# AI Starfire 9.5gal Nano



## seank (Jul 7, 2011)

Hey all!,

Just wanted to share my new tank with everyone.

Aqua Inspiration 9.5gal tank made with Starfire glass (super clear with a nice light blue tint). This is just as good as ADA IMO.

Substrate is ADA Aqua soil - Amazonia

Plants are HC, Java fern, Red Lotus, some Hairgrass, Hydrocotyle Leucocephala, and I believe Weeping moss. (first 3 plants from my now retired Ebi)

30+ RCS, 5 CRS, 3 Yellows, 1 Furcata Rainbow all transfered from my Ebi.


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Still a little cloudy, put some purigen in my canister (keeps getting clearer ever hour)


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Berried RCS



Red lotus

Anyone that lives in the GTA of Ontario do yourself a favour and check this place out http://www.aquainspiration.com/default.asp, you will not be dissapointed. Their tanks are spectacular and they sell Aquasoil! :red_mouth... i mean where else can u get Aquasoil in the GTA lol. There next shipment is in 20 days or so they said, they just moved so there stock is a bit low but still top stuff that u cant find at any LFS.

Seank


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## chris.rivera3 (Apr 15, 2008)

nice starphire tank...how much did it cost???

...and also, your RCS and yellow will interbreed and might produce an unsightly brown looking shrimp


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## seank (Jul 7, 2011)

twas $69.99 good sir, and yup they sure do i just cull the dull/unsightly ones.

Seank


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## demonr6 (Mar 14, 2011)

Not a bad price. Wish someone here in the US would get themselves in gear and make some tanks of that quality that did not require me to put a kidney up for sale.


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## fishaholics (Jul 14, 2011)

demonr6 said:


> Not a bad price. Wish someone here in the US would get themselves in gear and make some tanks of that quality that did not require me to put a kidney up for sale.


We do have tanks like that with diff brands and low price tags. I think AFA in SF has their own low-iron tanks for around $50.


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## tbarabash (May 18, 2011)

Get a sponge over that filter intake stat if you intend on keeping any little shrimplets


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## Aphyosemion (Oct 15, 2004)

Wow, I LOVE the tank and the driftwood!!! The only thing that jumped out at me was, holy crap he just set up the tank and it is still cloudy and he already has shrimp in there?? Uh oh....
It sounds like you have some experience with shrimp, but I'd be really worried adding them to a tank that hasn't had time to cycle yet. They aren't known for being bulletproof.


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## shiloh (Jun 10, 2011)

you should black out the back glass imho


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## seank (Jul 7, 2011)

Hey everyone heres an update of the tank at day 11,




*tbarabash *- The pre-filter has been on there since day 2 :icon_wink, had to fashion one out of a Rena filter pad its working great!

*Aphyosemion *- Im glad u like the tank, thanks alot! :icon_lol:, Ive been keeping cherries and crystals for 3 years now and most have been with me since the start (well this batch of crystals was thinned out due to my girlfriend wanting the majority for her 25 gal im setting up for her in the near future so there in a holding tank until then) when I set it up i used 85% of the cycled water from the previous tank and I havent had one shrimp death. All the crystals are fine (2 are berried) and my cherries and three yellows are doing famously as well. 

*shiloh -* was thinking the same thing, ill definatly give it a go.

I also added 6 Celestial Pearl Danio today, they are looking pretty slim tho they looked like they had been at the LFS for a while i hope they dont croak lol . Ill try and take some pics of them once they settle in.


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## Aphyosemion (Oct 15, 2004)

seank said:


> *Aphyosemion *- Im glad u like the tank, thanks alot! :icon_lol:, Ive been keeping cherries and crystals for 3 years now and most have been with me since the start (well this batch of crystals was thinned out due to my girlfriend wanting the majority for her 25 gal im setting up for her in the near future so there in a holding tank until then) when I set it up i used 85% of the cycled water from the previous tank and I havent had one shrimp death. All the crystals are fine (2 are berried) and my cherries and three yellows are doing famously as well.


