Three Cup Nano: Renewal

[dj2005]

I started up this new tank yesterday. It's a three cup bowl-shaped container that I had laying around. Surely not the best of choices since the rounded shape distorts the inner visibility, but it was still fun to set up. Maybe in the future I'll buy a small cube and transfer the scape over to that.

I would've liked to use taller rocks, but these were all I had that possessed a small enough footprint to fit into the bowl. I do have another larger rock that I may use instead of the two medium sized rocks currently in the bowl, though I'd lose the valley. So, I'll probably leave the scape the way it is.

Moving on from my rambling, does anyone know a place that sells clear lids/covers? Or if anyone has a 5.5" diameter (slightly larger is fine too) clear lid they don't want, please let me know.

Fauna: Three juvenile RCS that were living life as filter babies.
Flora: Five nodes of Marsilea minuta. I might add a hint of Mini Pellia to one or two of the larger rocks.
Lighting: Sunlight - about three hours per day.
Substrate: AS Powder with a few pebbles of regular AS.
Ferts: One drop of Excel daily.

Above:


FTS:


Left:


Right:


I plan to have monthly picture updates, assuming everything goes well.

[ryndisher]

Hmm Thats interesting but wont the water become dirty very fast, how do you filter something like this?

[dj2005]

Originally Posted by ryndisher

Hmm Thats interesting but wont the water become dirty very fast, how do you filter something like this?

Why would the water become dirty quickly? RCS make little waste (hence why tanks can hold so many without issue) and the bowl is planted. I probably will not feed the RCS either since they should be able to sustain themselves on what is in the water and on the substrate.

Now if you are posting of algae, then yes, that is a concern. In the end, this project will be a good learning experience for me.

[Outlawboss]

Cool shape on the container though. I like it much better than if it were a regular cylinder. Keeps things interesting!

[tuffgong]

I like your scape and the shape of the container. Nano/Pico tanks are really interesting. I think this is the first one I've seen that is dosed with Excel. Nice job and I'm looking forward to the updates.

[dj2005]

Originally Posted by Outlawboss

Cool shape on the container though. I like it much better than if it were a regular cylinder. Keeps things interesting!

Originally Posted by tuffgong

I like your scape and the shape of the container. Nano/Pico tanks are really interesting. I think this is the first one I've seen that is dosed with Excel. Nice job and I'm looking forward to the updates.

Thanks.

I figure a drop a day will help keep the algae away, as well as benefit the Marsilea.

[taramosalata]

This is really cool. Unconventionally small 'tanks' are really fascinating to me, and they are a good bit more so when they have fauna in them. I hope this tiny ecosystem fares well, and that all the life in it thrives and is successful at existing.

I very much like your scape as well. It is whimsical in an outer-space sort of way.

What is a reasonable amount of shrimp to keep in such a small vessel?

[dj2005]

Originally Posted by taramosalata

This is really cool. Unconventionally small 'tanks' are really fascinating to me, and they are a good bit more so when they have fauna in them. I hope this tiny ecosystem fares well, and that all the life in it thrives and is successful at existing.

I very much like your scape as well. It is whimsical in an outer-space sort of way.

What is a reasonable amount of shrimp to keep in such a small vessel?

Thanks taramosalata.

For a container of this size with a sparse amount of plants, I recommend one RCS. If it is heavily planted, then I recommend two or three RCS. Nice thing about RCS is they are very durable, procreate a lot, are cute, and make good algae eaters.

[taramosalata]

I keep hearing they're pretty useless for dealing with algae, because of not wanting to wipe out what they perceive to be their only food source. But hells yeah they are way adorable, I love these guys.

I recently got 8 RCS for my 20L (I meant to get 10, but the store was lacking). I have an abandoned 1.5 that I'm planning on setting up as a species tank for the little guys, so they can breed safely, and maybe I'll set up a desk shrimp so I have someone to look at during most of the day. I have a big ~1L vase that I failed to turn into a mini-riparium, so I think I'll use that, but not fill it all the way. Any advice?

