# 2.5g nano RCS tank



## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Two more pictures that I thought I would share:


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## AlexXx (Dec 1, 2009)

I was so confused for a second because you have 2009 on your first date then 2010 on the rest haha. But i see its just a typo. 

The tank looks awesome. I cant wait to add some RCS to mine! Im using the same tank/filter/substrate! Keep up the updates i love it!


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

AlexXx said:


> I was so confused for a second because you have 2009 on your first date then 2010 on the rest haha. But i see its just a typo.
> 
> The tank looks awesome. I cant wait to add some RCS to mine! Im using the same tank/filter/substrate! Keep up the updates i love it!


Oops, didn't notice the typo! Thanks for catching it. It's fixed now


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Some updates for *February 6 2010* (Sorry about the diatoms on the front glass)

The HC is finally start to root, I think, and the Blyxa that was previously melting has finally started to bounce back and put out new roots. 



Also some pictures of my RCS. I noticed two berried females, so new RCS babies should be coming along soon.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Update for the week of *February 16 2010*

Snapped a few pictures. Didn't bother taking out any of the equipment prior to FTS.



It's nice to see the _Fissidens_ finally starting to take off.



Excuse all the diatoms :hihi: I was too lazy to scrape it off...

A bit hard to see in the picture (or maybe not), but the HC seems to love growing upwards instead of carpeting like it's supposed to. Some of them, however, are strange in that they are growing diagonally too...might this have to do with lighting?


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## PinoyBoy (Mar 14, 2008)

The fissiden on the wood looks great. I think you need something between the rocks.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

PinoyBoy said:


> The fissiden on the wood looks great. I think you need something between the rocks.


Thanks! Just a few weeks ago, it wasn't doing too well, but it looks like it has perked up now.

What suggestions do you have for something that goes between the rocks?


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## RcScRs (Oct 22, 2009)

Another rock...


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Do you think something behind the two rocks would be best? 

I was thinking perhaps something like this:



Placed behind the two rocks...I wish I had a smaller, branchy Manzanita...


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## guitardude9187 (Aug 22, 2006)

i say throw in a different hue of color in there. there's lots of green, how about some red or pinkish? I've been out of the planted tank hobby for a while but something like rotala wallichi (sp?). otherwise, your scape looks promising, make sure you keep everything check, things run while in such a small tank.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

I was thinking about some red plants; does Rotala wallichii small enough for a 2.5g tank? Thanks for all the comments so far


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Saw a few baby shrimp today


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## PinoyBoy (Mar 14, 2008)

Those looks like planaria... j/k.
Grats on the baby shrimp.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Planaria would be even smaller! My camera can't take such good macro shots


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

So, I was a bit bored today, and ended up tearing apart my 2.5g nano.  

Not to worry, I fixed everything up, and rescaped a bit. Personally, I like this one more, but feel free to comment; I am always looking for ways to improve.

I saw at least 9 baby shrimp while I was rescaping, but I don't know how many baby shrimp I killed  I don't think I crushed any adult shrimp though. On another note, I found a shrimp in my filter  

And the pictures:

Before rescape (I don't know why it's so green, but I didn't bother changing the colour):


Without black background:


Rescaping in progress; what a mess.


Almost done:


Tank is still a bit muddy, and didn't bother taking a FTS with all equipment out. Also, lots of bubbles due to the water change, and the _Fissidens fontanus_ looks all strange because of the new placement. 


Finally, obligatory shrimp picture:


Comments are welcome!


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## bbeechamp (Feb 12, 2010)

I agree, the rescape looks excellent.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Thanks 

Now, it's just ａ waiting game for the Blyxa to regrow back after I hacked large chunks of it off


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

the layout was bothering me a bit, so I tweaked it a little today.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Got aggravated with my layout again.

Hopefully, I didn't cause the RCS too much undue stress. Imagine having the furniture in your house rearranged three days in a row by giant tweezers coming from the sky 

Oh the mess:


Edit: Here's a full tank shot after the dust settled:


Top down view. The two rocks on the left take up the entire depth of the tank. The rock on the right is just under half the depth of the tank.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Some updates for *February 28 2010*

Adjusted the hardscape a little. 

