# 4 Gallon Finnex Chum Bucket (Pic Intensive)



## chumblaka (Jan 4, 2010)

Hello all I finally got time to start this thread on my finnex!
To begin with here are the "specs"

*Lighting:*
1 x 26 watt CFL bulb
2 X LED Moonlights
1 X 26 watt full spectrum desk lamp _(spotlight treatments)_

*Substrate:*
ADA Aquasoil Amazonia I
*
Plants:*
Dwarf Hairgrass
HC
Banana Plant
Lucky Bamboo
_(want to get some sort of moss or riccia incorporated in the future)_

*CO2:*
Paintball Regulator
Glass Bubble Counter (still waiting for it)
Smart Parts On/Off Valve
Nano CO2 Glass Diffuser
*
Occupants:*
None yet but will be putting shrimps & otos but I still haven't decided on what kind of fish. (Dwarf Puffers or Tetras, can't decide!)

Here are a couple of pics to start this journal. I setup the tank around Sunday and when I barely set it up the water was crystal clear, lately though it has been cloudy and I don't really know why... I did a 50% water change and it remains the same. Oh well I heard Aquasoil can be like that I'll just wait it out. 









*I really really like the desk lamp. It gives off great light and easy to adjust!*








*Tank is cloudy, any input?*








*No growth to the plants just yet.*








*CO2 is off right now. About to go to sleep. I am exhausted...*








*The HC! Great plant for nanos. *

About the CO2 I will post specifics about my system and costs for those interested. It doesn't have to cost a fortune for a pressurized CO2 system in a nano. Total cost for the CO2 setup was about 75 dollars.

Also I want to get some kind of stones in this tank. I am not sure what kind, maybe some suggestions? I want this thing to have mountains so the shrimp can go hiking.

Well I am off to bed now, this week has been incredibly exhausting for me. I will be back tomorrow let me know what you guys think. Thanks PT for all the help on getting this tank going.


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## PinoyBoy (Mar 14, 2008)

What ever happened to the 13 watt finnex light? Great tank btw. The finnex
looks alot taller than some of the other finnex 4 gallons I've seen. Also some
drift wood would also look good in there besides the rocks.

And the bamboo would rot in there in about 1 month. I'd take it out.


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## Morainy (Feb 8, 2010)

Nice setup! 

What is a chum bucket?


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

Morainy said:


> Nice setup!
> 
> What is a chum bucket?


Something from Spongebob, it's run by a little fellow named Plankton.


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## TLE041 (Jan 16, 2010)

I love the look of your tank, chumblaka.

I'm seriously considering buying this Finnex tank on eBay, but the high shipping fee is stopping me from doing it. The good thing is it comes with a pretty good light for growing a wide variety of plants.

How does the price look to you guys?


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## chumblaka (Jan 4, 2010)

TLE041 said:


> I love the look of your tank, chumblaka.
> 
> I'm seriously considering buying this Finnex tank on eBay, but the high shipping fee is stopping me from doing it. The good thing is it comes with a pretty good light for growing a wide variety of plants.
> 
> How does the price look to you guys?



Wow I got the tank from this same seller for much cheaper. I got it for 49 free shipping. I guess Canada shipping is expensive.I can try and shoot him a message and tell him I referred you and if he can work out a deal for you. PM me your eBay username and I'll get on that.


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## chumblaka (Jan 4, 2010)

PinoyBoy when I was looking at the tank all places had it with the 13 watt but then I found a seller that had it for cheaper including a 26 watt bulb so I jumped on it.


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## TLE041 (Jan 16, 2010)

Thanks chumblaka. I've sent you a PM.

By the way, is that a Red Sea Nano filter that it comes with? I can't tell if it's the real thing or a similar one by Finnex.


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## Spitfire696 (Feb 5, 2010)

I have the same finnex set up in my office, love the thing, light is perfect. Toss a little purigen in the filter and it works wonders.

@TLE041 I'm pretty sure its a finnex model one, as that's what came with mine, and it pretty much looks identical.


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## Outlawboss (Dec 30, 2008)

Looking really good. New pics! I want to see how much growth you've got.


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## chumblaka (Jan 4, 2010)

Well here's a pic. After doing 25 percent water changes every two days and no clearing up I took all the water out. Going to try to grow emerged. Any tips?


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## Outlawboss (Dec 30, 2008)

Sweet. I'm growing emmersed as well. It's a good (boring) way to start. You really don't need to do anything except take the plastic cover off and mist them every now and then. 

Nice job! The HC has already grown a lot.


