# 3gal low light (old killie) tank



## messy_da_legend (Feb 16, 2006)

Here's my new 3gal Aphyosemion australe tank. It was designed to be like the bank of a forest stream with tree roots overhanging. I found the roots in the garden, and they have been prepared for aquarium use (soaking, boiling), and there is also a piece of bought bogwood in there. 

I've got Anubias nana "petite" (I think), Java moss, Downoi, an unknown cryptocoryne, and another unknown plant at the back. The moss and anubias have been tied down with cotton for now. I might get some floating plants at a later stage.

Substrate is laterite clay topped with silver sand. Lighting is 11w compact T5, and the filter is an Azoo palm filter. 

The fish I chose for this tank are a pair of small, non-annual killifish, the Aphyosemion australe:



















Right, now for the tank pics:

Front on









At an angle









The male










Thanks for looking. I am always up for suggestions, comments, and criticisms. :smile: 

Tom


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## cody6766 (Mar 15, 2007)

very nice, I love the wood work. That's a good looking tank for sure.


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## macclellan (Dec 22, 2006)

nice.

the unknown plant is water wisteria (hygrophilia diformis).
that is normal a. b. 'nana', not petite (petite has leaves smaller than your fingernail).


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## eklikewhoa (Aug 29, 2006)

That last picture makes the tank look freaking huge!!!


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## messy_da_legend (Feb 16, 2006)

lol 14"x8"x8", so yeah, huuuge! Nah, just a mini fishy. 

Macclellan, thanks for the ID's


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## knuggs (Mar 5, 2007)

Nicely done, great pictures too!


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## Guillermo (Dec 19, 2005)

Very nice setup and neat pics, congrats MDL ! I wish I could find some killies like yours in my country, they are perfect for your tank.

Good Luck.


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## KDahlin (Mar 12, 2007)

I'm wondering if the substrate is deep enough. How many inches is it?

Other than that it's a really nice layout! :icon_smil 

I think the hygrophila difformis will be totally unmanageable in there. You might want to replace that with something more suited to a nano aquarium.


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## messy_da_legend (Feb 16, 2006)

It's <1" at the front and about 1.5" at the back. Is that too shallow?

What would you reccommend instead of the Hygro then for that spot?

Just another pic here:


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## messy_da_legend (Feb 16, 2006)

No-one? How about Microsorium "windelov"? Or would it get too large?


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## uncskainch (Feb 22, 2005)

Lovely tank -- the layout and small fish really do give it the illusion of being larger than it is. I like the idea of the roots hanging into a river or stream as the inspiration for the tank -- you've made it come to life!


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## erodstrom (Apr 9, 2007)

I agree, the wisteria will get too big to manage; the leaves get so big they'll be crammed against both the front and tbe back of the tank. What about rotala or ludwiga species? Easy to grow, and they're on a small scale that won't look too huge.

or, if you don't like the stem plants, what about some of the cool onion-type plants; a group of those would look kind of neat... only downside to them is that the leaves are narrow so you need quite a bit to really put any bulk there. What about some type of long, straight-leaved reed-type plant?

Beautiful tank by the way, great scale. Many nanos look as small as they are, yours looks bigger. I wish I could keep my water as clear as yours!


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## messy_da_legend (Feb 16, 2006)

> I agree, the wisteria will get too big to manage; the leaves get so big they'll be crammed against both the front and tbe back of the tank. What about rotala or ludwiga species? Easy to grow, and they're on a small scale that won't look too huge.


I'll have a look round for some. I quite like the look of Rotala wallichii. I suppose macandra needs higher light than I have, yes?

I was thinking about Vallis, but then it would grow far too long and trimming it isn't a great plan.



> Beautiful tank by the way, great scale. Many nanos look as small as they are, yours looks bigger. I wish I could keep my water as clear as yours!


Thanks  Azoo palm filter, 4 blocks of siporax and stuffed with fine floss!


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## erodstrom (Apr 9, 2007)

messy_da_legend said:


> I suppose macandra needs higher light than I have, yes?
> 
> I was thinking about Vallis, but then it would grow far too long and trimming it isn't a great plan.


I'm not sure about light. I have two regular sockets mounted in a traditional aquarium fixture with two 15 watt spiral Flourescent bulbs, and it is far more than I need, maybe too much as my plants are ALL turning reddish, even ones that don't usually do so.  

At 11 watts, you're still putting in over 3 watts per gallon, which is pretty high. However, some of the more experienced people have said that once you get into these tiny tanks, the traditional watts/gallon equation doesn't really work... 

