Hi all, figured if I am starting a new tank I might as well document the process!
I have been out of the hobby for the last 5yrs, but spent the previous 15yrs breeding various Rift Lake Cichlids and then transitioned into SPS reef tanks, before settling into a large High-Tech planted display. Work and travel put an end to aquariums and I have missed it ever since. A couple promotions later and my travel needs are very low, so I have been going over the idea of getting a small nano setup for my office at work.
While bouncing around on the net looking for ideas, I stumbled on the ADA Mini NA setup and fell in love. I have always had a soft spot for nano tanks, and have had a couple small marine nano tanks for growing coral over the years, but I am not interested in the complexity required to manage that at work. So fresh water it is.
I have spent the last month researching the simplest tank setup that I can run at work, while achieving the style of tank I prefer. I have always been a fan of nature-style displays, shallow tanks and center islands with clean sand foregrounds, and this will be my goal this time too. I am 100% against any visible equipment in tanks, I prefer overflows or at worse neat/invisible pipes. High-Tech/CO2/Ferts doesn’t worry me if thats required, done it all before and understand the nuances enough to know what I would be getting myself into.
With the ADA Mini NA in mind, I quickly come to realisation that there is no way I am spending $800aud on that setup. I would love to, but thats nuts imo. I am not adverse to going second hand, or cheaper equivalents if it achieves the same purpose. I like the filterless design of a tank that small, and I would happily do water changes on a tank this small as often as needed. Everything’s cheaper at this scale, so a little more effort for things like that are fine by me.
Open to comments and criticism, this is only an idea. I will be trying to keep costs low - this won’t be 100% ADA gear that’s for sure. I’d just rather nut out the potential challenges now rather than once I start getting equipment.
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I figured this would be a good topic for a journal, albeit it might be slow progress through this planning phase. Nothing is really locked in just yet, but I am looking to lock down the main design ideas shortly.
Cheers Inno
I have been out of the hobby for the last 5yrs, but spent the previous 15yrs breeding various Rift Lake Cichlids and then transitioned into SPS reef tanks, before settling into a large High-Tech planted display. Work and travel put an end to aquariums and I have missed it ever since. A couple promotions later and my travel needs are very low, so I have been going over the idea of getting a small nano setup for my office at work.
While bouncing around on the net looking for ideas, I stumbled on the ADA Mini NA setup and fell in love. I have always had a soft spot for nano tanks, and have had a couple small marine nano tanks for growing coral over the years, but I am not interested in the complexity required to manage that at work. So fresh water it is.
I have spent the last month researching the simplest tank setup that I can run at work, while achieving the style of tank I prefer. I have always been a fan of nature-style displays, shallow tanks and center islands with clean sand foregrounds, and this will be my goal this time too. I am 100% against any visible equipment in tanks, I prefer overflows or at worse neat/invisible pipes. High-Tech/CO2/Ferts doesn’t worry me if thats required, done it all before and understand the nuances enough to know what I would be getting myself into.
With the ADA Mini NA in mind, I quickly come to realisation that there is no way I am spending $800aud on that setup. I would love to, but thats nuts imo. I am not adverse to going second hand, or cheaper equivalents if it achieves the same purpose. I like the filterless design of a tank that small, and I would happily do water changes on a tank this small as often as needed. Everything’s cheaper at this scale, so a little more effort for things like that are fine by me.
Open to comments and criticism, this is only an idea. I will be trying to keep costs low - this won’t be 100% ADA gear that’s for sure. I’d just rather nut out the potential challenges now rather than once I start getting equipment.
- Tank: 5-10l rimless, as high quality as affordable, but at least starglass or similar low iron glass. Secondhand only if in perfect condition. I do prefer shallow (also helps with light choices) but a cube is easier to source it seems.
- Heater: None. I will be using a heat mat as per a reptile enclosure to ensure the tank remains at ~25c constantly. I plan to sit the tank on a nice slate or ceramic tile base with the heat mat under the tank. I think a 30-50w waterproof seedling mat will work. Office is never much below 18c or above 22c ambient.
- Light: Very flexible here. Depending on tank depth and length, either a single side mount or a full length light. Something that can do 3-5w/l and be dialled down so I have flexibility. Pendants will be impractical as much as I like them.
- Filter: None. Probably the biggest unknown for me, I have never attempted a planted FW tank this small so unsure how best to action this. I am conscious of film build up and may need to have some sort of surface agitation as this was a problem in SW nanos. Will aim to use water changes to deal with nutrient export.
- CO2: Might splurge a little here. A small nano setup on the side of the tank will be fine, I just need to look into access to refills that are readily available in my area. If not required, then it’s just money saved.
- Tools: I’ll grab a full set of stainless tools, glass scraper and a couple large turkey basters. I don’t plan on testing the water often if at all, but might grab a couple Hannah checkers.
- Livestock: None. This will be a fishless tank, I have no intention to add anything and have had multiple tanks like this in the past. I may add some snails or something if needed, but honestly its all about the plants and aquascape for me.
- Hardscape: Very flexible depending on the tank style. I prefer 360 degree islands to view, with nothing resting against the glass. I attached a quick AI pic of my idea because I can’t draw to save myself. Being so small there may be little to no room for soil, so this may restrict my plant choices heavily to column feeders. Also would prefer rock over driftwood in this scale, Seiryu or Dragon stone as a lighter contrast agains the darker leaf plants.
- Plants: Again, very flexible. Seeing as I may need to stick to rhisome based plants, I am thinking Anubias (Nana/Petite) for the greens, and then some Bucc or similar to give a contrasted darker green. My only concern with this approach is I normally run a very fast growing background plant in the initial setup to give the slower growers a chance to establish so I may need to very heavily stock the tank from day one. I will be sticking to tissue cultures only.
- Fertilisers: Not real sure here. Previously I have always used the EI method, and in larger tanks it’s pretty straight forward. I assume I can run similar in this setup, as I will water change as regularly as required. Need some advice here, but I have always found this method very successful.
- Budget: No real limit, but I would like this to be as cheap as practical. Just off the top of my head, its already a couple hundred before
I figured this would be a good topic for a journal, albeit it might be slow progress through this planning phase. Nothing is really locked in just yet, but I am looking to lock down the main design ideas shortly.
Cheers Inno
