# Andrew's 2nd tank - planted spec 2 tank - boraras maculatus & wild tigers arrived :D



## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

Hey all, soooo I got multiple tank syndrome bad... I have been playing with my spec V since early july and now have it basically where I want it (link in my signature) and I am feeling like I need another project, but don't want to commit the funds or energy into a huge project (not sure how long I'll be in this apartment, etc) so nano's make sense for me now. 

So last night I ordered up the oldish fluval spec (to be replaced by their spec 3 in their product line now). It is a well known 2 gallon nano tank. I plan to make it a heavily planted betta tank.

---Ordered list:

Spec 2 nano tank
Aqua Soil Amazonia
La Plata Sand
Congo Sand
Seiryu Stone
25w heater
CFL 13w clamping light
Ball valve for pump control (so I can get it real low for the betta)
Misc stuff like filter media & thermometer)

Right now I am at about $120 shipped for the project

---Need to buy list:

PLANTS!

1 male betta
dwarf shrimps?




My other tank is a gravel/rock type substrate, for this tank I definitely want to go with a white or tan sand on top of a chunky mulch like soil (like organic choice) with the top layer being not super uniform in sand, I like the dirty look.

The scape I have in mind might not use any driftwood or if so only one small piece, I want to go with a tier or two of rocks with substrate within the first tier if that makes sense...

As for plants I am not really sure yet what direction to go with, I won't be going with CO2 but my light should be able to support low to mid light requiring plants so I should have more options with plants than my stock led using spec v tank...



Thanks for reading :fish:


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## SpecGrrl (Jul 26, 2012)

Hopdiggity on Aquabid just got some great fish in!

I put filterfloss in the airline tubing and it's fine.


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

I decided to go for a ball valve because my shipping was free in the order already  

I can't wait to keep a betta but I don't know what type to get - I don't know much about these fish


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

couldn't help but order substrate stuff:

Aqua Soil - New Amazonia (3 liters) - Normal
La Plata Sand (2kg)
Sarawak Sand (2.6l)


now all I need it some stone... I want to go with ohko (dragon stone)

gotta figure out if I can find it locally or have to order it online...


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

andrewss said:


> I decided to go for a ball valve because my shipping was free in the order already
> 
> I can't wait to keep a betta but I don't know what type to get - I don't know much about these fish


they are very hardy and tolerant of mistakes.
the one thing to note is that you need a cover, as the like to jump every now and then. it really ruins your day to come home and see your fish dead of dehydration 6" away from the tank.
they will do well in most water, but prefer soft water; which is good since aquasoil makes your water soft.
they like warm water. 78F-82F. when/if sick, raise the temps to 82F-84F. they can survive below 75F, but really wont do well and will eventually start to waste away. definitely wont show their colors well.
they will eat anything meant for carnivores, but i strongly advise feeding him a quality diet, as nutrition is one of if not the most important factor to health. i feed my males atisons betta pro (a pelleted food), golden pearls (also pellets), frozen brine shrimp, frozen bloodworms (their favorite), and frozen mysis). i feed once daily and usually skip a day once a week (except when im conditioning for breeding, then ill feed more). stay away from flake food and freeze dried food with these guys. it can cause some pretty serious bloat depending on the individual.
you can show him a mirror every now and then to see him flare. thats when they look their best.
they are pretty intelligent for their size. they can learn to identify different people, and WILL beg for food once they know you are the one that gives it.


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

thanks for the information! 

I have some new life betta food in the mail and I have some blood worms and krill frozen in the freezer already - so I think that will do for a while... I look forward to keeping a betta, just gotta figure out what colors I want


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

I really cant decide on what rocks I want to scape with... 

I am leaning towards ohko (dragonstone) though, I think I might go to the LFS and see what they have on hand (definitely won't have ohko) but maybe I will find something good - plus I might try to get a thin piece of driftwood or two in the mix 

But I have decided where to put the tank in my room now, I will replace the cactus and lamp and painting on this end table thing in the corner of my main room


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

andrewss said:


> I can't wait to keep a betta but I don't know what type to get - I don't know much about these fish


Easiest fish to keep in a small tank. Just wouldn't put any other fish with it. They don't need filtration. 

Petsmart has a good selections. 

