# My 3 Gallon Nano



## mrbman7 (Mar 22, 2007)

Looks good! I think it definitely has some potential and will look really good once things fill in. Based upon your other tanks, I'm sure it will become a masterpiece


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## mrbelvedere (Nov 15, 2005)

Isn't E. vivipara going to get too tall for the background?


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## Matthew Mahling (Sep 4, 2005)

Great all around.
Love it tank, equipt., hardscape, plant choices, and placement.
Really well done!


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## CampCreekTexas (Feb 28, 2007)

I like it. It reminds me of parts of my creeks where a branch has fallen and plants have grown over it, reclaiming it for Ma Nature. Can't wait to see it when the hairgrass is in and growing!


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## Badcopnofishtank (Jan 20, 2004)

I really like your hardscape and plant choice.


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## Yoshi (Apr 5, 2007)

Beautiful tank.... once the plants fill in it's going to be stunning!


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## eklikewhoa (Aug 29, 2006)

I think Acicularis would be a better sub for the vivapara. 

Regardless I'm lovin the scape!


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## nasfish (Jan 31, 2006)

Hi,

Thank you all for the feedbacks.

I am still considering if I want to plant E. vivipara at the back. Since I got it free from a friend, perhaps I could give it a try, just to see the growth, never planted this grass before . 

Anyway, what is your opinion on the lighting, 36 watts PL-L, about 5 inch above, is it too much? And also could somebody tell me where I could find the information on the mini Bolbitis on the net. Really appreciate it.

Regards


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## Repz (May 20, 2004)

Very beautiful i really like the set up cant wait till it matures
i really like the driftwood arrangement


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## lwooters (Apr 24, 2007)

love it! love how the driftwood comes out of the top...


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## Green Leaf Aquariums (Feb 26, 2007)

Nice green thumb...


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## nasfish (Jan 31, 2006)

Hi, 

Thank you for looking and the feedbacks.

I am thinking to post the update of this tank after a month, on the 25th June, but by looking at the progress of this tank, I think, not much different between now and then, LOL...Marsilea sp., only a few growth, Anubias nana 'petite', one new leaf, mini Bolbitis is doing nothing!, hahaha..besides the Blyxa, the flame moss is the fastest growing plant in this tank, and thats tells a lot...LOL.. 

The whole setup...









Front..








I know, I have a problem, BBA on the driftwood, apparently, I do not scrap hard enough the BBA infested driftwood from the previous setup to remove it, LOL...SAE? Excel? mmm.. 

Regards


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## sandiegoryu (Feb 15, 2006)

Wow that's an awesome looking tank. I recommend a few amanos, and starving him. He'll hopefully eat your BBA and not the flame moss because amano's a notorious for eating moss. I wouldn't recommend SAE in such a small tank but maybe you could get a young one and put it in there until the BBA is eaten then remove him. Just make sure your CO2 is high and stable, otherwise it'll just come back.


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

great moss, can you get a close up picture of the moss and anubias?

that vivipara will be too wild for a small tank, should replace it with vallisneria instead.


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## Speshall*K (Jun 24, 2007)

DAYUM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that is a dream tank!!!!!!!!!!


If ya dont mind my asking... how big was the hole that this tank burnt in your pocket?


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## nasfish (Jan 31, 2006)

Hi,


Thank you for looking 

Marsilea sp. growth as captured in a week, LOL. I am not sure which Marsilea I am growing, could be Marsilea minuta or then again could be Marsilea hirsuta according to Topica.dk or even Marsilea crenata.. :icon_roll 

On 16th June 2007


Two days later


A day later


A week later


Regards


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## nasfish (Jan 31, 2006)

Little battle I had with BBA in this nano tank.

The BBA that was on the driftwood from the previous setup, flourishing in this tank.









Done the spot treatment with Flourish Excel, 1ml each time, turning white after only a day. And here comes the SAE, to eat the 'soften' BBA.









Slowly eaten, the BBA, I mean..at the same time dosing 0.5ml Flourish Excel everyday.









Finally, after over a week, BBA no more, LOL.









I did it by applying it directly to the BBA using this dispenser.








A very useful tool, I can make sure the amount of Excel to dose as the dispenser have some markings, 0.25ml, 0.5ml and 1ml..In a way, I overdosed 2X (have been dosing 1ml in the period of a week instead of 0.5ml daily as per dosing instruction). 

The battle is over but the war is not. I have to remedy the root causes, the unstable CO2 supply from DIY CO2, IMO. I am thinking of supplement it with Flourish Excel, dosing 0.5ml daily or every other day, 2ml at WC (as the dosing instruction says, 5ml/200L daily, 5ml/40L at WC). Eventually, I am thinking of using only Flourish Excel as carbon source for this nano tank (_too lazy to make the mixture, too lazy to clean the glass diffuser, etc etc, LOL_). A 500ml bottle of Flourish Excel would last for a long time, well, at least according to my calculations 

Regards


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## nasfish (Jan 31, 2006)

Removed the vivipara, planted some Didiplis at the back, not much though, not enough space, LOL.


Closer view.


Some pearling...








