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Clare's 4 Gal Nano Tank (Lots of Pics)

9K views 65 replies 15 participants last post by  mott 
#1 · (Edited)
Okay here is the tank. My camera doesn't upload to my computer yet so I took some pics with my webcam :).
The betta is a temporary guest only! (Hopefully :) )
And.... What is this plant?

Specs: 4 gallon Finnex Deluxe with canister filter
26 watts
1 plant - unknown!
and 1 Half Moon Betta

To come: ADA aquasoil, HC cuba, Roseafolia (hopefully if I can get it to stay small) and some kinds of decorations/rocks. In the future I'll have a different fish in here. Maybe tetras. Oh and I want to buy some red root floater. :)



 
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#3 ·
I love this Finnex 4 gallon. I'm so used to not being able to see the fish as I look around to the side of the fish tank, but this one has bowed corners so I can see the inside all the time. Its really refreshing. You can kind of see the effect in my picture.
 
#6 ·
So what do you all recommend? Putting in the DIY CO2 now or after I get my substrate and other plants in the mail? I have 1 red plant (which may be ludwiga, see the pic). I'm trying to keep the fish to plant ratio about equal for now before I get any other plants, so maybe I can wait on the CO2.
When I put the plant in for the first time yesterday I dosed Excel and Trace ferts. How often should I do Excel? And the trace? It could be a week before I get my substrate and the HC.

Edit: By the way I added two clay pots for now to ease up the flow of the filter on the betta. It sure does have a fast flow! Too bad I can't turn it down. Thanks Vincent!
 
#7 ·
Put in the CO2 after you get your other substrate and plants, that way, you can get the most use out of the CO2, that plant should be fine. If you're doing DIY CO2 you probably don't need to do Excel on such a small tank. What I did was dose trace every other day, but I know some people like following a schedule.
 
#10 ·
I will get some large leafed plants, good idea.
Also, I tried pointing the spraybars up slightly, and then up all the way. The current is way too strong for the betta either way, even with them pointing up straight into the air. And then I'll get water on the light.
What do you suggest I do? Maybe I will try adding another piece onto the spraybar. It came with 2 pieces. One short and another short. I only have one on there now, if I use the other one it will decrease the flow slightly from the one, but still not the overall flow. I'm suprised there's not a way to turn down the flow on the canister. If anyone knows a way please let me know!

Edit: I have added the extension of the spraybar. It helps to reduce the flow. I think once I get enough plants in there the fish will be very happy.
 
#11 ·
I just went in the kitchen to get something and saw my fish lounging on the only plant I have looking very funny. I can tell she/he really wants more plants. I have some in the mail coming. Maybe I can get some more at the LFS too...



Before you know it I'll have a tank full of plants and no substrate! :icon_mrgr

Haven't caught her resting in the pots though. I think there's still plenty of current in there.
 
#15 ·
Drilling a hole in the end cap of the spraybar and either drilling more holes in the spray bar or enlarging them will also help reduce turbulence without throttling the filters' pump which can create a lot of stress.

I would start with redirecting it and then taking the steps I have described before you try to reduce the output of the filter itself.
 
#16 ·
Thanks, I will try all of those. And I just got some HC and roseafolia in the mail today! They are a nice addition to the tank... But with no substrate it still looks kind of silly. I can't wait until my substrate gets here!

Still debating as to what kind of fish I should put in here long term. Dwarf microrasboras seem so tiny. Do they have personality?
Green neon tetras seem like they might be too fragile, since this is a new tank and I'm new to nano tanks and its only my second planted tank at all.
I will post pictures tomorrow.
 
#18 ·
2 pics from today.


I can't wait until my substrate gets here! Should arrive by Wednesday. I also bought a goldfish bowl for the betta to go in while the substrate is acclimating to the tank. Did a 50% water change last night because ammonia was at .25. No Nitrites yet.
 
#21 ·
So anyway, I've begun to like this betta :icon_eek: and I am thinking of trying more plants first to alter the rate of flow in the tank. I added 2 small vals (yes I know they get long), baby tears, and I have red root floaters and UG coming in the mail. And I know some of these won't alter the flow much, but I'm going to go with it and see what happens little by little.
I'm still waiting on my substrate and it should be here by tomorrow!!!

Here is a pic of the tank today:


I just checked the pH and its about 8! :eek5: So I just put in the DIY CO2. However it says it takes 2-10 hours to start working on the instructions. It's there in the back and you can hardly see it. I may look into a nano co2 setup though instead of DIY.
The plants seem to be doing pretty well. I'm dosing excel every other day and flourish trace every other day. The HC isn't doing so great anymore though so that's partly why I'm setting up the CO2.
 
#23 ·
:) Thanks.
So I took a pic yesterday morning:

And everything seemed to be doing ok.
I had just gotten a bucket from Home Depot and before that I didn't do any water changes because I didn't want to put water straight from the tap in with chlorine. So anyway, the ammonia was extremely high. I got it down to 1.5 by today. And I've had the light on 8-12 hours per day (I need a timer!), I'm growing algae (which doesn't bother me),
and some of my plants are dying. I let the HC sit in the water for too long with no substrate so I'll have to buy more probably, and the UG is dead on one side, partly probably because I picked that part up to see if I could move it (stupid idea... that's why you plant plants, and not uproot them every day, I learned the hard way).

The CO2 is working pretty well, but nothing's pearling. I'm thinking of the GLA nano CO2 kit. Also the vals aren't looking too good, but I was using excel and I just stopped. No more excel so the vals grow nicely. I really hope the ammonia goes down soon! 3x water changes every day!

Edit: And the betta is in a goldfish bowl.
 
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