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d2mini's 4g Planted Betta Tank

13K views 92 replies 24 participants last post by  lotuslullaby 
#1 · (Edited)
This is my FIRST EVER planted freshwater tank, so this is not only going to be a journal of my build/progress but I also need it to be part tutorial as well with lots of helpful comments from the peanut gallery. :hihi: Feel free to make suggestions along the way. I'd rather be corrected early on than end up with a complete failure later. So without further ado...

THE TANK:
My other tank is a 180g Saltwater tank with fish room, lots of tech, etc that can be seen here:
http://www.aquaticlog.com/aquariums/d2mini/1

But for this tank I decided to go ultra simple for now. So I chose an all-in-one... the Cad Lights 4g Freshwater tank. Has it's own filter system and integrated LED light system with around 150 PAR, so they say.




Looking down into the filter area.



Filter items in place. Sponge, then bio material, then return pump section (hoping to fit a heater here).



The original design of this tank was a removable filter area where everything was plastic, but as you can see it's glass baffles and it's all siliconed.



And now the fun part:

I stopped by ADG, got to meet Frank, and picked up some Amazonia soil and some rocks. This is my first attempt at planted tank aquascaping so fire away. I like odd numbers and asymmetry so that's kind of what I was going for. Even though the big rock is basically in the middle, the shape/height is weighted more to the left. I also sloped the substrate up towards the back to try and achieve some depth. The usable space in the tank is really only about 9.5" wide by 7" deep by 9.5" high so not much space to work with!









Fish:
And here is the handsome young stud who will be moving in, once he makes the long journey from Thailand. :fish1:




That's it for now. I wanted to get some feedback before filling it with water. I'm pretty happy with where it is but open to suggestions, especially if there is anything that will cause a problem down the road. The substrate is 1.5" deep in front and just about 3.5" deep at the very back. Is that ok?

For plants, I was hoping the tank is shallow enough that I could do some ground cover with riccia and dwarf baby tears. Scale is an issue in such a small tank so I'm looking for something pretty small. Then I'm gong to need some taller plants. Something floating, too.


Thanks for looking! :icon_smil
 
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#31 ·
Thanks, Green! :)

I must say this is stressing me out! lol
I did a water change today, about 75% and I had plants floating. Those little things need to take hold soon!
The good news is the tank looks pretty clear.
And I added a ball valve to the output to cut down on the flow.

Pic from Day 2...

 
#33 ·
Right now I'm dosing Seachem Flourish Excel.
Any suggestions for fertilizer?
Ammonia is at zero.
 
#34 ·
I'm currently using rootmedic, can't comment on how it's working for me yet since I just started my 20L, however once I run out I will probably go with dry ferts(way cheaper and more control). I have and still use excel in my nano's with flourish comprehensive and have had no major problems except when I have to neglect W/C's due to work or just being away.
 
#38 ·
I've siphoned water from a bucket with some spare airline tubing I have laying around into one of my tanks. It's a lot slower but it doesn't stir up the substrate or uproot anything either. You can have more tubes siphoning from the bucket too if you want. It's something that's worked for me, but it really does take patience
 
#39 ·
Thanks for the tips!
Mainly i was slowly pouring onto the big rock but towards the end i got a little impatient. lol
 
#40 ·
What I usually do is a magnet cleaner like for algae and a plastic container, put one side of the magnet on the outside glass, the other on the inside of the container and viola, it holds it in the desired location to fill water easily. You can adjust the height etc as it fills too. It allows you to pour pretty fast as water is dispersed upward.

I've done drip water changes as well, but that is very very slow like 5 or more hours, usually I would place the bucket higher than tank, tie a knot and clip the tubing to tank and bucket, usually for sensitive organisms.
 
#41 ·
Changed another 75% or so tonite and nothing floated. :)
Everything still looks about the same (a good thing).

Lights are running for about 12 hrs. Is that too much? (LED lighting system 3.8W. Triple Panel LED bands with 135PAR@6" of light output. Pic earlier in this thread.)
 
#43 ·
I can cut it down now. It's at 12 for no other reason than having no clue what the lighting period should be for this size tank, this type/amount of light, and a new tank/plants. Should I go down as far as 8 maybe?
 
#44 ·
Honestly, I'd go down to six hours unless you plan to start using CO2 instead of Excel. Algae farm in the making. Any way you could use fiberglass window screen material to filter the light? That could also help a bit if you add a few layers.

Have a feeling it's going to be great once you get everything balanced.
 
#45 ·
Thanks, I'll make the switch.
I'm so used to the really intense lighting needed to grow coral. :)
I want to make sure the plants get what they need, but I definitely don't want algae!
 
#48 ·
Thanks to Frank and Mike, I stopped by ADG today to pick up a few goodies. :)
This stuff should last me quite a while in my little 4g!

 
#50 ·
Thanks, Green! They're pretty packaging (I'm a packaging designer myself, actually)... figured they deserved a little extra effort. lol ;)

Day 3, changed 75% of the water again.
Everything looking stable.
 
#52 ·
For that shot it was just the old Nikon D200 that was at my office.
But my normal camera is the D800 and the Olympus OM-D E-M5.
 
#56 ·
Thank you. :)
I know what you mean, but the breeder guarantees live arrival or money back if using express shipping from your transhipper. Shipping to the states is around 5 bucks but then the shipping from the transhipper is around 40 for express overnight mail or 20 for priority mail.

Ends up being a pretty expensive betta, but I'm used to $50 and up fish prices from my saltwater tank and honestly you just can't find bettas like this at your local petsmart.


wow that is a nice betta! is it a dragon betta?
Thanks! Yes, he's a Copper Red Dragon Halfmoon. :)
 
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