# Ryanlogics 6gal nanocube...UPDATE!!!



## ryanlogic (Dec 21, 2009)

also, the water has severely yellowed, Ive been told due to the soil.

hopefully frequent water changes, and the addition of more plants can mitigate this unsightly problem


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## Craigthor (Sep 9, 2007)

Kyoto grass will die shortly its not a true aquatic but a bog plant I believe.

Craig


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## ryanlogic (Dec 21, 2009)

thanks for the heads up, Ill be taking it out then.


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## dj2005 (Apr 23, 2009)

Seachem Purigen will remove the yellow coloring. It will go away on its own once the substrate ages too.


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## ryanlogic (Dec 21, 2009)

I'm already running filter floss, purigen, and a mesh bag with ceramic rings. 

This may be a dumb question, but will my tank cycle as it is+ more plants? 

I'm accustomed to the cycle being initiated by the live rock/die off in reef systems.

I put a couple of drops of "stress zyme" in the tank when I added the water initially... Is that enough to trigger the colonization of the necessary bacteria? 

Also, I opted to use water filtered through my faucet filter(3 stage pur brand) as opposed to my reverse osmosis filter... Was this wise? should I just use tap water? I live in Florida and the water quite poor in quality......Heavily chlorinated. 


Thanks


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## ryanlogic (Dec 21, 2009)

received first portion of HC. from Plantedrandall It looks good, I would definitely recommend him as a seller.:thumbsup::thumbsup:

that being said. i have no clue how to plant it.:icon_cry:

as you can see, I am just keeping the mats in place with chopsticks for the time being. 

I posted a question in the Plant section here

if you have any suggestions let me know


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## dj2005 (Apr 23, 2009)

"should i dissect the mat and painstakingly plant each dissection?"

For the best results, yes. You want to spread it out as thinly as possible rather than planting it in clumps. This will allow faster growth and will eliminate a patchy look. Have fun! 

HC does not grow large roots. If you grow it emersed, the roots do increase in size and provide fairly good anchorage, but when grown immersed, the roots stay small. This is another reason why you don't want to leave it like it is as the roots will not latch onto the substrate well unless planted.


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## ryanlogic (Dec 21, 2009)

thank you, off to find some long forceps.

one more quick question.....the roots are very small, is it OK if i just plant strips of the mat..like roots, foliage and all..?

or should i take care to try to plant just the roots?


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## dj2005 (Apr 23, 2009)

ryanlogic said:


> thank you, off to find some long forceps.
> 
> one more quick question.....the roots are very small, is it OK if i just plant strips of the mat..like roots, foliage and all..?
> 
> or should i take care to try to plant just the roots?


You'll probably have to plant some of the actual leaves below the substrate just so the HC stays put.


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## ryanlogic (Dec 21, 2009)

turns out there was a better way to plant the HC...click here to see related thread.

Update: I wont be receiving any more HC, the guy who i ordered it from said it would be an additional two weeks...its seems as if what i have will be enough anyway. i just hope it fills in with my setup....... I will be getting a few pots of Dwarf Hairgrass next week....ill be planting that in the back next to and behind the rear stone.

OH, I found a moss ball, and I couldn't refuse.


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## ryanlogic (Dec 21, 2009)

Ok so I'm crossing my fingers for growth. I am currently researching some diy co2 options..... and thinking about picking up some excell.

but there is a lot of conflicting information out there, and I want to make sure I do this right. 

I'm currently limited in regards to light. I don't forsee myself spending too much more money on this particular tank...... This is kind of my practice run, and I'd like to keep things low tech. mainly because I'm not sure if I want to purchase a pressurized system or not, but if I did it would be going along with a rimless tank in my living room. If I intended this to be my main tank, I would probably take the hood off and purchase some sort of clamp on light with a higher wattage....but I'd rather just see what I can do with what I have.

ok, so limited in lighting(18 watts cfl).... But I'm totally capable of adding diy co2, and fertilizer........ But I'm not sure if the benefits from either of those things is contingent on a more powerful light. I don't wanna waste my time, or throw the system way out of balance.

any feedback, or advice in regards to this question, or this tank in general....would be greatly appreciated


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## Fat Guy (Nov 19, 2003)

I think you have some real potential for a cool iwagumi "bedrock" scape. You may need to play around a bit with the rock configuration and the substrate. But cool tank. Hope the HC works out for you.