[dj2005]

Originally Posted by taramosalata

I keep hearing they're pretty useless for dealing with algae, because of not wanting to wipe out what they perceive to be their only food source. But hells yeah they are way adorable, I love these guys.

I recently got 8 RCS for my 20L (I meant to get 10, but the store was lacking). I have an abandoned 1.5 that I'm planning on setting up as a species tank for the little guys, so they can breed safely, and maybe I'll set up a desk shrimp so I have someone to look at during most of the day. I have a big ~1L vase that I failed to turn into a mini-riparium, so I think I'll use that, but not fill it all the way. Any advice?

I have always found my RCS to be good algae eaters in the sense that they keep the tank spotless of debris of any kind (I'm probably wrong, but I think excess debris helps create algae). I've also seen them picking at any type of algae I've had. Now, does that mean they'll gobble up loads of BBA, hair algae, and staghorn algae? No, but they'll try (unsuccessfully for the most part)! They get extra points for trying, right?

I regularly feed my hundred+ RCS and they still manage to keep my tanks nice and clean. Most people suggest feeding RCS very rarely, but I just do what works best for me. I do have lightly stocked tanks, so that may be why the RCS can keep them clean even when fed often. It is quite entertaining to see them slap-fight over food, too.

While you likely know the following, I'm going to post it anyways:
For the 1L vase, stocking numbers depend on if the vase will be heavily planted and/or actively filtered. Once it is set up, you may want to wait until you have a healthy colony in one of the other tanks before testing the waters (literally) of the vase with RCS. While RCS are hardy for a shrimp, they are not indestructible. For example, it's a bad idea to do what I am currently doing in my nano bowl, but I have so many RCS that risking three is not even of consequence to me.

I do have one question for you, why do you plan to not fill the vase completely?

[taramosalata]

Gosh I don't know why I said that. I actually went and did the whole thing up and the vase is full to the last two inches. I have about 2 inches of substrate, 3 moneywort stems and some java moss. There are a couple seasoned pieces of driftwood, but I'm a class-A moron and didn't soak them so they'd stay sunk. Half the water is from my tank, and the other half is treated from the tap, because I am lazy.

Added three shrimp, and if they don't like it, well, there is always 2-for-1 Tuesdays at the LFS. They seem okay right now, just chilling on whatever they can chill on and being way cute.

[dj2005]

Originally Posted by taramosalata

Gosh I don't know why I said that. I actually went and did the whole thing up and the vase is full to the last two inches. I have about 2 inches of substrate, 3 moneywort stems and some java moss. There are a couple seasoned pieces of driftwood, but I'm a class-A moron and didn't soak them so they'd stay sunk. Half the water is from my tank, and the other half is treated from the tap, because I am lazy.

Added three shrimp, and if they don't like it, well, there is always 2-for-1 Tuesdays at the LFS. They seem okay right now, just chilling on whatever they can chill on and being way cute.

Sounds like a nice setup. I've kept several RCS in much worse conditions for months and they all survived. They even began to colonize.

[taramosalata]

Hahaha, well that makes me feel a little better about being a hasty idiot.

The idea is that I want to keep some shrimp safe from the fish, and be able to see them and not wonder if I still have them all. I'll add more from the LFS to the main tank and the vase and see how they all do, unless the guy at the store is going to go through with his plan of switching from RCS to fire reds, as if they can't sell more than one main kind of shrimp.

[dj2005]

7-20-10:
I figure it is close enough to a month for an update.

The three RCS are doing very well; they have reddened up and molted a couple times.

The MM has been shooting out new buds a few times a week, so I'm pleased with its progress. So far, it has produced a nice variation of two-split and four-split leaves.

The water is a slightly yellow due to the tannins in the AS. I need an ultra nano filter with a couple beads of Purigen.

No algae yet.









Some MM Roots:

[albirdy]

whats your feeding/wc schedule like on that thing?