Also Nov 1 an aquarium association in Ohio is having an auction. It is at Tallmadge Community Center, 80 Community Drive, Tallmadge, Ohio

Here pictures of Bettas. Here is a Betta forum. There are many Betta forums. Just google for Betta forums.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

@[email protected] said:


> they will eat anything meant for carnivores,


I use to feed mine earthworms cut up.


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## theshadybird (Sep 25, 2012)

Hilde said:


> Easiest fish to keep in a small tank. Just wouldn't put any other fish with it. They don't need filtration.


This doesn't mean they don't have a bioload, and don't suffer from ammonia burn and toxic conditions the same way other fish do. 
Betta are really neat fish, sure, but they still deserve healthy living conditions, and will always do better in a filtered tank. It's more the aeration they can do with out, as they rely heavily on their Labyrinth organ. 

But possibly the point was that they do very well as solitary, focal point fish, and as a solitary fish in a well planted tank, their bioload is easily countered by the plants. I've seen some very lovely nano tanks with Betta as the star :]

[edit] And hey look, here's a fellow forum member with a lovely set of HMPK Betta for sale! 
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=194883


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

Hilde said:


> Easiest fish to keep in a small tank. Just wouldn't put any other fish with it. They don't need filtration.
> 
> Petsmart has a good selections.
> 
> ...


I might end up getting one online from aquabid or maybe aquarium adventure in columbus... I am not sure yet - probably won't drive up to akron for that event though it sounds interesting - thanks for the information!




theshadybird said:


> This doesn't mean they don't have a bioload, and don't suffer from ammonia burn and toxic conditions the same way other fish do.
> Betta are really neat fish, sure, but they still deserve healthy living conditions, and will always do better in a filtered tank. It's more the aeration they can do with out, as they rely heavily on their Labyrinth organ.
> 
> But possibly the point was that they do very well as solitary, focal point fish, and as a solitary fish in a well planted tank, their bioload is easily countered by the plants. I've seen some very lovely nano tanks with Betta as the star :]
> ...


I will be using the stock fluval spec filtration, but adding a ball valve so I can turn down the power of the pump down real low so the betta is happy.

Don't worry I have an api liquid test kit 

I will probably get the cycle going fast with water from my spec v and filter media - but will just run it fishless for sometime until it tests in a good range with just plants.

Thanks for all the information! I still have to decide what kind of betta I want... im thinking dark colors 




ohhhh and I got an email from ADA and the sand I had wanted was out of stock but no big deal - I will still have their white sand and now the congo sand over the aqua soil.

Plus I bought seiryu stones from a user here and also some plants from a user here - I will post pix and a shoutout to them when the goods arrive roud:


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## theshadybird (Sep 25, 2012)

heh, sorry, I keep betta, and though I'm trying to control my spiel instinct, I get a bit indignant rather easily. I trust you'll take very good care of your eventual betta :]


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## the_intricacy (Jul 30, 2012)

I'm guess you're an artist? It's pretty funny how your Pollack-esque paintings are dripping all over your walls and floors! 

I think most betta keepers will argue that while you CAN keep bettas in tiny tanks (1-2 gallon tank) it doesn't necessarily mean you should. From my personal experience, smaller tanks means more water changes to keep him (probably a him, right?) healthy, more difficulty keeping the water at a constant and warm temp, and generally more work and a short lifespan for your betta. The last betta I had was kept in a 6 gallon, filtered, with some pygmy cories and an endler or two, when I wasn't breeding them. He seemed pretty healthy (I gave him away after a year when we moved). Tetras and danios will nip his tail, fyi. Most bettas will attack shrimps smaller than a 1/4", and some will go for the larger ones, too.


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

I might just be haha, yeah I don't rent studio space so I have kinda "ruined" this places floors and walls  things got out of hand a while ago and I just don't take care for it anymore... but don't worry I always cover my aquarium with a thick towel when paint flies 

Yeah, I know what you mean on all that however I do not really want to put him in my endler tank with the shrimps and dwarf cray, so he gets the spec all to himself with perhaps a few snails... I do not mind frequent water changes, as I like the routine and giving fish quality water, I do 20% changes on my 5 gallon tank about once every 4 or 5 days so the spec 2 will get the same treatment.