Rotala and all the other stem plants grow quickly just like vallis; I was worried about this as well, but the truth is that it's just not that big a deal to trim them back every week or so. I actually think it's fun. To be honest, I tend to constantly pick at my nano tank, and having plants that quickly grow back after my "aquascaping" attempts is probably a good thing....


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## messy_da_legend (Feb 16, 2006)

I wasnt worried about trimming stem plants, just vallis has a tendancy to die off after trimming


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## erodstrom (Apr 9, 2007)

oops. sorry. disregard my last post then... I've never kept vallis, only stem plants and foreground plants like cryptocornes and anubias...


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## yoko (Mar 16, 2007)

Where did you get your bogwood? Looks SO much better than Malaysian Driftwood.

Your tank looks wonderful:bounce:


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## messy_da_legend (Feb 16, 2006)

The garden! :hihi:


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## kindbud (Mar 15, 2004)

those australes must be loving that setup. have you noticed any eggs or fry?


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## messy_da_legend (Feb 16, 2006)

Unfortunately the tank was left in my dad's charge last week and he failed to replace the tank cover properly after feeding one day. needless to say they have both jumped. :-( I am now on the lookout for more killies but they are hard to find round my way. 

But.......from a plant point of view its gowing very well. The Hygro was replaced by a ludwigia sp. I found. Won't be able to get pics for about 2 weeks as I am back at college now and away from home.


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## MrJG (Feb 21, 2007)

Aww man thats unfortunate  Good luck on finding more, their size was perfect for the tank.


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## fuzzyletters (May 7, 2007)

just wanted to say this tank is one of my favorites  not that that really means much, i'm just a forum lurker at this point, but...

out of curiosity, where did you get the fish? they were beautiful. i'm thinking about killies for when i finally start up a tank myself. also, did they take flake food? that'd be a lot easier to manage at college...


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## messy_da_legend (Feb 16, 2006)

Fuzzy - Thanks!

I got them unexpectedly from my local shop who sometimes get less common fish in from time to time. 

They should take flake, but mine got frozen cyclops.


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## Matthew Mahling (Sep 4, 2005)

shoot! Well done messy
Skills are getting better and better by the tank.


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## messy_da_legend (Feb 16, 2006)

Well the tank is still going strong, but now has 2 greenbottle puffers in there (TEMPORARILY, as they started attacking my snakeheads  ). 

I've just done a water change so it's cloudy at the minute, but as soon as it clears I'll get some pictures of it.

For now though, heres one of the java and downoi I added. The moss is growing pretty quickly and is filling out a bit now. I've also added some Hygro on the left and some more crypts for the right side.


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## garuf (May 30, 2007)

hello mda just wondering what it is your "bogwood" is you said you got it from the garden but what plant is it?
gareth


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## James From Cali (Dec 15, 2006)

garuf said:


> hello mda just wondering what it is your "bogwood" is you said you got it from the garden but what plant is it?
> gareth


Bogwood is a type of wood, not a plant. 

Beautiful tank. Looks much larger than a 3g! Sorry bout your losses!


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## garuf (May 30, 2007)

wood comes from trees, trees are plants:icon_smil and my question was asking what plant/tree it is it came from for example hawthorne, dog rose,oak etc
sorry if it was a confusing question


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## messy_da_legend (Feb 16, 2006)

The bogwood is a mixture of from my garden and from the lake district. It's just stuff I've found lying around, so TBH I don't know the species. 

The tank is still cloudy for some reason this morning but I will post a pic. 

Once the puffers have left this tank for a much bigger one finally, I think I am leaning either towards another pair of killies if I can get them and shrimp, or maybe some microrasbora (Boraras brigittae maybe? ) I'd like to hear your thoughts....

Algae wise, the Anubias is doing surpriingly well, but the crypts have a little bit on them as oyu can see. The moss is relatively clear, but has the odd bit of dirt in it. Otherwise, it's pretty good with algae I think. 

Still thinking of a replacement for the Hygro on the right. I like the idea of Windelov Java Fern but having trouble getting any. 

Right the pic (Excuse the blob of a puffer in the top right corner, they'll be gone on monday!) :










Oh, another thing I just remembered, I increased the substrate depth at the back left with laterite and more sand, as it was a bit shallow really - that might be what's making it cloudy!! :icon_roll


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## MrJG (Feb 21, 2007)

Messy: I know its been a while since you posted anything on this tank... any updates? Is it still running?
When I first found this forum this is one of the first nanos that really blew me away. You got the scaling just right and had the perfect fish to compliment the layout. And nevermind how great the roots make it look, I swear I've been on the lookout for similar looking roots since last year.


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