# 7.5 gallon cube: 7.16.10 Updated pics



## topjimmy (May 6, 2010)

Greetings all,

I have been reading a lot on this site for a month or so and was hoping to get some help. I am planning a 7.5 cube for my office. I am going to try MTS and sand for a substrate, some rocks and maybe a piece of driftwood for hardscape. I was really wondering what you would all recommend for a filter. I thought about a a tom's canister, a magnum hot, or an AQ20 (or similar).

I will prob go the HD desk lamp for light. What do you all think?


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## Damian (Jun 17, 2009)

The Home Depot desk lamp works great from my personal experience. As far as filtering goes it really depends on your personal preference as far as "visual" appearance goes. Some people dont like the look of a HOB filter while others dont mind. The zoomed 501 canister filter might be a go but not sure if itll be strong enough to fully filter the aquarium. I stand by the red sea nano filters. Though I do use them on a 2.5 gallon. They work wonders. Just an fyi.


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## slippy steve (May 11, 2010)

topjimmy from NR?


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## TLE041 (Jan 16, 2010)

Definitely no Red Sea Nano filter - those are only rated for around 2 gallons.

If you don't mind the look of a HOB, there's nothing better out there than Aquaclears. The plus is that you can integrate the heater and CO2 into it to reduce the number of things in the tank.

As for canisters, I wouldn't get the Tom. The majority of user reviews about it are negative (poor construction quality). The Zoomed 501 is slightly better rated, but it might be a little on the low side in terms of flow rate. You might get away with it if you lightly stock the tank and plant heavily.

My personal recommendation is the Eheim Classic 2211, which I have in my 4 gallon tank. The quality is good and the amount of biological filtration for a filter this size is unbeatable. The problem is that it's very difficult to find. I've only seen it for sale on eBay.


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## topjimmy (May 6, 2010)

slippy steve said:


> topjimmy from NR?


Is there another? :icon_twis


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## slippy steve (May 11, 2010)

:yay:


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## topjimmy (May 6, 2010)

Ok so the tank is set up, MTS covered in well washed sand. I have some rocks in for hardscape, now I need some plants. 

Tank is a 12x12x12 cube, light is the Hampton Bay sunlight lamp. AC20 and a small heater.

I would like some nice foreground and carpet on parts, and then some background plants. I'll have to take some pics to give you all a better idea.

Also, some fish ideas. Maybe a few Oscars......:wink:


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## topjimmy (May 6, 2010)

Pic as promised.


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## topjimmy (May 6, 2010)

No comments?


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## PlatinumSM (Apr 25, 2010)

Hey! Nice tank!

Definitely go for the Eheim 2211 - I have done the HOB thing and it is really annoying if you don't like your substrate getting kicked up by the output. You can buy the Eheim on Amazon.com for less than $60.

I have the Eheim 2213 on my 12-G and it can clear the water after aquascaping in less than 15 minutes - really a miracle filter, with NO chemical filtration at all!

Your scape is pretty - you could do a pair or Scarlet Badis or even a school of Celestial Pearl Danios or White Cloud Minnows (I like schooling fish) for a cool effect.

Good luck!


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## xmas_one (Feb 5, 2010)

Slope that substrate! 

Cubes usually look best with it real high in the back on one side and low on the opposite side in the front. 

And if you can use all the same color rock, IMO, it looks better.


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## topjimmy (May 6, 2010)

xmas_one said:


> Slope that substrate!
> 
> Cubes usually look best with it real high in the back on one side and low on the opposite side in the front.
> 
> And if you can use all the same color rock, IMO, it looks better.



I see the point of the slope, but won't that much substrate cause an anaerobic zone?

What plants do you all suggest. I want to do something colorful on the left side, maybe dwarf hairgrass from the middle or so then to the left around the big rock


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## hybridtheoryd16 (Mar 20, 2009)

If it were me I would get rid of atleast the big rock all together. It just looks out of place and unnatural to me.

Maybe replace it with a nice branchy piece of drift wood going diagonial. Then some taller stem plants behind it and your hair grass every where else.


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## topjimmy (May 6, 2010)

hybridtheoryd16 said:


> If it were me I would get rid of atleast the big rock all together. It just looks out of place and unnatural to me.
> 
> Maybe replace it with a nice branchy piece of drift wood going diagonial. Then some taller stem plants behind it and your hair grass every where else.