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

doh! forgot to add this update:

got some packages in the mail today, here is the booty:



















so, the latter picture the upgraded 13watt CFL light from fluval was supposed to be ON but alas when switched on all it did was slightly flicker and make a little noise - I guess I got a bunk light... no biggie I will file a claim with amazon (prime!) tonight and I do not need the light until my other packages come in the mail by the end or start of next week, otherwise I would be bummed - but anyway I was happy to sort the filter out with a ball valve and actually managed to get the bulky valve in the filter well WITH a heater squeezed in as well


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

sooo I got the tank mostly setup today to check how my filter modifications worked out, the flow is pretty damn low with the ball valve set real tight - but I have never kept a betta so I do not really know what is ideal - though it is WAY less powerful than my spec v right now... 

I am letting it run hot in the mid 80's with grimy water change water from my spec v so it can build up some bacteria in the filter media while I wait for substrate, rocks, and plants to arrive... then I will siphon out the water and scape and plant it in a couple of weeks then continue cycling for some time until I get a betta










hmmmm I really need to get the pedestal it is on leveled out haha - oh and I am waiting on my replacement CFL light to come in from amazon


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

So this thing has been running for 4 days now with a little over a gallon of dirty substrate vacuumed water from my 5 gallon and some treated water... today I added some of the ceramic media from my 5 gallon into the existing bag of that stuff in the spec... so it is pretty seeded - I was surpised my levels were as high as they were in the nitrates especially:

Ammonia: 0.50ppm
Nitrite: 0.0ppm
Nitrate: 10ppm

Looking forward to getting some more goodies in the mail by wednesday or thursday - then it will get scaped and planted, then I'll let it cycle a bit longer for the betta but looks like I am on my way


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## RedseaReefer (Aug 21, 2012)

*nice*

this looks really promising iv always wanted to get one for shrimps!  what kind of betta are you getting? get a black a purple crowntail!


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

thanks man! yeah they would be perfect shrimp tanks but I already have a few in my other tank and I've been wanting a betta and I think this would be a pretty suitable for one of them...

I am still trying to decide what kind of betta to get it is hard to decide haha maybe when I get my scape setup I will figure it out...

so today I got some more packages in the mail... thanks to flowerfishes for the great selection of small seiryu stones & thanks to ryndisher for the nice portion of flame moss 

here are a couple pix, I have the flame moss in the tank now just hanging out assisting with the cycle (it will have to deal with the stock LED, I am saving the CFL for the final planting) and I put the rocks in a pot of boiling water that I let cool from boil for a couple minutes because I didn't want any explosions


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

soooooo... I "planted" the tank today (and installed the CFL light) after a visit to the LFS. I also got one nerite snail to hold down the fort until I get a betta.

Here is the list:

Crypt Parva
Crypt Spiralis
Dwarf Subulata
Pennywort
(the moss in the picture of flame moss I got from a member here)


Obviously the tank is FULL of plants (I plan to portion out what I need and add some of them to my other tank) - I am letting them hang out in the tank for today and will remove them and the water when I get the aquasoil and sand in the mail (should be tomorrow).

So hopefully tomorrow I will update with my first scape and I will go ahead and plant and flood tomorrow.


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

doh forgot to post the pix:


















that little nerite snail sure perked up when he sniffed out the lil piece of algae wafer I sunk in there for him 

also quick question, do you guys think the crypt parva will carpet out effectively?


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## PortalMasteryRy (Oct 16, 2012)

Awesome tank! I am trying to find an excuse to my wife to own one of these nano tanks. hehe

Also the Crypt Parva is a very slow growing plant. In high light it is prone to getting green spot algae.


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## smirkis (Oct 1, 2012)

nice work. and good move on the light upgrade. with the stock light those plants would melt within a month lol. if i keep failing with shrimp im gonna get a beta too, maybe a pair. can't wait to see your tank come together!


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

thanks for the comments guys!

sooooo scaping and planting this tank was kinda stressful due to its cramp size and my newbie status.

As it stands I am not happy with the background planting... overall the foreground and general scape is good minus some fine detail with the top layer of congo sand to be ironed out and some sloping adjustments.

