# Kayen's 5g Fluval Chi - Iwagumi - 56K beware



## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

Got bored. 10 gallon was looking ugly.
Tore it down, had extra substrate, picked the tank off kijiji for $40.
Didn't use stock filter/light. instead threw together some stuff I had laying around...


Substrate: Fluval Stratum
Lighting: 2x13w desklamps - trying to get a 10" Finnex FugeRay
Filtration: zoomed 501 canister filter - all the media was random stuff I had stuffed in my AC20, so filter media is already mature. 
CO2: Paintball canister with cheap regulator - getting a new one soon. 
Heater: NONE I was using a 150W in my 10, but that won't be feasible in this tank since i broke the temperature adjustment knob.... 
Any suggestions? 

Plants: Dwarf Hairgrass
Rocks: Seiryuu
Fish: 3 x Sparrow Rasbora, 3 x Stiphodons (all 3 are different species...), Cherry Shrimp (7-8) 

Tank in set up:








This is from last night. 

[/img]http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q207/Viettxboii/IMAG0564.jpg[/img]

After live stock:


















More pics once I get the DSLR out.

EDIT - DSLR shots
Sorry for double post but,

Here's some pics of setup,
(.mko doing some planting)


















Testing the CO2:

















































Full tank shot:









Enjoy


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## RcScRs (Oct 22, 2009)

Looking good! Solid hardscape. Mixing some Riccia or even Microswords in the foreground would make the scape more complex and interesting.


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## andrewss (Oct 17, 2012)

lookin good


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

Thanks for all the comments guys. Just uploaded a bunch of photos and added to the OP.

Enjoy!


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

Just an update if anyone cares, but I have ordered a new full CO2 setup, and also ordered a 10" FugeRay for the tank as well. 

Again I need heating suggestions, also debating if I want to stick with the cheap glass diffuser or not. Haven't done much reading, nor do I have the time so i value your suggestions. 

Also RcScRs - I intend to keep just hairgrass for the time being just for ease and uniform maintenance. Keeps it a lot simpler. Original plan was to have glosso up front, but decided just to have one species of plant in there to keep things manageable.


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## Francis Xavier (Oct 8, 2008)

holy crap, it's Kayen!


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

Francis Xavier said:


> holy crap, it's Kayen!


I think you meant "holy crap, there's water"


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## GMYukonon24s (May 3, 2009)

Nice setup!


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## jointbeaker (Feb 17, 2012)

It's nice to see another Chi on TPT.


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## briansbelle (Apr 24, 2009)

Great tank. I too will be setting up a fluval chi along with my 11.4g Mr aqua.
I love those little goby looking.things...they are awesome. Do they have a common name?


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## blink (Feb 22, 2012)

Nice tank, I love your little Stiphodons, I rarely ever see mine.

The aqueon pro heaters are pretty solid, lots of great features and so far mine has been really reliable and holds a consistent temperature.



briansbelle said:


> Great tank. I too will be setting up a fluval chi along with my 11.4g Mr aqua.
> I love those little goby looking.things...they are awesome. Do they have a common name?


They're Stiphodon gobies
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stiphodon


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## briansbelle (Apr 24, 2009)

Thanks, I googled them and their seems to be a bunch of different types and colors.
I def will be adding a couple to my tanks.

Along with some hillstream loaches.


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

Some new toys ....

So i upgraded my paintball CO2 to a full set up, and I upgraded my lights to a Finnex Fugeray... For a 3w light this thing is pretty bright... hopefully it'll make my plants happy. No algae problems to report so far, so that's good. 
On that note I added some blyxa japonica into the back corner as an experiment and see if it works okay.... Fingers crossed. 

So onto the pics...

The new toy:

















FTS: Showing gear and all









and some other shots...









Someone is looking to crash the party.... 









Hairgrass is yellowing, and I need to get a dosing program going... the hairgrass is starting to shoot up some runners and getting a bit thicker, so hopefully i'll see a nicely filled in tank soon.

Also I need a heater in there.... poor fish... 

Enjoy!~


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## BenderBendingRodriguez (Aug 29, 2009)

subscribed! can't wait to see updates


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## flc (Sep 10, 2012)

Your tank layout is almost exactly what I plan to do with my small bowfront.

I've haven't found many palatable options for reliable small heaters:

At the moment, the tank (Mr Aqua 7.5 gallon bowfront) is heated with a 7.5W Hydor Mini heater... and it's keeping the tank at 66-68 F in a 60 F ambient room, where the actual water volume is roughly 4 gallons after adding rocks, an aquaball, and substrate. (The tank only has White Cloud Fry and a couple of Amazon Swords) The 15W Mini may be a good choice if you're willing to dig up your substrate and your ambient temperature isn't quite as chilly.