Hmm I thought it was a focal point kind of rock. Maybe some driftwood would look better. I'll have to see what I can find


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## topjimmy (May 6, 2010)

Ok,

I redid the rock work and the substrate. Added some HC, and have some Subwassertang otw.








G]




Now for fish. I was thinking 3 oto's and a small school of tetras, and rasbora. What do you all think? I will prob add some shrimp at some point also.


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## jman (Sep 7, 2009)

Anubias nana "petite" would be a great plant around the base of the rocks. If the rocks in the back were moved up to meet the rocks in the front, you could put some Vallisneria or maybe some stems in the background.


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## fishydaze (May 1, 2009)

Hey-I think a school of small small rasboras would be good (emerald rasboras, mosquito rasboras); otos love company, so three is nice for them (once you have algae for them to eat . You might want to have some kind of small forest (patch of stem plants by the intake?) for the flock to lurk in. I liked the earlier rock formation: not natural, as one of the comments said, but very graphic. You could have played off it with different heights of colorful plants (red lotus, yellow-green hair grass)Sort of good for work, maybe? What you have ended up with has some depth and distance to it, which is good.

Alternative fish thoughts: pygmy gourami (Sparkling gourami) or aphyosemion australe killifish

with a 7.5 gallon, its hard to have an 'anaerobic' zone if you have any kind of filter and current at all and plant life; and the sloping of the substrate is classic 'fooling of the eye' for adding depth and distance (as is putting small leaved things farther away and large-leaved things closer).

Maybe tuck a little java moss or peacock moss in among rocks...


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## topjimmy (May 6, 2010)

Thanks for the feedback.

I updated the prior pic, the cell phone camera was crap


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## topjimmy (May 6, 2010)

*Update: 7.16.10*

Hi all,

Just an update on the tank. I think it's looking pretty good.

I have to thank dbossman for the great subwasser and so much more!





























I have 3 oto's in now. I'm really looking for some fish and shrimp to add if anyone can give some suggestions.


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## mott (Nov 23, 2006)

I think it's looking great! Go out and get some Excel if you don't have it already and use it accordingly, it'll help the HC... By the way you should trim that HC IMO


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## topjimmy (May 6, 2010)

I am dosing excel. I know it needs trimmed but I wanted to let it grow in more before I did that. I push new shoots down into the sand, but it is getting kinda thick...


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

topjimmy said:


> I am dosing excel. I know it needs trimmed but I wanted to let it grow in more before I did that. I push new shoots down into the sand, but it is getting kinda thick...


If you want to get rid of the algae, you should dose more Excel than recommended. What's even better is "spot treatment" - suck up some Excel in a pipette, turn off the filter, and squirt it in the algae. Do this once a day and the algae should be gone soon


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## ncassells (Jun 19, 2010)

i suggest endlers for fish in this tank
or clown killies roud:


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## ddtran46 (Jul 8, 2008)

What substrate are you using?


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## topjimmy (May 6, 2010)

The substrate is mts with a cap of paver base sand from HD. Took for ever to rinse clean but I like the look with that stone. I whish I had planted the HC before i filled the tank. It was hard to get it into the substrate, though it is growing well. I dose about 2ml of excel a day, and also use a pinch of dry ferts a twice a week.

How do you all trim the HC anyway?

I only get a little film algea so far and I can siphon it off with the water change.

Where can i get endlers?


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## beedee (Jul 1, 2010)

nice looking cube. any updates?


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## MARIMOBALL (Mar 18, 2007)

ncassells said:


> i suggest endlers for fish in this tank
> or clown killies roud:


Endlers wold be great clowns will jump out of a rimless. You can get CPD's, ember tetras, phoenix rasaboras, micro rasboras maculata. Or any small school of nano fish. 
Dario dario and sparkling gurami are great but they will hunt and eat the shrimp but if you have a a big colony of hardy shrimp like RCS then you can afford to sacrifice a few.
Your scape is looking great. I woud suggest finer leaved stem plants like didplis diandra and rotala indica or rotala sp. green. You can add more deph by planting plants in the midground in front of the rocks. E. tenellus micro "red" would look great as well as lobelia cardinalis "small form", downoi, or crypt parva.


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## fauxjargon (Oct 23, 2010)

I really like the tank. IMO, it does not need fish. I would just throw a group of cherry shrimp in there to add some life to the tank.


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