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## chumblaka (Jan 4, 2010)

Hello everyone I have some updates on my dry start. I am really happy on how fast the HC is growing! It has almost doubled in growth since the very beginning which was about two weeks ago. Hopefully I will have a nice carpet done by the end of next month! Also, the dwarf hairgrass is growing tall and spreading quite well. I love not having to worry about dosing ferts, water changes, algae etc, to get the growth I want!










Ok so I picked up some rocks.








But I have no idea on how to arrange them and where to put them in the tank. Any ideas/suggestions?

Here is one that I kind of liked but I am still not to sure where in the tank I should put them.









Should I lay the big rock horizontally for a better configuration? Should these be in the center of the tank? The right back corner? I am lost with this and I would really appreciate some help!


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## PinoyBoy (Mar 14, 2008)

I'm no geologist but I tought that red rocks usually mean alot of iron in them.


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

If you really want to keep the bamboo in there, you could fill the tank up halfway and try to make a paulidarium.


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## Aqua'd (Dec 20, 2009)

For those rocks, the only "Natural" looking layout I can think of is maybe in a sort of pile in the back right corner of the tank, Having them in a diagonal clump might look cool. The only way to find out is to try every way you can think of!


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## chumblaka (Jan 4, 2010)

PinoyBoy said:


> I'm no geologist but I tought that red rocks usually mean alot of iron in them.


Really? Cany anyone verify? This looks like petrified wood...IDK... 

Also as far as the bamboo I am just going to leave it in there I have about another 20 of these so one loss is no worry! I just wanna see for myself if its true that these don't last long in aquariums. Well see!


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## Aqua'd (Dec 20, 2009)

Rust color usually does mean there is iron or metals in the rock, my guess is that it won't be a problem. There's always a great way to find out, just use em anyway!


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## Outlawboss (Dec 30, 2008)

Wow the tank is really growing! Nice success you've got going on there. Cool rocks too dude. Two thumbs way up.


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## chumblaka (Jan 4, 2010)

*Update 2/3/11*

Hello everyone, just updating on my Finnex 4 Gallon. It has been a long time and there has been only minimal changes to the tank. I had it set up so that the HC would grow foreground and the Dwarf Hairgrass would grow in the back, but the Hairgrass decided to take over the entire tank. Partly due to my own fault. (The regulator it was using went on to be used by the 10 gallon tank and I just dosed excel on the Finnex, and since the Gairgrass does better without CO2 than the HC, the Hairgrass won...)

Either way, I kind of like the look and if anyone wants all that hairgrass in the front I would be willing to sell it. Because I would like to get some UG or HC on the foreground, and hopefully a nano size piece of wood.

I am having one problem with this tank. I have been doing DIY CO2 for the past couple of months and the growth is amazing and keeps the plants a nice shade of green but just recently I have been getting foggy water that is almost milky. Also a white sticky film of idk what forms at the top and I have to remove it every now and then. I am not sure if it is something from the DIY CO2 mixture that is leeching into the tank or what but it is starting to worry me. Any help or advice as to what to do will be appreciated.

This tank used to house the cherry's I would breed to be darker but recently I have not been able to do that because of the water problems, I had about 20 Cherry Shrimp die a couple weeks ago suddenly and have been scared to move the other ones to the ten gallon. =\

Oh about the HC, some of it got loose from the substrate and started floating and has evolved into a floating mass of HC where my shrimp used to hide before I got this nasty water. The water tests OK but still happens to do something to shrimp and makes the fish less active.

Here are some pics from today.


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## chumblaka (Jan 4, 2010)

Anybody? I lost an oto recently too.


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## Cynth (Sep 11, 2010)

I really like the look of the hair grass in there, and the platys sort of "get off my lawn" face.


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## chumblaka (Jan 4, 2010)

Lol, that platy is kind of mean!

As far as the cloudiness goes I have been doing some reading on these forums and elsewhere and have found out that there is CO2 "snot" leeching into my tank that causes bacterial blooms and forms a mucus layer at the top of the water which is what I have been experiencing. According to what I have read it will kill the fish over time and that is exactly what is happening. =\
I have one otto left and his gills are really red and I don't think he has much time left, I guess I should save up for a regulator. I will be removing the CO2 later today.


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## Outlawboss (Dec 30, 2008)

Bummer about the C02 of death.  I hope the otto makes it at least. What about some water changes?


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## chumblaka (Jan 4, 2010)

Outlawboss said:


> Bummer about the C02 of death.  I hope the otto makes it at least. What about some water changes?


I have been doing water changes like mad, started doing only 20% without any changes, then doing 40% every two days which did not work. After a couple of hours it would get cloudy again.

Good news though, I just did a 40% water change and took out the DIY CO2, the tank is crystal clear for the first time in over two months and has stayed clear for about three hours now!

