6 Gallon, Low Tech Betta Tank

[talontsiawd]

Originally Posted by zoragen

But the Betta is still happy right?

I've been fighting green hair algae in my 20gl but I have a zebra nerite in there I'd hate to lose.

Maybe move him to the eclipse & dose the tank? How long till it would be safe to move him back? after the last dose? does the stuff break down fairly quickly?

Other fauna are threadfin rainbows & dwarf neon rainbows.

Betta is doing the same as he was before, kind of happy. He's over 2 years old so he is pretty lazy, especially now that he is by himself and has nobody to bully.

I don't have hair algae, I can't find it online but I have had it before, it's fine strands that are pretty course feeling out of water. I think it would do a much better job a hair algae than what I have.

As for advice on everything, I am hesitant to give any, as this is my first go around and my tank only has one fish. Snails will obviously die and many people have said shrimp will as well. I am not having any difficulty but I would consult some of the other threads for advice as I have very little going on in this tank.

[talontsiawd]

So...The Algaefix did not work at all on the type of algae I have. Not saying it is ineffective, just not on that type. I also tried using an Aquaclear 20 to increase oxygen in the water but it was too much flow for my betta.

I don't know if it's the fact my Betta is old (2.5 years), the fact that he is alone and doesn't have anything to chase, or the fact I don't have a heater but he seems to be much more "picky" these days. He will become active when I am in the room looking but when I walk in, he just chills. I think I need a heater.

As for the algae, I don't find it to be ugly so I am just going to see what happens. I did a 50% water change and just the tube sucks up 75% of it. It will come back to where it was, or it has, as I only water change every 2-4 weeks.

As for the plants/scape. The tank is past "recovery" mode and all plants are growing well. I feel my midground is good. The foreground will take time which I knew from the start. Background is ugly as all the plants needed to recover and will take some time to grow out.

New pic

[rnaodm]

I love the tank, It looks like you took a section out of the betta's natural habitat and boxed it.

If the algaefix isnt working maybe the algae isnt algae? Could it be slime "algae"(CyanoBacteria) in which case Maracyn, an antibiotic, would be a better remedy.

I myself have some greenslime, first dose of antibiotic today.

[PinkRasbora]

Did you slow down the filter at all? My betta seemingly just hides under the stem plants and does not much swimming anymore.

[talontsiawd]

Originally Posted by PinkRasbora

Did you slow down the filter at all? My betta seemingly just hides under the stem plants and does not much swimming anymore.

When I had the HOB in, I didn't slow down the flow. My Zoo Med doesn't put out enough flow to bother the Betta though, he doesn't mind being any place in tank with just the Zoo Med 501, he's just on the lazier side. Temp is about 73-74 which is on the low side, reason I am thinking a heater. I have been told by a few people that I need to be about 72-73 before a heater should become a concern, but he will slow down. The last tank he was in was about 80 degrees and he was active.

I am going to try a Fluval 25 watt as it is pretty unassuming and made for a 6 gallon tank. It's not adjustable which doesn't bug me it itself as I would have choose the same temp. However, the only non adjustable heaters I have had (all Tetra brand) have failed on me. It sucks because I have 4 heaters but they are too big, both size wise and wattage wise. I think only one will fit in the tank at all.

[talontsiawd]

So I through in a heater, just an AC20 I had. Overkill for the tank but it's been very reliable for me. Looks ugly though.

Bobby the Betta has perked up and is more active but only when he wants to be. He may not have a lot longer as a few people told me that it it's getting lethargic, that's an age thing. I do wonder if I throw in a guppy if he would be happier chasing that around. I know it's cruel to the guppy though. He perks up when I am around for awhile but just is lazy. The heater makes him swim faster, not more often. I am not concerned, I was just hoping heat was the issue.

[Betta Maniac]

My HM betta has always been like that. I think his fins are just too heavy. He mostly just stays in one place, loafing on a plant. My CT bettas on the other hand are VERY active. All snails must be flared at and intimidated until they fall off the glass in submission.

[talontsiawd]

Originally Posted by Betta Maniac

My HM betta has always been like that. I think his fins are just too heavy. He mostly just stays in one place, loafing on a plant. My CT bettas on the other hand are VERY active. All snails must be flared at and intimidated until they fall off the glass in submission.

