# Brian's 3g Long Rimless - MTS struck again!



## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

What's up TPT! 

I'm back again with another episode of MTS (multiple tank syndrome)!!! 

Anyways, this little pico tank is pretty neat. It has an interesting footprint, but with 3g's there's not much you can do with it with such limited real estate. But that's part of the challenge right? Make a tiny tank look big if you put some thought in it. Or I can just be lazy and throw it all together... who knows? I sure don't at this point! Maybe you guys can inspire me.  

I don't have as much time on my hands as I used to (school & life gets in the way sometimes)... so scaping and planting this tank might take some time (or not), we'll see. :hide:

This little rimless gem came complete with a LED light, HOB filter, diffuser, and Mr. Aqua Aquarium Soil Substrate (2 bags). Not sure yet if I'll use the diffuser because I might just make this low tech. But with such a shallow depth and an unfamiliar light source, I just might have to rig up the CO2 if I start seeing algae. Anyone know about this light??? I'll just have to play it by ear when the time comes to do something with this tank other than stare at it. :hihi:

So here are the specs:

*Tank: *
Mr. Aqua 3 Gallon Mini Rimless Tank (18 x 5.5 x 7.1")

*Light:*
[STRIKE]Mr. Aqua Ultrathin Aquarium LED Light (7.2W)[/STRIKE]
18" Current Satellite LED+ "PRO"

*HOB:*
Azoo Mignon Filter 150 Power Filter 

*Substrate:*
Mr. Aqua Aquarium Soil Substrate​
Everything else in terms of scape and stock are to be determined. Suggestions and comments are welcomed... but most likely this will be a shrimp and/or micro fish species tank. 

Ahhh yes... the Photos:









































And the "extras":

















:thanks:


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## Raymond S. (Dec 29, 2012)

That would be a challenge to scape and still remain in proportion. I can picture Parva Crypt and NANA Petite and perhaps Fissidens. There's a thread in the FS section right now with the Parva.
Will be interesting to watch this.


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

This looks interesting to me, why does the tank look very blue-ish in color? Or is it just me.


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## Saltydog33 (Sep 12, 2013)

mistuhmarc said:


> This looks interesting to me, why does the tank look very blue-ish in color? Or is it just me.


Looks like there a few blue leds in there. I never seen a tank like this pretty cool. I'll watch


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

Very unique tank. Reminds me of my DBP 18 inch. 

I'm subbed. I love the light. How much was the tank?


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Raymond S. said:


> That would be a challenge to scape and still remain in proportion. I can picture Parva Crypt and NANA Petite and perhaps Fissidens. There's a thread in the FS section right now with the Parva.
> Will be interesting to watch this.


I've never had Parva before. I'll look for that thread and consider it. 

I stumbled upon this photo of a much smaller tank than mine. It is inspiring me to step up to the challenge of scale. We'll see.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

mistuhmarc said:


> This looks interesting to me, why does the tank look very blue-ish in color? Or is it just me.




Saltydog is correct, there's a few blue LEDs in this fixture. It's also quite possible that the lighting is reflecting some of blue off that blue plastic storage box i have the tank on.




Saltydog33 said:


> Looks like there a few blue leds in there. I never seen a tank like this pretty cool. I'll watch


Correct on the blue LEDs. Thanks for following.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

MABJ said:


> Very unique tank. Reminds me of my DBP 18 inch.
> 
> I'm subbed. I love the light. How much was the tank?


Oh cool, you have a DBP 3g. I'm going to look for that build and see what you came up with. 

MarineDepot and Aquascape Depot both sell these Mr Aqua bookshelf tanks.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

MABJ - I just went through your DBP journal real quick. Noticed at the end you tore it down and it's an empty shell. When are you going to start her up again? You got bored of it or something?


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

Brian_Cali77 said:


> MABJ - I just went through your DBP journal real quick. Noticed at the end you tore it down and it's an empty shell. When are you going to start her up again? You got bored of it or something?