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## ldk59 (Jan 30, 2009)

You have plenty of light for the HC... but without C02 your chances of success with it are limited...

Even a cheap DIY setup will be better than none. (the biggest issue with DIY C02 is inconsistancy)

For ferts, just give Orlando @ GLA a shout... He'll hook you right up!


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## ryanlogic (Dec 21, 2009)

I've been planning to pick up a rimless aquarium from GLA in the near future. I live relatively close to Gainesville so I wAs hoping to arrange a local pickup. 

maybe I should consider doing so a bit sooner so I can pick up some ferts. 

I'm at work, so I can pickup a big gatoraide bottle to start a diy co2 setup. 

where should I start in regards to ferts? I was just planning on buying a premade mix... But if I'm gonna dose dry ferts I should prolly do some homework. 

any suggestions to improve the aesthetics of my scape?


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## Fat Guy (Nov 19, 2003)

ryanlogic said:


> any suggestions to improve the aesthetics of my scape?


I found this from aquajournal helpful.


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## ryanlogic (Dec 21, 2009)

*wow*

great link....

I will most definitely take these styles into consideration.

thank you


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## ryanlogic (Dec 21, 2009)

*Diy co2*

Set up a diy CO2 setup with a 2 liter Gatorade bottle, a couple hose barb fittings from home depot, some silicone tubing, and a check valve (which I'm not sure if I need,) and an airstone (white, fine mist type)

here is the recipe I used, and its working flawlessly. took about 10 minutes to start producing CO2 :thumbsup:

2 cups granulated sugar
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp fleischmanns baking yeast.

I filled up the bottle with _hot_ water _half way_. added the sugar and baking soda. I shook the bottle untill the sugar dissolved. The purpose of the hot water is to dissolve the sugar.

after that, I filled it up with _colder_ water and left _about 3 inches _to the top for expansion bubbling etc. the purpose of adding cold water is to cool the mixture down as not to harm the yeast.

after the mixture seemed lukewarm/ room temperature...I added the yeast, and gently shook the mixture.

ten minutes later I had bubbles. 

I will continue to monitor the bottle to make sure that i don't get yeast water sludge into my tank. If i see an unhealthy rise in bubbles, I will introduce another chamber.

If it is unnecessary I intend to leave it out..... its presence would just introduce more places where leaks could occur.

hopefully my airstone performs well.



:help:its decision time: which fertilization method should i use?

and I should probably pick up a test kit...:icon_redf

any suggestions?


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## Aquarist_Fist (Jul 22, 2008)

Test kit: The API test set is good. Don't waste your time with the stupid sticks.

Airstone: You are using it to dissolve the CO2? If yes, you should find an alternative as quickly as possible. The bubbles coming from the airstone are too large, which means the won't have a chance to be absorbed in the water. Get a real CO2 diffuser. Until you have one, you can use the tip of a cheap wooden chopstick.

CO2 magic: Just use warm water in the future. 

Fertilizer: Get the macro/micro dry ferts from GLA when you are in Gainesville. With such as small tank, they will last you until the year 2246, but aquariums have a tendency to multiply over time... 

Fish: Don't use tetras or comparable schooling fish. A 6 gallon tank is simply too small for any type of schooling fish (except maybe microrasboras, but even they like swimming space). And do NOT put two dwarf puffers into such a small tank. It may work, but chances are it won't, and if it doesn't, it will be nasty. Puffers are not exactly social fish, so a solitary one wouldn't be unhappy. If your tank is well covered, killies could be nice. There is also a whole list of nano fish in the nano forum - very useful!


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## Fat Guy (Nov 19, 2003)

I keep 6 neon tetras in my 6gallon. They school and swim around with no problem. But I have an Edge which I think is longer than your 6 gallon so they have a little more space "length-wise." I also like microrasboras and think they would be a cool addition if I didn't have the neons.


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## ryanlogic (Dec 21, 2009)

I believe the swimming space in my tank is around 5 gallons, because the back chambers are included. 

thanks for the advice on the puffers. 

maybe just one then. 

not really there yet anyhow..still just working on the scape and co2/fertilizer stuff.

chopstick it is. does if matter if its a wooden chopstick or a bamboo one? i only have bamboo right now, it seems denser.

thanks again.