Before:


After:


Excuse the fact that I didn't bother taking a picture without all the equipment. I had just moved everything around, and didn't want to wait for the dust to settle. Perhaps next week 

Finally, a picture of my attempt to grow HC emersed. It looks like it's doing quite well (better than my submersed form).


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

Looks great!


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## doggyhog (Oct 7, 2009)

I looove your scape!!! The branches look so good!


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Update for *March 4 2010*


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Updates for *March 15 2010.*



The _Fissidens_ has really taken off now.



And a picture of some RCS feeding!


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## pmd5700 (Oct 27, 2007)

Looks great! 2 questions; What are you using for a pre-filter on the Red Sea Nano? I have the same one and want to put something on the intake to prevent shrimp from getting sucked in. Also, what are you feeding your shrimp in that last picture?


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

I'm just using some random sponge I managed to find around the house. It seems to be just the right size, that most baby shrimp do not get sucked up.

In the last picture, I'm feeding the shrimp ADA Bee shrimp food.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Updates for *March 21 2010*

Here's an angled shot of the HC carpet that I have. It's slowly starting to carpet, but it's taking a lot longer than anticipated. It's been nearly two months, and it hasn't really taken off yet  You can probably see some of the BBA that's on there as well (trimming it as we speak)



Full tank shot:


My emersed HC experiment. It isn't really taking off either, but it's slowly spreading.


Finally, a picture of the shrimp. I have so many babies now, every time I do a water change, I wonder how many of them get sucked up and get dumped.


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## PinoyBoy (Mar 14, 2008)

Wow, your fissden grows fast.
What food is that your feeding to your shrimps in the very last picture?


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

PinoyBoy said:


> Wow, your fissden grows fast.
> What food is that your feeding to your shrimps in the very last picture?


Really? I think the Fissidens is pretty slow growing. The HC even more so. :icon_evil



pmd5700 said:


> Also, what are you feeding your shrimp in that last picture?





Darkblade48 said:


> In the last picture, I'm feeding the shrimp ADA Bee shrimp food.


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

Great journal. You've made a really nice statement with the Fissidens on the DW. It's got a forest-vibe that I like a lot.
And while your shrimp probably hate you, I think it's great that you're constantly refining your hardscape. With each revision, I can see your skill getting tighter and tighter.
The only criticism I can give is that the rocks are a tad too light in color to match the overall vibe of the tank. Were you to find smaller rocks with a dark, graphite color, I think they would match much better.
Oh, and the heater is super ugly, but you've taken care of that in the recent shots. 
Other than that criticism and a half, you're off to a great start with this one. Keep it up and keep us updated.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Praise from a master! 

I'm glad that my skill is slowly starting to improve. I still feel I have a longs way to go before I get to the same level as some of the awesome posters hereon the forums!

I do have some darker (Seiryuu) stones available, but I'm saving that for another project (ADA Mini-S )

As for the heater, I only keep it in there to keep the water warm enough for the RCS. Otherwise, during the winter, the room temperature goes down to ~10 Celsius or so, making it uninhabitable. I tried growing some Riccia in an unheated tank, and it eventually died away.

Also, depending on how lazy I am determines whether I leave the equipment in or take it out when I take my weekly FTS


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## AlexXx (Dec 1, 2009)

Man those shrimp are super red! that fissenden is growing in so nice!


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

AlexXx said:


> Man those shrimp are super red! that fissenden is growing in so nice!


Thanks! They're just your normal RCS though; not the Sakura Red variety.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Updates for *March 28 2010*

Excuse the GDA on the glass, I didn't bother cleaning it off before taking a full tank shot. Oh well. There's some BBA that you can see on the rocks as well, ugh. I'm trying my best to keep on top of (it's on some of the HC, and the Fissidens as well)



And here's my HC emersed "experiment"



Shrimp pictures to come in a bit!


