# 10 Gallon Nano Planted Tank



## PhelanVelvel (Apr 11, 2017)

Very pretty! Which fish are those?


----------



## Watercrayfish (Apr 21, 2016)

Kessil over a 10 gallon, without CO2 injection. Interesting...

Please keep us updated after 2 months.

Edit: Oh...you have CO2, missed that part in the description.


----------



## Dman911 (Nov 24, 2016)

PhelanVelvel said:


> Very pretty! Which fish are those?


Looks like harlequin rasbora, red line tetra, otocinclus and cherry shrimp.

Dan

Bump:


Watercrayfish said:


> Kessil over a 10 gallon, without CO2 injection. Interesting...
> 
> Please keep us updated after 2 months.


OP stated he has Co2 injection. I would be more concerned over water parameters in 2.5 week old tank. I'm curious what they would be? Nothing wrong with fish in cycle in my view but its needs close attention.

Nice tank

Dan


----------



## cruiserian (May 29, 2017)

Yes I'm running co2. 

The tank has been established for at least a year. Previously was a low tech setup before i re-scaped and converted it to high tech setup 3 weeks ago. So fishes and shrimps are very happy in it. 

I have 1 harlequin rasbora, 3 red line tetras, 2 otos, 2 leopard cories and lots of yamato, cherry and red nose ghost shrimps. 

Will provide more update soon. 




















Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Newbie2017 (Apr 26, 2017)

I am new to this hobby and started a 10 gal planted tank one month ago. So far my tank is going pretty well. I am getting a lot of runners on my dwarf hair grass which makes me really happy. My stem plants are growing like crazy too. I tried out dosing but had a lot of algae within of week of dosing. Gonna wait until my plants grow out more and use up all the nutrients in the substrate before I start dosing again. 

Light:
Kissel a80 tuna sun

Substrate:
Azoo plant grower bed

Co2:
DIY citric acid / baking soda 
1-2 bubbles per second


----------



## cruiserian (May 29, 2017)

Yesterday when I went back home, I saw there were plenty of green spot algae on the bottom of the tank glass, where the top substrate covered it. So I used a scrapper to scrapped off the algae, and of course unavoidably irritated the substrate and created some dirt to be stirred up. I didn't perform water changes as I just done it 2 days back. And 1 oto died this morning. [emoji24]

Lessons learnt:

1) one must perform water changes if substrate was disturbed. Especially on nano tank. 

2) time to reduce my dosing a bit. [emoji38]

Red plant, red shrimp. 










Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Nigel95 (Mar 5, 2017)

Looks great

Nice colored RCS


----------



## Dman911 (Nov 24, 2016)

I would cut lighting back personally, maybe 6 hrs. a day for the first while and gradually up once things get dialed in. What are your water parameters? and Co2 levels?

Dan


----------



## cruiserian (May 29, 2017)

Dman911 said:


> I would cut lighting back personally, maybe 6 hrs. a day for the first while and gradually up once things get dialed in. What are your water parameters? and Co2 levels?
> 
> 
> 
> Dan




I only measure my kh which is 3°. Haven't got the chance to buy a test kits for the rest of the parameter. Once I have I will keep you guys updated. 

Co2 is about 1 bubble every 1.5-2seconds. 
Ph drop checker is at correct lime green. 

I already tried reducing my dosing. Let's see if the algae issue comes back, otherwise I will also cut down my lighting. [emoji106]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## cruiserian (May 29, 2017)

cruiserian said:


> I only measure my kh which is 3°. Haven't got the chance to buy a test kits for the rest of the parameter. Once I have I will keep you guys updated.
> 
> Co2 is about 1 bubble every 1.5-2seconds.
> Ph drop checker is at correct lime green.
> ...




Currently my lighting duration is 10hours, but only about 6hours is at 60-80% intensity. The remaining 4 hours is around 5-59%. 
So let's see if cutting down of dosing helps. If not I will reduce lighting duration too. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## cruiserian (May 29, 2017)

Manage to buy test kits today and got my water parameter measured. 
Measurement was done during lights and co2 off. 

Ph: 8
NH4: 0
NO2: 0
NO3: 20ppm
KH: 2°

Latest FTS @ 3rd Jun 2017










Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## cruiserian (May 29, 2017)

Decided to reduce the lighting duration from 10hrs to 7hrs as the green spot algae keeps appearing on the tank glass. 
I have also reduced the dosing of nitrate and phosphate. 

All plants are growing very well. 

Added more RCS. 

Latest FTS:




















Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## smracer31 (Sep 8, 2011)

Had his same setup and loved it. No co2 so I had the light running at 35% for only a 2 hour duration then a long 4 hour ramp up and down. I would advise bringing the light as high up off the water as you can with the gooseneck. The Kessil, mostly any led really, is very high par just a few inches away then tapers off to a more linear par spread, this is more prevelant on single pendant leds. I think I had 6 or 7 inches off the water with mine, just have to get the gooseneck to bend tighter higher up. Even with co2 I wouldn't run more than 55% peak for more than 4 hours. Here's a pic of mine before I tore it down earlier this year when I moved.


