# My first nano tank :) - 8 months old now! Now with video



## Patson (Mar 4, 2013)

Updated: Tank is now 8 months old! A new video added to page 5 Enjoy!! 

Started room cleaning 2 months ago and decided to decorate my room with a Nano tank  (its a 7g)

It went waaaay over budget (sigh...its a black hole...u always see something "awesome" online) :biggrin:

Snapped a few pics along the way...introduced 3 otos today, they look pretty happy around the drift wood :icon_lol:

Still thinking of whether I should stock more fish or stop here...I do want some Celestial Pearl Danios but 7G is really a small tank...any suggestions??

Added CO2 yesterday but the only thing pearling so far is the white fungus on driftwood....grrrrrrr 

1st hardscaping try









Didnt like it...redo...










Like it better this time 








Done!









Pearling....but its on driftwoord :icon_eek:


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## P015 (Sep 26, 2012)

Awesome piece of driftwood man!! Can't wait to see how your tank progresses!


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## Patson (Mar 4, 2013)

Thanks!! The otos like it alot too! And they're all over the diftwood since this afternoon I put them in and ignored the algae thin that I fed them...booo


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## izit (Nov 7, 2012)

nice, love that dw.


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## jamesyu (Feb 13, 2012)

hopefully the otos live -- they feed on algae a lot. I have an established tank and I put 3 inside a 10 gallon and am worried if they will starve to death. My photo period is 9.5 hours, so I hope they have enough to eat.


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## Patson (Mar 4, 2013)

ya...I'm a bit worried about the otos too...they seem hard to keep alive when first introduced to the tank.

I had one oto last week (i got one cause the tank is small), but after I put it in the tank, it stayed at the same spot for like several hrs and died 2 days after ... It was really my bad as they are not supposed to be kept alone (guilty guilty)

So this time I get 3 of them and they all seem happy and well (so far) zipping around the driftwood.

BTW nice tank there James!!! Did u set it up in ur office or something? It's so nice that they are OK with fish tanks in your workplace!


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## Patson (Mar 4, 2013)

oooo....and I see ember tetras in ur tank too!

I am thinking of getting a school of tiny fishes (like 5-6 of them) once the tank is well established (maybe a month or 2 from now)

How do u like ur ember tetras?? It's either ember tetras or Celestial Pearl Danio for me...

O well...or I might just let my 3 otos hog the whole tank ...it's a tiny tank anyway :biggrin:


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

*My first (kinda) nano tank *

Great scape! CPDs are a skittish fish, best with a top on the aquarium. 

Perhaps look at ember tetras, Boraras species or something of the like. 

Btw you can never go wrong with shrimp and ottos  lol


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## Patson (Mar 4, 2013)

ya will get a glass cover soon...I dun want to see fishes jumping out 

I did consider shrimps, I've never had experience with em before..they look cute when there are just a couple of them but once they multiply like snails it can get a bit scary...so perhaps I will stick with fishes XDDD

:icon_mrgr

Otos are big poopers!! there are poos all over the substrate this morning...meh time to do a little vaccum cleaning...hopefully the HC will grow fast enough to cover up those poos lol


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

*My first (kinda) nano tank *

Hmm. Most people don't have problems with overbreeding. When your tank has hit maximum capacity, they stop. 

Also nice to be able to sell some and recoup revenue lol.


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## Jason K (Jan 3, 2009)

Pretty setup...one question, how long has your tank been running before you added your otos? Two months?


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## Patson (Mar 4, 2013)

hmm...Here's the timeline 

1st week - tank, substrate and DW....soaked the DW with water. Water running in tank
2nd week - DW all soaked up, got white fungus on it, wiped it off and put it in to the tank
3rd week - More white fungus, but i guess it's alright, put in some moss, noticed some algae on DW
4th week - Few more plants, got Co2 running, more algae on DW and some on glass
5th week - 3 OTOS!

So it was a bit more than a month. Ya those otos are hard worker (and big poopers...they literally poop while they eat  ). I can see patches of "clean" dw surface after a nite, they are still working on it tho cause its still mostly covered with algae.


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

*My first (kinda) nano tank *

When did you cycle?


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## Gajidy (Oct 29, 2011)

That's a really nice root!


