Yoshi's 8L Frameless Cube

[yoko]

Haeun, gonna start breeding shrimp?

Yoshi, Post up the ghetto 7w, I wanna see

[RESGuy]

Like I said on APC, nice clean tank Looks really great. It should for the $100 you've spent so far on a 2g tank

[Yoshi]

Yoko- Here's a pic of the 7W fixture that the tank comes with.


RESguy- Thanks ...I really wanted a CUBE tank, and this was the ONLY glass cube that I could find (besides DIY) that looked like it had potential, so I didn't mind splurging a bit to pay for what I wanted. $100 still beats the $50(tank)+160(light) = $210 for the ADA Mini setup!

Also, if anyone is wondering about the filter it comes bundled with:


Regarding the filter, I think it may be a wee bit too much at 50GPH for only a 2G tank... this means at full power it's going to be pushing about x25 turnover!

I can definitely throttle it back, but I'm thinking of just getting an AZOO Palm Filter b/c the ALIFE is also very bulky. Do you guys think I should switch to the AZOO or just keep this one?

Also, not sure what I'm goin to do about heating. I do have a spare 50W stealth heater, but it is pretty unsightly (big black stick in my tank). With my room temperature averaging between 72-77 (no AC), will I still need a heater? Will RCS/Amano Shrimp and/or HC be OK within this temperature range? ...or do they prefer a more SPECIFIC temp? (sorry for all the Q's). Thanks in advance

[cjyhc4]

Originally Posted by Yoshi

Also, not sure what I'm goin to do about heating. I do have a spare 50W stealth heater, but it is pretty unsightly (big black stick in my tank). With my room temperature averaging between 72-77 (no AC), will I still need a heater? Will RCS/Amano Shrimp and/or HC be OK within this temperature range? ...or do they prefer a more SPECIFIC temp? (sorry for all the Q's). Thanks in advance

My RCS are perfectly content in their unheated tank. I keep my apt in the same range as you. It got down to 66/68 one night and the next morning I flipped on the light and noticed a bunch of new babies. Probably coincidence, but obviously, it wasn't problematic.

[dufus]

Hye, that light is nicer than the azoo and redsea ones.

[yoko]

Originally Posted by dufus

Hye, that light is nicer than the azoo and redsea ones.

Dude I know!

It's not even that ghetto!?!?

[RESGuy]

Comments on:

Filter- Since you will be having shrimp in that tank, and I am sure you will want them to breed and have baby shrimp, I would recommend you keep that filter and add a pre-filter to the intake. Not only will this allow shrimplets not to be sucked up by the filter (which they will!) but it will also minimize the power of the filter.

Heating- If your room temperature is 72-77 then you don't have to worry about buying a heater for you tank That is the perfect temperature for shrimp and most other things. The shrimp will happily breed and live in that temperature Furthermore, a 50W heater on a 2g tank is overkill and will boil your shrimp and everything else in the tank.

[valleyvampiress]

Wow, I love frameless tanks! The setup looks like it has great potential.

As for the heater, both my nanos do not have a heater. The light is pretty much the heater since it has to be so bright (and thus, produces more heat). Temps for both tanks range in the 68-76 degree range. It can get up to 80 though on a hot day. If goes above that, I turn the lights off, but that's only happened to me on record-breaking heat weather. As long as your house stays pretty consistent in temp, you will probably not need a heater.

[Yoshi]

Thanks for the info guys regarding the heater.

An update on the tank:
I set it up last week w/Aquasoil Amazonia and have it aquascaped. I'm not 100% satisfied w/the way it looks so it may change. For the past few days I've been doing roughly 75% water changes to help decrease the "staining" that the aquasoil is causing and to get past the initial ammonia spike. I changed out the ALIFE filter for an AZOO Palm filter. Reasons for doing so is because the AZOO is so much more compact (space saving), and doesn't create the turbulence that the ALIFE did. I'm liking the palm filter a lot in regards to the size... it does an amazing job for such a small filter. Also, I'm planning on planting my HC in a few days... hoping they won't "melt"

I just recently did a water change so the tank is a wee bit cloudy. When the water settles I will post a picture of my aquascape in hopes for some constructive criticism.

