Eyebeatbadgers' 10 Gallon 2.07.09

[eyebeatbadgers]

Here are some pictures of the tank from January 2008 through the present. Enjoy!





Here's a pic of a smiley face guppy I'm working on:










Next setup continued in my next post.

[MARIMOBALL]

Mud From A Stream Is An Interesting Concept. Were Did You Get Your Rimless Tank?

[eyebeatbadgers]

Here are the pics to version two of the tank:

Went emersed:
Changed substrate to Aquasoil Amazonia I:

Added water:

HC grew in:

Added background plant:

[A Hill]

Cool stuff. I'm reading Diana's book right now.

Those fish look happy even smiling!

-Andrew

[eyebeatbadgers]

The fish are most definitely happy. The smiley face pattern on the tail is pretty cool if you ask me. We'll see how true the third generation is.

The fish in this tank also grow unbelievably fast. I can only guess there is a constant supply of food from the microorganisms in the soil crawling around, and the abundant algae in the tank.

The only big differences between having an inorganic base layer and an organic one seems to be some extra algae growth. The water stays super clear, there is no odor from the tank as of yet. Even the algae is minimal now that the plants have grown in some. The plants took about two weeks to adapt to the tank, and now double in volume every week (they are all very fast growing plants)

Natural tanks are lots of fun and a new adventure in tank keeping everyone should try at least once. I've got less than 30 bucks invested in this tank and it looks just as good as the one I have a couple hundred invested in.

[druxboyz]

i see you kept the black bottom base on. Did you think that the walls would fail? What tools did you use to take the top off? Pliers, clippers, etc

[tropicalfish]

Probably a safety measure since the glass isn't very thick and the tank is from Wal-Mart.

[eyebeatbadgers]

Originally Posted by druxboyz

i see you kept the black bottom base on. Did you think that the walls would fail? What tools did you use to take the top off? Pliers, clippers, etc

I used a razor blade and patience. It took about an hour or two, cutting the silicone very slowly and gently pulling up the trim one corner at a time.

Without the bottom trim, I'd say the tank would likely fail. The glass is 1/8" thick, and deflection is 1/8". I have no worries about it with the top trim off, but it is certainly more fragile.

[eyebeatbadgers]

The tank is starting to settle in. Hairgrass is growing in the front at a nice pace. I started a moss wall two weeks ago, and am looking forward to seeing it grow out.

I'm still using DIY CO2 and a limewood diffuser in this tank. I add a small pinch of nitrogen potassium and phosphorus every week after a 50% water change. The desk lamps are on for six hours a day.

[A Hill]

Looks great. Be careful with the tank since you took the rim off, I wouldn't hang all that stuff on there.

-Andrew

[Enoch]

I had some doubts in your first few pics, but it's turning out REALLY nice!!

What kind of moss wall is that?

[fishscale]

I'm not sure if I would be too concerned about the top trim. It doesn't look like it's doing much on my 10 gals. It's actually pretty loose and doesn't look like it's taking any load at all.

[eyebeatbadgers]

The tank walls a plenty strong enough to hold the small filter that is hanging on it. The clamp-on lights are also very light.

The moss wall and moss on the rocks is taiwan moss I believe.

[Buck]

I like the simplicity and the look. Your stone work looks nice and it will be a nice looking tank when it matures, if it gets that far.

I dont think I would have removed the top rim though.
It may be nothing now but after a few months you will most likely be mopping up the floor. Why bother removing the rim that the company who built the tank deemed necessary? Something just dont make sense to me here...

[EdTheEdge]

Great thread. Nice tank. Do you think the mud you put in there is helping the plants? Probaly is huh? I've tried potting soil under both sand and Flourite. IT worked OK. But I bet stream bed mud would work wonders.....