I spent over an hour and a half messing with the plants in the back but ended up pulling all my pennywort and these ludwigia stems I got from a member here today (c campbell - thanks for the plants, the petite anubias is so cool). I needed to step away from the tank and ruined a couple stems of plants from letting them dry up while messing around with the tank.


Tomorrow I will decide to either leave it as is except adding some more flame moss in the background AND/OR replacing the crypt spiralis with my dwarf sub (which I am inclined to do, the crypt is just a bit too large for the setup I feel). 

Then I think I will cut up some sections of penny wort to float on the top because this will be a betta tank and they like overhead cover.

Finally if some of these ludwigia stems bounce back I might plant them in the background - tomorrow will tell.

Besides that... here are some pictures, you can see I plopped my bounty of spare plants in my other tank for the morning rematch 


Yeah, I will assume by tomorrow the filter will clear up most of the haziness in the tank... sorry for the quality of the pictures


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

haha yet another update, I was still awake messing around on the computer and etc and decided to snap a few pix of the tank - after I decided to redo the background plants (that big crypt had to go) but yeah, it is pretty cleared up now...

lemme know what you think of the arrangement as it is now after getting my OCD on this evening 





































soooo it is three stems of a ludwigia & dwarf sub in the background, crypt parva & anubias petite in the left foreground, then some dwarf hairgrass in the foreground - finally pennywort floating up top for the betta to be.


oh and is it true that aquasoil causes strong ammonia spikes? if so how long do you think I would be dealing with that? I guess the tank is close to cycled given my last couple tests but I don't want to put any fish in the tank soon if that aquasoil is gonna flare up ammonia (though it might be good for a lil while to feed the bacteria I guess).


but yeah, personally I like the scape - I guess it just needs some touch up with the sloping and the congo sand dispersed a bit better... and I'd have to say I feel like the tank needs some shrimp now that it is here and ready, haha - I might have to see if the betta I end up getting can tolerate a trio of harmless shrimps


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

finally cleared up real nice 

later I test it to see just how high my ammonia spiked from the aquasoil


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## Green_Flash (Apr 15, 2012)

This is looking great! what betta did you decide on? they are neat fish for sure, I am partial to crowntails. :smile:


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

probably a crowntail of some coloration, not sure yet - gonna have to let the tank stabilize for like 3 or 4 weeks so I have time to decide


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

so I am indecisive about stocking this tank...

I have been planning just one crowntail betta and nothing else, so that is my first option...

alternative would be:

a small group of chilli rasboras (3-5?)

or

a small group of celestial pearl danios (3-5?)

both of those options would include a small colony of shrimp (probably CRS)


what do you guys think?????


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## sayurasem (Jun 17, 2011)

That table need to be dedicated to the tank only haha. So much cleaner!


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

if you go with a betta, youll need a cover. they like to jump.


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

sayurasem said:


> That table need to be dedicated to the tank only haha. So much cleaner!


yes, you are right... I just was putting off clearing up my computer desk next to that for my lamp and stuff, but I did today and viola:


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

@[email protected] said:


> if you go with a betta, youll need a cover. they like to jump.


I have the stock spec cover just not on the tank... don't want to use it if I don't have to, I like the coverless look better


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## horsedude (Nov 10, 2012)

thats quite a diffrent way of decorationg your room but i like it!
more updates and keep up the good work.
one quick question how long does a dwarf hairgrass carpet take?


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

heh thanks 

I dunno, I am new to this hobby for one not to mention this is my first time growing it - I have heard it grows in the moderate range as far as carpeting out goes


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## LyzzaRyzz (Nov 6, 2012)

Great looking tank! 
I see you we're thinking about a darker betta, I have one, he's great, but I can't really see his face, and that bothers me! I'm not exactly sure why, but I live to see their faces....which ended up with me getting another betta!
Good luck with your tank and future betta!


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## horsedude (Nov 10, 2012)

Up date please im really enjoying this thread buts its only cus i like to look at pics of tanks XD


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

LyzzaRyzz said:


> Great looking tank!
> I see you we're thinking about a darker betta, I have one, he's great, but I can't really see his face, and that bothers me! I'm not exactly sure why, but I live to see their faces....which ended up with me getting another betta!
> Good luck with your tank and future betta!


thanks! yeah, I see what you mean there - however I have decided against a betta for this tank :confused1:




horsedude said:


> Up date please im really enjoying this thread buts its only cus i like to look at pics of tanks XD



thanks! I know what you mean


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

Soooo, I have had some algae issues with this tank - my pennywort was FULL of it, the leaves are still a bit messed from it, but today I took out all of it and rinsed it down and actually thined it out because that stuff really grew!

