# 3rd Attempt With 5 Gallon Hex



## nate_mcnasty (Mar 11, 2008)

good to see someone thats not a quitter and a learner


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## NeonShrimp (Mar 9, 2006)

Great attitude, that will get you far in just about anything. I like the look of your tank, I have a nano hex myself and I use it to just as a plant tank.


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## Homer_Simpson (May 10, 2007)

nate_mcnasty said:


> good to see someone thats not a quitter and a learner





NeonShrimp said:


> Great attitude, that will get you far in just about anything. I like the look of your tank, I have a nano hex myself and I use it to just as a plant tank.


Thanks, I appreciate those kind words. I find that there is sometimes a lot of contradictory information on this and other forums posted by members. It seems that different strokes work for different folks. I figure the best way to find out what works best for me is to buckle down, get my feet wet, be prepared to take any risks and accept the consequences good or bad. Perhaps if I share my failures and successes with others, they may benefit from my experience(s). At the very least, as I gain experience about what setups(plants,fish, substrates, fert dosing) work best for me I can put that integrated knowledge to use to setup a tank that I know will do well.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

That's looking really nice, Homer! Glad you found something that seems to be working for you at least ATM


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## Homer_Simpson (May 10, 2007)

lauraleellbp said:


> That's looking really nice, Homer! Glad you found something that seems to be working for you at least ATM


Thanks lauraleellbp  Don't know how well this works, but hopefully it will work as it is modelled(albeit a few differences) after a 5 gallon rectangular tank where the same approach was used and that tank has held up pretty well. 

My main concern is setting up a planted tank where the fish/shrimp remain healthy and prosper over the long run. Plant growth is also important but I am more concerned about having healthy inhabitants as the main reason for doing this is to really give the fish/shrimp a better home and not a death bed.
I don't mind removing/trimming dead plants and that is to be expected as part of routine maintenance just as it would be expected in a normal garden. However, it really pains me when I lose fish, especially where I cannot pinpoint the cause of their deaths and the deaths sometimes defy all logic and reasoning.


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## Homer_Simpson (May 10, 2007)

*Just a little update. The tank 2 months(May 4 2008) after it was setup. Yeah, I know it needs a trim, but I purposely left it untirmmed to show the true level of plant growth. Also I am far more concerned about healthy plant growth and health of inhabitants than aquascaping.*










Ambulia is really tanken off, the rest of the plants appear to be doing well, dwarf sag and cardamine lyrata have all but melted, the two amano shrimp and two cherry shrimp are alive and kicking, the otocat has grown lethargic and I suspect that he is not handling the 30 + degree celcius temperature well. I thing that if there is a 4th attempt with this tank, I am really going to have to consider going topless to keep the tank from running too hot.


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## BiscuitSlayer (Apr 1, 2005)

Homer -

Looks like you have something working there .

Two questions for you:

1. What are you doing for a filter?
2. Why is the tank running so warm? Lighting?


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## Homer_Simpson (May 10, 2007)

BiscuitSlayer said:


> Homer -
> 
> Looks like you have something working there .
> 
> ...


Thanks BiscuitSlayer

(1) I left the biowheel intact. I know some suggest removing it off as it is implicated in removing whatever c02 is left. I spoke to a few members who have had success with this type of tank and they both told me that they saw no adverse effects leaving the biowheel alone. Instead of using the filter catridges made for the tank, I lined the filter tray with pantyhose containing one Tablespoon Seachem Purigen and overlaid that with Polyfloss, split two ways. The polyfloss only gets rinsed once a month and only part of the polyfloss is replaced. The seachem purigen in the pantyhose gets replaced with new granules once a month. Otherwise, 30-50% water changes weekly, only because I have shrimp in there and dose the tank with a pinch of phosphates, nitrates, potassium, and seachem equilibrium plus 1/2 tsp yamato green.