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## Patson (Mar 4, 2013)

MABJ said:


> When did you cycle?


Cheated and used Sera Nitrivec since 2nd week. Going to monitor ammonia/nitrate level closely but it seems to be working so far :bounce:


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## Patson (Mar 4, 2013)

Gajidy said:


> That's a really nice root!


Thanks!! Got it from a LFS (rather overpriced) but it looks great once I stuff it into the corner of the tank.

I actually will tie 3 different type of mosses on it (have fissidens and flame moss now and will add weeping moss on top) and hopefully it will be nicely covered! :icon_cool


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

*My first (kinda) nano tank *



Patson said:


> Cheated and used Sera Nitrivec since 2nd week. Going to monitor ammonia/nitrate level closely but it seems to be working so far :bounce:


If it worked it isn't cheating, but definitely watch. What are your parameters now?


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## zzrguy (Jul 11, 2012)

Nice start


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## Patson (Mar 4, 2013)

Almost 2 weeks have passed by and want to share some of the updates :hihi:

The 3 ottos are still alive woot :icon_smil got fat bellies but only one figured out the algae thins...the other 2 just totally ignored em...

It turns out that mosses do not respond well to salt bath...the coral moss was totally toasted...flame moss and fissen went all brown but luckily there 
are small green shoots here and there, let's hope they survive!

I didnt really plant the HC right (didnt split them up and plant them one by one), so some of the bottom ones are melting...Im hoping once the root grows deeper, I can vaccum the melted leaves out...I'm just kinda picking them out one by one now (the cost of being lazy... :icon_sad: )

Also ordered a few more plants online and got them in this monday, I consider the tank fully stocked now (perhaps some tetras later on... dunno yet!)

Looks like the Sera Nitriven does work for cycling (or was that the ADA amazonia?). Water parameters:
pH 6.0
General Hardness 20- ppm
KH 10- ppm
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10-20

I feel like a mad scientist having all those small potions and test tubes on my desk now lol

Anyway some photos!!!

























Some stone "steps" I setup, got some ADA stones from LFS, so lucky!!!









Otos are very camera shy....can only stuff my hand to the back of the tank and snap this shot...there are 2 of them chilling there....dunno where the last one went!!! :tongue:


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## Ebi (Jun 29, 2011)

love the downoi 

whats the tanks temperature?


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## Patson (Mar 4, 2013)

Ebi said:


> love the downoi
> 
> whats the tanks temperature?


Thanks me 2! But they are so hard to plant...keep floating up 

water temp is around 22-24. The heater I got is probably not strong enough


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## David4039 (Mar 26, 2012)

Any updates on this one? I was also wondering what lighting and co2 you were using? Love that driftwood!


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## Patson (Mar 4, 2013)

David4039 said:


> Any updates on this one? I was also wondering what lighting and co2 you were using? Love that driftwood!


Thanks!

Didnt post any updates cause im still waiting for my new light fixture 

The Pogostemon helferi (downoi) and Ludwigia cuba are growing quite well (those 2 groups to the right) can constantly give streams of bubbles. But the HC in the left are doing soso, I replanted them and they are spreading out slowly, gives very limited bubbles leaves are kinda small.

I have paintball regulator at 1 bubble per 2-3 secs, was stupid enough to have HOB sit right on top of the diffusor which actually is a waste of CO2. I am using this:
http://greenleafaquariums.com/co2-regulators/atomic-paintball-co2-regulator-v2.html

Good quality, no problem so far

As for lighting currently I have:
LED clamp on 3w 6500k
LED PAR bulb 8w 5000K
LED PAR bulb 10w 3000K

Got the clamp on to get extra light to the left side of the tank but the 3w is too weak, so I ordered this, and will replace the clamp on with it:
http://www.adana-usa.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=72_74&products_id=747

Some pics from last weekend. The biggest update is I finally got a good pic of the fattest oto lol


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## Soup12 (Nov 10, 2012)

on celestialpearldanio.com i started a thread if cpds jump. So far they don't and in my experience they have not jumped.


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## Patson (Mar 4, 2013)

I didnt get CPDs, instead I got some exclamation point rasboras...they are so super tiny tho (look like 1-month old guppy fries) , the otos look like giants in the tank now

If they stay small (5 of them now) and the water parameter is stable, I might get a few green neons tetras or CPDs.