I also put in a part of a window insect screen over the bulb within the shroud of my light to cut down a bit on its power to help against the algae... also I am going to reduce my light on time per day - but I am hoping my dosing of flourish excel here in a few days when I get it in the mail helps as well.

But of course when I get it stocked I will be able to control it better - that said...

I am scratching the betta plan and going with a CRS colony. I would also like to get a 3-5 chilli rasboras. What do you guys think about that? Could I house some of those guys? I always do frequent water changes (well at least on my cycled 5 gallon tank, minimum of 2 a week usually lol).

Finaaaally, I have some manzanita driftwood coming and I plan to minorly adjust my scape and get a nice branch cluster of manzanita in the tank that I plan to attach my anubias petite to (as well as two more rhizomes coming in the mail as well as some fissidens) 

So yeah, I guess I can't stop tinkering. 

Pix:



















you can see the ludwigia basically needs a trim already!










I guess I'm not surprised that pond snails have hitchhiked into the tank but I am also surprised they have been surviving the water chemistry! However now the ammonia is actually almost 0ppm, nitrites 0ppm, and the nitrates are real high (so I guess the cycle is real on its way  )


thanks for readin


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## theshadybird (Sep 25, 2012)

Almost about to need a betta in there now!
I have 5 girls you could choose from, lol. And a friend who lives in Ohio!

[edit] If you were still wanting one, that is ^^


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## horsedude (Nov 10, 2012)

Hi thanks for the great pics and the tank is deffinitly coming along nicely,
my personal views on housing the chilli rasboras is a definet yes. i love rasboras, i have 9 in my 20 gallon and their breeding aswell so i think there graet little fish. i also love crs but i can get another tank as my parents wont allow me. i love the idea of having manzanita i there aswell and i like anubias also. 
keep up the great work and updates! (lol)


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

thanks for the comments guys!

the tank finally was testing good so I added what the tank really needs... algae prevention, two amanos will do the job well I think.

Well, my LFS actually had some DHG in today so I bought some and added a lil bit extra and a lil cardamine in the background and removed like 50% of the pennywort floating on top.

I am waiting for some fissidens and more anubias petite - I will be tying or gluing these to some manzanita that is also enroute, later this week I should have that.


Finally, the amanos... I feel pretty bad to say it but I got them in the tank and got on my computer for a second and cleaned up some of the mess from planting and when I looked in the tank next I only saw 1 of 2 amanos........ needless to say I hadn't put the cover on the tank yet! 

DOH, I looked around, all over, in the filter wells, etc... no where to be found.

I took the tank off the stand and then removed the stand and found him tucked between these pieces of cardboard I have under the stand trying to level it.

He was probably under there for 5-10 min or something!

I got him back in the tank and now like nearly an hour later he has some color back. Structurally and behaviorally one couldn't tell he spent that much time under the stand, main thing noticed was his carapace seemed darker than the other amano and he also lost a good bit of the slight brown/tan hues the other amano has.

I wonder if I will find him dead tomorrow though.

Here is a picture of the pair after the drama: (the Houdini amano is the one hanging out on the dwarf sub)


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

also, I am in the market to buy 4 or 5 chilli rasboras & 10 crs shrimps.

I am trying to figure out where is the best place to order them, someone that can ship me both in the same package. 

Any pointers? CRS are pretty easy to find but good looking chilli rasboras seem a bit harder, the ones at my LFS don't look very good - C.Campbell on here who is local said he thinks they arent really rasbora brigittae


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## loucas6290 (Apr 26, 2012)

http://msjinkzd.com  her chili rasboras are awesome quality, very colorful.


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

Ya I was thinking I should contact her about it.

Oh and I found the escapist amano shrimp alive and eating this morning, sooooo so far he seems ok - I am impressed he is surviving such stress still, hope he makes it. He is grazing some and appears to be ok but wow 5-10mins out of the tank under the stand is pretty impressive to survive at all from!