----------



## cruiserian (May 29, 2017)

smracer31 said:


> Had his same setup and loved it. No co2 so I had the light running at 35% for only a 2 hour duration then a long 4 hour ramp up and down. I would advise bringing the light as high up off the water as you can with the gooseneck. The Kessil, mostly any led really, is very high par just a few inches away then tapers off to a more linear par spread, this is more prevelant on single pendant leds. I think I had 6 or 7 inches off the water with mine, just have to get the gooseneck to bend tighter higher up. Even with co2 I wouldn't run more than 55% peak for more than 4 hours. Here's a pic of mine before I tore it down earlier this year when I moved.




Wow that's a very nice tank you had! And thanks for the advise!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## cruiserian (May 29, 2017)

Just completed the 1st major trimming session for this tank. 

Before trimming:









After trimming:

















Weather has been extremely hot here in Singapore, I've added in another fan. 










Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## scottedontknow (Oct 15, 2016)

Man I love this tank!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## scottedontknow (Oct 15, 2016)

Do you happen to have a plant list? Or did I miss it somehow 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## cruiserian (May 29, 2017)

scottedontknow said:


> Do you happen to have a plant list? Or did I miss it somehow
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk




Thanks! 

I'm not very good at plant's names but I will list down those that I know though:

- ludwigia Red
- ludwigia red mini
- dwarf hair grass
- rotala green
- blyxa Japonica



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## cruiserian (May 29, 2017)

Latest FTS:











































Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## paulbert (Jan 22, 2017)

What happened to the pennywort?


----------



## Dman911 (Nov 24, 2016)

cruiserian said:


> Manage to buy test kits today and got my water parameter measured.
> Measurement was done during lights and co2 off.
> 
> Ph: 8
> ...


Looking great! Something is a little off with those numbers though if your KH is 2 DKH then your PH should sit around 7.3 and even lower if you are injecting Co2. Not sure which could be out but I would guess your PH.

Dan


----------



## cruiserian (May 29, 2017)

Dman911 said:


> Looking great! Something is a little off with those numbers though if your KH is 2 DKH then your PH should sit around 7.3 and even lower if you are injecting Co2. Not sure which could be out but I would guess your PH.
> 
> 
> 
> Dan




It's possible that my ph is out. I'm really having hard time identifying the color from the ph color chart [emoji1]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## cruiserian (May 29, 2017)

Here's the update. I felt that I had too many mixture of background plants. So I decided to re-scape the background to make it looks simpler. 




























A short feeding video:

https://youtu.be/ZQc2B850Pe4


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Dman911 (Nov 24, 2016)

cruiserian said:


> It's possible that my ph is out. I'm really having hard time identifying the color from the ph color chart [emoji1]
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


You can test your kit with your drop checker fluid. if it is 4 DKH fluid used for the drop checker then testing it should give you a reading 4dkh and a PH of about 7.6. This will help you reference the color in the future. Not necessary but handy. You can also make your own 4dkh fluid if you don't want to waste the stuff you bought and its extremely cheap to make a lifetime supply.

Dan


----------



## cruiserian (May 29, 2017)

paulbert said:


> What happened to the pennywort?




Ah so that plant is called pennywort! I find it too big in my tank, so I removed it. [emoji28]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## cruiserian (May 29, 2017)

Dman911 said:


> You can test your kit with your drop checker fluid. if it is 4 DKH fluid used for the drop checker then testing it should give you a reading 4dkh and a PH of about 7.6. This will help you reference the color in the future. Not necessary but handy. You can also make your own 4dkh fluid if you don't want to waste the stuff you bought and its extremely cheap to make a lifetime supply.
> 
> 
> 
> Dan




It sounds profound to me. [emoji32]
Is there anyway that I can research on the method that you mentioned above? A video or any website link? 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Dman911 (Nov 24, 2016)

cruiserian said:


> Here's the update. I felt that I had too many mixture of background plants. So I decided to re-scape the background to make it looks simpler.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Nice quality Vid. I love the royal rumbles over the food. Everything is in there is like mine mine mine! lol

Dan


----------



## cruiserian (May 29, 2017)

Dman911 said:


> Nice quality Vid. I love the royal rumbles over the food. Everything is in there is like mine mine mine! lol
> 
> 
> 
> Dan




Thanks mate. Yea the shrimps and fishes are always hungry. I fed them on alternate days. So as to keep them hungry and less water pollution. [emoji1]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Dman911 (Nov 24, 2016)

There are tons of links I just grabbed this one. I would recommend using your 4dkh as control and test your kit to verify that the test is accurate. So if you get 4DKH when testing 5 ml of your drop checker fluid you can assume that your test kit is accurate and use to test the solution you are making.