Thanks for going through it. Correct, I did wind up tearing her down. That was my favorite creation aquascape wise. 

But I'd consider setting it back up. I just wish it were a rimless tank. What prompts you to ask?


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Just curious because I didn't go through all 30 pages. I'll go through it again and check out the scape more. I'm just looking for ideas and since that tank has a similar footprint, then it could shed some light on the angle I'm going to use on this tank.


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

Brian_Cali77 said:


> Just curious because I didn't go through all 30 pages. I'll go through it again and check out the scape. I'm just looking for ideas and since that tank has a similar footprint, then it could shed some light on the angle I'm going to use on this tank.


Ah. The reason I tore it down came down to a few rookie mistakes. I'll stay in close touch with you for this one to see how I can help since these are very similar tanks. 

So my mistakes were A. Substrate. I used Fluval light crap. So it would shift too much and easily stirred up bacterial infections. 

If I do it again I'll be sure to do a heavy substrate like large Grain sand or flourite. 

And mistake B. My light was too much I believe for the tank, so I had some algae problems. 

Your light looks perfect.


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

Scape wise though, I got a lot of compliments on it, and if I could ever reproduce it, I'd do it in a heartbeat.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Cool man.. I've used fluval stratum myself in a couple of tanks. IMO, it wasn't that bad. Although I did baby the substrate having read the negative reviews on it. So it basically did it's thing and grew my plants without issues. None of it pulverized either after 1.5 years in my mini m tank. 

Anyways, I'm going to see how this Mr Aqua soil is. Hopefully it's an improvement. 

BTW, did you run CO2 in your DBP?


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## MABJ (Mar 30, 2012)

Brian_Cali77 said:


> Cool man.. I've used fluval stratum myself in a couple of tanks. IMO, it wasn't that bad. Although I did baby the substrate having read the negative reviews on it. So it basically did it's thing and grew my plants without issues. None of it pulverized either after 1.5 years in my mini m tank.
> 
> Anyways, I'm going to see how this Mr Aqua soil is. Hopefully it's an improvement.
> 
> BTW, did you run CO2 in your DBP?


I don't do CO2 in any of my tanks sadly. My substrate did fine, it was just so shallow and not enough coating. I also was moving the tank a lot thanks to college. So it didn't work out as great for me. I never understood people who somehow pulverized it. 

I'll have to read up on the Mr. Aqua soil.


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## Bercey (Jun 6, 2012)

Very nice. Looking forward to this, sub'd.


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

hah just found this thread after searching for pico led's.

i have a 1.5g long mr aqua. haven't set it up yet. this looks good dude!


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Down_Shift said:


> hah just found this thread after searching for pico led's.
> 
> i have a 1.5g long mr aqua. haven't set it up yet. this looks good dude!


Thanks man.. Yeah it's still in limbo right now. But I'll get this going pretty soon. 

Did you find a light yet for that pico? Maybe a 12" Current Truelumen Pro would be nice!


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## Down_Shift (Sep 20, 2008)

I have a 9" finnex fuge ray. But I'm thinking it's too much light. Will look for something super small. Maybe a single led. Was actually thinking of a battery powered so I can move it around. Planning on keeping it on the window.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Look how small and thin a 12" truelumen is. You can put a dimmer on it too. Just a suggestion. Anyways, I'll look for your build thread. A 1.5g seems interesting and challenging.


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## kman (Dec 11, 2013)

*poke*



Go anywhere with this yet?


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

I'm thinking of starting this soon, actually. Just trying to conceptualize my scape.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Looks like Santa brought me something nice!


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## FlyingHellFish (Nov 5, 2011)

Nice, maybe a new tank for the new light? 
How you like it so far?


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

Brian_Cali77 said:


> Looks like Santa brought me something nice!



Satellite plus pro eh? How's that light as compared to the e-series? It looks nice!


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

FlyingHellFish said:


> Nice, maybe a new tank for the new light?
> How you like it so far?


