5 Gallon Fluval Chi

[Aheartlessfish]

Fluval Chi

Gallons: 5
Light: 18w 6700k
Temp: 77 F
Filtration: Aquaclear 10? HOB (the smallest one they have)
PH: Yet to be tested but i can careless for this tank. (Prob around 6.8-7.0 assuming Diy co2 takes it down a bit)
Ferts: IE dry ferts
Gravel: Flourite Black gravel, some large stones in front
Photo P: 8 hr
Co2: Diy sugar/yeast .5-1bps

Plants: L Aromatica, Elatine Triandra
Fish: 4 Black neons (they were extra fish from my big tank), 1 otto

Commentary: Plants grow great, Witnessed Black Neons spawning (doubt the eggs made it tho). Starting to see some slight algae on top of front rocks (might end up taking it out if it becomes a problem but its nothing major yet) and some algae on the glass but ez fix with a brush/pad/razor. Oily surface but doesnt bother me much. Have to top off tank every other day as evaporation is noticeable.

Overall: very happy so far since its just my first attempt at a nano rimless tank. Wish the "fluval chi" logo was moved more over to the right tho. NBD



Anyone want to recommend a sand to put in the front? I had pool sand there once but i read up about silicates in pool sand and some brown diatoms and such was starting to become a problem so i vacced it out.

[GMYukonon24s]

Nice pics, plants, and tank

[FisheriesOmen]

Great looking tank so far!

[Aheartlessfish]

thanks wish i could have gotten the breeding on video...was very exiting action going on in the tank...eggs being scattered everywhere like grains of salt ^^

[Aheartlessfish]

05.16.12. I cheated and was impatient ^^. Actually i just had Elatine growing very well for me in the bigger tank so i transferred some down here. Loving the whole idea of low maintenance and only 2 plants to worry about. Added 2 more ottos to the tank and boy are they doing very well. When i had 1 he barely moved around but now that i put 2 more in they are CONSTANTLY in search for algae...maybe its a competition for food thing ^^. Only 2 of them are ever together, the 3rd one does his own thing (prob cause he was the original one). Im thinking of removing the Black neons and replacing them with some crystal reds. Black neons would do alot better in the big tank anyways. Also added a black background (was gona paint it but ran out of paint)

L. Aromatica is growing like a bast. Beautiful colorful plants. Compared to my pressurized co2 and Halide lighting (main 40 gallon) Im gona have to say a nano tank is way better to manage than a bigger tank. Very tempted to shut down everything and just do Nano tanks.

Also does anyone know a good dosing regime for a 5 Gallon Tank?

EI method im using so far:
Sat 50% wc.

x3 a week
1/16 tsp Kno3
1/64 tsp K2so4
1/64 tsp Kh2po4

x3 a week off days
1/64 csm+b
10 drops of Flourish Iron

on wc day
1/16 Epsom
1/16 Cacl2

Any help would be appreciated

[dreamechoes]

Absolutely lovely. I really love the look of the Chi. I plan on getting one at some point. Fabulous job!

[Aheartlessfish]

can i talk you out of it? :P

I only like the tank...everything else that comes with it is useless ^^ (doesnt even come with a heater!!)

It comes with the built on filter/led light that is completely useless unless ur using it for a beta tank...if ur thinking of planting something besides javamoss good luck :P not to mention the LED's on it are super dim. only good for reading books if anything.

[GMYukonon24s]

It's cool how it's so simple but really nice.

[Aheartlessfish]

05.21.12

New shots of the tank this week. Elatine going crazy. L aromatica getting taller and taller. Going to prune it next week. Thinking of removing the black neons. They getting big.

Looking for white sand to do a river effect that runs from the back left corner towards the front ditch. have white sand pouring down the front rocks like a water fall. Still havent decided yet.

Also added a background to the right side of the tank. When i view it from the front (on my computer chair) backgrounds black, and when i view it from the side (bed) its a blue back ground. (the black side was dirty)



You can see both backgrounds in this shot but its a reflective shot pretty cool. blue is suppose to be on the right side and black suppose to be on the left side

[philemon716]

Great looking tank. I like your alternative floor covering.

Thanks for the warning on this package as I was thinking about buying it myself.

[Aheartlessfish]

Haha, i purchased my tank off of craigslist for $20. I would never pay the full $80. But thats just me and im cheap. I love the tank and thats pretty much all i love about the kit. Its my cheap way of getting an ADA tank xD. I dont know about clarity or anything between ADA and Fluval Chi, but i dont see a tank getting any clearer than this lol. Glass is glass but im prob just saying this because i never owned or saw ADA in person.

05.30.12. Pruned the L. Aromatica and replanted the clippings, also pruned some of the Elatine that were growing against the glass and tall ones. So i went away for a weekend trip accidentally leaving the timer mode off, so my lights were on on my planted tanks for a good 24-48 hours. Results = brown algae all over glass and plants, but more on glass. Cleaned it up but some still dwell in between the elatine on the bottom.
A cool factor tho, check out the L Aromaticas. They seem to developed a deep maroonish color on the tops. Camera doesnt do it justice.




This picture is what the L Aromatica's were like before the 48 hour blast. Just green


This is After. Check out the tallest stem, he got blasted the most, also was pruned there as well.


I love the marroonish brownish color. Not sure how this will effect future growth tho.

[shinycard255]

The plants look awesome! Especially the ones turning red. They are turning red because you left the light on for a 24-48 period, which in turn they change color to help reflect light off of them (I think that's right, but they change color because of the higher lighting. Not sure the real scientific reason, but its to help protect them from the lights). I'm sure they will go back to green once you get the light cycle going on it's norm again.

The tank looks awesome! Keep it up!

[Aheartlessfish]

thanks that sounds scientifically right xD. Sucks if they gona be turning green again i might just leave the light on forever!! hahaha!

love your status "Obsessed, wife unapproved"

[shinycard255]

I guess that depends on your light and how much light it puts out... I could be wrong and they might stay red (which would be awesome) if you have enough light (or at least the tips might turn red as they reach the water surface)

The wife doesn't like my obsession, but she just deals with it

[mojof1]

looking great!

i did the exact same thing as you.. ditched the stupid OEM filter because my external light would never reach my plants. replaced it with the the aquaclear 10 as well

for the EI dosing, i calculated it to be this:
KNO3 - 0.22g -> 7.13ppm
KH2PO4 - 0.03g -> 1.11ppm
Trace - 0.05g -> 0.17ppm
(note that these are daily doses 3x a week alternating with trace and the other 2)
total K = 4.95, Mg = 0.04

how do you dose such small fraction of a teaspoon? are there teaspoons that precise? i have to use a scale everytime.. but once I get some containers i'll dissolve it into a solution and dose with a syringe