Yup, with some green dust algae too, it is very difficult to clean the glass of this nano tank, so far cannot find nano size magnetic scrapper, LOL.

Current fish is a SAE. Soon a Otto. Any suggestion for the fish, schooling nano fish?

Regards


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## SearunSimpson (Jun 5, 2007)

scarlet badis would be my choice for nano-fish. Also, what is that thing attached to the uptake tube on your filter? I am very curious as to what it is (it comes out the side and then goes up).


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## nasfish (Jan 31, 2006)

Thank you for the suggestion, scarlet badis is an interesting fish, indeed.
That thing attached to the uptake tube on the filter is actually built-in surface skimmer.



For this nano tank though, I don't think it is really necessary to have it installed. Have to keep top up the water, as the water level drop, the filter is making noises, LOL. Sure will remove it if I were to go outstation for a few days.

Regards


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## Halibass (Jan 29, 2007)

Very nice tank!

How do you attach the flame moss to the driftwood? Just tie it down?


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## retoid (Jan 2, 2007)

Where did you buy that tank?


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## nasfish (Jan 31, 2006)

Halibass said:


> Very nice tank!
> 
> How do you attach the flame moss to the driftwood? Just tie it down?


Yes, just tie it down.



retoid said:


> Where did you buy that tank?


Bought the tank at a local pet store, apparently the biggest pet store here in Malaysia.  for RM35 (approx. USD11). The whole setup cost me around RM150 minus the driftwood (the driftwood is from previous setup, forgot the price, LOL)

Regards


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## Zer (May 23, 2007)

gorgeous tank, 
makes me want to throw out any dreams of a nano reef and do a nano planted instead...


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## jaidexl (Sep 18, 2006)

Beautiful tank!


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## nasfish (Jan 31, 2006)

Hi,

Thank you for looking.

Bought some 20 Boraras maculata (originally looking for brigittae, not available at the moment), a few already gone to the fish bowl in the sky, LOL. Also bought some Nerite snails (my 'nano magnetic scrapper') to clean some green dust algae in narrow spaces.





Otocinclus...


Boraras Maculata...a quick point and shoot..LOL


The tank..


Regards


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## eklikewhoa (Aug 29, 2006)

Beautiful!!!!!!



Loving those nerites!


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## RadaR (Mar 3, 2007)

It's amazing. It's everything I would want in a planted tank. The nerites are great algae cleaners. They do not survive well in tanks with a low KH though.


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## kaifyre (Jul 16, 2007)

That's the coolest nano tank I've seen in a while!
It looks awesome!


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## stepheus (Sep 9, 2004)

where did you get excel flourish in malaysia?? and what "biggest pet store"? is it in shah alam? hehe...i had to ask. btw i cant help to notice that all ur tanks are really awesome.


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## born2lovefish (Dec 29, 2006)

How you keep it so clean!!!


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## ll Ash ll (Jul 19, 2007)

hey! very nice tank keep up the good work


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## nasfish (Jan 31, 2006)

Hi,

Thank you for looking.

Some update..

Added 10 brigittae, looks nicer than maculata, LOL


Closer view.


stepheus, Seachem Flourish Excel is available in Malaysia for some time now, available only at a few selected LFS in KL though. The pet store is in KL, near Ikano, Mutiara Damansara...if you have any other questions regarding this, I think you should PM me. 

Regards


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## Brette (Jul 5, 2007)

So pretty! Can mosses in general grow healthily in low light? My tank is pretty low light but I'd love to have a piece of driftwood with some moss attached to it.


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## Erk (Aug 21, 2007)

Great looking nano:icon_excl 

Im starting up a 3gal nano soon....just received my tank, light and filter yesterday! I have tried to find driftwood like you have in your pics, and Im having the worst luck!

Do you have suggestions on where to go? Where did you find yours at?

Thanks!
Eric


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## Reeferton (Aug 16, 2007)

Super small "mag-float" talked about on nano-reef.

http://http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=59380&hl=magnet&st=20

http://www.nimblenano.com/


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## spdz (Jun 11, 2007)

hmmm reeferton, i m just curious if the nano algae scraper will work ... cos those green algae stick to the wall quite tough and since the scraper is so small ... it hardly have any strength to clean it off... imo best to use some biological scraper such as snail, etc...

hehe just my 2c


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## nasfish (Jan 31, 2006)

Thank you for looking.



Brette said:


> So pretty! Can mosses in general grow healthily in low light? My tank is pretty low light but I'd love to have a piece of driftwood with some moss attached to it.


IMO, mosses can grow healthily in low light. But a bit slower. Some of the mosses however, are best growing under low light, with darker color and fat fronds.



Erk said:


> Great looking nano:icon_excl
> Do you have suggestions on where to go? Where did you find yours at?
> 
> Thanks!
> Eric


I am not sure if my suggestions is relevant since I live on the other side of the world.:icon_roll 



spdz said:


> hmmm reeferton, i m just curious if the nano algae scraper will work ... cos those green algae stick to the wall quite tough and since the scraper is so small ... it hardly have any strength to clean it off... imo best to use some biological scraper such as snail, etc...
> 
> hehe just my 2c


So far, in this tank, the nerite snails and the otos are doing a great job cleaning the tank walls.