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## ryanlogic (Dec 21, 2009)

> CO2 magic: Just use warm water in the future.


where is that middle finger emoticon when i need it?:icon_wink


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## ryanlogic (Dec 21, 2009)

The Bamboo chopstick I had works well. Tiny bubbles get sucked unto my circulation pump, and swirl like crazy through the entire tank, I'm actually worried about too much CO2.

when I get paid I'm gonna purchase the API test kit, and possibly order some more HC

is the pferts low tech solution a good option for me? if not, they have a good marketing strategy. maybe I'll just order the fertilizer from GLA. 

I'm not going to Gainesville until this semester is over.... So I can either order some stuff, or try to buy fertilizer locally. 

hopefully I can find some potted HC with longer roots to plant, providing supplemental carpeting to what I have growing now.... 

The HC I have seems to be hanging in there BTW.


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## ryanlogic (Dec 21, 2009)

*scape update.*

better?


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## ryanlogic (Dec 21, 2009)

*Finalized scape!*



OK, I have two ottos doing fine, been dealing with some seriously nasty brown/rust colored algae. On that front, the ottos are F***ing amazing.

I also have some BGA popping up and some hair-like algae floating around. so far ive just used a little bit of seachem flourish(not excel), and i am attibuting the algae to tank immaturity and unstable DIY CO2. in reality, the ottos are taking care of a lot. If you guys had seen pictures of this tank 2 weeks ago you would have chased me out of the forum

Im gonna order some excell, and hope to set up a small CO2 system for this I am looking at the GLA paintball set up, because i can fit it on the floor next to the stand, or possibly behind my bed. It would be totally awesome if i could set it up with the paintball tank sideways. because then I could place it inside the drawer and port a hole out of the back of my nightstand. i just dont know how that would be possible with a bubble counter and I don't know if that would affect the output/reliability/performance of the system.

Kinda of a setback, because I wanna save that money for a rimless GLA system...in time i suppose..... If i can figure out an economical way to stabilize these algae blooms...that would be cool

tell me what you think...livestock recommendations and fertilization suggestions welcome. looking into a pfertz package ( i know i know...it just seems easier that way as opposed to dosing dry ferts...for now)

I saw a few dwarf albino corys but i figured I ought to do some research before bringing them home.

i would like a cool "showpiece" either an interesting fish, or maybe a small group of something. 

thanks for looking!


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## ldk59 (Jan 30, 2009)

Just remember, it's all about "stability" with planted tanks... and that stability is harder to achieve 
in a smaller tank (but by no means impossible)

There is nothing wrong with using "Pferts", they just cost a bit more... I use the ADA Brighty system in my 5.5 gallon Mini-M (a bit more $$ than dry, but IMHO easier to manage in a small tank) Use whatever method YOU feel comfortable with 

I've never seen "dwarf albino corys", but any of the small cory species(habrosus, hastatus or pygmaeus) would be a good fit. Remember that ALL corys do much better when kept in groups, I like to keep at least five of each species as a minimum.

HTH

Larry


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## ryanlogic (Dec 21, 2009)

Im definitely taking my time with this one. my first step is to decide upon, and order some fertilizer. and decide upon a species of fish.

5 cories seems like a bit much for a tank my size.....I don't want to be irresponsible here.

whats a good fish that could be happily kept alone or a species that does well in groups and can be kept in smaller tanks like mine? 

Im genuinely hoping that I can avoid setting up a pressurized CO2 system on this tank.


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## TLE041 (Jan 16, 2010)

How about one of the three dwarf cories? Unlike their regular cousins, these fishes populate the entire water column rather than just at the bottom. And they're much more active. Because of their small size and low bioload, you can easily get a school of 10 in your tank.


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## ryanlogic (Dec 21, 2009)

can you tell me the 3 exact species that would be compatible? i know there are a few available at petsmart that they call dwarf cory but i get different pictures when i search online.


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## TLE041 (Jan 16, 2010)

- Corydoras pygmaeus
- Corydoras habrosus
- Corydoras hastatus

Any of them would be fine in your tank. 

I have a school of 5 pygmy cories in my nano and they're great.


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## ryanlogic (Dec 21, 2009)

TLE041 said:


> - Corydoras pygmaeus
> - Corydoras habrosus
> - Corydoras hastatus
> 
> ...



thank you! I'm gonna keep my eye out for some of these.


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## Cynth (Sep 11, 2010)

It's cool to see your thread. I just bought a used 6 gallon nano cube and I am thinking of using it for another planted tank.


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## ryanlogic (Dec 21, 2009)

I revived this tank, for the thread... Follow the link: 

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=422657


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