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## pianofish (Jan 31, 2010)

Looks great mate, your tank looks larger than 2.5 gal to me, maybe its just your awesome scape placement. good luck,
Your pal,


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## hurley0816 (Sep 18, 2005)

awesome! you have inspired me to start a 2.5 now! i love the fissidens


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

pianofish said:


> Looks great mate, your tank looks larger than 2.5 gal to me, maybe its just your awesome scape placement. good luck,
> Your pal,


Thanks! One of the challenges of any nano tank is to get the perspective down so that it appears larger than the tank actually is.



hurley0816 said:


> awesome! you have inspired me to start a 2.5 now! i love the fissidens


I love the _Fissidens fontanus_ too! It's one of my favourite mosses.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

And here's a shrimp picture, as I promised. 

They just go wild when I feed them


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## AlexXx (Dec 1, 2009)

man ur fissiden grows so fast!


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

It's been almost two months since I got it though!


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## AlexXx (Dec 1, 2009)

ah, still pretty nice 

Where did u get your shrimp? They are so red!


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

I got them from a friend  Before, they were definitely not this red. I didn't do anything special to bring out their colouration though.


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## hurley0816 (Sep 18, 2005)

i want dibs on the fissidens when you have to trim it!:wink:


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

hurley0816 said:


> i want dibs on the fissidens when you have to trim it!:wink:


That might not be for awhile  I have some other plans for my _Fissidens_ when it grows out!


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## hurley0816 (Sep 18, 2005)

dam! LOL


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## CKJ (Oct 3, 2008)

Really enjoyed your thread!!! 

Looks great!

Now i'm wanting to start a nano too!

Gonna go start a thread for that and my many questions!

Take care

Cindy


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Thanks for the comments!

I'm glad to be of some inspiration for more nano tanks!


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

So it's been about a month since my last aquascaping; everything has really started to grow in, but I just noticed that I am really starting to have an algae problem.

It's all over the HC! And into the _Fissidens_ as well!



Can anyone positively ID it for me, and possible remedies? 

Lighting is still 2x 13W CFL bulbs
Pressurized CO2, enough to keep a drop checker with a 4 dkH reference solution green
Dosing is via EI regime (I took the 10 gallon tank measurements and scaled down for a 2.5g)


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Here are some updates for *April 4 2010*

Full tank shot, with all equipment removed from the tank:


Here's an from above tank shot to show the progress of the HC carpet:


Thanks to most people, I think the algae that I have is BBA. It's growing in little tufts, so I'm thinking of blasting it soon with some glutaraldehyde (Excel). I would imagine I would spot treat according to the instructions for a tank my size, and go from there?


A shot of my emersed HC experiment. It's really starting to take off now.


And finally, some shrimp pictures:


They're going crazy over it!


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## AlexXx (Dec 1, 2009)

I have that same algae starting, donno... ima try to spot treat it with h2o2 tomorrow! Loving the tank, the hc is doing great!


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

I think the HC is taking too long to carpet! Thanks for the comment.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Updates for *April 10 2010*
I've been spot treating with Excel for awhile now, and it seems to be killing off the BBA. However, at the same time, it seems that there was a mass RCS die-off as well, so I'm going to stop for now (> 10 shrimp dead). The problem with Excel in a nano aquarium is that it is very hard to measure out the proper dosage (I am already using a syringe to measure out 200 microlitres).

Also, I haven't really done any maintenance on the tank in a long time, so excuse the overgrown look of the tank.



On another note, the emersed HC is doing quite nicely



Finally, the RCS that are remaining (there's still at least 20 or so):


Note that they aren't as red, etc. I guess that is all due to the Excel.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Updates for *April 18 2010*


Compare with February 28


My emersed HC experiment is doing quite well:

Comparison with February 28


And a little surprise:

Oh no, the horror! You can also see how many shrimp I have in my 2.5g nano (I counted ~25)

So, I decided to rescape the entire 2.5g nano, as I was getting bored with the current scape. It went from the current scape to something a little more sparse.

