# MY FIRST POST - VINTAGE 2.5 Gal. NANO



## leemacnyc (Dec 28, 2005)

We need a pic!


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## Amazonfish (Oct 20, 2009)

exactly what I was thinking


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## TeaQue (Jan 26, 2010)

Pics!


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## stanny03 (Nov 5, 2009)

Welcome! I'm also back from a hiatus.. a bit shorter than yours 

The reason people inject CO2 is because the balancing is hard. More fish = more CO2, but on the other hand, the ammonia they produce may not be metabolized by the plants/bacteria quickly enough. 

That said, no CO2 is fine. Your best bet is the Walstad/El Natural method in which the fauna is in balance with the flora. Upside is low maintenance/upkeep. Downside is limited plant choice. 

Ya got some research ahead of ya haha



davrx said:


> I plan on using a TOM micro filter and no CO2 system. CO2 seems like an expense and hassle that I think I can do without. High CO2 levels don't occur in these plant's habitats and I believe it just makes plants, and algae, grow faster. If you have the correct balance of animals and plants then the animals should provide enough of the CO2 and fertilizer for the plants. I also plan on using eco-complete as the gravel and a piece of petrified wood.


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## londonloco (Aug 25, 2005)

Pic Pic Pic I love vintage tanks!


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## ldk59 (Jan 30, 2009)

Welcome to the planted tank & welcome back to the hobby!

I'll just post a few random thoughts relating to your post here...

This might be a better choice of heater for your application:

http://www.catalinaaquarium.com/product_info.php?cPath=42_43&products_id=975

Substrate heaters have never been shown to be of any benefit to plants.

You didn't state what type/wattage of lighting you plan to use so I'll reserve comment on your C02 related assertions. The light/C02/Nutrient balance is
harder to achieve & maintain in smaller tanks.

"in my opinion" 2.3 gallons is far too small to house even the smallest of fish...but a great size for inverts such as shrimp.

My first aquariums were Metaframe (back in the 60s) and I still love the way they look... Please post some pictures of yours when you get a chance!

Larry


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## ES4 (Jun 9, 2009)

pic?


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## The Gipper (Sep 9, 2003)

Metaframe!!!

That brings back memories from childhood!

Can't wait to see that


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## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

*Heater Suggestion*

Larry, thanks for the link. I looked online for a small heater but they all seemed too long. I found a Hydor Theo 25W at the local pet store and have been using it but I'm going to try to return it after I receive the one in the link you sent me. The Theo seems to have an unreliable thermostat. This morning when I got up it was 82 degrees when I had set it and checked it at 78 the day before. 
I was using the Tom Dive Clean Micro filter but it didn't do a good job so I got a Duetto 50 and am going to try it. The Tom was what I really wanted because it's so tiny but I think the Duetto will do a better job. 
My light is a 250W compact fluorescent hanging above a neat Victorian marble top table. The light is in a big deep bowl industrial type fixture hanging from a vintage iron/wood pulley. I had been using this light and table exclusively for a Victorian walnut terrarium that I have carnivorous plants in and an antique apothecary jar with some moss in it. I thought the art deco meets victoriana looked neat. 
Anyway I will get photos posted soon. 
I checked with one of the foremost breeders of Endler's and he stated that I could keep 10 in the tank with no problem. I currently have a combination of 7 males and females. Beautiful little fish. I also have 20 Cherry Red Shrimp. I have an ammonia monitor hanging in the tank in case things go wrong as I have never had a tank less than 10 gal. before.


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## peter_l (Aug 3, 2008)

Nice!

I have a 10 gal. metaframe. I managed to score two matching hoods last year for $20! They work great with spiral fluorescent bulbs.


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## aquaphish (Dec 20, 2002)

pic please


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## ldk59 (Jan 30, 2009)

Your welcome! I've had good luck with the Catalina products, always willing
to refer others to quality stuff.

I hope you meant to type 25 watts! Even at that wattage you'll want to keep the bulb a good distance from the water surface... having that much light over 2.3 gallons of water without injecting C02 is going to be a delicate balancing act.

*** WARNING, PERSONAL OPINION FOLLOWS, READ AT YOUR OWN RISK***

I never said that you "can't" keep Endlers in your tank, I said that in my opinion 2.3 gallons is far too small to house even the smallest of fish... how you maintain your tank & inhabitants is for you to decide. 