Oh, very nice. Clearly you know what you are doing. 
What are those lights you have over the tank? I see you have three of them. How much wattage does that add up to? I am playing with the idea of picking up a rimless nano tank for myself and I like your setup. Also, where did you get such an amazing looking piece of driftwood? Is there a site that sells it?


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## tbarabash (May 18, 2011)

Those look like the 13W fluval clip on lights that come with ebi's and floras. You can get em shipped to you for about 29$ from amazon. Surprisingly bright for 13w, the built in reflectors are quite decent. I'm using 2 in my ebi and its an incredible amount of light


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## seank (Jul 7, 2011)

> Oh, very nice. Clearly you know what you are doing.
> What are those lights you have over the tank? I see you have three of them. How much wattage does that add up to? I am playing with the idea of picking up a rimless nano tank for myself and I like your setup. Also, where did you get such an amazing looking piece of driftwood? Is there a site that sells it?


The driftwood was a hidden gem in a bin at BA's luckily i had an extra piece of slate to drill to the bottom to keep it secure. As for the lights, *tbarabash *is correct they are the Fluval PCL 13's, all together there is 39 watts over the top. I know that an LFS like Big Als will order them in for you if your interested (or Amazon like *tbarabash *said) :icon_wink. Just out of curiosity what setup are you going to be running (tank size, make, substrate, Flora, Fauna etc.)

-Seank


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## sampster5000 (Oct 30, 2010)

I love the tank! Looks great. Just as good as an ADA tank.


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## seank (Jul 7, 2011)

> I love the tank! Looks great. Just as good as an ADA tank.


Thank you *sampster5000*! :red_mouth

Thought id post a few new pics of my new danios and my fav cherry 


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Thanks for looking!

-Seank


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## radioman (Oct 29, 2007)

I really like the look of this tank. Can't wait for the HC to fill in.


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## Aphyosemion (Oct 15, 2004)

seank said:


> The driftwood was a hidden gem in a bin at BA's luckily i had an extra piece of slate to drill to the bottom to keep it secure. As for the lights, *tbarabash *is correct they are the Fluval PCL 13's, all together there is 39 watts over the top. I know that an LFS like Big Als will order them in for you if your interested (or Amazon like *tbarabash *said) :icon_wink. Just out of curiosity what setup are you going to be running (tank size, make, substrate, Flora, Fauna etc.)
> 
> -Seank



Right now I am thinking either an AI 9.5 gallon like you have or a Mr. Aqua 7.5 gallon cube with Eco Complete and river sand that I collected locally for effect. The most important thing is that it is a rimless tank under 10 gallons that doesn't have thick globs of silicone on the sides. Everything else is subject to what I come up with after looking at tons of pictures for inspiration.


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## seank (Jul 7, 2011)

Aphyosemion said:


> Right now I am thinking either an AI 9.5 gallon like you have or a Mr. Aqua 7.5 gallon cube with Eco Complete and river sand that I collected locally for effect. The most important thing is that it is a rimless tank under 10 gallons that doesn't have thick globs of silicone on the sides. Everything else is subject to what I come up with after looking at tons of pictures for inspiration.


I took a look at the Mr. Aqua cube and its very nice looking, if you cant get the AI tank shipped to you it looks like a great alternative. I cant wait to see your setup, ill be keeping an eye out! :icon_smil


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## seank (Jul 7, 2011)

*AI 9.5gal UPDATE NEW PICS!*

Hey all,

just wanted to post an update of my 9.5gal AI tank hope you like. 


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I had a black background on there at one point but it just didnt look right so i took it off, also a few new additions in there equipment wise like the DC, stainless diffuser (which is amazing btw and highly recomend it) and the NAG thermometer. 

Also I just finished planting my gf's 25gal tank (which looks amazing lol) ill try to take pics on my good camera all i have are ugly cellphone pics. If you really want to see them tho just let me kno and ill post some, there just tank shots tho no plants.

