# Fish_Fasinated's 2.5G



## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

alright this is my Betta's 2.5 gallon all glass home. it stands now with nothing but driftwood Anubias Nana and Java Fern. oh and that green blob in the back is a chunk of Christmas moss. bit of left over after adding some mosses to my 20 gallon. i am planning a re-scape, and i would like to take the time to share my thoughts and look forward to contractive criticism.

















i would like to remove the anubias and the java. that leaves me with a bear piece of driftwood to work with. you can see from the next two shots what i have to work with the driftwood.
















i will be adding Rotala Rotundifolia to the back as a bit of back drop, or put it in one corner and add another plant to the other corner. I'm not sure what to add if i were to go the second route. i would like to keep the same basic shape of the Rotala, but maybe more green. anyone have any suggestions here?

as for the piece of driftwood i would like to add a moss to this. I'm undecided on which type of moss out of the three i have to add. here is what i have and why i like them.

1. Christmas moss, this is the first choice as i already have some spare in the tank already i would just tie it to the wood instead of floating it. i think the darker green of this moss would give a nice contrast to the pinky red of the Rotala.

2. flame moss, i just absolutely love this moss. looks so cool, and has a sort of darker green to give a little more contrast again. it would look pretty interesting with the shape of the wood as well.

3. Singapore moss, a fairly nice light green moss. might bring the look of the Rotala more into the over all appeal more. if that makes any sense.

the final step is going to be adding some HC to the foreground after i get a second light. currently one 13W "full spectrum" PC light is all i have. in fact its the only equipment i have for the whole tank. but thats going to have to wait as I'm in college, just moved to a new city, and am still looking for a part time job.

so this is where i employ all the nano experts and the makers of all those gorgeous nanos I'm always seeing, to leave me some thoughts and constructive criticism on this tank. 

thanks, Dan


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## OverStocked (May 26, 2007)

generally speaking WORDS make a post a lot better. Hard to follow how it transforms without some sort of narative....


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

lol i know, meant to hit preview instead of post.

now iv edited and added words.


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

oh come on no thoughts from anyone?


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

I like it so far. The anubias looks like a giant in the tank.

Maybe you can consider some smaller plants like dwarf hairgrass, HC, glosso, HM to make the tank seem larger than it is? 

Cryptocoryne parva is another nice one.


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

hence the reason for the redo. the wood will more then likely be moss. just don't know which type out of the three i have. rotala will be added into the back and hc is comming after adding another light as im only sitting at with one 13W PC light right now. i know lots to read, most dont like to.

any other suggestions to add to this?


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

Rotala will work nicely. How hard is your water? Tonina species may make the tank look bigger too, or Myriophyllum matogrosso.

Having some plantlets of dwarf hairgrass pop up around the wood may look nice too.


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

pretty darn hard, not sure how hard but i know its hard. heck local favorite is rift lake cichids.


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

*rotala added.*

alright i added some rotala rotundifolia clippings from my 20 gallon to the tank. hoping this will solve some of the algea issues im having recently, that and better water change practices. i have decided that the anubias and java will soon be taking up residence in my 20 gallon in exchange for some flame moss. iv added some new pictures to show my little handy work so far.


















thoughts please!

ps. sorry for the wordy beggining as i tend to ramble quite easily. future posts will be easier on the brain i swear.


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

Dan, have you added a filter yet? I'd say that it would be super-important at this point if you haven't. Plants grow so much better with flow. It's so important that I'd recommend putting the money you may have for another light or CO2 or even fish and get a nano filter instead.

And a Yoda.


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## CAN_chic (Jan 21, 2008)

Ugly Genius said:


> Dan, have you added a filter yet? I'd say that it would be super-important at this point if you haven't. Plants grow so much better with flow. It's so important that I'd recommend putting the money you may have for another light or CO2 or even fish and get a nano filter instead.
> 
> And a Yoda.


I second the Yoda!! 

You can even just add an air stone if you didnt want to fully invest in filter.. At least you would have water flow


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

its on the list, and before the light i might add. lol i threw in the RR to kinda tide me over as i JUST got a part time job yesterday! then im working on my 20 and this one at the same time. hopefully that won't be my downfall. and as for the yoda thats a luke skywalker i got way back when they re did the originals. i think ebay is the only way ill find a yoda.


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

oh and i picked up nature aquarium world from my local library so ill be reading that a ton for the next couple weeks to get some inspiration!


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

short update, the anubias and java fern are out. i attached some flame moss to the wood, had just enough to cover the top of the wood. ill snap some shots tomorow as its late and getting ready for bed as its 530 am morning tomorow


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## Mangala (Jul 23, 2006)

Looking forward to those snapshots! Mostly because you can keep track of how well your moss grows by looking back at the snapshots. One day you look in your tank and it's like, "OMG! where did my fish go???" and then you find out he's been making little tunnels in your moss to get around and hunt. My old betta does that - but then his poor old tank is over-run with both green hair algae AND java moss and nothing else. He seems to like it, though. lol... He really does dig tunnels through the junk.