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## horsedude (Nov 10, 2012)

http://www.franksaquarium.com/nanofish.htm
hey I love your new shrimps and I love the story about houdini . I found this website grant sell chilli seaboard Sewell as shrimp and other cool stuff
have fun and keep us updated :-O ;-)


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

im gonna go with msjinkzd - she said she is getting some rasbora brigittae (chillis) in on monday so after a quarantine they can be sent to me along with 10 crs s grade


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## horsedude (Nov 10, 2012)

awsome good choice just make sure you dont get another houdini shrimp LOL 
but anyway good choice and keep them post's coming!


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

Soooooo... I finally made adjustments for this tank.

I added a couple pieces of manzanita wood. I attached some fissidens and anubias petite to the two pieces.

I plan to put in some chilli rasboras so I want to create enough cover in the tank for them to feel more comfortable. Though I am still thinking it might not be enough cover for them.... perhaps I will add some riccia to float on top.

Also I added an assassin snail from my 5 gallon tank to help control the snails that hitched on the plants, he has been doing his job so far pretty handily.

Pix:




























The tank also still has two amano shrimps in it to help control algae until I get a colony of CRS in there.

Oh and as far as stocking goes... I am having a real hard time finding any chilli rasboras available anywhere - nobody has them in stock!  and the ones at my LFS are probably not really rasbora brigittae from what I have seen.

Well hope you like the changes to the tank and the plans for the fauna


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## horsedude (Nov 10, 2012)

that is really cool and unluckly on the rasboras. i can see whhy u want them they are very cool little fellas and it would look really cool anyway i got some DHG and i was going to make a carpet with them But my hopolo catfish (sanchez) had other ideas and destroyed it and up rotted every 30 hand planted plant- it made me made but oh well.
keep up the good work and UPDATES!


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

thanks!


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## horsedude (Nov 10, 2012)

oh well keep trying to get them rasboras (NEVER GIVE IN!) im sure they will look amazing once you get them


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## AndyS (Dec 27, 2007)

andrewss said:


> Oh and I found the escapist amano shrimp alive and eating this morning, sooooo so far he seems ok - I am impressed he is surviving such stress still, hope he makes it. He is grazing some and appears to be ok but wow 5-10mins out of the tank under the stand is pretty impressive to survive at all from!


I had a cover on my Eheim Aquastyle 9, but I had one get out around the cover since the heater cord created a bit of a gap. It was found hours later about 12 foot away from the tank in the kitchen floor. It apparently crawled across 10 foot of carpet to make it there then a couple of feet into the kitchen. No idea how it did that. I know it lived for awhile, because it wasn't there all day then it was.

The others I had will sometimes get up on top of the filter completely out of the water looking to escape.

Glad yours made it.


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

wow your shrimp was quite the adventurer haha!

I guess mine just being out of the tank for about 10 minutes was fine, he is still ok and grazing today!



soooooooooooo finally Msjinkzd is probably getting in some rasbora brigittae in (chillirasbora) so I will order like 5 of those, I also paid her for 10 CRS to brighten up the bottom of the tank 

I am going to consider diffusing the light a bit more because the rasboras probably won't like the intensity - also I am going to get giant/greater duckweed for the surface so they feel like they have more cover.


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

sooo finally got some CRS in the tank (ordered 10 from Msjinkzd, still waiting on her to get chilli rasboras in) 

I am waiting on some giant duckweed to come in the mail from a user here, I plan to put a lot of cover for the lil rasboras that should be in the tank in a few weeks hopefully.

Besides this the tank is just going along  it has a bit of algae but whatever... I guess the two amanos have been slacking 

here are pix!
































































andrew


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## horsedude (Nov 10, 2012)

wow they look great. u finally got some
they look like they are healthy and the tank has some life in it now 
great work!!


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

thanks


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

soooooooooooooooo this tank is just too hot...

I know that CRS like the temps lower than what the tank is at...

I have my 25w heater turned ALL the way down but the tank stays at 77/78 .... I wish I could get it more like in the mid to low 70's - I have heard about CRS dying off when the temps are high and they really need 70-74 to be healthy and I am sure most all of you will agree with that.

I don't know what to do because all small heaters under 25w dont adjust and just automatically go to 78 degrees, and my 25w is too powerful even at its lowest setting that says it is set to 72 but wont drop under 77/78!!!

