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Scored an 6 gallon nano-cube!

2K views 12 replies 4 participants last post by  Karackle 
#1 · (Edited)
Hey y'all...At the lfs I work at, a guy droped off his 8 (I think) gallon nano-cube. He just got tired of it, and we were just going to throw it away, so I saved it.

Anyways...I've been looking for a 20 long for my cherry shrimps, but I"m gonna put them in this instead. Planted of course. I"m gonna try to go with low light, low tech. Flourish (if it won't hurt the shrimps) but that's it.

Here's the catch...There's no hood :icon_frow That means that I"ll have to buy some lights somewhere to use on it. What should I use? You don't have to answer now...We can wait till I have my plant list up so y'all know what size I should get.

Stats:

Dimensions:

Length (side to side):14"
Width (front to back):12"
Height (top to bottom):13"

Substrate:

Just regular gravel...

Flora (some of these plants will get cut out, others will be added, but this is what I"m thinking about as of now)

Dwarf Sags
Various crypts (wendtii, lutea, petchii, etc.)
Moss ( Christmas? Flame? Peacock? I'm still deciding. Whatever I happen to have or find avialable...)
Anubia nana 'petite'
Java fern (narrowleaf or windelov)
Sunset hygro

Fauna:

Cherry shrimps (for sure, as I already have them)
Ottos (I like them :red_mouth )

All the rest of these are possibilities...

Tiger shrimp
CRS
Amano shrimp
Micro rasboras (still debating...this still might be a shrimp only tank, except for the ottos)

That's all I got so far...It's not a big tank, so, you know...I only have so much room. I"m planning on some driftwood (possibly manzita) that I can tie my moss too...prolly gonna be flame, cause it's sweet.

So...Lights...I'm looking for cheap. There's no lid on this, so it needs to be something with legs, sit on the top of the tank, clip ons, and most importantly, cheap, but still be enough for my list of plants. Remember, I'm prolly not gonna be fertalizing this too much, nor will there be Co2.

Should I make the back wall a moss wall? I really like them, but I'm not sure how well it would work with the 'overflows'. I guess I could always try it, and if I don't like it, get rid of it. *thinks*


The tank was used for saltwater, and the guy had metal halides on it, which is why there's no lid. I smelled nasty when I got it (it rode home in the trunk of my car :iamwithst ). I've since cleaned it out, all the sand is gone, the salt deposites, everything. The only thing I have left to do is clean out all the sponges. They are filled with sand, so it might be a while...haha The pump is 'broken', meaning it stops and goes. You have to hit it occasionally...haha Anyways, I just took it out, cleaned it really well, and replaced. But it was really strong, so I just put a pump I happened to have here in it, cause it's not as strong. The tank isn't gonne have that great of a bio-load, so I don't need to much stuff.

So...That's all for now I guess. Any help?

p.s. The tank was free :biggrin:
 
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#2 ·
kk...so I went and figured out how many gallons, and it's about 9.45 gallons, so take a bit away cause its a bow front, add some more cause it has that back compartment thing, so it's a little less than 10 gallons.

What's a good temperature for shrimps? Can I keep them at room temp? (around 72 in the winter, 74 in the summer) or should I get a small heater?
 
#4 ·
I have a nano cube 6. I too found the filter to be to strong so am running it with a sponge filter in the back compartments area.
Mine has the lid so not sure what to tell you about lighting. Mine has a 15 watt light bulb that is sold for this tank.
Only one betta and an apple snail live in it with the plants. No ferts or CO2 and it does fine.
 
#5 ·
How is the lighting working for you? I found a replacement hood on the site, and they are asking 59.99 plus shipping for it, so I"m not sure if I should just go with this or get different lights. I have a feeling that the lighting is not going to be strong enough. How is the lighting working out for you? What sorts of plants are you keeping?

I think I measured some of the stuff wrong, and I do infact have the 6 gallon. I think...Lemme go remeasure.

I turned the thing on this morning to leak test it. I haven't had a leaky tank yet, but I'm not gonna let that luck streak end with this little thing...haha

edit: I do infact have the 6 gallon.
 
#6 ·
I really like it. No CO2 weekly water changes and it looks nice. You can see mine by looking at my tank profiles. I even have an up to date picture.
The hood is a little noisy (the fans) and it comes with the saltwater light so be sure to order the freshwater light too.
Can't wait to see what you do with yours been thinking of redoing mine with some different plants.
What the heck Ill add the latest picture here less clicking for you.:icon_lol:

See those plants in the left corner they are the only ones so far that have not done all the well and I want to replace them with something new but not with long leaves like the stuff already in there.
 
#7 ·
Thank you!

I"m actually just going to get a desk lamp and a 15 watt bulb (prolly a screw in flourescant, depending on the lamp). It'll be cheaper, and I"m not currently planning on any fish that are jumpers, so I should be fine topless (hehe). I might get some CPD's down the road, in which case I'll get a glass top or something to cover it.

I had a slow day at work today, so I had lots of time to think of what I wanted. I'm defaintly going to have java ferns, and crypts. Prolly java moss as well, just because I have a ton. Eventually I'm gonna replace the java with some other type of moss. Driftwood for sure. Possible Anubia nana 'petite'. I might just make it a bio-tope, as cherries are going to be the only thing in it besides snails (nerites).
 
#9 ·
The tank is up and running...

I've got the flourite, sponges, bio-max, carbon, and bio-balls in it right now, and I still have room for more stuff...haha

I"m off to the lfs right now to grab some plants and some more tetras and cories for my 29. I'll prolly grab a few snails for the 6 gallon.

btw...the bioballs have been in my 40's filter since I got the tank, and I'm also gonna throw the 40's bio-wheel into the tank to cycle it instantly. (gotta love having multiple tanks and tons ov spare bio-material...haha)
 
#10 ·
Sounds like your off to a good start can't wait to see pictures.
 
#11 ·
Could someone please move this into photo albums? I'll just make this thread a journal.

I sent to the lfs today. Got myself some java fern, C. wendtii (not sure what type) an anubia nana 'petite' and 8 Phenix rasboras. I haven't looked up the scientific name on them yet, but if anyone has them, please share.

I also got this sweet piece of grape vine for it...lol
 
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