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

lol thier a coming, but i need to weedout some of the old pictures i have on my computer. ill post new ones by tonight i swear.


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## ohyeahcrx (Mar 21, 2008)

yo pictures! Haha I need some inspiration for the 2.5 tank I plan on doing.


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

totally forgot that i hadn't posted the new pictures yet! so here they are:
















not much has changed, just getting growth from the RR and flame moss now as they are just getting established now. this is a "relatively" low light tank as i only have one 13W light over the tank right now. 

great part is i just started at my local BA in the fish room so i get a nice deal on stuff:icon_wink. was checking out some downoi (Pogostemon helferi) and some hair grass. lol this job has sparked some thought that i know im gonna get killed for.


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

well little micro update, tank is doing OK. the rotala is growing nicely, as well as the flame moss. or atleast the moss was until it got over run with hair algea. unfortunetly its gotta sit like that for a couple weeks when i can afford more stuff. i also added a decent sized Downoi to the tank as well. i will have to take some pictures tomorow night though as my kitten knocked the light into my tank in the night. so its now drying out till tomorow as pictures with flash never look nice.


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

my downoi is pearling a little bit (along with my algea)! and my camera batteries are dead! GAH!


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## asimkhatri (Sep 17, 2007)

is this AS amozonia..?


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

nope a very shallow layer of geo system black. i wish i a) had AS available here and b) could afford it. im thinking of switching to eco once i get some for my 20G im redoing.


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## asimkhatri (Sep 17, 2007)

sound's great 
iam using potting soil and river sand as substrate at start plants shows good growth But now they r turning into brown and stopped growing..
I will change my substrate into river gravel 3 to 4mm


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

i doubt its the potting soil tahts the issue with your plants. what is your lighting like in your tank?

you should look for smaller gravel, 3 to 4mm would look rather large in a small tank.


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## asimkhatri (Sep 17, 2007)

ye Mine is 22 gallon 
light's 2x24watts 6500K compact bulb's


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

yet another pictureless mini update. lol 

i managed to get the tiniest piece of HC that was floating in the nice planted show tank at work! lol i figured it wasn't doing anything floating away from the mother piece. i swear there will be pictures some time in the next couple days. im working full time in the fish room at my local big al's while im in school so its litle hard to get anything done. but ill get it i swear.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

fish_fasinated said:


> yet another pictureless mini update. lol
> 
> i managed to get the tiniest piece of HC that was floating in the nice planted show tank at work! lol i figured it wasn't doing anything floating away from the mother piece. i swear there will be pictures some time in the next couple days. im working full time in the fish room at my local big al's while im in school so its litle hard to get anything done. but ill get it i swear.


Aquasoil isn't that much more expensive than eco complete, and yes, I am counting shipping  Plus eco isn't that great IME. I've just starting using AS and I'm impressed so far. My eco is basically inert by now:icon_cry:


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

well there have been some teaking to my plans on that. i have heard that eco can raise hardness a bit and living where i do the water is hard enough as it is. as for AS i would go for that if it was a little more readily available to me. living in ontario canada, there are no suppliers in canada even on this side of the country for any ADA equipment. the only canadian ADA supplier is in BC on the west coast. shipping would just be too high. 

and so i have decided that since flourite is more readily available, as it is sold at my store, im just going to go that route. i might be getting a bag of flourite dark and black and mix the two. my 20 gallon is just going to get the same treatment. besides its going to be cheaper this way.


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## CL (Mar 13, 2008)

Flourite is a good choice. That flourite black looks great!


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

alright so i FINALLY took some pictures of my tank. so here are the updates so far; added a downoi and the tiniest clipping of HC to the tank. other then that nothing has changed. so here are the shots:
HC clipping one, just three little stems coming off that one








and here is the second with only two little tiny stems








and now the downoi! i love this little plant, so different from everything else.
















and the all too important FTS









I also bought my girlfreind a betta today, used up the other spare 2.5G i had sitting around. now if i can just convince her to let me plant this sucker ill be happy as can be!








and the rather sparse tank. im just praying no plastic and let me do real!









please excuse the poor quality shots, its a combination of my poor skill and a crap camera.


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

is the DW too big for this tank? should i look for somelthing smaller? its got a unique shape but im not sure of the size. any thoughts would be greatly aperciated thanks!


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

I don't think the DW's too big. If anything, I would add rocks to accent it. Add some sharp, jagged rocks and play with it's positioning a bit and it'll be rad. Meaning bring attention to it by taking attention away from it. If you know what I mean.


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

i think i know what you mean, i think some darker grey stones would help maybe? 

on the bright side, my HC and Downoi are growing, all be it slow, but growing none the less. but im also having heavy algae problems so im gonna invest in some shrimp next pay check. we have some orange bee shrimp im interested in, might just get 6 of em.