It might be a bit overstock tho, i really have to monitor the water parameters carefully.

Regardless, I have bought the ADA glass cover, but decided not to put it up when im around. It doesnt look as good as open top. I might put it on when im away for an extended period of time to minimize water vaporization tho.

BTW nice CPD website there


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## merritt1985 (Jan 16, 2013)

Love the tank! How are you liking the Rasboras I've had a few of them for 3 months now. They color up really nice after awhile(at first i was a little disappointed). They do stay very small. I lost one to my filter when i first got them and had to put on a pre-filter sponge.


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

*My first (kinda) nano tank *

You shouldn't upset the balance with different fish. 

Larger tetras need bigger tanks than 7g, but more importantly you could keep a very uniform look by doubling or tripling your population of rasboras. 

This is a pitfall for many aquarists.


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## Patson (Mar 4, 2013)

MABJ said:


> You shouldn't upset the balance with different fish.
> 
> Larger tetras need bigger tanks than 7g, but more importantly you could keep a very uniform look by doubling or tripling your population of rasboras.
> 
> This is a pitfall for many aquarists.


Ya i do have concerns about having too many different types of fishes in a 7g, having both otos and rasboras is already a bit more than I first planned. Perhaps I should just stop adding more lol...it's just so tempting :biggrin:

Green neons stay small do they? I read they only go max 1 inch? They are hard to find anyway



merritt1985 said:


> Love the tank! How are you liking the Rasboras I've had a few of them for 3 months now. They color up really nice after awhile(at first i was a little disappointed). They do stay very small. I lost one to my filter when i first got them and had to put on a pre-filter sponge.


Thanks! how big are ur rasboras now after 3 months? I lost one too to my filter!! I added a pre-filter sponge but didnt notice there is still a slit uncovered. I got home from work and one of them is stuck in between the slit!  I was hoping it could make it but it died after few days


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

*My first (kinda) nano tank *

Neons are small fish that need big tanks. 

Glad you agree that people should be careful about what they add.


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## Patson (Mar 4, 2013)

MABJ said:


> Neons are small fish that need big tanks.
> 
> Glad you agree that people should be careful about what they add.


Looks like I need to move to a bigger place for a bigger tank  

Blue rams are still my all time favorite and also cardinal and rummy nose, too bad I cannot have any of them now :|

But nano tanks also are alot of fun! It is my first time setting one upand having it sitting on my work desk is the best thing EVER :biggrin:


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

*My first (kinda) nano tank *

I'm a nano man I'd have it no other way.


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## catfishbi (Jun 10, 2008)

if its me I will cut that wood in middle . its just me


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## Beezledrop (Apr 7, 2013)

You could try a small specimen like dario or the like.From what i hear they're a little finicky with feeding,but they would get along and probally wouldn't stress the system too much.


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## Patson (Mar 4, 2013)

catfishbi said:


> if its me I will cut that wood in middle . its just me


 
Nope not just u...I did think of trimming it cause it is a bit too big..I was trying to shove it hard into the right corner far back...what about trimming an inch off and push it all the way to the right?

Anyone got some suggestions? :icon_cool


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## merritt1985 (Jan 16, 2013)

The Rasboras are still tiny. They say that they get to be 1 inch but all the ones i have are still about a half an inch. If your still looking for a different fish to add you might try Microdevario kubotai they stay around the same size but have a neon yellow/green coloring.


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## catfishbi (Jun 10, 2008)

Patson said:


> Nope not just u...I did think of trimming it cause it is a bit too big..I was trying to shove it hard into the right corner far back...what about trimming an inch off and push it all the way to the right?
> 
> Anyone got some suggestions? :icon_cool


its up to u, just see which cut will make it looks good. then you can push it to the corner and put some stone next to it. here is exp u can look.


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## Soup12 (Nov 10, 2012)

MABJ said:


> You shouldn't upset the balance with different fish.
> 
> Larger tetras need bigger tanks than 7g, but more importantly you could keep a very uniform look by doubling or tripling your population of rasboras.
> 
> This is a pitfall for many aquarists.


+1

too many times rookies get the noahs ark syndrome... better to keep it simple and elegant.