Regards


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## nasfish (Jan 31, 2006)

Update :

Previously,









Huh, what a mess, LOL. Careful not to disturb the soil too much.









No carpet!, LOL









Planted Downoi as the new foreground 









Now I have plenty of Marsilea sp. enough to plant it in four nano tanks like this!, LOL









Regards


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## James From Cali (Dec 15, 2006)

Drooling over Mariselia. I am planning on adding a carpet to my tank. Got to get some sort of CO2 set up though. Like the layout alto


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## Yoshi (Apr 5, 2007)

The tank looks great!


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

hei, densed flame moss looks really great. too bad you removed those marsilea but anyway good luck with the downoi.


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## no_xqcs (Sep 6, 2007)

I actually liked the carpet, but it still looks very good, I like it.


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## nasfish (Jan 31, 2006)

I am also like the 'carpet', so much so that I planted it in my other two planted tanks. Yepp propagating it more!.

Regards


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## mr.sandman (Nov 7, 2006)

It is really an astonishment at how you take out the entire carpet in one piece without disturbing the substrate so much that it starts to be cloudy. Nice work!


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## sandiegoryu (Feb 15, 2006)

Wow that's a beautiful tank! Made we want to try downoi :-D


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## Tihsho (Oct 10, 2007)

Does anyone know if those species of marsilea can be found in the US? I would love to get some.


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## waterfaller1 (Jul 5, 2006)

How do you keep it so clean with that many fish in it? It's gorgeous!


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## j_m_lizard (Oct 14, 2007)

I just joined, and of all the nano tanks I've been looking/drooling at over the past couple of days, yours takes the cake. This thing is just so sweet. I imagine I speak for many here when I say we all hope to achieve that level of beauty and success in our nanos one day.

As for the update... AHHHH! I loved the carpet, but it is a bit cliche in some ways at this point (not that there's anything wrong with a good cliche - I'm gonna put HC in my nano ) Anyway, I love Pogostemon helferi, so I actually think I like your new scape as well, or maybe even a little better, than with the old Marsilea carpet that I liked so much. good choice.

Overall, I just have to say one thing: Wow.

Keep it up.

-Jared


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## Phil Edwards (Jul 18, 2003)

Archerofthemoon said:


> Does anyone know if those species of marsilea can be found in the US? I would love to get some.


It's _Marsilea quadrifolia_. It should be available in some high quality stores but your best bet is other hobbyists.


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## Zaxol (Oct 14, 2007)

How well would Marsilea Minuta or whatever it is grow in my 2.5 gallon tank?

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/planted-nano-tanks/53212-starting-2-5-nano.html


I've been told it's to big for HC so I'm looking for some alternatives.


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## Nbot (Apr 15, 2007)

www.floridadriftwood.com is the *only* place I've found that has m. minutia 

Aquaticplants.com has "dwarf" Marsilea quadrifolia but I'm not sure if that is "minutia" or just some crazy strain they found/developed. The descriptions "seem" different. Oh, and the minutia, I'm pretty sure you would want the regular clover, see in my low tech 29g pic, the shooters can grow past 8" tall if they are chasing the light...

Do a "search" for Marsilea minutia or m. minutia, you'll find a few threads here at PTF, the stuff is supposed to be very forgiving, even for low light and low tech tanks, what else could you ask for in a carpet plant!(hint, its discussed in a thread called "Low Light/tech Carpets" (I just ordered some too...)


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## Badcopnofishtank (Jan 20, 2004)

The blyxa planted near the wood really distracts from the wonderful hardscape you have. I have M. minuta in one of my tanks...love it.


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## ForeverGreen (Sep 5, 2006)

Wow beautiful tank and pics. What kind of camer did you use?


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## nasfish (Jan 31, 2006)

Thank you for looking and the feedbacks.

A long time since the last update. I am turning this nano tank into somewhat a low maintenance tank (I hope, LOL).










Closer view









By the way, I am a new user to a DSLR Canon EOS400D, so, still learning to use it proper..LOL

Regards


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## Madfish (Sep 9, 2007)

I like the new set up it looks clean and just the feeling the everything just flows.


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## ikuzo (Jul 11, 2006)

what is the background plant?


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## nasfish (Jan 31, 2006)

The background plant is Mayaca sp. Medium slow growing plant, IME, branches out a lot too.

10 days after planted...sometimes ago.









Regards


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## nasfish (Jan 31, 2006)

Just an update. 










Mayaca sp. sure is a weed, really messy. Any suggestion for the background plant to replace it?

Regards


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## garuf (May 30, 2007)

I'd keep it, the thicker cover really is nice, I don't know if you already said or not but what plants is there in this tank? 
I can spot anubias and flame moss but not sure what else there is.


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## bubbless (Nov 19, 2006)

that is one hek of a beautiful tank!:icon_eek: :icon_smil 
where did you buy the tank and fish?


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## deleted_user_16 (Jan 20, 2008)

Is that one piece of wood? Where did you get it/them? What type of wood is that?


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