# Beverage Dispenser Tank: Rebooted!



## ZeeZ (Oct 24, 2011)

I want to apologize for the numerous photos that are odd sizes. Anyway, a few of you probably remember this tank. I originally started out in 2012 with converting this 3 Gallon Beverage Dispenser into a dirted planted tank. The first plants were Dwarf Sags, Purple Cabomba, among several other plants. I used dry ferts at the bottom, dirt as the second layer and pool filter sand as the cap. The light is a custom-mounted LED made by a friend who owns a high-end LED company called Nano Box Reef. He did this for a trade of several of my plants at the time.

The tank grew successfully for about 10 months to a year and got to the point where the Dwarf Sags completely choked out every other plant that was in there. Before the initial crash, I had around 150 beautiful Yellow Shrimp in this along with a Zebra Nerite Snail.

Photos - 

































I went out of town for about two weeks. I left my tanks in the care of my roommate, which turned out be a mistake. I didn't have timers for any of my tanks. He unplugged this tank and as a result, it suffered a complete and total crash. Not even a single Dwarf Sag was spared.












A month later, I decided to try again. This time with Dwarf Baby Tears, but that didn't work out. The cholla wood created some kind of really strange film that started out on the bottom and slowly moved up to the very top in two days.












I tried twice with the Dwarf Tears but soon gave up. Fast forward to today when I finally decided to try and reboot this tank again. This time I'm using Hydrocotyle Japan as the ground cover and Pellia as the soon-to-be tree. I'm not using any Excel or Comprehensive liquids because I don't want to risk killing the tank again. So I'm letting it grow naturally. Once it all fills in, new Yellow Shrimp will be making their return. I may add some type of easy-to-care Caridina shrimp as well. Oh, and this tank is now on a timer.  



















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## idex (Apr 15, 2010)

Nice restart... looking forward to the progress!


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## tmcpherson301 (Jan 1, 2013)

This is super cool and something I plan to watch. Good luck.


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## cjstl (Mar 4, 2013)

I like it! Been wanting to do something similar. Is that one plastic or glass?

Also, is the spigot functional, or do you have substrate up against it? You could extend a tube out and up into the chola wood. Put a piece of mesh over the top and use it for water changes


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## AGUILAR3 (Jun 22, 2013)

Very Nice. 

If there's dirt/sand up against it and not functional, it would be as easy as draining the water, removing the dirt in front of the output and filling it with some course black gravel and/or SS mesh. Water changes would be a dream.


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## jmf3460 (Aug 21, 2013)

cool,


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

You may want to try marselia as a carpet plant if nothing else works. Mine has been pretty much no work, as long as there's substrate nutrients. While it grows rather slow submersed, it's uncontrollable and wild emersed. Fun little plant to mess around with


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## Chizpa305 (Feb 13, 2011)

I wouldn't drink from that.:hihi:


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Wow the dwarf sage you use to have looked so lush and lovely, I want to try it ^^ 
Did any shrimp survive the lack of care and original plant die off?
Look forward to seeing your new scape grow in


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## ZeeZ (Oct 24, 2011)

Thanks, guys!

I siliconed the spout's seal to the tank and siliconed it completely shut because I didn't want to risk getting a leak. It's actually plastic chromed to appear metal but it's not. The reviews for this tank had several instances of the spout's internals failing after repeated use. I didn't want idiots or kids or the combination messing with it too. This tank is acrylic, by the way. If I do make another Beverage Dispenser, it'll likely be glass with a metal spigot.

I'll definitely try the marselia as I've always liked the look of that plant if the Japan doesn't work out. I definitely wouldn't try to drink from this either.  The Dwarf Sags didn't really stay dwarves in the end. They couldn't spread out any more so they grew upwards and actually came out of the water to touch the top of the lid. I had to trim them back about once a week. Honestly, I'm kind of glad in retrospective that this tank crashed because it was such a pain to capture the Yellow Neos when it was time to sell them. The Sags gave them so many hiding spots that 3/4ths of the population could easily escape me at any time.

The Yellows were the first to die when the tank crashed. The problem with dirted tank is that plants produce oxygen when the light is on and carbon dioxide when it's off. They most likely died from carbon dioxide overdosing the next morning after the light was unplugged. Then the Sags were the last to go. These plants are incredibly hardy. I've had them survive being left in a closet in the dark for two months before, so it really took a lot to kill them.

I have two questions: I've had Excel melt my Hydros before so I don't want to risk that but I think Flourish Comprehensive should be okay. Do you guys agree? 

The second is, what's a easy Caridina shrimp that would contrast nicely with Yellow Neos but isn't as sensitive as some Caridina can be? The pH is usually around 7.2 with this tank but that was before. I don't know if the Cholla wood would affect the parameters in the long term or not.


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

I have Hydro sp. japan in my 7g cube and they are going great, I'm trying to make a 'medium/low carpet' of them in the front, need to snip some of them ad replant to fill in a few bare spots I still have. I also have a large blob of it floating in my 20g(also dose excel) that I don't give any love to, some leaves die from being away form the light but it still has new growth that I trim off of and plant in my 7g too.
I also dose Seachem flourish, potassium, and phosphate in those tanks, both have inert substrate so all nutrients comes from the water column.


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## Varmint (Apr 5, 2014)

So sad the first scape died. It was so pretty.

I love the new scape. It looks like a fairy tail landscape.


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## ZeeZ (Oct 24, 2011)

Thanks!

I do think I will dose Comprehensive but I won't do Excel. Hopefully someone will chime in to answer the Caridina question.


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## cjstl (Mar 4, 2013)

Tangerine Tigers?

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk


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## ZeeZ (Oct 24, 2011)

Those would be too close in color with the Yellows. I'd like something that can be easily told apart, even as babies/juvies. OEBTs, maybe?


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## ZeeZ (Oct 24, 2011)

It looks like the Hydros are melting as their leaves have turned very pale and tiny holes have appeared. I'm not sure why. Lack of micronutrients? I added a dose of Flourish Comprehensive yesterday so hopefully they'll bounce back. I've noticed that this tends to happen whenever I add Hydros to a tank. The leaves will melt and leave either a very tiny leaf or just the stems then the leaves will grow back. The tanks that are dosed with Excel seems to kill them completely so that's why I didn't add Excel this time. I had hoped this wouldn't happen but it seems to be. 

Is there anything I can do to stop this or help them recover?


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## idex (Apr 15, 2010)

ZeeZ said:


> Those would be too close in color with the Yellows. I'd like something that can be easily told apart, even as babies/juvies. OEBTs, maybe?


I have both in the same tank. It's pretty easy to tell them apart when the lights are on.


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