Yeah, I think he was just more active when he had something to chase. He will perk right up when I sit and watch him and is active when he wants to, this is the first time he has been by himself.

[laqu]

i landed up pulling my betta from my 6 gallon, he just didn't like it.. he LOVES is 2 gallon in the center of the table, where i work... while he (don't ask) doesn't flare at the snails he eats all their antenna. I added some java moss and now he 'hunts' in it... what he's hunting no one knows.

[talontsiawd]

I realize a lot of people don't take pics of their tank post trim. I found the people who do, helped me trim. Nothing new here, other than a Aqueon 10 watt heater. The reason I went with a 10 watt is because I was only about 2-3 degree's off of what I wanted. Seems to work fine but I would not recommend it if your tank is not almost where you want it, even if it was smaller than mine. It's just enough to keep things OK, I would have to keep the heat on, I am assuming, if I left town in the winter.

All trimmings went to member orchidman. He graciously gave me a bunch of his knowledge of, what else, Orchids. My gramma passed in September and she got really into Orchids in the years before she passed. Luckily, mine were not her's as they where not doing well. Anyway, he helped me a lot, just trying to share back.

The tank looks a bit "naked" but that's for a reason. I don't think I will find the balance between "jungly" and "manicured" for a few months, I just don't have fast enough growth to where this comes together fast. Some plants take up to 2-3 weeks to really recover after a trim. This is low tech, after all.

Of course, I need to show pictures. I apologize, I have not cleaned the glass, inside or out, since the original post, to my recollection.

[talontsiawd]

Update....Member OVT came by today to pick up some rocks from me. He was very generous and gave me a 6 pack of Pyramid Apricot Ale which I am currently drinking. We were talking about various things but I told him how my Zoo Med 501 has reduced down to a trickle. I maintain the filter regularly but I don't know when the last time I cleaned the pipes. I lost my stock intake so I make a stainless steal tube. Between the tube and 45 degree elbows it comes with, it was horribly dirty. I think that the intake had about 1/2 or more crude in it than surface area so it was really clogged. I think I increased the flow by about 10X after cleaning, just on a guess. I figured it was a good time to take some pictures. I am also curious if the string type algae I have will subside.

I did try my Eheim 2234 on this tank and throttled down, it could work. However, it was an inch to tall to fit under what was a bedside table. I am glad I didn't change out the filters, even though the 2234 would provide much more biomedia, it would have been ugly in the room.

I think the tank looks pretty good right now but some plants have been recently trimmed so it's not at it's best. I am still really surprised how well it works with no CO2. I am thinking about using Excel in the near future to compare, however. I think Excel is too expensive to rely upon on even a nano but I am willing to give it another shot. Even though my plants can have decent color, given the circumstances, I want to test it out again. I do hope my string algae goes away too but my gut tells me it will thrive harder.

That said, here are some pics:

[Thamizhandaa...]

Nice tank & beautiful Betta. Could you give some details about your DIY light hood, with pics?

[seanski21]

you should try darkcobra's 1,2 punch method for getting rid of your hair algae. I had it pretty bad a while back and it wiped it out... here's the link: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sh...d.php?t=203684

[talontsiawd]

Originally Posted by Thamizhandaa...

Nice tank & beautiful Betta. Could you give some details about your DIY light hood, with pics?

The light pretty simple. I just took all the electrical components out of an old 10 gallon hood. I then put that in the housing from the stock light that came with my 29 gallon, shortening it and plastic welding it back together. The same think could easily be accomplished by going to hardware store and buying the components and using something like a rain gutter for the housing. I have been planing to redo my housing with aluminum flashing bent in a U shape, kind of like ADA lights.

Here are some pictures from a previous journal:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sh...=143598&page=4

[talontsiawd]

Originally Posted by seanski21

you should try darkcobra's 1,2 punch method for getting rid of your hair algae. I had it pretty bad a while back and it wiped it out... here's the link: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/sh...d.php?t=203684

It actually turned out to be bladderwort which is almost impossible to get rid of. I actually tore down this tank yesterday and restarted. I did decide to try to reuse some plants, being very careful to try to get any off. I really hope I did not reintroduce it but I had some hard to find plants and was impatient.


That said, I will likely start a new journal soon, it's pretty uninteresting right now as I only saved a stem or too of every plant I wanted to keep to reduce chances of reintroducing bladderwort. I also need some more plants of many types in general.