I'm not really aiming for Iwagumi, but it definitely has that feel to it now.



Here it is just before filling:


And more pictures to come tomorrow after the dust has settled.


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## dj2005 (Apr 23, 2009)

I liked the previous scape very much, but the new scape looks even better! Great job on them both.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Thanks! Now that the tank has cleared up a bit, I've realized the hardscape needs a bit of tweaking.


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## MlDukes (Nov 24, 2009)

Love the new scape!


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

The dust has settled a bit, so I snapped a quick picture. I was too lazy to take out the equipment; also excuse the bubbles.


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## AlexXx (Dec 1, 2009)

looks good! but where is the fisseden! it was so pretty!


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

AlexXx said:


> looks good! but where is the fisseden! it was so pretty!


I ended up removing the _Fissidens_, as it was becoming too much of an eyesore. It had some bits of BBA growing on it (due to months of negligence), so I ended up tearing it off, spending an hour just pruning out the bad parts, and throwing the rest into a bucket. Hopefully, it'll grow out


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## AlexXx (Dec 1, 2009)

haha i see, well i love your tank! and wish i had your bright red shrimp!


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Thanks for the compliment!


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Tweaked the positioning/angle of the rocks on the right a little.

Also didn't bother taking any of the equipment out


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## becks17 (Dec 21, 2009)

Love the rocks! Anymore problems with the BBA?


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

There's a bit on the HC, but other than that, it looks OK. I went a little crazy with the pruning and got rid of most of the BBA. 

Though I think your nano looks much better than mine!


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## becks17 (Dec 21, 2009)

Wow thanks Darkblade48! Your's is going to be great once the carpet fills in around the rocks. Oh, maybe you could add another short plant between the rocks and the carpet to add to the transition/contrast. Maybe a darker moss or those hydrocoytle clover plants people use. But anyways, your tank is great, and the shrimp too!

I blast BBA with a syringe too otherwise maybe a 1-2 day blackout might help.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Updates for *April 25 2010*

Plants are doing pretty well even after being uprooted. The _Blyxa japonica_ is melting a little, but that's expected since it was uprooted. The melting isn't as bad as the first time.

It also turns out that the Red Sea Nano filter is a great shrimp killer. Even with the yellow sponge over the filter intake, it managed to to suck up 4 shrimp overnight...I was working last night, and heard this grinding noise from the filter. Turns out it was the sound of a RCS hitting the impeller  ... So I tried to turn down the filter, reposition the sponge, etc, but still managed to get 4 more shredded shrimp this morning.  

Tank pictures:


The emersed HC


And finally, the RCS. Not to worry, I still managed to count 15+.


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## AlexXx (Dec 1, 2009)

Man im sorry about your deaths! I just lost about 6+ RCS also! An oto died and ammonia spiked! i still cant find the damn oto >.< scape is looking great though!


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Just a picture I thought I'd share


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Updates for *May 2 2010*

Full tank shot:


Here's a shot of one of the female RCS doing her thing:


Finally, a shot of my emersed HC. Sharp people might notice that a rather large chunk of it seems to be missing. I have a good reason for that!



Tada!




Updates to follow!


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## mott (Nov 23, 2006)

Sweet!


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## Outlawboss (Dec 30, 2008)

Love your shrimp tank! Looks like a very nice place to be a shrimp, except for the spinning impeller of death that is the filter.  I've sucked up countless RCS into my filters too. Always makes me feel bad.

Dig the new tank too. Can't wait to see how that one takes off!


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## matthew.shelly (Dec 1, 2009)

love the new tank. what other plants are you planning on putting in it? i can't wait to see it .


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## AlexXx (Dec 1, 2009)

ooooo i absolutely LOVE your new hard scape!


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

matthew.shelly said:


> love the new tank. what other plants are you planning on putting in it? i can't wait to see it .


I'm thinking of _Blyxa japonica_ around the rocks in a little circle pattern, maybe some Dwarf Hairgrass, but I'm undecided on that. Trying to keep this as simple as possible 



AlexXx said:


> ooooo i absolutely LOVE your new hard scape!


