I have one still in the box. I am waiting on collecting all the items that I need before I start it up. One question, why didn't you use the light and filter that came with it?
Smart move. I feel like I'll have a higher bioload than the filter can handle plus the filter takes up limited and valuable tank space. The light is something I had sitting here from my other African tank so I thought I might as well use it.
I have one still in the box. I am waiting on collecting all the items that I need before I start it up. One question, why didn't you use the light and filter that came with it?
Personally I think that is a waste of money. It's not hard to pour a few 100 mL of water into the tank every couple days. If you can't handle that for maintenance then a nano is probably not for you.
Personally I don't think it's a waste of money. With 32W running 8 hrs a day there's a lot more than 100mL of evaporation, plus I have a job that requires traveling on the weekends (Fri-Sun). ATO system would safe guard drastic evaporation. To be honest, I never asked what you thought of me getting an ATO but thanks for your input.
Anyways, a buddy @ the LFS told me about this site, they carry ATO for nano tanks for $45. Probably invest in it next week. Pics:
tell ya the truth dude, I dunno if that auto top off.is really needed I am running 2 4g nanos both with eheim 2211s, and open top with LED, I only add water about twice a week and its usually only about 8-12oz I keep a gallon jug of water next to the stand and its pretty easy. I think if you top off before the weekend you will be fine, but thats just my opinion.
Addendum: Didn't realize the size of tank. Might be a little tight for kribs. If your male and female decide to not hit it off, there might be trouble. Make sure you keep an eye on them.
If you are not overly tied to a planted tank, a mated pair of Tanganyika Shell dwellers might be more suitable for that tank. You can make an interesting hardscape, throw in a couple shells and they should be fine.
I just noticed my shrimp just molted. He is bright red right now, I always thought they were a white color after the process until their exoskeleton hardens. Any thoughts?
More pics:
Final layout without black background:
This picture was taken right after all the plants were placed and water topped off:
FTS:
Water flow from the 2211:
I'll be removing the Java Fern very soon and adding several Anubias in its place.
Wanted a more natural look to it. In my old tank I used AuaSoil Amazonia and it wasn't too my liking. Originally I wanted to use ADA Congo Substrate but I couldn't find it anywhere, so I decided to go with silver sand and natural pebbles.
Pics:
Here's a few pics of my shrimp from a few days ago after his molt...
Profile view...
You can also see some sort of fungus growing on the driftwood.
Update:
The shrimp has seemed to have vanished in the past 2 days. I can't find him anywhere. I think he jumped/crawled out. I am working on getting the lid cut so I can place it on top of the tank. I added a small pump in the back of the tank to add more circulation. The surface wasn't being agitated enough so a protein film was forming on top of the tank. Will not be keeping any sort of cave spawners so I also took out the cave in the corner. I removed the Java fern and changed the placement of the African fern. Algae has started to grow on the rocks and glass. The two catfish are still in the QT, they are doing great, seems very healthy and eating like champs. I noticed some trumpet snails in the tank. This weekend I'll be buying few more plants. I want to stock my tank with Anubias barteri var. nana (I'll be getting 10-13 plants this weekend), Crinum calamistratum, Nymphaea lotus, and Nesaea pedicellata. I am deciding on what type of ferts I should use, any recommendations on brand, dosage, etc.?
It's been a while since I did an update. So far I added 6 Nymphaea loctus, a few pieces of Amazon Frogbit, Red Root Floater (yes I know these plants aren't from W. Africa), and 10 Anubias barteri var. nana, which I got from mgamer20o0 (THANKS). I added 7 Aplocheilichthys normani (Norman's Lampeye), and I am still waiting on a trio of killifish. I just added the nana so the water is a lil cloudy from the maintance and planiting. I'll post some pics this weekend.
PICS:
These pics were taken a month or so ago. I've added few more plants and the tigher lotus have grown. But here some pics I've been holding out on.
The tank looks really nice. I like the arrangement of plants and driftwood. I'm thinking of re-scaping a portion of my tank and am enjoying looking at other's work!
For the killifish, IME a lot of them are jumpers and need a full lid (not even an open space at the back). They are a fun, colorful fish to keep if you can. Did you fully stock yet?
Yeah I am not getting any killifish. I tried my hand in lampeyes, just to to see if they would jump before I got a more expensive killifish, all but 1 jumped out. The water is perfect, I think it's the sudden on and off of the lights, I even putt in floating plants, no luck. Good thing is they did breed for me and I have 6 babies. I'm going raise them to a lil bigger and then see if anyone wants them to enjoy in covered tank.
I also got some unknown growth in my emersed java moss. Let me know if anyone knows what it is:
I'm getting rid of the 2211 because of insufficient and unreliable flow rates. I added a 2213 to my tank and have turned down the flow of it. I have decided to get a African Leaf Fish as my main display fish. Opinions and comments are welcomed.
Your tank looks awesome. Love the lotus and the arrangement of all the plants and driftwood. Have you thought of getting a piece of Plexiglas cut for the top, something that can be cut around where the wood comes out to keep it somewhat covered. Just trying to be helpful
Thanks for the kind words. I really love the tiger lotus too. I tried cutting my own Plexiglas but I always managed to crack it during the cutting process. I even looked at getting the lid it came with custom cut at a glass shop but they said it would cost more the tank itself. I added a lot more flating plants to deter fish from jumping out. But I gt to wait and see if that's gonna work.
The tank looks really good, the plants seem to have taken off well in there. Have you been adding anything to help the growth or is this just the tank running its course?
I change the water twice a week and add Flourish and Excel once a week. I just bought a Paintball CO2 regulator from a member on this site and got dry ferts from GLA. So in a few days I'll change over to that.
I initially thought about keeping rasboras but I couldn't think of any African species. Now I figured I'd get a African Leaf Fish, and anything else in that tank becomes a meal for him/her.
The tank looks really good, the plants seem to have taken off well in there. Have you been adding anything to help the growth or is this just the tank running its course?
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