(2) You hit the nail on the head. The tank is running hot because of the lighting combined with a tight fitting canopy that leaves little room for air circulation. The weather where I am is pretty weird right now, super hot days one week and snow today, so I don't want to mess with the room temperature too much as I fear that if the aquariums experience temperature swings that may be even worse for the fish. Leaving the feed flap open does not seem enough to cool the tank. I have a couple of options. Rig a fan in the canopy to provide cooling. I am not much of DIY type of guy and I don't know if having a fan so close to water(given possiblity that it could become subject to water splashes and condensation) is such a good idea. I could reduce lighting, but am not sure how well the plants will grow. I tried a 10 watt coralife colarmax when I had this tank set up as a natural planted tank and even with indirect sunlight hitting the tank, there appeared to be insufficient light to spur any growth. Since the lighting is off at night, I am going to leave the canopy off to cool the tank. If there is a 4th attempt, I am going to go topless, remove the stock filter and use a Aquaclear 20 or Mini HOB, canister(zoomed 501 or Tom Rapids) and shine an adjustable desk lamp with 15 watts over the tank.


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## BiscuitSlayer (Apr 1, 2005)

Homer -

Is the canopy open on top at all? It might be advantageous to have a small opening so that rising heat can escape. Maybe even a small DC fan pointed out to suck the heat away from the canopy. Having a way for the heat to escape can make a HUGE difference alone though with regards to heat buildup.

I have a coralife fixture in my 29 gallon open back canopy and the fixture gets HOT. Because of having the open back on the canopy though the heat is able to escape and have very little (if any) affect on the water temperature of my tank.


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## Homer_Simpson (May 10, 2007)

BiscuitSlayer said:


> Homer -
> 
> Is the canopy open on top at all? It might be advantageous to have a small opening so that rising heat can escape. Maybe even a small DC fan pointed out to suck the heat away from the canopy. Having a way for the heat to escape can make a HUGE difference alone though with regards to heat buildup.
> 
> I have a coralife fixture in my 29 gallon open back canopy and the fixture gets HOT. Because of having the open back on the canopy though the heat is able to escape and have very little (if any) affect on the water temperature of my tank.


Thanks for those great suggestions BiscuitSlayer. There are only two very small holes in the plastic behind the filter, otherwise the canopy is pretty tight fitting, with the only way to increase additional circulation is to leave the feed flap open. I tried this but to no avail. I did leave the light canopy uncovered at night and did adjust room temperature down, and the temperature took a wild swing from 30 degrees celcius to 26 degrees celcius. I suspect when the canopy is replaced and the lights come back on, the temperature will again swing back up to 30 degress celcius. At least, now I will not have cooked otocat and shrimp, but fear that too many of these temperature swings, unless I figure out how to keep the temperature constant may well do the otocat and shrimp in.


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## BiscuitSlayer (Apr 1, 2005)

Homer -

Can you take the canopy off and take pictures of it and the tank.

Man, if we lived a little closer (like in the same country) I'd build you one and ship it to you. I guess I still could. Just not sure about customs, etc.

Another member, customdrumfinishes, just finished a small stand and custom canopy for a small hex aquarium. He has some great pictures of it here:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/diy/63526-started-my-9g-hex-stand-hood.html

If built correctly, I think that heat buildup from a canopy wouldn't be an issue for you and you might even have to add a heater to keep the temp consistant.


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## Vonzorfox (Nov 22, 2007)

Excellent post Homer. This gives me hope for my 55 I just went low tech with. After reading Tom Barr's post I see I need to increase my plant mass asap. It's definitely working for your tank, it looks like it's doing great.


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## Homer_Simpson (May 10, 2007)

Vonzorfox said:


> Excellent post Homer. This gives me hope for my 55 I just went low tech with. After reading Tom Barr's post I see I need to increase my plant mass asap. It's definitely working for your tank, it looks like it's doing great.


Thanks for those kind words. Despite the heating issue, I can honestly tell you that I am quite surprised by the level of plant growth, considering there is only 14 watts 6400 K dalylight cfl,no c02 injection into the tank, although I am dosing Excel daily and using ferts once a week including Yamato green at 1/2 teaspoon. The other interesting thing is the way some of the plants are rooting and forming thick roots deep into the substrate, something that I never saw when I had this tank set up as a Natural Planted Tank with Top Soil and pea sized gravel cap. I also never saw this level of root formation and dispersion where I set up another tank with fluorite only, DIY c02 injection,EI dosing, and 30 watts cfl. The Seachem Onyx Sand is pretty dark so it is hard to get a good picture to show the deep root dispersion. I have a theory about all this stuff but not the Science to validate it. It is said that Leonardite unlocks nutrients in the substrate and makes those nutrients more bioavailable and accessible to the roots and this may explain the deep thick root formation and dispersion. I think that if there is some truth to this, everyone may benefit from a dusting of leonardite under fluorite, whether high tech, low tech, or something in between. And perhaps I am just dreaming when I say this, but using a leonardite underlay under a substrate like fluorite may infuse the fluorite with Aquasoil type qualities by unlocking and making the nutrients in the fluorite more accessible to roots.