When the fry finish their grow-out and get moved to another tank, I'm going to try a seedling heating mat instead. A low wattage (The 25W & 50W models are 9.56 inches long) Eheim Jager heater does fit, but it takes up too much room for my taste. My experience with chain store brand, Marineland, and Aqueon heaters hasn't been great. I wouldn't trust their small heaters to work for more than 10 - 20 months.

Edit: The mat might not work for your setup, since the plastic base would act as an insulator as well as break contact with your tank bottom. Heat transfer through the air works even less well than plastic, especially when you're trying to warm something with a high heat latency.


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

I was thinking of moving out the gobies and rasboras and throwing them into a more heavily planted, higher water flow tank where i don't mind aesthetics as much and can more easily hide a heater. Additionally I can start looking for some colder water fish - thinking about 4-5 white clouds ( one of my favourite species of fish..)


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

Snack time 









Also added 4 white cloud mountain minnows... the 3 Sparrow Rasboras will be moved once I have my 2.5 up and running again.


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## STS_1OO (Nov 28, 2012)

How large do the WCMM get and do they school well?

I have a Fluval Spec V (just a notch above 5G). After looking at the tank, its clear i'd have to go with some micro rasbora for even a decent schooling fish. I don't know how CPDs do in that respect. 

For now, I have pygmy cories also planned for this tank as well as cherry shrimp. We'll see how it goes!


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

STS_1OO said:


> How large do the WCMM get and do they school well?
> 
> I have a Fluval Spec V (just a notch above 5G). After looking at the tank, its clear i'd have to go with some micro rasbora for even a decent schooling fish. I don't know how CPDs do in that respect.
> 
> For now, I have pygmy cories also planned for this tank as well as cherry shrimp. We'll see how it goes!


Go get some microrasboras... WCMM will get too big, and these guys once they grow will join my school of WCMM in my 40b, as of right now they'll get eaten in there though.


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## STS_1OO (Nov 28, 2012)

Thanks Kayen.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

That looks really great, especially considering how tall the tank is compared to the stones. I usually don't like Iwagumi in tall tanks, especially this tall but you pulled it off. That's a feat in itself. Great tank, love the stone and layout.


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

talontsiawd said:


> That looks really great, especially considering how tall the tank is compared to the stones. I usually don't like Iwagumi in tall tanks, especially this tall but you pulled it off. That's a feat in itself. Great tank, love the stone and layout.


Thanks Matt, hairgrass is sending off runners. No update on Blyxa which seems to be not doing anything.

I lost one of the Stiphodons yesterday, it was struggling the moment I put it in the tank, and it seemed like it was only a matter of time. The other two are doing fine and feeding good. 

Also diatoms seem to be taking over really fast, and getting some green algae as well.
Right now i'm only dosing some seachem flourish every week, in addition to 0.3BPS CO2.


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

Hello. Diatoms much worse now.
How to deal with diatoms


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## belphegor (Nov 25, 2012)

What shrimps are in there? PFRs?


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## Kayen (Oct 14, 2007)

belphegor said:


> What shrimps are in there? PFRs?


Just Cherries.

Also here's an update:

Some new pics taken with my new lens.
Stiphodon percnopterygionus + Tanichthys albonubes









Stiphodon semoni









Full Tank Shot:









As you can see, lots of diatoms. Anyone help me out with this (since i keep asking....)?


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## chou (Feb 23, 2012)

otocinclus will clear that diatom out in 1 day. guranteed


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## zerreissen (Jan 8, 2013)

*heater for Chi*

Howdy guys, I'm new here and this will be my first post. Kayen, I saw that you're looking for a heater for your Chi. I've been using a Finnex 50w titanium heater on my Chi since last October with great success.

http://www.amazon.com/Finnex-Contro...Gallon/dp/B00354QO9Y/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

My main complaint would be the power cord is thick and stiff, would be nice if it was bent 90 degrees at the heater since you're supposed to have the heater placed horizontally. I had it hidden behind a piece of driftwood.

Here's a pic from last November after I first set it up:


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## skindy (Jan 30, 2012)

I think at this point try to scrape as much off as you can and stick to regular water changes. Eventually all the silicates will be removed (which is what diatoms feed on). If you'd like to speed things up, maybe add an oto as a one-man clean-up crew (the RCS will help). There are chemical products but I would look at those as a last resort. Completely up to you! This thread was pretty informative for me when I had a diatom bloom: http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquariumforum/showthread.php?t=60144

Nice tank, either way  I have a Chi myself! I have an Elite submersible Preset 25-watt mini-heater that keeps my water temps between 68-73 at the lowest setting. It's not super pretty but it works. I could have placed it sideways and behind the filter now that I look at the picture... not sure why I didn't, hah!


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## Octantis (Jan 9, 2014)

What ever happened with the diatoms? I'm also interested in how the 10" Fugeray worked out.


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## boxboy (Jun 1, 2013)

Nice photos. What substrate are you using, I like the looks of it.


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