassertang. freshwater seaweed. cool plant, i played with it for a while. very slow grower. the shrimp with the racing stripe could be male or female. neos tend to get those stripes now and then. i think every chocolate shrimp i have has the racing stripe. now, if i can just figure out how to breed a number into them, i'll strat selling them to nascar fans...lol

LOVE this tank though. and you are right, everything except the glass is useless. but i like the fact that you can take the top off and have a nice cube. still prefer my ebi, but i also like the chi. and that logo? nothing a nice razor blade can't handle


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## Aheartlessfish (Apr 19, 2012)

haha i like the logo ! but it looks like its razorable. The company didnt do a good job of putting it on tho thats for sure i see air bubbles behind it ^^. Actually now that i look closer its just a sticker, its not even "painted" on.

Took a look at my cherries today (they all came out for feeding time in the ditch) and the bigger one is turning reddish/orange...im starting to question if hes a cherry lol.

Not sure what a neo is but from my guess its prob inbreeding/mixing of cherries which develops this guy once in a random batch. And like i said i seriously never seen a cherry shrimp this big :O

also LOL @ the nascar one. just grab a shrimp and spray paint numbers on!! xD


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## Fishies_in_Philly (Dec 8, 2011)

sorry. neo is short for neocaridina. that's the type of shrimp cherries are. i have yellow neos that shot out a brown female. i can't wait to see what her babies look like. oh, and my chocolates are HUGE! i'm talking almost 2 inches.
and i really get a kick out of how exact people try to make ei dosing. remember, it is called "estimated index" for a reason.  not poking fun at anyone, i just think sometimes people forget that. that's why i love those "tad,smidge,pinch" measuring spoons


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## Aheartlessfish (Apr 19, 2012)

haha well some people cant simply..."estimate" haha...and i dont want to be that one ^^. I rely on spoons/methods that seem to do the job and tweak it if needed. So far soo good 

i think this guy is a neo orange then lol.


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## Aheartlessfish (Apr 19, 2012)

I have a recent outbreak of hydras and snails...bummer  thinking of putting an SAE in here and let him work his magic...do they go well with cherries?


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## Fishies_in_Philly (Dec 8, 2011)

NO!!! sae eat shrimp.


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## Greedy (May 26, 2010)

Very nice, I love the ET the stuff grows so fast... as for an SAE im sure if u got a small enough one it wouldnt be a problem especially since the shrimp can hide in the plants, and for the hydras and planaria I use Heart gaurd canine dewormer with fenbendenzole, it is shrimp safe and has always been effective in my applications.


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## Fishies_in_Philly (Dec 8, 2011)

but even a small sae can eat any babies in the tank, doesn't matter how much room they have to hide. personally, i wouldn't take the chance, but i'm a shrimp guy, not a fish guy. the only fish i have are my cleaning crew....lol and +1 on the dewormer


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## Aheartlessfish (Apr 19, 2012)

blah...i dont go to vets so i cant get my hands on that.


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## Fishies_in_Philly (Dec 8, 2011)

they sell dewormers at most pet stores or wally world


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## JoeGREEEN (Jun 28, 2011)

*Niiice*

Well Done! I really like how Elatine Triandra looks with the Limnophila:icon_smil

? What is that clamp on light you are using & where did you get it?

Again Great Job


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## Greedy (May 26, 2010)

ya they have it at petco, petsmart, for sure.


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## Aheartlessfish (Apr 19, 2012)

the light fixture is an older model of the coralife 18w fixture. (they should make more because of how sleek and compact it is). its laying on top of a piece of pexi glass that stretches from one side to the other. Nothing fancy. Just looks nice because the light fixture is flat 

I might just try fluke tabs and see where it goes from there.


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## JoeGREEEN (Jun 28, 2011)

Aheartlessfish said:


> the light fixture is an older model of the coralife 18w fixture. (they should make more because of how sleek and compact it is). its laying on top of a piece of pexi glass that stretches from one side to the other. Nothing fancy. Just looks nice because the light fixture is flat


Agreed  now i'm going to ebay & see if i can find any used


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## Aheartlessfish (Apr 19, 2012)

haha good luck...just dont get the new one...its nice but it gets HOT...im talking about touch hot to the point where u want to let go of it.

i have both models ^^


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## leros (Sep 21, 2007)

The logo is just a sticker. You can scrap it off with a razor blade.


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## snakeskin (Jul 28, 2005)

so I just got a Chi and have been looking through people's Chi threads and fell in love with this one... can we see an update?


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## Aheartlessfish (Apr 19, 2012)

its long gone


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## dtejeda.arias (Mar 5, 2013)

Chis are nice to display. It's the most expensive 5.5g aquarium you can ever purchase as a plant hobbiest.


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## snakeskin (Jul 28, 2005)

> its long gone


I'm sorry to hear that! May I just ask how the aromatica grew for you and how you maintained it?



> Chis are nice to display. It's the most expensive 5.5g aquarium you can ever purchase as a plant hobbiest.


Luckily I got mine for free!


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## Aheartlessfish (Apr 19, 2012)

grew like a beast...co2 with ferts and high lighting.


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## ChrisH14 (Jun 4, 2013)

Very nice tank


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## Aheartlessfish (Apr 19, 2012)

was a nice tank !


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