HTH

Larry


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## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

Larry, no you read correctly, 250W which is equivalent to 750W incandescent. I think I may try a DIY CO2 using some chemistry equipment. 
I wasn't offended by your comments about not keeping fish in such a small tank. This is an experiment on my part to see if it's possible. I know the smaller the tank the more difficult it is to keep a viable environment. What I'd really like to do is get a larger 1920's Jewel tank or even a Victorian one in the 5-10 gal. range. I've bid on a couple on e-bay but have been unsuccessful so far. I feel fortunate that I snagged a circa 1870 terrarium from e-bay. Only one I've ever seen come up for auction that was that old. I will be loading photos shortly.


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## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

*Photos (finally)*

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=18647&stc=1&d=1267323494


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## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

*More Photos (didn't know there was a maximum of 5!)*

Sorry for the blurry photo but the little bastards won't stay still for their photo!

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=18651&stc=1&d=1267323737


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## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

*Last of the photo set*

One of the females had 4 babies last night. Here's a photo of one of them.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=18656&stc=1&d=1267323955


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## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

*Second Tank*

The modern 2.5 gal. tank I made up for my son to take back to college. It was my wife's idea since I had extra plants and fish. I ordered the plants and fish off e-bay and was pleasantly surprised at the price and quality of what I received. Only problem was the plants were larger portions than I expected and the deal on the Endler's was a dozen (actually received 14). So I couldn't fit all that into one tank and expect them to all survive. Oh, I also bought 25 Cherry Red Shrimp (CRS right?) from Aquabid. I also split them between the two tanks. After this week my son's tank will be headed back to school with him. I still have an order coming from Aquabotanic for 5 Blueberry shrimp (BS?) and three snails as well a petite Anubias nana and some Fissidens fontanus which I plan on attaching to the petrified wood.


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## problemman (Aug 19, 2005)

thats a lot of light!!!! wow adn actually its RCS for red cherry shrimp.

CRS stands for crystal red shrimp


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## Fat Guy (Nov 19, 2003)

looks very cool. I like how you have the light hanging with the pulley system. Ever think about moving that wood in the middle so that it's a little off center, and maybe angling it a little. just a thought. I like what you got cookin though. nice work.


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## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

*Heater Suggestion*

Larry, got the heater today and it's the nicest, tiniest heater I've seen. I like the fact that the temperature control is on the plug, I just wish the cord was longer. The thermostat appears to be very accurate as well, it's kept my temperature within a 0.5 degree range all day unlike the Hydor which varied by as much as 5 degrees, even with my constant fiddling with the control knob. Appreciate your help, I would have never found it without your link. :thumbsup:


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## AlexXx (Dec 1, 2009)

WOW i love the far right tank, and the rock/wood??? in it. Very nice


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## mgdmirage (Mar 30, 2009)

Wow very nice, i love metaframes  Nice fish pics too!


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## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

*Enless Livebearers*

Well, one of my female Endlers had babies last night. I've only had these fish a little over a week and I already have about 8 babies. They should call them "Endless" Livebearers. 
Oh, I also realized that I don't have a Metaframe aquarium as the name is not stamped anywhere on the stainless steel frame (which I was told is on every Metaframe) and the frames on mine don't taper. I don't know if that means this is a rare tank or not. I now believe it is a 2 1/4 gal. tank rather than a 2 1/2 gal. like I originally thought. The 2 1/2 gal. next to it is enough longer that it would be 1/4 gal. more than my vintage one. 
I've got some blueberry shrimp, petite Anubias nana, Fissidens fontanus, a zebra Nerite snail, and a couple different colored rabbit snails coming tomorrow. I'll split the animals between the two tanks and maybe a portion of the Fissidens depending on how much I receive. 
I need to make a deal with my lfs to see if I can trade Endlers for supplies.


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## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

*Reply to AlexXx*

Thanks, that's a petrified limb from out west that has crystals filling in the cracks in the wood. Got it off e-bay last week.
The modern tank is going back to college with my son at the end of this week. His name is Alex too.