Comments/Questions?

-Seank


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## HiepSTA (Aug 23, 2011)

very nice! what is that moss? weeping moss?


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## radioman (Oct 29, 2007)

BEAUTIFUL!!!!!! I love the moss.


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## seank (Jul 7, 2011)

HiepSTA said:


> very nice! what is that moss? weeping moss?


thanks! yep its weeping moss. At first i was told it was taiwan moss lol but i guess from the small bunches i started with it could have been mistaken for it.


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## seank (Jul 7, 2011)

radioman said:


> BEAUTIFUL!!!!!! I love the moss.


Thanks radioman!! :red_mouth


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## piffy (Oct 2, 2010)

Wow! Stunning Tank. That weeping moss looks beautiful. 

Are you concerned with your cherries and yellows interbreeding?


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## seank (Jul 7, 2011)

piffy said:


> Wow! Stunning Tank. That weeping moss looks beautiful.
> 
> Are you concerned with your cherries and yellows interbreeding?


 
Thanks alot piffy!!! I'm moving the two yellows to my gf's tank on Friday and I cull the duller juvie cherries when i see too many.


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## sampster5000 (Oct 30, 2010)

Wow this has really grown in nicely! Looking good.


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## plantedpufferfreak (Feb 2, 2010)

really grown in nicely! gorgeous!


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## Reyes 12 (Aug 29, 2011)

what do you have growing on the drift wood? 
looks great!!


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## jaybugg13 (Sep 4, 2007)

The stainless diffuser is sweet. I couldn't stop looking at the reflection of the foreground on it.


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## seank (Jul 7, 2011)

Thanks everyone!:biggrin:

and thats weeping moss on the drify wood *Reyes 12. *


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## gnod (Mar 24, 2011)

very nice tank, and love the driftwood - definitely a gem.
question on lighting tho - any reason you're using 3 of those 13Ws? 
i dont expect a PAR meter reading for those, but i feel like that's super high light? any issues with algae yet?


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## demonr6 (Mar 14, 2011)

Great progress on your tank, it looks really good. Please keep the updates coming.


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## seank (Jul 7, 2011)

gnod said:


> very nice tank, and love the driftwood - definitely a gem.
> question on lighting tho - any reason you're using 3 of those 13Ws?
> i dont expect a PAR meter reading for those, but i feel like that's super high light? any issues with algae yet?


thanks *gnod*! 

To answer your question. No I havent had any issues with algae (other than regular green algae on the glass). Lighting is different for smaller tanks, this guide http://rexgrigg.com/mlt.html really broke it down for me.


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## seank (Jul 7, 2011)

demonr6 said:


> Great progress on your tank, it looks really good. Please keep the updates coming.


Thanks very much *demonr6* will do!* :red_mouth*


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## DogFish (Jul 16, 2011)

seank said:


> thanks *gnod*!
> 
> ... Lighting is different for smaller tanks, this guide http://rexgrigg.com/mlt.html really broke it down for me.


Math AND Story problems...I hate this class. :biggrin:

Great tank! 

And other than function, I think the lights look cool, in a serious plant growing way...of course.


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## gnod (Mar 24, 2011)

dang... that article is making me want to get new/diff lights for my 5.5G... i have a cfl 23w on it right now..


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## seank (Jul 7, 2011)

gnod said:


> dang... that article is making me want to get new/diff lights for my 5.5G... i have a cfl 23w on it right now..


haha I kno what you mean thats why i upgraded from 2 lights to 3. Hows the growth in your 5.5G *gnod*?


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## gnod (Mar 24, 2011)

^well... ive been waiting for my root tabs which feel like forever... so my hc has been dying
the lighting.. i still can't tell. my glosso started to really spread and not grow vertical after i switched from 13W to 23W on my 2.5G - i was hoping it'd have similar effect on my 5.5g 

guess i wont know till i get some root tabs in there. i got the hc in sand subs right now.. kinda regretting it now.


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