[AUvet14]

Got my old 5 gallon rimless tank out and decided it needed a new setup. It has been in storage for the past 6 or 7 years. Got the hardscape kinda sorta figured out and got most of the plants in. Still waiting on a couple anubias and some mosses before I complete the build.

I doubt I will use all of the Java fern. I probably ordered too many for such a small tank but they came in far bigger than I anticipated. I’ll be using recycled ADA Amazonia from the previous build as a bottom layer in the back and a decorative light colored sand top layer in the foreground. The Anubias will be be placed around the base of the rocks and the wood will be covered in Java moss.

I will be running CO2 on this setup. If I have room for one or two crypts I may add some of those as well.


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[AUvet14]

Finally getting started with the build. I’m using a piece of manzanita driftwood I’ve had laying around for a while. I’m going for a triangular composition largely inspired by MD Fish Tanks. The base later is a mixture of 3 parts ADA Amazonia and 1 part aquarium gravel. Stone is Seiryu stone I had laying around from a previous imagining build I did.


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[AUvet14]

The top layer is just a light colored inert aquarium sand I bought at the local fish shop. Nothing too special. Built up the slope some more and added some small pieces of seiryu around to give a more polished and somewhat more natural look

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[AUvet14]

Plants added. Java fern “Sunirise”, Java fern, and Java fern “Philippine” in the back left corner secured in place by supergluing to a rock so I have the ability to pick them out and move them if need be and this was also a lot easier than trying to glue them all the the wood. Anubias nana are placed around the base of the stump and should fill in with time. Anubias nana petite extend down the slope and into the flat. Java moss is tied to small stones and placed up around the base of the stump to fill in some of the gaps. Cryptocoryne lutea and cryptocoryne balansae are in the middle in the back but are too small to see well yet. Those should complete the triangular shape once they fill in.

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[AUvet14]

Mr. Betta seems to like his new home.

5 gallon GLA rimless
Eheim 2211 (flow rate adjusted way down)
Finnex Fugeray Planted Plus cliplight
CO2 at 2 bubbles every 3 seconds
Fertilization will likely be EI Low light/weekly

I will also be adding perhaps a small school of 5 or 6 ember tetra and maybe a single otocinclus one the tank matures more and there’s enough algae for one to eat. We will see.

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[AUvet14]

Finally got my bigger batch of Java moss in and was able to get it on the driftwood. I also moved around a couple of the anubias in the left edge and I think this looks better. The crypts are still really tiny so it will probably be a month or two before they begging to fill out. I think I have some anubias nana golden coming in soon that I may use in this tank as well if I can think of a place for them.

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[AUvet14]

Mr. Betta has some new tank mates! 6 ember tetra. He was a bit worryingly interested in them in the beginning but after about an hour he is ignoring them and they are staying in a nice tight school. I also got some Pygmy cories that are currently in another tank that I am debating putting in here at some point but I’m trying to decide if that’s too much for such a small tank even though there a plenty enough filtration to do it.

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[AUvet14]

So I’ve been testing this tank every couple days since setting it up since it wasn’t truly fully cycled yet. I had to do a water change yesterday due to high nitrites. I did filter maintenance on my tanks today and decided to take the biomedia from my Fluval 306 on my 30 gallon and split it between this tank, a 10 gallon grow out tank, and the original 30 gallon. I mixed the biomedia from all 3 and split it up appropriately and tested several hours later. No more nitrites or ammonia! Bam! Just like that. Not sure why I didn’t bother to do that before. Probably just laziness lol

 

[fishietyme]

Always nice to have seeded filter media laying around to use! Your tank is beautiful- I would definitely recommend sticking with this stocking, much more would be a lot of space taken up by mid-water fish (and a high bioload even with lots of filtration). Also watch that betta and make sure he is behaving with those tetras!

 

[AUvet14]

Always nice to have seeded filter media laying around to use! Your tank is beautiful- I would definitely recommend sticking with this stocking, much more would be a lot of space taken up by mid-water fish (and a high bioload even with lots of filtration). Also watch that betta and make sure he is behaving with those tetras!

Thanks! Yeah, the more I am looking at it the more I think I have decided against the Pygmy cories in this tank. It’s been a week and a half or so since I added the tetra and the betta doesn’t seem to bother them in the least, even when he has his episodes of flaring and super fast swimming/territorial behaviors at his reflection or at feeding time.

I am also starting to see new growth from some of the Java fern and Java moss. The moss on the driftwood seems to have died and browned a bit but I’m sure it will likely bounce back if I’m patient. That particular batch got stuck in transit for 10 days, appeared healthy upon arrival, and then turned brown a week later. It doesn’t look completely dead though.


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[fishietyme]

Java moss is pretty hard to kill, so I'm sure at least a piece of it will come back. I have some plants on the way that somehow got stuck in the mail too

 

[AUvet14]

Currently experiencing a major diatom phase in this tank. Also I think my cycle has fully caught up now. After a few days dosing Prime and testing minute levels of nitrite and ammonia after changing up the filter media I finally have readings of 0 for both for 3 days in a row now and all inhabitants are thriving. The ember tetras are finally bold enough to eat around the betta and are beginning to get some color to them. I swear the betta has grown in the month I’ve had him! As for the diatoms, I reduced the light intensity by putting electrical tape over about a third of the individual LEDs on the fixture and I also added 2 otocinclus. They may not stay in this tank long term but they can feast to their hearts content for now. There’s definitely room for them in my 10 gallon grow tank if need be.


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[AUvet14]

Finally getting an update on this tank. I’ve been through diatoms now, getting over battling Cyanobacteria as well. I’ve had to mess around with the lighting to decrease intensity. Still figuring out how to fertilize this tank properly. This small a tank is proving a real challenge.


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[Plinkploop]

I've definitely noticed through the years smaller tanks require way more precision than larger tanks. I don't have the guts to do anything smaller than a 10 gallon planted unless it's a walstad. Beautiful Betta, btw.