Thanks!


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

An update for *May 16 2010*

Full tank shot:


A picture of the emersed HC. It's bouncing back pretty quickly even though I trimmed a large portion of it out.


Growth of the emersed HC in the other tank.


Finally, some shrimp.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Updates for *May 24 2010*

The HC is finally taking off to the point that I have to trim it back from time to time 

The _Blyxa japonica_ is also really starting to take over the sides of the tank.



I usually take out my equipment (heater, filter) when I do my photos, and as usual, today was no exception. I left my filter out in a plastic container for about 45 minutes as I was changing the water, etc. 

Anyway, as I was about to put back the filter, I thought "maybe I'll squeeze out the sponge that covers the filter intake". To my surprise, two shrimp were trapped in the filter strainer  

However, after placing them back into water, they seemed fine, and even swam out. Crazy shrimp!  

And finally, the ADA Mini-S with the emersed HC carpet.



Edit: Almost forgot my other emersed HC picture.


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## Morainy (Feb 8, 2010)

Your tank is looking really great. I thought that it was much bigger until I read your description. And your shrimp are lovely. Great pics!


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Morainy said:


> Your tank is looking really great. I thought that it was much bigger until I read your description. And your shrimp are lovely. Great pics!


Thanks for the comments. I find that there is a lot of green algae just growing on the rocks/glass sometimes.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Updates for *May 30 2010*.

Full tank shot. The _Blyxa japonica_ is really starting to look overgrown. I may have to do some severe pruning soon!



Haven't had a shrimp picture in a long time. Since my last die-off, I haven't seen any berried shrimp in a long time, until today.



My emersed HC growth:



And finally, the ADA Mini-S emersed HC growth. So far, so good!


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Updates for *June 13 2010*

Full tank shot:


ADA Mini-S emersed carpet progress.


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## ren (May 19, 2010)

dude! thats one nice tank i like the picture with the shrimp swarming all over the food i wonder how the next ones going to turn out im def going to following this one


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Looks great to me. Kinda makes me wish I still had at least one of my 2.5s.
Very nice :thumbsup:


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Some updates for this week of *June 20 2010*

A somewhat rarer, zoomed out FTS of my 2.5g nano. It's really starting to get overgrown, so I'll probably be rescaping soon. Either that, or moving everything over to the Mini-S, since the HC carpet is looking quite filled in at this point.



Here's a pregnant RCS


And finally a FTS of the Mini-S


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Updates for *June 27 2010*

This will be the last update for the 2.5g nano...

The unimaginable horror!


It's finished for now 


I may use the 2.5g nano in the future for an emersed setup (or maybe I'll just start another aquarium...), we'll see 

Check out my new journal below:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/planted-nano-tanks/111026-darkblades-ada-mini-s.html


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

So I lied. I ended up using my 2.5g nano tank as an emersed grow out tank. 

Here comes the HC and the Dwarf Hairgrass. It's my first time trying to grow the Dwarf Hairgrass emersed; we'll see how it does.


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## dj2005 (Apr 23, 2009)

What substrate are you now using in the 2.5g?


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

It is still Flourite Black Sand.


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## fisfan (Mar 27, 2010)

Thank you Darkblade. You've inspired me to journal the 5.5 I'll be starting next month. Please continue to keep us posted.


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

I've already torn down the 2.5g, and am using it as a grow out for HC and Dwarf Hairgrass (all emersed).

However, I do have the ADA Mini-S up and running


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## VincentK (Dec 16, 2009)

How did you do the HC emersed? Was it in a cup? And did you just cover and mist every once in a while?


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

I have done it inside a cup, but also have done it inside an aquarium; the principle is the same.

Essentially, you just cover up the container, and mist with some water once in a while to keep the humidity up. It is quite simple.


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## TeamTeal (Mar 31, 2010)

after it grows out, and you transfer or add water (if its already in the tank) would it melt like some other plants?


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## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

Yes, there will be some melt back of the HC as it transitions back from emersed to immersed form.


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