hey guys, so i really want one of these nano tanks.
my wife has a glass pot that i'm sure i can sure. don't know capacity/dimensions off the top of my head, but it's gotta be at least 2 gallons.
i have MiracleGro organic potting soil and some white gravel i can use for the substrate. i also have a Hydro mini heater and a table lamp with a 14W warm white CFL.
my plan is to keep Jamie the Betta in this. he's right now in my 36g, but i'm not sure he like it much since he's always hiding. if he REALLY dislike this little pot, i'll put him back in the 36g and throw some red cherry shrimp in it.
so.......
what do i do about plants? any suggestions? i'm thinking it'll depend on the dimensions and size of the pot. right?
I know I'm a bit late on this, but I bought a huge vase from Ikea for about $25 that holds about 3.5/3.75 gallons. I just keep the water level down a couple/few inches from the top to keep my betta in there.
that vase looks great btw! just remove the apple snails as they are not helping the bioload situation at all - huge waste producers that grow large and require much larger tanks. if your water is hard and alkaline, you would enjoy Sulawesi snails much more. a heater set to around 79F or more is vital for both the betta and sulawesi snails.
My snail recommendations would be a couple of yellow poso tylos.
I have a heater, same one the OP has, though temperature fluctuation has not really been an issue, so I'm not using it t this point. The snails have my 29 gallon they can go to.
Thank you. Just to let people know, I used only clippings from my other tanks and household plants. The key is to just let it go crazy and then start trimming back. About two months in and now I'm trimming weekly!
I also have an Ikea vase setup, which my 5 year old LOVES. I don't think I'd change much about your vase. You want to keep things cheap, easy, and simple? Throw a single crypt in the center of your vase, and pick up 15 or 20 feeder ghost shrimp. They really aren't given their due reward for being cool, CHEAP, little pets. One crypt will cost you another 3 or 4 dollars, spend 2 dollars on the shrimp, and you have a nano!
A bonus to the ghost shrimp, which I think is a lot of fun, is feeding them colored flake food. You can see their heads change color when they eat it.
One or two otos also might do well in your vase.
I think you are limiting a lot of "cool factor" by wanting to keep a beta in the vase (try to hide the cover, adjust the light, hide the heater, etc.)
JMO
Take it easy, and feel free to check out my ikea vase thread.
very disappointed in myself. about 2 weeks ago, trimmed everything down to let it regrow more evenly. haven't even LOOKED at the vase since the weekend. checked in on it today and saw this.
needless to say, a massive water change is in order.
gil--just bought exact same vase at Target--very thick glass.What is the update? Kehy--for what it's worth. It's a gorgeous vase. Can you list your plants for me? My Target vase is about 2.25 gallon to 2.5 if I go to the top and don't add rocks, etc.
Gil--About covering it--I have used glass and plexiglass cut to fit and haven't noticed a difference in condensation levels. Don't know about light levels. They seem fine with the plexiglass and the one I had for over a yeaer never warped. If worried about that, tell the hardware store you want the thicker plexiglass--I had two thicknesses to choose from. If you decide to cover it, I would just measure the diameter plus 1/4", go down to local hardware store like a True Value to their glass cutting, window screen fixing table and ask them to cut it out in glass or plexiglass. Super cheap. My 5' glass was even free bc it was a little scratched on top and I just got a 3 1/2 inch, 7 1/4 inch, and 6 1/4 inch rounds plexiglass for about 4 bucks. I just leave them slightly slid off of center of the vase for a little airflow and just take them right off to air out tank. Really cuts down on dust getting into it, evaporation, and probably keeps some heat in. And maybe a betta.
Gil,
when the water change was performed, did you upset the substrate when refilling? this will kick up a bunch of stuff and cloud the water. the other possibility is an algae bloom when having the lights on for too long.
Did you re-do the whole thing? Was it just a swirling substrate issue? i'd like to see what you think when all the plants are in it and it's running. I've noticed a clear haze in mine that doesnt' show in photos. I THINK it is just from the size, shape, and thickness of the vase glass. Not observable near edges of glass, defiinitely obvious (but not annoying, actually softening) in middle where the low light ikea lamp is aimed. Wondered if you had the same effect going. My 30 oz. bowl and 45 oz. cylinder do not have this problem. But only the bowl is lit from overhead and that is a stronger light for that size. 5 gall tank crystal clear.
Completely tore down and redid Jamie's vase, and got him a girlfriend.
a little posturing between the two when i first introduced the female, but things have settled down nicely since. buried the heater like was suggested. now to just wait for the plants to grow.
threw out all the miracle-gro organic dirt and went with straight gravel. i think need something else in there. it's just so bare!
Do you have another place for the female to seperate them if necessary, I thought there were some times when they get aggressive and shouldnt be together... somewhere in the mating cycle...
Personally, I like the look of it now, are you using root tabs to help fertilize the substrate??
Do you have another place for the female to seperate them if necessary, I thought there were some times when they get aggressive and shouldnt be together... somewhere in the mating cycle...
the key to these setups are the quick growth of the plants so that they use the contaminants that are left by the fauna. Quick growth and/or a large plant mass is the key to these Walstad inspired bowls. Without fast growing plants and a large palnt mass, the water gets fouled quickly and the water may need to be changed daily, especially with two bettas in the 2 gallons... A fertilizer of some sort helps the plants grow and require more fauna contaminants, so if not a nutrient rich soil/substrate, root tabs are an option.
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