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## Jdiesels (Mar 20, 2013)

*My first (kinda) nano tank *



Soup12 said:


> +1
> 
> too many times rookies get the noahs ark syndrome... better to keep it simple and elegant.


That happens all the time. +2  


DBP Member 003


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

*My first (kinda) nano tank *



Soup12 said:


> +1
> 
> too many times rookies get the noahs ark syndrome... better to keep it simple and elegant.


Glad you agree, LOVE the term for it, heh.


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## Patson (Mar 4, 2013)

Thank you for all the suggestions and advice! 

I have trimmed the driftwood and shoved it further down the corner.

Not getting any new fishes for now. Want to focus on the plants, this is more of a "planted" tank, not a fish tank anyway. (people giggled which I tried to explain the difference)

Hey it is one month since the tank was planted, so some pics for the 1st month anniversary :icon_mrgr

Can't wait till I get the new LED fixture!!! it's going to be sweet :bounce:

the tank:









Rasbora is growing but still tiny!









And Ludwigia cuba...it was DUH like this last month (i even emailed the seller and thought this is the wrong plant  ):









But it turns out to be like this after a month!!:


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

*My first nano tank  - 1 month update*

Oh hot DANG that's one sweet tank.


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## sdaugherty (Feb 13, 2013)

Looks great, that driftwood is sweet!


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## Dien16 (Feb 22, 2013)

What are the names of the plants in the bottom right corner? I'm really liking the green jagged one


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## Patson (Mar 4, 2013)

Thanks all! 

Dien, the jagged plant is Pogostemon Helferi. Some people call it Downoi too. I got some Tropica ones from my LFS.

They are usually the first plants pearling in my tank, very nice looking ones indeed!

Here is a short video I took and it is pearling quite a bit!

http://youtu.be/Jr8Fl7-JuNA


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## Bodei (Apr 14, 2013)

Attaching some narrow leaf java fern in the right corner may soften it up a bit for you. Nice piece of wood. Hope your HC mat starts thickening. Are you getting any pearling on the HC?


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## Soup12 (Nov 10, 2012)

that a 25w or 50w hydor?


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## Patson (Mar 4, 2013)

Bodei said:


> Attaching some narrow leaf java fern in the right corner may soften it up a bit for you. Nice piece of wood. Hope your HC mat starts thickening. Are you getting any pearling on the HC?


Thanks! I was looking for java fern too (needle leaf/narrow leaf), but could'nt find any so far. The anubias below or fissdens might spread to the right corner. But i agree i need something softer that waves in the water. Java fern is really a good choice on softwood. Maybe I should look harder to find some good ones (did see some in a LFS before...but they are in bad condition)

My HC is very thin, it does spread out slowly. I see sparse, small bubbles coming from them, but not HUGE bubbles on tip. I am getting a new fixture soon that is supposed to be good for plants. Hopefully it will improve. I might turn the CO2 up a bit as well once the fixture is in :smile:



Soup12 said:


> that a 25w or 50w hydor?


It is a 25W, it works quite well considering my room is usually quite cold (in Canada). Water temp is around 23-24c


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## LilGreenMan (Mar 11, 2013)

Patson said:


> It is a 25W, it works quite well considering my room is usually quite cold (in Canada). Water temp is around 23-24c


YEAH!! CANADA!!! I just bought a 25W Hydor heater from amazon.ca yesterday!


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## Patson (Mar 4, 2013)

LilGreenMan said:


> YEAH!! CANADA!!! I just bought a 25W Hydor heater from amazon.ca yesterday!


Woot! got mine from amazon too! very solid and sleek heater, you won't regret it 

BTW how big is ur tank?


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## LilGreenMan (Mar 11, 2013)

Patson said:


> Woot! got mine from amazon too! very solid and sleek heater, you won't regret it
> 
> BTW how big is ur tank?


My tank is 2.5 gallons


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## Soup12 (Nov 10, 2012)

Patson said:


> Woot! got mine from amazon too! very solid and sleek heater, you won't regret it
> 
> BTW how big is ur tank?


whats size of hydor 25w?


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## Patson (Mar 4, 2013)

Soup12 said:


> whats size of hydor 25w?