Maybe its just my 25w is low quality?

I dunno!

If anyone has any ideas about a heater that actually maintains low 70's and could work with my 2g tank I am all ears!

andrew


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## Kinection (Dec 1, 2012)

Nice color on the shrimp! I like the scape.


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

thanks man 

I swapped heaters with my 5gallon tank and it appears this heater is a bit easier to run cooler (it doesnt seem to want to cycle on as easy as the other on low setting) and the temps have been running around 75 and I dunno I think the shrimps seem a bit more animated now but maybe that is just in my head lol

I might get a REAL low wattage heater made for a betta bowl or something that is preset and see how it works with the setup...


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## horsedude (Nov 10, 2012)

cool nice to hear your shrimp are kinda ok, thanks to this tank journal i have begged my parents to let me get a shrimp tank and they let me , i got it today. its only a 3 gallon but i will be fine for a few cherry shrimp for now
good luck


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## TheRiverRat (Feb 13, 2013)

Sweet set-up. Looking to do something similar, just got a 3 gallon pico going to be my first small tank. Quick ? Where do you get your manzanita branches?


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## horsedude (Nov 10, 2012)

Any updates?


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

welp, the CRS's have been declining... im at 4 now... and the copepods are quite apparent in the tank now... the fish coming will probably affect their numbers lol. I need to keep it cleaner or something. The amanos are heathy and active, the remaining crs seem like the robust so that is good.

I think I am stabilizing the tank more and more but I worry when the warm weather hits it might have issues there.

That said I have 5 boraras maculatus coming on wednesday for the tank (which I think is a bit small but has a ton of coverage on the surface with the greater duckweed and whatnot so they should feel pretty safe.

Oh and 5 wild tigers... maybe they will be more robust?


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

Hey guys, got the new guys in the tank about a week ago... everyone seems to be doing fine. I got 7 dwarf spotted rasboras (boraras maculatus) - thanks to msjinkzd for that! And I also got like 3 adult wild tiger shrimps and about 3 juvenile ones. Everyone looks great and after a week of being in the tank they all seem comfortable.

The one problem is I don't want die off to happen with either of these cool fish/shrimp. I think an obvious problem right now is PH - my PH is blue (7.6) out of the tap and I even did high range PH test and it came out orange (7.8) - and out of this tank it is basically the same... clearly blue without and green. I know these little rasboras like way low PH. I am shooting for 6.6 or so in PH.

I have put adler cones in every day or so now for a few days - the tank now has 4 cones in it. I test then add one then test again and so forth. I don't want anything to change too fast of course. What do you guys think about adler cones for PH? So far my addition of 4 cones has seemingly changed nothing. They have long sunk to the bottom - do they take a long time to actually affect water parameters? Well I have these cones on hand so I have been going this route... I dont want to over do it but maybe you can share some thoughts on this? Maybe about quantity or what not.

What other ways would you recommend lowering PH???

Well, here are some photos


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

so I am leaning towards ordering some indian almond leaf... what do you guys think?


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## blink (Feb 22, 2012)

Peat would probably work better than indian almond, but you'd have to tear up the tank to put it down under the substrate.

I always try to get inhabitants that suit my water, rather than making my water suit the inhabitants, it's MUCH easier.

If you are bound and determined to play with PH I'd look at using reverse osmosis water. The PH should be around 7.0, and if you do feel the need to buffer the water will change PH much more readily because it's not full of ions and minerals.


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

Yeah, seems like you are correct but I guess it seems like captive bred fishes are said to be tolerant of PH changes... I probably need to also look at my KH/GH again... anyway I will add some leaves with the hope those whimsical "healing" claims are correct - but the tannins will suit me - I like the idea of leaf litter and a more biotype kind of look for this tank and the fishes - blackwater is a cool look imo. RO water is a great idea for "tuning" its parameters but I am not going to go that way lol =\

But yeah... we'll see what happens I guess 

Thanks for the reply and input


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## horsedude (Nov 10, 2012)

awesome your tank is looking great at the moment, I like the idea about the black water tank and I do also like bio type tanks more than the refined perfect ionised tanks, how do you clean your leaves to make them safe??
good luck and keeping the updates coming


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