# stinxo's 5g Nano Journal (new pics 8/19)



## chizamp (Apr 12, 2008)

Looks nice! Look forward to following the progress of the tank. Keep us updated!


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## John7429 (Jan 11, 2008)

Excellent.

Welcome to the forum


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## jimsuy (Jan 25, 2008)

nice nano tank... keep us update...


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## stinxo (Apr 9, 2008)

*planted..*

So I am having quite the backache planting dwarf hairgrass and hc. I would like to give big props to anyone would planted them in their big tanks. Just this tiny tank and I was having my patience really tested! 

On a side note, this Eco-Complete stuff is really inconsistent. I literally had these huge pebbles in the mixed. It wasn't very easy getting hc to stay down in these larger sized substrate on the top layer. Something like Flourite Black Sand would probably be best for these tiny plants, but I wasn't able to find any at the LFS's.

Had quite a lot of plants with me so I didn't break up and spread out the portions as much I should. Hopefully it will be sufficient and grow fine.


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## EdTheEdge (Jan 25, 2007)

Simple and beautiful! Thanks for sharing!!!


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## stinxo (Apr 9, 2008)

Here are a couple more pictures with all the equipment set up.










My tank is set on my wine fridge.










Currently my lighting is only at 18W. The CF bulb does seem really bright though, but I am not sure if it'll be enough to support a healthy hc and hairgrass carpet. Can anyone chime in with their experiences on these planted nano tanks and their lighting? I guess I'll see how it goes and maybe look around to see if I can find some stronger lights. Haven't had luck with hairgrass in my previous experiences.


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## Fishy_Fun (Feb 9, 2008)

i would just wait and see how things go.Looks great by the way


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## diablostr (Sep 26, 2007)

I like it but why did u cut the grass?


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## htn86 (Sep 30, 2007)

That tank has a lot of potential, but for some reason the design doesn't look nature to me. You might want you lay the big rock down on it's flatter bigger side. Also, the landscape might be a bit too flat so try to uneven it out a bit more. I'm assuming you're trying to go for an iwagumi so look up some pictures of it to see what other people do. My personal favorite for this style is rocks sitting on top of a hill with hair grass around it and HC covering the empty area. That's just my .02


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

cool, i just bought my first real plant substrate today, eco comp. anyway, i set up a 10 gall tank like this a few weeks ago using hairgrass and hc and i reallly shoulda put some kinda divider in so that my hairgrass wouldnt invade my hc, but it is still lookin nice, i just used river sand and its been working out great, good luck, oh, and maybe he cut the hairgrass so that it would spread faster?


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## groyed69 (Apr 18, 2008)

Stinxo: nice tank equally nice iwagumi styled setup. A suggestion: turn the tank around, meaning the side with big rock sitting next to the wall. Why? because once everything starts to sprout nicely, the big rock's gonna be a great backdrop rather than it sitting on the front now. The idea is to make the tank look bigger than its size. With the big rock in front, everyone and anyone looking at your tank will focus on the big rock instead of what's around it.
diablostr: Hairgrass is usually trimmed back to about 2 inches prior to planting to encourage growth. Its also good practice to plant in small clumps of 2-3 sprigs (not sure what you call it), my reasoning behind that is to ensure the plantlets do not 'fight' over the nutrients within the substrate.

Irregardless of the type of substrate I use (of course I've never had the $$ or budget to try ADA), I always add a tablet or 2 of root enhancers namely Ferrite Tablets; this is to encourage rooting growth.


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## stinxo (Apr 9, 2008)

Here are some long overdue updated pics of my nano. The plants have been growing steadily under my relatively low 18w of lights. Battled some planaria/nematode infestations during cycle, but they subsided pretty quickly once the tank matured. Hairgrass is starting to invade into the HC and all i can do is just yank the runners out one by one.

Still don't like my rocks and the layout too much, but haven't found the effort to seach for nicer rocks and rescape it yet.


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## CobraGuppy (Sep 23, 2007)

Its beautiful! Everything has spread nicely.

You should find an aquarium safe leprechaun to put in the hairgrass 

Is the dimensions of the tank 16lx8wx11h inch?


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## ktsgolfer (Jul 1, 2008)

nice growth!!!


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## OverStocked (May 26, 2007)

CobraGuppy said:


> Its beautiful! Everything has spread nicely.
> 
> You should find an aquarium safe leprechaun to put in the hairgrass
> 
> Is the dimensions of the tank 16lx8wx11h inch?


Lol... I've always wanted a garden gnome.... Maybe we should start putting them in our tanks!


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## c_sking (Aug 4, 2008)

Dang Gnome is EVERYWHERE !


I really like this angle of the rock, makes it blend more. Tank has filled in great.


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## EdTheEdge (Jan 25, 2007)

Great progress on this! I'm jealous! Thanks for sharing.


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

that tank looks amazing. keep up the good work and the updates.

lol love the gnome. you should find a mini gnome to put in the HG


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## acesDSX (Aug 20, 2008)

stinxo u rock !!!

that would b a killer tank if u just put a little more effort into it!
Keep up the good job!!!

muahh!


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## aquaphish (Dec 20, 2002)

Looks really nice. If your intention is not to grow algae on the large rock you can get some Excell and dose the rock with it. This will kill off the algae. Also since you do mention that you are really not satified with the scape but could not look for rocks. Consider taking a good hammer to the large rock and break it into smaller chunks.


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## crudnugget (Feb 5, 2008)

The rocks looked kinda crappy at first, no offense. But now that the plants have grown in around them, I think they look really great! Looks like you could add an otocinclus into the tank


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