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## Homer_Simpson (May 10, 2007)

BiscuitSlayer said:


> Homer -
> 
> Can you take the canopy off and take pictures of it and the tank.
> 
> ...


Thanks for that really gracious offer BiscuitSlayer. I think what I will do is leave the canopy off at night and put it back on in the daytime and see how things go. If that does not pan out and I have to redo the tank again, I will leave it topless, see how the temperature is(if too low, I will add a low watt heater), and just add a good filter. At least this is teaching me what I need to do(fert, substrate, and excel wise) to get good healthy plant growth and that is half the battle.


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## John7429 (Jan 11, 2008)

Homer_Simpson said:


> Thanks for that really gracious offer BiscuitSlayer. I think what I will do is leave the canopy off at night and put it back on in the daytime and see how things go. If that does not pan out and I have to redo the tank again, I will leave it topless, see how the temperature is(if too low, I will add a low watt heater), and just add a good filter. At least this is teaching me what I need to do(fert, substrate, and excel wise) to get good healthy plant growth and that is half the battle.


Continuous on/off of the top will get ANNOYING

I leave the top cover/light sitting ON the filter tray on my 12g Eclipse. I'll take a pic and post it when I get home...


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## BiscuitSlayer (Apr 1, 2005)

Homer -

I think it is about time for an update on this tank, don't you think?


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## Aqua_Horn (Mar 26, 2006)

Hey Homer,

Do you still have the tank going? I tore down a 45g a couple of years ago, but as I couldn't kick the hobby I just turned my daughter's 5g hex beta tank into a small low tech tank. Anyway, I was just curious if you had any new advice since I'm running the same tank with a 14W CFL bulb. I'm not looking for crazy growth, just something nice with minimal maintenance (EI method was too much for me  ). I have yet to buy Excel but already have macros and micros from the last tank.


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## Homer_Simpson (May 10, 2007)

Aqua_Horn said:


> Hey Homer,
> 
> Do you still have the tank going? I tore down a 45g a couple of years ago, but as I couldn't kick the hobby I just turned my daughter's 5g hex beta tank into a small low tech tank. Anyway, I was just curious if you had any new advice since I'm running the same tank with a 14W CFL bulb. I'm not looking for crazy growth, just something nice with minimal maintenance (EI method was too much for me  ). I have yet to buy Excel but already have macros and micros from the last tank.



My apologies to all. I have not had much of a chance to log on or post as I was in the midst of a reflooring job in my condo and am still recovering from the major fall out. It is funny how you don't really realize how much junk you have collected until you have to clear space/declutter. I am in the process of decluttering my whole home as it is pretty cluttered right now. It has been a real challenge leaving little time for much else. 

Anyway, back to your question Aqua_Horn, the tank was still up and running with the sole otocat and 2 amano shrimp doing well. The tiger lotus, java fern, java moss and anubias seemed to fare the best with a 10 watt 6500 K daylight fluorescent bulb in the canopy on for 12 hours. No c02 but daily dosing of excel, 50 % weekly water changes, followed by dosing of a pinch of potassium, calcium sulphate, and epsom salts. The next day .5 ml of iron and trace element liquid mixture was added. When I had to rip out my carpet, it was one of the tanks that I had to get rid of as there was no space where I could move it with all the other tanks that I had to move, so I ended up giving it to my sister who wanted it for her Betta at work. I took out the 2 amano shrimp and otocat and placed them in a 10 gallon planted. I left the plants in the tank. This was about 2 months ago. My sister told me that the plants have really grown out of control and the plants need a serious trim. She is not dosing the tank with ferts or excel, so it will be interesting to see how long this goes on. She did indicate a serious green dust algae outbreak though.


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## jart (Jan 17, 2003)

Thanks for the update Homer. This is a great thread. Please try to keep us updated with pics as time permits. I'm thinking of trying this sort of thing myself.


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