I would have left the CO2 regulator in the Finnex but my ten gallon needed it more so I did DIY for the Finnex. I guess I will have to wait to save up some money to get a new regulator, in the meanwhile I am thinking about getting the front lawn of this tank right. I was thinking UG and a nano size piece of driftwood? 

Another thing I noticed right away too, the floating mass of HC does not have the mucus on it. (I rinsed it well). It looks really nice and green. Hopefully it stays like that. I am sitting next to it right now doing my Physics/Calculus homeworks and have not seen any more fog and fish are starting to move a little more! :smile:


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## Reginald2 (Mar 10, 2009)

Maybe you could get/make a bubble counter. I feel like they're helpful for keeping any diy badies out of the tank. I like the HC floating island. The platy looks pretty big in there though. Are you still considering the rocks?


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## chumblaka (Jan 4, 2010)

Reginald2 said:


> Maybe you could get/make a bubble counter. I feel like they're helpful for keeping any diy badies out of the tank. I like the HC floating island. The platy looks pretty big in there though. Are you still considering the rocks?


The rocks I am still considering when I rescape the tank in the future. I would do that but I rather be safe and just save up for a regulator.


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## PinoyBoy (Mar 14, 2008)

Tank has filled in nicely, sorry about the deaths. Is that the same bamboo since last year? If it is, I'm surprised it hasn't rot yet and that it's actually growing nicely.


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## guppygolucky (Nov 9, 2009)

As you are looking for a regulator, why not try to add a 2nd bottle inline with your DIY CO2. 
It'll act like a separator incase any liquid does go up the line. Here's a link to a few pics:

http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html


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## chumblaka (Jan 4, 2010)

PinoyBoy said:


> Tank has filled in nicely, sorry about the deaths. Is that the same bamboo since last year? If it is, I'm surprised it hasn't rot yet and that it's actually growing nicely.



Same one from last year.
I do not understand about the rotting, people had told be that previously in the post and it has never happened to me. Before I had that tank I had a ten gallon with about 15 bamboos in a regular tank for about 8 months. That is what got me into planted tanks, they were alive and healthy before I took down the tank due to a crack in it, if you see my other tank I have since patched it and is now a planted tank, but the bamboo is at my aunts house now lol.



guppygolucky said:


> As you are looking for a regulator, why not try to add a 2nd bottle inline with your DIY CO2.
> It'll act like a separator incase any liquid does go up the line. Here's a link to a few pics:
> 
> http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html


Thanks, I will definitely look into that on the weekend.


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## PinoyBoy (Mar 14, 2008)

guppygolucky said:


> As you are looking for a regulator, why not try to add a 2nd bottle inline with your DIY CO2.
> It'll act like a separator incase any liquid does go up the line. Here's a link to a few pics:
> http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html





chumblaka said:


> Thanks, I will definitely look into that on the weekend.


Hate to spoil it to you, but that's just an oversized bubble counter, but with the added benefit of what Guppygolucky said because of its size.

About the bamboo, I guess I just have bad luck with them. Mine starts to mush up on me even when submerged half way :icon_mad:


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## houstonhobby (Dec 12, 2008)

What is a chum bucket? Like most of SpongeBob, the use of the term in the cartoon is tongue in cheek. A chum bucket is a bucket that contains fish pieces and any sea life that is non-saleable. It is dumped overboard before fishing to put the taste of bait in the water so that fish will come to the area seeking prey and be caught.


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## ulysses (Dec 29, 2010)

Do you like your Finnex setup? I'm in the market for a desktop combo much like this, and am looking for the good and the bad. I see they sell the mini canister filter as well as the hob like you have. Your thoughts on your setup? Any problems getting additional bulbs?


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## chumblaka (Jan 4, 2010)

ulysses said:


> Do you like your Finnex setup? I'm in the market for a desktop combo much like this, and am looking for the good and the bad. I see they sell the mini canister filter as well as the hob like you have. Your thoughts on your setup? Any problems getting additional bulbs?


I definitely think it is the best bank for your buck on this kind of set up.
No problems for additional bulbs, about the lighting though, it grows most plants fast as long as you have CO2. That hairgrass in my tank turns into a jungle in about two-three weeks, and when I used to have HC it carpeted quickly with the right maintenance. I am not sure about other plants such as UG but I am sure the light it comes with would suffice unless you want something more powerful from the start.

I can't really think of any cons, it is a beautiful small tank, you should check out the other people with the Finnex on here. Outlawboss tank journal convinced me to buy this tank and I have been enjoying it very much, fits right on my desk and is not too small and not too big.


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