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## ldk59 (Jan 30, 2009)

davrx said:


> Larry, got the heater today and it's the nicest, tiniest heater I've seen. I like the fact that the temperature control is on the plug, I just wish the cord was longer. The thermostat appears to be very accurate as well, it's kept my temperature within a 0.5 degree range all day unlike the Hydor which varied by as much as 5 degrees, even with my constant fiddling with the control knob. Appreciate your help, I would have never found it without your link. :thumbsup:


Your most welcome... glad I could help roud:

Even though that's not a "Metaframe" tank, it's still a very nice looking little piece! I believe all of the stainless framed tanks are rare these days.

Regards

Larry


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## ThatPlantedAquariumGuy (Mar 2, 2010)

Lovin' those endlers livebearers - they're just gorgeous fish. Your tanks are awesome too!


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## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

*RCS Problems*

I've found 4 dead RCS over the last few days but not a single Endlers has perished and I have a dozen babies now! Any idea what I'm doing wrong?


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## A Hill (Jul 25, 2005)

The tank looks nice, but you need to slow way down. Those Rabbit snails get large so do the nerites, you have a dozen RCS and a half dozen endlers in a 2.25g tank which is probably less than 2 gallons of actual water. Remember this is also just your initial stocking. The two main species of fauna (RCS, Endlers) are highly prolific species and will soon overflow your tank. You really should have less in there or only males or only females depending on which species so there isn't any breeding. (females RCS, Males Endlers).

RCS may have died due to stress or something they ate or maybe the crazy Temp fluxes you've talked about even if thats a few days ago.

I've got the same tank sitting in my basement, I accidentally stepped through one of the panes of glass though so I need to heat up the tar and fix it.

-Andrew


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## ldk59 (Jan 30, 2009)

I agree with Andrew, your initial stoking levels are too high... But I've said 
that already so I'll not repeat myself....

Your shrimp are dying because your tank is likely not cycled yet, and even if by some miracle it is, a couple week old tank is not ready to house even the toughest of shrimp species.... 

JMHO

Larry


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## ravenmyth (Dec 22, 2008)

*Bioload too large*

I agree that the total bioload which includes both the fish and shrimp is too great for that small tank.

The tank is very cool and I like the innovative way you have set up with other unique environments with the overhead light much like the sun hanging overhead.

I have a 3 gal planted tank with one Crowntail betta male and 2 ghost shrimp in it. It is very low maintenance which is how I prefer it but even if I were to want to monitor it more closely with frequent water changes I am not sure it could support a much larger bioload long term.


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## davrx (Feb 19, 2010)

*Exiting Nano Tanks - For Now*

Well, you were right about adding CO2, I had algae all over the modern tank, so much so that I got rid of most of the plants in that tank. I ended up losing one more RCS but that was it. I decided to move to a 25 gal. rimless tank, a Mr. Aqua, since at $80 and less than $10 shipping I couldn't resist. I've transferred all the fauna from the two nano tanks into the cube and about half of the plants. 
Unfortunately while cleaning the vintage metal frame tank, I was patting the glass with the palm of my hand to get the last of the eco complete out and the glass shattered. Luckily I didn't cut my hand up but the tank is no more. 
I have an ancient Egyptian themed table that the cube goes on so I may add some ancient Egyptian decorations to the tank. I know this may be sacrilege for a planted tank but I think once in a while someone should do something different from the hard-scapes and driftwood that one usually sees in planted tanks.
I'm using CaribSea's Instant Aquarium Sunset Gold Sand as I plan on adding a Dragon Fish aka Violet Goby to the cube once I get a top on it. I had one of these fish the last time I had an aquarium and he lived and grew larger for years in soft fresh water. I'm always reading that they have to be kept in brackish water but in my experience this is not true at all. What causes problems for them is the substrate. If the gravel is small enough to fit down their throat they will swallow it as they are substrate filter feeders. I observed one passing a piece of gravel and he looked to be in terrible pain. He died not long after. I switched to pea gravel too large for my next one to swallow and he lived happily in fresh water for years. I'm going to use sand this time for the same reason so that it's not harmed if swallowed. I have a 1.5" diameter clear PVC pipe with 90 degree elbows at each end buried in the sand for his cave. I'll post photos and progress in the general planted tank forums in the future.
If I ever get my hands on a small vintage tank from the 1920's-30's I'll do another nano tank but this time with just an Endler or two (no females) and some RCS.


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