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Bernard

How old is the tank fron the first planting?

It shows that you certainly have thought that tank out. I think you would agree with me that the smaller the tank the harder it is to design and maintain.

As usual another fantastic tank.

Keith

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Awesome tank and I love the 'shaped' moss and riccia.

The Amazon Nut...

Sorry for some reason I didn't see new posts on this thread.

Pete,
It's a 5 gal. At the moment I've just got 5 neons, a couple of Otto's and a few shrimp. No water change doesn't bother them at all. No reason to Nitrates are constantly in check, in fact I have to add No3 once a week.

Won't get much in a 1 gal either plant or critters.

Some shrimp, small plants like Nana Petite, Pearlgrass, Dwarf sag, Hairgrass, Tennellus.

Tetra,
I picked up the light fitting in Singapore. For some reason I thought this tank was smaller then it is and I just got a 1 foot fixture. Came home to find the darn thing wouldn't fit. I work in plastics, so what you see are actually components from one of those TV/VCR combos that I nicked from work

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

Bensaf,

For some reason I really haven't been clicking on the photobooth thread and that has been my loss, that is a gorgeous little tank. My only question is what is the light fixture standing on.

My Scapes

What size is it Bernard?
How do the fish handle the lack of water changes?
What kind of critters do you have in there?
It is absolutely gorgeous.
I am thinking about doing a 1g nanocube
planted with some interesting shrimp or something.
Any ideas?


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[font color="#BF791F"]Yes, that IS a gorgous little tank! It makes me want to drag out my little 5 gallon, set it up again, and give it a facelift! [/font]

It's some Asian brand of small internal filter with spray bar. Forget the brand something beginning with R - Rena, Reno One of those Azoo Palm type filters would be perfect.

I put a couple of Otto's from the big tank in for a while at start up to keep on top of brown algae. Moved them back when the tank settled.

There's one shrimp in there, not sure what the heck he eats.

Last edited by bensaf at 07-Sep-2005 05:06

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

wow that is a beaut looking tank!

Filter - $3

Clean filter regularly

what kind of filter are you using?

do you have any thing in there to eat the algae? or have the plants kept it to a minimum.

Bensaf, this is definitely one of the best looking 5Gal I've ever seen.
Truly beautiful!!!
Enter it in the AGA.

Robby... you must take a number . And very good info bensaf. I will have to try that one of these days.

"clean filter regularly"...
Well i have a built in filters in my tank and it's really pain in the ......you know what i mean.
I clean my filters every 2 months.
"No water changes when not using CO2"...uhhmmm that counts for bigger tanks aswell....?
I will add a pic later of my 75g tank..i did some rearrangments to it..hope you can tell me later what plants to putt in and the way my stones should be Bensaf...

Robby

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I know human beings and fish can co-exist peacefully.

I love it

Thanks for the comments, glad you like it.

As usual there are the "wish I could do that" and "how do you do it?" comments.

Guys, a tank like this is stupendously easy. Very very little work and very cheap too.This tank takes about 10 minutes of my time each week.Can be set up in a couple of hours or less.

Use a plain old gravel substrate. Nice small size. Rich gravels are not great with such a small water volume. When putting in the substrate mix in a handful of nice rich mulm from an established tank. Instant bacteria colony to break down the organics for the plants.

Decent light. The lights that came with the tank won't cut it. A small PC bulb fixture like this one to sit on the top of the tank is cheap.

Don't worry about cycling the tank. It probably won't.

If there is a secret to a tank like this it's probably the most obvious secret in the world. The plants. Put them all in at start up, do NOT try to add gradually, this is very important.Pack them in. Don't worry about giving them growing room.

Use plants that WON'T outgrow the tank. Forget about Lotus', larger Crypts or stem plants with big leaves. Small leaves or long narrow leaves are best. Mosses, Riccia etc are ideal.

Use plants with small leaves to make the tank look bigger.

This is actually the biggest problem for most, I suspect - finding a good selection of plants. Most fish stores have a lousy selection. Order on line if you have to. It can be a bit more expensive but the right plants will last for years in a set up like this.

Use rocks and wood to give shape and a more natural look.

Before adding anything play around with the layout. Place the rocks wood in different arrangements before adding the water. Study the layout see if you like it. Draw a layout before hand.

Once set up maintenance is a doddle. No water changes if not using C02. Weekly dosing - a rice grain sized portion of KNO3 and a quarter rice grain of KH2PO4. 1ml of a good liquid fert. Top up evaporation only. Water change only very few months. That's it. If using Co2 or Excel , more frequent dosing and a 25-30% water change weekly.If using non-Co2 method but have a heavy fish load the KNO3 and KH2PO4 may not be needed.Dose from the start don't wait for plants to get "established"

Clean filter regularly. Remove dying/dead leaves.

Keep an eye on GH,it will drop, don't let go below 3 dgh. A small bit of Seachem Equilibrium can be added to keep it up.

You may see some algae appear at the early stages. Mainly diatoms. Do not fight it. Keep up with the routine, keep the focus on the plants. As the plants get established the algae will recede.

Growth will be slow, so be patient. It may take a few months for the plants to get to where you want them, but once there they will stay looking that way for a long time.Very little pruning or maintenance required.

That's it. It's that simple. Don't ask again

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

Been running a small non C02 tank on my desk. No water changes. It's taken a while to get it close to how I want it as growth is so slow. But I think it's coming along nicely.

bensaf attached this image:

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

Yowza!
That validates how sad my corkscrew vals look - they're probably half the width of yours.

***planning secret operation to steal bensaf's tank the next time I go home ****

-P

"also takes number"

and strops about in front of her fish tanks wondering where she goes wrong.

At least plastic plants stayed bloody green.

GFG]:|


oh and the tank looks really nice....obviously.

Last edited by goldfishgeek at 29-Aug-2005 12:57

_______________________________________
Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself.
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*Takes a number*... hopefully this wont take too long .. I need some expert help with plants.

My LFS sells a complete setup like yours for over $300.

Tank - $6
Light Fixture - $20
Filter - $3

Plants were mostly leftovers/cuttings.

Well, get in line and draw a number, we will contact you in about 1 to 2 years

I will be publishing the official rates for consultancy fees shortly

I really hope that Bensaf gives up on going to the pub, he will be very busy here at FP

Never gonna happen I like my tanks but I love my Guinness a helluva lot more

Last edited by bensaf at 29-Aug-2005 11:09

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

Very nice

I have the same tank and it's slowly improving

Thanks for sharing the plant list.

~~~~~~~~~~~~
There is water at the bottom of the ocean

Robby,

when i get my 125g...i could need some help with some aquascaping

Well, get in line and draw a number, we will contact you in about 1 to 2 years

I really hope that Bensaf gives up on going to the pub, he will be very busy here at FP

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club