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

well as said before i bought some rocks, I'm starting to consider removing the DW from this scape and using just this sort of rock. might be over done but I'm gonna do it my way.










there is a penny in the shot to give a little perspective on how big they are. I'm going to see if there are any larger ones that aren't too big. 

what i was thinking was putting the rotala in the corner surrounding it with a bit of rock work and spreading it out to help it flow, then plant the downoi in front of the rock with the HC taking up the rest of the tank. I'm planning on purchasing some fluorite in the near future too. might just do it all then.

any thoughts?

oh and i also bought the fattest little clown pleco i have ever seen from work the other day! now don't worry he isn't in this tank. he is in my 20G










I'm calling him my fatty little lumpkin!


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

that is a one fat fish lol


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

well i came home from work today to some sad news. my betta George, has passed on.  so now i think i'll be getting some orange bee shrimp as it feels very empty. luckly its pay day tomorow.


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

That sucks, fish. Sorry to hear about that. And good on getting the Orange Bee Shrimp.

I like the rocks a lot. The lines really lend themselves to a two point five gallon tank; their detail will drag the eye in.
Now do us a favor and put the rocks in the tank and take a photo.


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

im still on the idea of pitching the DW (in my big tank) and getting more rocks. i dont plan on igagumi, but i love the texture of these rocks.


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

shrimp are here! and so are some bigger rocks! so have 5 rocks to put in, but thier going to wait till after i figure out substrate. im asking if there are any partial bags at work to see what comes up.


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

well as of today, this tanks days are numbered me-thinks. we got some rimless nano tanks in at work today and i set a 7.5G aside. its a really nice shape, 14x9x12. 

but for today iv added some red myriophyllum, now mind you its not the floresent red shown in the plant profile on this site, but more of a nice redish-browny-green colour.

ill get some pictures once if cleaned up a bit!


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

Perfect dimensions, I think. You can have a high-light, but cheap tank with those dimensions.


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

do you think 26W would be enough?


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

Depends on what you're going to grow and how that twenty-six watts sits over the tank. It should be good for many plants, but I'm not so sure about carpet ones and whatnot.

I myself was thinking of getting a tank of about that size and I was looking into thirty-six watts.


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

Well after some pondering over this whole deal I determined I need to focus on two tanks tank. Well little more like one and a half, I currently, in my head, had three tank projects on the go. This 2.5G and my 20G.

My 2.5G is almost at the point where I need to just let it grow out. Tonight, its getting a little flourite black mixed in with the current substrate. It's also getting a second light putting my lighting total wattage over this little thing at 26W. That should get that HC growing nice and carpety (not a word but i like it).

In the coming weeks i have a glass diffuser coming in the mail. Then i get me a couple pop bottles and some hose for a little DIY co2. I still don't plan on fertilizing as my shrimp will do that for me but with the flourite this little puppy should take off in no time.

Once I have the upgrades added to this tonight I'll snap a picture update.


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

*rescaped and upgraded slightly*

Alright so I upgraded a little more and rescaped a bit! I only added two out of the three rock I originally intended on adding. The third larger rock felt like it was too crowded in there. 

I also added Florite Black, I added it in equal amounts with the Geo System Black gravel. This way I ensure I get the beneficial bacteria in the Geo System gravel. 

and my last upgrade i added a second 13W "full spectrum" light.

so the tank now stands as this:

*Lighting*: twin 13W "full spectrum" PC fixtures (soon to have tinfoil reflectors)
*Filter*: none
*Heat*: a warm apartment (24 degrees C in here on a regular basis)
*Hard-Scape*: small DW, Pagoda stones
*Flora*: HC, Downoi, Rotala Rotundifolia, "Red" Myriophyllum, Flame moss
*Fauna*: Orange Bee Shrimp, and Copopods! lol
Enough with the blather, on with the pictures! I'v had a couple pints of Strongbow and don't want to go off on a rant so here are the pics. Tell me what you think.

here is a qestion for you how do you rinse your Florite when you live in an apartment and have no hose to work with?
why with the shower and your best salad bowl of course!
















mmmmmm thats some good mixing








and now the tank shots, still a little cloudy as i don't filter. there are also a couple floaters that i noticed after the shots were taken and the batteries were dead.









































And thats all I got, is there enough for ya? What do ya think?


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## Ugly Genius (Sep 27, 2003)

Looks great! Almost looks like a sunken ship covered in seaweed. Love it.

Is this your full planting or are you going to add more? (Dumb question, really. When are PTs ever finished?)


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

lol I have to let this grow a bit before I add more! But your right, it NEVER ends. I'm sure I'll see something I really like at the store, then I will HAVE to add it to this! That is if I can find the room lol


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## FrostyNYC (Nov 5, 2007)

Ugly Genius said:


> Looks great! Almost looks like a sunken ship covered in seaweed. Love it.


Ugly Genius, you're dead on. It DOES look like a pirate ship. Haha. 

Great little tank. Great improvement over the original.


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

It's all about live and learn. I just started doing it and it flowed out of me. lol but I deffidently have to agree about the ship thing now that you mention it! lol lets see how this turns out.


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## fish_fasinated (Mar 30, 2006)

Any thoughts on removing the DW andd putting strictly rocks? I'd like to keep the same planting plan though. I have some larger rocks with the same basic structure as the ones already in there. I may just give it a try see how this sort of structure works out.

Any thoughts greatly appreciated.


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