What To Do. What To Do...

[RipariumGuy]

Hello fellow geeks! (Ware the title with pride...)

I have had a 2.5g AGA tank up since the summer, but since the death of my 2+ year old betta, I have an empty tank sitting around. Blasphemy in my opinion! I have just about everything I need to set this baby up, but I am not sure what to do with it. I have some ideas, but I want something unique. Paludarium? Terrarium? Emersed setup? Stem plant setup? Those are my ideas so far. I would "like" to keep this setuo on a smaller budget as possible, but if I get a good idea, it doesn't really matter! Here is a quick list of what I have.

Tank: 2.5g AGA w/black trim
Stand: Shelf at end of my bed
Filteration: Tom Aquarium Products Internal (45GPH max, spraybar or norm. out flow)
Substrate: Pool filter sand, gravel
Lighting: Target desk lamp w/13w CFL (white reflector, circular)
Decor': Some Driftwood, granite river stones

So, hit me with your best ideas! And Thanks for reading!

[F22]

Gargoyle gecko vivarium.

[!shadow!]

shrimp tank? l mean think of it during the long run you'll have a money multiplier.

[PinoyBoy]

Paludarium with shrimps sounds pretty cool and/or assassin snails. Either way, they'll be good money in the long run.

[Cuchulainn]

Sounds like a fun tank! Because of its size, personally I would put it beside my bed. At the foot of the bed would seem so far away, I'd have to strain my eyes to see it well enough. It may even suffice to replace your bedside light so you could read by it, and falling asleep staring at it on those restless nights would be nice.
Some cool looking shrimp, a couple snails, moss and driftwood you'd have a pretty swEEt setup!
I have a little 5 gallon setup similarly, and love it. My favorite out of all my tanks-flurry of activity
Gl~

[RipariumGuy]

Originally Posted by F22

Gargoyle gecko vivarium.

I would like to so bad... But the parents have banned herps.

Originally Posted by !shadow!

shrimp tank? l mean think of it during the long run you'll have a money multiplier.

Originally Posted by PinoyBoy

Paludarium with shrimps sounds pretty cool and/or assassin snails. Either way, they'll be good money in the long run.

I really like both of the shrimp tank ideas. The only problem with making a paludarium is that I would be afraid of the shrimp dying if they went onto the land portion. I think a high-tech setup with stems and shrimp would be my best bet. I would neet to upgrade my lighting and get a small CO2 setup. Any ideas for shrimp (Cherrys?) and CO2?

Originally Posted by Cuchulainn

Sounds like a fun tank! Because of its size, personally I would put it beside my bed. At the foot of the bed would seem so far away, I'd have to strain my eyes to see it well enough. It may even suffice to replace your bedside light so you could read by it, and falling asleep staring at it on those restless nights would be nice.
Some cool looking shrimp, a couple snails, moss and driftwood you'd have a pretty swEEt setup!
I have a little 5 gallon setup similarly, and love it. My favorite out of all my tanks-flurry of activity
Gl~

The problem with putting the tank at the side of my bed is that the space is taken up by my 40g... Thanks for the idea though! Thanks for brining up moss. I hadn't thought of making a moss 'scape.

Thanks for the comments guys! Keep 'em coming! (and stem, CO2 setup ideas...)

[RipariumGuy]

How about this.... ADA Soil, DSM HC (+ stems) Iwagumi? Oh, and shrimps of course!

[RipariumGuy]

So all in all it would look like this:

Tank: AGA 2.5g (until I get a rimless in the far future)
Lighting: Desk lamp w/13w CFL (Hampton Bay 27w desk lamp in the future)
Substrate: ADA Amazonia I
Plants: HC, some sort of stem(?)
Filteration: Tom Aquarium internal filter (Art Deco in future)
CO2: Seachem Excel
Fauna: CRS's
Hardscape: Manzanita - Unless I find some good rocks

Sound good?

[gregpxc]

Why don't you DIY rimless? A tank that small could easily support itself without a rim. Might be worth it.