 
It's like 7 inches. I couldnt find anything smaller (except those betta bowl ones)


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## Soup12 (Nov 10, 2012)

i think ADA archea 25w is smaller.

4.5" by .5"


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## Patson (Mar 4, 2013)

Soup12 said:


> i think ADA archea 25w is smaller.
> 
> 4.5" by .5"


 
O ya it is! Does it look good irl? Cause in the pics plastic looks kinda cheap...


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## Soup12 (Nov 10, 2012)

Patson said:


> O ya it is! Does it look good irl? Cause in the pics plastic looks kinda cheap...


yeh looks good... its ADA...

u hardly see it because it is so short and so narrow.




I am tempted to buy my buddies or just go with canister and hydor eth inline


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## SupaTanks (Apr 11, 2013)

*Re: My first nano tank  - 1 month update*

That is srsly one beautiful tank.. most people dont get it right the first time they start pt but yours is impressive. Can't get over how nice it all looks. Great job! :]


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

*My first nano tank  - 1 month update*



Patson said:


> O ya it is! Does it look good irl? Cause in the pics plastic looks kinda cheap...


I have the archaea, I can say it isn't worth their sticker price, but it is a nice light. It is aluminum mixed with plastics. 

They should have used high grade materials all throughout


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## Patson (Mar 4, 2013)

SupaTanks said:


> That is srsly one beautiful tank.. most people dont get it right the first time they start pt but yours is impressive. Can't get over how nice it all looks. Great job! :]


 
Thanks! This is my first nano tank but definitely not my first tank lol. Trust me, I did go through the "colorful marble and substrate" stage when I was a kid :icon_mrgr

I did get more serious after owning my 20g after college, then I went home and stayed with my parents for 2 yrs and convinced my dad to get a huge tank :bounce: But back then I still didnt really think much about spacing and flow of things, I just added all sort of plants that I can think of, but this is still one of the nicest tank that me and my dad had so far:











Then I left home for work and my dad didn't have much time to keep it up, so after a year, it did not look as good anymore 










I still bug my dad to spend more time on the tank, but he has a busy schedule now :icon_conf

Nano tank is something new to me, it is actually both challenging and interesting given the restriction of space. Think I'm falling in love with nano tanks now  The only problem is that I cannot get to keep my favorite blue rams in my nanos....*sigh* I <3 blue rams!


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## Soup12 (Nov 10, 2012)

MABJ said:


> I have the archaea, I can say it isn't worth their sticker price, but it is a nice light. It is aluminum mixed with plastics.
> 
> They should have used high grade materials all throughout


Oh, were talking about the heater hehe


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

*My first nano tank  - 1 month update*



Soup12 said:


> Oh, were talking about the heater hehe


My bad


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## SupaTanks (Apr 11, 2013)

*Re: My first nano tank  - 1 month update*



Patson said:


> Thanks! This is my first nano tank but definitely not my first tank lol. Trust me, I did go through the "colorful marble and substrate" stage when I was a kid :icon_mrgr
> 
> I did get more serious after owning my 20g after college, then I went home and stayed with my parents for 2 yrs and convinced my dad to get a huge tank :bounce: But back then I still didnt really think much about spacing and flow of things, I just added all sort of plants that I can think of, but this is still one of the nicest tank that me and my dad had so far:
> 
> ...


Ah lol idk why you saying that was your first nano tank registered in my head as it was your first planted tank- lolz. 

Its unfortunate about your original 20, I helped my dad set up a beautiful one as well and after I stopped taking care of it, he added goldfish and now its turned into a bare bottom pond fish tank :/ I try and erase that from my memories ..

But either way I really love your nano, I think its so nice looking and its still impressive... especially considering its your first go at a nano.


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## Patson (Mar 4, 2013)

SupaTanks said:


> he added goldfish and now its turned into a bare bottom pond fish tank :/ I try and erase that from my memories ..


I can almost feel it...if my dad does that I might have a breakdown for real lol


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## Patson (Mar 4, 2013)

Made a short clip for my tank, it's now 8 months old!!!

http://youtu.be/sU0qUyXh-EY

Still fighting the algae problem...I reduced photoperoid and it seems to start working. I guess the CRS and amano shrimps don't mind the algae much tho hehe


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