Thanks guys, stay tuned!

[Yoshi]

Well, I had the chance to take some pics this afternoon after planting.

The HC I received wasn't in the best condition (some were brown/blackish), so I couldn't plant as much as I had wanted... but I did the best with what I had to work and and I hope that it should be enough for me to get the lawn started.

My inspiration for aquascaping comes from the Huang Shan Mountain Range (Yellow Mountain) in China. I had the opportunity to see these mountains last year in person and it was truly breathtaking. I tried my best to mimic the "numerous" round peaks of these mountains, and I hope I captured the effect of cascading mountains. Here is what the Huang Shan mountains look like:


Here's a FTS


A closer view of the tank.


I don't really want to reposition the rocks b/c it gets really messy w/the aquasoil already wet. At first glace it kind of looks like a random pile of rocks, so I planted some HC in between the rocks so when that fills in I hope to give some contrast to the individual pillars so that depth is more prevalent. But any constructive thoughts/comments/criticisms are appreciated!

Let me know what you guys think

[dufus]

Sweeeet.
i was looking at a pic like that of the mountains for inspiration on my newest tank.

[sandiegoryu]

Hey I just saw this thread. I have the same exact tank as you! For the first few months I didn't know you could take the black stuff off. So I took the top off but the bottom is still there cuz I don't want to empty everything to take just four black corners no one will see lol.

Well what's funny is that we are both doing iwagumi, are using HC, and you even though about blyxa which I used but abandoned (or maybe not). And we both use 18w of CF light. I use a coralife mini though.

That is a sweet looking tank there. Where did you get that rock?

As for the filter, I'd say keep it. As an owner of the same one, once you put a prefilter on the thing, it suffers greatly. Full blast with my sponge prefilter and it was very nice. But full blast without it definitely too strong but I keep it at full blast without a prefilter becuase I like the extra flow it gives. I've said bye bye to a few baby shrimp but that's fine :-D.

I love your scape. Water looks a little foggy though. But it kind of adds to the feeling of what you tried to achieve in the picture :-D.

Please keep us updated, and if you haven't already check out SCAPe at www.socalaquascapers.com

[Yoshi]

Ryu: thanks for your comments. I ended up ditching the filter (might use that for something else), and replacing it with an AZOO palm filter. I like it a lot better b/c the intake pipe is clear, and less of an eye-sore than the grey intake; not to mention the footprint is almost half the size of the orignal filter, saving me space

Regarding the "cloudy" water... it has actually gotten somewhat more pronounced this past week. My water USED to be crystal clear ... the cloudiness started showing up last week. I thought it was b/c of me planting the HC in the AS, but I guess I was wrong. The water is NOT green, it's just a very PALE misty white, not so much "milky" ... the best way to describe it is a light white haze.

I've been searching around the forums and have read that the white-ish cloudiness may be a bacterial bloom and that it should go away in a week or two, is this accurate information?

I have been performing ~50% water changes daily, dechlor with AmQuel and dosing with Excel (1ml) per day. I have a bag of Purigen in the filter, along with some foam and filter floss. There is nothing in the tank except for a few ramshorn snails and HC.

My parameters as of today are as follows:
Ammonia: 0.25 ppm (still waiting on this to go down!)
Nitrite: 0 ppm
Nitrate: 0 ppm
Total Hardness: ~200 ppm
Total Alkalinity: ~80 ppm
pH: ~6.8
Temp: ~74F
Photoperiod: 8 hrs

[Color Me Blue]

Daniel: Love the hardscape! That pic of inspiration is absolutely beautiful! If you want cherries, let me know....I've got plenty! LOL But have you thought about keeping CRS in there?

[travis]

Yoshi,

I love the aquascape. It makes that tank look much larger than it actually is. I'll be following this thread to watch the progress. I really like your idea of planting HC between the rocks to accentuate the divisions.

The white cloudiness you're experiencing is almost certainly a bacterial bloom. It's a natural part of the cycling process and should go away in a few days as the nitrifying bacteria in your filter's bio-media build up.