Not sure if I can get another tank. I think I have too many as is. So I think I'll just make this little 3g high tech, and tame this new light by suspending it and dimming it to get it dialed in. Either way, even if this new light is dialed back, I'm pretty sure I'll still appreciate the automation allotted to me by the inline controller.

I haven't explored the Sat+ Pro yet out of the box, but on paper it sounds like a great in-between from the Sat+ and E-Series... definitely a logical iteration from the first gen. I'm curious to see how the single row diodes compare to the dual row in the Sat+ in terms of spread. I'll explore this and post more photos this weekend.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

mistuhmarc said:


> Satellite plus pro eh? How's that light as compared to the e-series? It looks nice!


Yessir... thanks! The jury is still out, but until I set it up, my assessment is still in-progress. I'm going to assume, however, that the e-series is a superior product with the power and reflectors. But the Sat+ Pro is a great option depending on the application and just as effective if it's on a smaller tank. This makes sense for the company as it's to my understanding ecoxotic is current's higher-end subsidiary (like Lexus is to Toyota).


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## mistuhmarc (Oct 1, 2013)

Brian_Cali77 said:


> Yessir... thanks! The jury is still out, but until I set it up, my assessment is still in-progress. I'm going to assume, however, that the e-series is a superior product with the power and reflectors. But the Sat+ Pro is a great option depending on the application and just as effective if it's on a smaller tank. This makes sense for the company as it's to my understanding ecoxotic is current's higher-end subsidiary (like Lexus is to Toyota).


Judgment sounds great! I'm interested in how it turns out seeing as it is a new light. I still love the e series and it definitely works like a charm. I just like the way the new current satellite looks considering it looks much sleeker in shape.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Photoshoot with the Current Satellite LED+ Pro... 

Full album:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/sets/72157650077405391/

And some to attach here


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## kman (Dec 11, 2013)

_(moved light-specific question to Sat+ club thread, as it's a more appropriate thread for the light-specific discussion)_

Bump: Tank looks great! Now, when are we going to see something living inside of it?


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Okay guys... FINALLY got around to doing 'something' with this tank. I retired the 6g GLA (mini m) to make time and space for this. Plus a lot of (personal) things came up and I just haven't had time. I mean, none. Life just gets in the way sometimes. But hey, I managed to carve out some time today to enjoy one of my favorite hobbies and to relieve some stress aquascaping! 

I just re-purposed what I had on-hand in terms of flora, fauna, and hardscape. No pre-planning, just went to work and knocked-out a quick scape. I still have the 18" sat+ pro and I'll replace this stock light with it for the automation, bells-n-whistles, and cool moonlight features (even so I'll probably have to run it like <25% of full-power). 

*As for the details:*

Just Fire Red Shrimp for now... Foreground I used 1x2" SS mesh tied with Flame Moss to create a carpet, stuffed every nook & cranny with Anubias Petite. I have Sunset Hygro in the background (might replace this later, I'll see how they do). Subwassertang tied to lava stones and placed in the back in a few spots. Some Narrow Leaf Java Fern in the back-middle. 

*And for the photos!!!*

****Hardscape****



















****Planted & Flooded****


















































*Thanks for following along *-- even so it took me forever to plant this bad boy! haha


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## Tvadna (Jan 17, 2013)

So what's the early verdict on the Mr. Aqua Aquarium Soil Substrate?

Messy out of the bag? Was it easy to plant into?

From the pictures it doesn't look very uniform. Have you ever used aquasoil to compare the two? It looks heavier and larger then aquasoil and almost more like a brown eco complete.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

I didn't end up using it yet. I'm using ADA Aqua Soil Africana, used from my old tank. It's all mixed up with regular and powder type, hence not being uniform.


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## sevenportsOFFICE (Aug 5, 2013)

Wow, looking good


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

SevenportsJohn said:


> Wow, looking good


Thanks, John.. Hope all is well.


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## exv152 (Jun 8, 2009)

Interesting stone arrangement where two large stones are competing for the focal point and overlapping. Nice looking scape so far.


