# *Update* The Great Snail of Tranquility - 5 gallon planted nano - Now with CPDs!



## 8foot6inchRod (Sep 18, 2011)

Hey guys, here's my nano tank - a 5 gallon freshwater I've entitled "The Great Snail of Tranquility". Hopefully you see why. I constructed the driftwood feature by gluing together two pieces of driftwood with aquarium sealant and then gluing that to the rock.

I've been getting this up and going for about 3 months now. Substrate is a mix of Mineralized Top Soil and Organic Potting Mix. I've got Dwarf Sag, Dwarf Hairgrass, Crypts and Hydrocotyle in there, plus a little Taiwan moss.

It's all cycled up now, full of pond snails (which I don't mind, looking forward to getting an Assassin snail when I get too many) and Malaysian Trumpet Snails (which I added to stir my substrate cause I keep getting gas bubble buildup). I've also got some a bunch of tiny organisms in there that I've seen: nematode worms, seed shrimp and hydras.

I am planning a small school of Celestial Pearl Danios, getting them next week. After that, I'd eventually like to add some shrimp.

Had some issues with my plants, so I'm still trying to get a hold on getting them enough nutrients. Also, my lighting was too low, so I upgraded that and now I'm getting runners on my hairgrass! I'd like to add some marsilea minutia at some point too, and red root floaters.

I'm learning videography for my job, so I've got some video of my tank that I'll post at some point once I edit some scenes together. Will probably wait until I get my fish, so within a couple weeks. I'll post updates! Hope you guys like it!


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## Colorful (May 14, 2012)

Woah! I love how you made the driftwood look like a snail. This is really cool!


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## 8foot6inchRod (Sep 18, 2011)

I got my CPDs finally!





































I made some desktop backgrounds for my dual-monitor work computer, if interested. They are cropped from the above photos, sized to 2880x900.

Direct Links:
http://i.imgur.com/CD4At
http://i.imgur.com/slJMZ
http://i.imgur.com/Kh7Ja

And if this is easier, here's the link to the whole album: http://imgur.com/a/L7TG6#0


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## HybridHerp (May 24, 2012)

what are the dimensions on that tank
and...dirted tank without a cap? how's that working out for you? It looks great btw, and I'm sure once plant growth continues it will look even better. I just (partially) set up my nano tank today, doing a dry start with baby tears so I'll see how that works out for me.
You planning on any more fish? I have a 5 gallon as well and was thinking about doing celestial pearls and some dwarf cories


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## 8foot6inchRod (Sep 18, 2011)

HybridHerp said:


> what are the dimensions on that tank
> and...dirted tank without a cap? how's that working out for you? It looks great btw, and I'm sure once plant growth continues it will look even better. I just (partially) set up my nano tank today, doing a dry start with baby tears so I'll see how that works out for me.
> You planning on any more fish? I have a 5 gallon as well and was thinking about doing celestial pearls and some dwarf cories


It's just your standard 5 gallon tank...I know my background paper I cut to 16" x 10"...I think it's probably 8" front-to-back.

There is a cap. I've got an MTS/Potting Mix substrate capped with black sand. It's just getting mixed a bit. There was one trouble spot that I kept getting gas bubble buildup in my substrate and when I stuck the tweezers in to release it then pulled them out, my soil would come up through the sand.

I had considered some dwarf cories too, but I was planning on trying to carpet the whole tank eventually and know they like bare sand. I'm leaning more towards shrimp in the future now.


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## tdw1989 (Jul 2, 2012)

I would have put the shrimp in first to give the a chance to grow and breed a bit even small fish like fresh food, however I like your tank the driftwood looks cool


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