3g tank "Moss Haven"

[SomeCanuck]

FTS - 04/04/2013



So I dropped by one of my favourite LFSs looking for some sponge to redo one of my hob filters and pick up a few snails... And well, that went about as well as any of these things goes. I walked out with a little rimless 3g tank.

(Tissue box is only there for scale reference and will not be part of the final hardscape.)



I can't remember the dimensions at the moment and will measure it and update this thread with proper info at a later date, but it was roughly 3 gallons.

Although it's not the best quality, for less than $10, I'm not going to complain. And I've already got a little itty bitty hob filter hiding in a box somewhere and plenty of leftover flourite black. That means that the only other monetary investment into this tank will be a little light to accommodate the limited height on my bookshelf where I'll be putting it.

Hardscape will be either non-existent (aside from a half-inch of flourite black) or limited to a half-dozen rocks covered in moss. I'll probably also only be growing mosses in it.

As for fauna, I'm going to have nothing but a few of my reddest RCS in here. Or maybe I'll be a little adventurous and try picking up a half dozen CRS or CBS... Not quite sure yet.

More pics and details to come as I figure things out!

[dtejeda.arias]

I walked in to the pet store earlier today looking for prime. Walked out with 8 otos ($1 each sale) an Anubis they were throwing away because the leaves were starting to turn yellow, and no prime! amazing how the pet store works. Did you at least get the sponge?

[SomeCanuck]

Originally Posted by dtejeda.arias

I walked in to the pet store earlier today looking for prime. Walked out with 8 otos ($1 each sale) an Anubis they were throwing away because the leaves were starting to turn yellow, and no prime! amazing how the pet store works. Did you at least get the sponge?

Oopsie haha

Yeah, I got a big hunk of bulk sponge, some nice lava rock pieces and a few other little odds and ends. So at least I didn't go completely off reservation with my sub-10$ extra purchase... Right? Yeah, totally justifiable...

[SomeCanuck]

So this is so far the cheapest tank I've ever built, consisting mostly of supplies I had lying around.

10$ clip-on light, snapped onto the shelf above the tank.


Bulk-sized filter pad and sponge, cut to fit the itty bitty hob filter.


Leftover flourite black. I'd have liked to get some Fluval Shrimp stratum, but I'm trying to stick with the "tank on a budget" theme so this will work.


Trident java fern plantlets super glued to a small lava stone.


Narrow leaf java fern plantlet glued to another stone.


The light clipped onto the shelf.


The tank a few minutes after being set up. The giant clump of java moss is only there temporarily and will eventually be re-homed once my new mosses show up from the UK.


The tank on its shelf in the corner of the living room.

[10gallonplanted]

Looking good in the neighborhood.
Any rooted plants?

[SomeCanuck]

Originally Posted by 10gallonplanted

Looking good in the neighborhood.
Any rooted plants?

Nope. There's under a half inch of substrate at the moment. Plan is to keep it pretty much free of everything but mosses, so even the java might go at some point. I'll probably be adding some floaters though.

[SomeCanuck]

Really not much to look at still, but it's amazing what less than 24 hours can do for water clarity. Pic taken last night.

[GMYukonon24s]

What kind of moss is in the tank right now? Java?

[SomeCanuck]

Yeah that's just a huge chunk of java moss I had floating around in a bucket. Figured this way it'll get a bit more light until I set up a 10g to (attempt to) use as a breeder for my clown killies.

I'm currently waiting on several mosses from the UK:
-Erect moss
-China moss
-Brazil moss
-Anchor moss
-Mini Taiwan moss

Just gonna tie them all down to individual lava rocks with some netting and see how they grow in. Part of the point of making this a cheap tank is that I'm going to start off putting minimal effort into it and using it as a bit of a plant playground. Livestock won't be for a while, that's for certain.

[FisheriesOmen]

Originally Posted by SomeCanuck

Yeah that's just a huge chunk of java moss I had floating around in a bucket. Figured this way it'll get a bit more light until I set up a 10g to (attempt to) use as a breeder for my clown killies.

I'm currently waiting on several mosses from the UK:
-Erect moss
-China moss
-Brazil moss
-Anchor moss
-Mini Taiwan moss

Just gonna tie them all down to individual lava rocks with some netting and see how they grow in. Part of the point of making this a cheap tank is that I'm going to start off putting minimal effort into it and using it as a bit of a plant playground. Livestock won't be for a while, that's for certain.

You got that package deal on EBay didn't you?

Can't wait!

[SomeCanuck]

Originally Posted by FisheriesOmen

You got that package deal on EBay didn't you?

Can't wait!

I don't know what you're talking about... hehe.

There's only so much choice available up here so I'm going to try and start farming some mosses in my limited space and see what I can manage to do. It'll make for some potentially boring scapes at first, but if I can start small and build up and keep them pest snail-free, I'll eventually be able to make it more interesting I think.

[hunterlook]

Love that filter, what brand and model is it?

[SomeCanuck]

It's a Deep Blue BioMaxx Nano filter, allegedly rated for up to 5g but I wouldn't really put it on anything bigger than a 3g. Quiet as heck.

[SomeCanuck]

So my moss arrived today! Yay! And of course, I was so excited that I ALMOST forgot to take pics of them. Only tied one down one before I realized it... haha

Assuming I got the order right, from left to right:
Mini java moss, erect moss, anchor moss, china moss and brazil moss.

This means they made a mistake and sent me mini java instead of mini taiwan... Time to see if I can get some extra moss sent my way. Mine is an evil laugh! Mwahahaha

So this is them in the tank, one type of moss per lava stone. We'll see who thrives and grows well, and, well, who doesn't heh. If anyone starts looking like they're having too much trouble, I'll probably move them over to the big tank that gets ferts and Excel.


P.S. God, I really need to make a habit of wiping down the glass when I'm done filling a tank... Oh well, this weekend during maintenance on my tanks!

[BoxxerBoyDrew]

This is going to be a cool little tank! Looks good with the Flourite black too!
Drew