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## ConfidentBlue (Aug 27, 2013)

Nice to see you back at it Brian. Life sucks when it gets too busy for your hobbies! Gotta make time!

Scape looks good. Like the hardscape!


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## sevenportsOFFICE (Aug 5, 2013)

Got any new pics where the water isn't cloudy?


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## sevenportsOFFICE (Aug 5, 2013)

BTW, we put a link to your tank thread here on the Mr. Aqua Facebook page


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## RyanMan (Sep 14, 2013)

Looks awesome Brian!


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

exv152 said:


> Interesting stone arrangement where two large stones are competing for the focal point and overlapping. Nice looking scape so far.


Thanks... yeah I don't adhere too much rules as iwagumi would imply. I just wanted an arch over the sandy ravine, which in itself is unnatural -- but didn't care. Just wanted something interesting to look at in my bedroom. 



ConfidentBlue said:


> Nice to see you back at it Brian. Life sucks when it gets too busy for your hobbies! Gotta make time!
> 
> Scape looks good. Like the hardscape!


Thanks a lot... yeah I've been on hiatus for a bit. I need to lurk around some more and catch up on all your threads. 

Bump:


RyanMan said:


> Looks awesome Brian!


Thanks Ryan!!


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

*Week 2 Update - No More Cloudiness!*



SevenportsJohn said:


> Got any new pics where the water isn't cloudy?


Ask and you shall receive! haha



SevenportsJohn said:


> BTW, we put a link to your tank thread here on the Mr. Aqua Facebook page


Awesome! Thanks, John! Maybe after I move I might have to pull the trigger on that 22g Long. Are you guys going to get it in a low iron version? 

*Week 2 Photo Update - No More Cloudiness!*

I think I had the cloudiness from not only a newly setup tank, but I also had a bit of a bacteria bloom from the previous tank that all the plants and substrate came from. I added Purigen to the HOB and now my water is nice and crystal! 

Oh and I added the Sat+ Pro! Loving this light for the color combos, auto ramp timer, and moonlight. Starred at my tank with some Barry White playing in the background or sexy R&B is a plus!! haha. 




























Follow the path beyond the mountains into an enchanted forest (corny, I know... could't think of anything else clever to say). 










Close up artistic shot. Yes, I designed the 12G Club Sticker!  










I just love how this Ohko Stone presents opportunities to stick these Anubias Petite plants in it. There's like mini pots all over these stones. 









Having fun with the various color modes on the Sat+ Pro:


















I believe the added red spectrum from the Sat+ Pro is getting the Hygro Sunset to color up. This plant is a beast as it grows in ALL conditions -- this one is low tech with very little (if any) ferts / no carbon or excel either -- yet still coloring up. Didn't think that was going to happen. 

















Thanks again for all those that subbed and comment


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## radioman (Oct 29, 2007)

Looks really good.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Thanks, radioman.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Got a few spotted pygmy rasboras


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## klibs (May 1, 2014)

Excellent job on this tank! Hardscape is fantastic and the path looks really good. Normally I am against paths but you pull yours off nicely.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Thanks klibs.. I'm over paths too but felt in the mood to go with one here. Now that the aqua soil has spilled over it on the edges a tad, it looks a little more natural. Not really going for a true nature look here, Just something a little more interesting for me to look at.


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## exv152 (Jun 8, 2009)

I like the fish, I've got some chili, phoenix and strawberry rasboras in a tank and they're always hiding in the plants. Hopefully you'll have better luck getting them to come out in the open because they're such colorful fish.


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## Brian_Cali77 (Mar 19, 2010)

Mine are totally not shy at all. I guess the LFS got them used to people and an association with food. However, I have to stop filling my tank close to the top because one rasbora thinks its a salmon and swings against the current up into the filter. Luckily I have a sponge that's pulled up to block it from getting pulled all the way in. Lol.. Had to fish him out twice.


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## Buu (Feb 15, 2015)

Any updates on this?


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