Here is one vid I just plucked off the net. Using a scale works best but if you don't have you can make it by measurement and tweak by adding more baking soda or distilled water to adjust and test with your kit since you will have verified its accuracy. What I did when doing this was double the amount tested to 10 ml and count each drop as .5 you can go as far as you want and do 20 ml and count each drop as 0.25. You will need distilled water not tap water.

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?...0D0BF448450AD7BF37F00D0BF448450AD&FORM=VRDGAR

Added: Figured I would add this too since it is relevant I actually use 3dkh fluid because I keep shrimp and find no real difference in plant growth for the types of plants I keep between 15ppm and 30ppm so I use approx. 22.5ppm at 3dkh. Also a good reference for color.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/9-equipment/1079857-co2-drop-checker.html

Dan


----------



## cruiserian (May 29, 2017)

Dman911 said:


> There are tons of links I just grabbed this one. I would recommend using your 4dkh as control and test your kit to verify that the test is accurate. So if you get 4DKH when testing 5 ml of your drop checker fluid you can assume that your test kit is accurate and use to test the solution you are making.
> 
> Here is one vid I just plucked off the net. Using a scale works best but if you don't have you can make it by measurement and tweak by adding more baking soda or distilled water to adjust and test with your kit since you will have verified its accuracy. What I did when doing this was double the amount tested to 10 ml and count each drop as .5 you can go as far as you want and do 20 ml and count each drop as 0.25. You will need distilled water not tap water.
> 
> ...




Thank you so much! This is so helpful!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## cruiserian (May 29, 2017)

Plants are doing well.
Great to see them pearling. 

https://youtu.be/8FI0FJlKyVo


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Sharper (Nov 1, 2009)

Very nice!!!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## cruiserian (May 29, 2017)

Sharper said:


> Very nice!!!
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk




Thank you! Waiting for the bg plants to grow taller. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## cruiserian (May 29, 2017)

If anyone ever wonder how do I cope with the crazy evaporation rate of my tiny 10 gallon tank with 2 fans on top, I had it covered with Tunze nano auto top off system. 

I placed the sensor in the internal sump tank, and a 10 liters water bucket in the cabinet under the tank. 
This 10 liters can last me for 2 full weeks. 
As I lived in Singapore, the average air temperature is around 32°c. With the fans, it helps me keep the water temperature below 29°c throughout the day. 






















Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Dman911 (Nov 24, 2016)

Looking good.

Dan


----------



## cruiserian (May 29, 2017)

Tank maintenance is now more organized. [emoji23]











Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## cruiserian (May 29, 2017)

After reducing my lighting duration from 10hrs to 6.5hrs, and reduce my dosing of nitrate and phosphate, my green spot algae issue had improved. It has been 1 week now, and plants are doing very well. 

Here are the latest FTS:



























Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## cruiserian (May 29, 2017)

Just done minor trimming of the Luwidgia red and 40% WC. 
Guess what? I found a baby CRS! [emoji1]
























































Time flies, 1.5 months already. 










Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## cruiserian (May 29, 2017)

I'm falling in love [emoji7] 











Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## cruiserian (May 29, 2017)

6th July 2017! The plants are growing wild!






































Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## cruiserian (May 29, 2017)

11th July 2017 Update:



















































Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## cruiserian (May 29, 2017)

21st July 2017. After some minor trimming. 





























Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## cruiserian (May 29, 2017)

New members on boards!
Freshwater pipefish and celestial pearl danio!











Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## kookaburrafish (Aug 15, 2017)

loving this tank, i am now totally sold on the cherry shrimp. for a newbie, is there a glossary of abbreviations, ie what is RCS? 



cruiserian said:


> Decided to reduce the lighting duration from 10hrs to 7hrs as the green spot algae keeps appearing on the tank glass.
> I have also reduced the dosing of nitrate and phosphate.
> 
> All plants are growing very well.
> ...


----------



## cruiserian (May 29, 2017)

kookaburrafish said:


> loving this tank, i am now totally sold on the cherry shrimp. for a newbie, is there a glossary of abbreviations, ie what is RCS?




Thanks bro!
Rcs = red cherry shrimp [emoji1]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## kookaburrafish (Aug 15, 2017)

doh! thanks! 



cruiserian said:


> Thanks bro!
> Rcs = red cherry shrimp [emoji1]
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## cruiserian (May 29, 2017)

My 2 pearl danios died! Unhealthy batch I guess! But pipefish is doing really well! I fed live Daphnia twice per week. The living stocks inside the tank enjoyed the buffet feast a lot! 

https://youtu.be/nIBZUTGxs08


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## cruiserian (May 29, 2017)

New member onboard! Meet Mr grumpy bumblebee fish!











Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## cruiserian (May 29, 2017)

Look at the evolution of this tank [emoji1]











Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Ollieb3 (Sep 9, 2017)

Great thread Cruiserian.
Funny as I plan to buy this same tank in a few weeks. Was also going to use a Kessil but the A80 Tuna Sun instead. I'll post pics once I get started. Hope it turns out as well as yours did. Keep up the good work!


----------

