complete n00b first time nano (pictures + development "blog")

14631 Views 152 Replies 15 Participants Last post by garuf, Sep 2, 2007

garuf

Discussion Starter · May 30, 2007 (Edited)

hello all,
ive been stalking the forum for a couple of weeks and finaly taken the dive and got my old goldfish tank out from in the shed and i want to start a planted nano
2 things however are troubling me
i live in a area of the uk that has extremely hardwater (staffordshire moorlands) and havent a clue what equipment i need to get started (filter lighting heating etc)
and is the tank i have too small its 8 inches deep 8 inches tall and 16inches wide i dont know how many gallons this is not many i dont think is it too small?
i planned to keep some shrimp and some (no more than about 8-10) guppies or similar, somthing nice and bright and hardy
any help would be great
a sort of tuturial would be brilliant i know the basics but not for a planted tank
it is a side project however so i plan to keep everything DIY and as cheap as possible

thank you all in advance
gareth

1 - 20 of 153 Posts

Nano-Nater

· #2 · May 30, 2007

I dont think having shrimps and 8-10 guppies in that tank would be a good plan also, the dimensions u gave are wrong

you said 8'' deep and 8'' tall, did you mean that the width is 8''?

With the demensions you gave i calculated 4.43 US gallons capacity

garuf

Discussion Starter · #3 · May 30, 2007

yeah sorry, your right 8 inches width 8 inches high and 16 wide sorry for any confusion
sorry i dont know any stocking rules what would be better suited to such a small tank with hardwater?

Nano-Nater

· #4 · May 30, 2007

make a dwarf puffer tank:icon_surp
or a shrimp tank

I dont know if the rule changed but I heard about 1" of fish per gallon.

so dont go past 3-4 small fish i would say..

garuf

Discussion Starter · #5 · May 30, 2007

seriously a dwarf puffer? a bit ambitious for a newbee is it not? theyre not all that colourful either are they?

quark219

· #6 · May 30, 2007

garuf said:
hello all,
ive been stalking the forum for a couple of weeks and finaly taken the dive and got my old goldfish tank out from in the shed and i want to start a planted nano
2 things however are troubling me
i live in a area of the uk that has extremely hardwater (staffordshire moorlands) and havent a clue what equipment i need to get started (filter lighting heating etc)...

Welcome to the site. I'm new here also, and I've gotten a tremendous amount of great advice from the experts on here in a very short time. Regarding equipment, just find tanks on here that you admire and ask questions of the aquascaper and emulate. If you're a beginner, as I am, you'll probably still wind up making a number of revisions to your setup in the first few months. The one bit of equipment advice I'd offer is that, if you want to grow plants, you'll need far more light than you'd ever expect on a little tank. For a tank of your size, I'd estimate you'll need a minimum of 20 watts--26 (2 x 13 watts) would be even better.

garuf said:
...and is the tank i have too small its 8 inches deep 8 inches tall and 16inches wide i dont know how many gallons this is not many i dont think is it too small?

Based on your dimensions, the tank you have is 4.43 US gallons. That's just fine for a nano--lots of people on here (myself included) are using 2.5 US gallon tanks.

garuf said:
i planned to keep some shrimp and some (no more than about 8-10) guppies or similar, somthing nice and bright and hardy
any help would be great a sort of tuturial would be brilliant i know the basics but not for a planted tank it is a side project however so i plan to keep everything DIY and as cheap as possible

thank you all in advance
gareth

Eight to ten guppies might be pushing it. Using the old "inch-of-fish-per-gallon" rule, your tank would probably be at or around capacity with four or five guppies (or some other similar sized fish). Best of luck!

Scott

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Nano-Nater

· #7 · May 30, 2007

well dwarf puffers are 100% freshwater, they grow up to 1" max and have a very interesting personality. I have a dwarf puffer and I can tell you they are very easy and fun fish, as for the color they are pretty much all yellowish/brown with black spots, but they all are different.

If you are interested heres a good site with a forum and great information on them, www.dwarfpuffers.com

LeapingGnome

· #8 · May 30, 2007

4.5 gallons, you can get some shrimp and 4 guppies or so. I would suggest all males.

As far as lighting and plants, you said you want to keep costs down so I wouldn't go overboard with light. Get a nice 10-20W and some lowlight plants is my opinion. Here is a nice little article from another site with some easy start plant types - Setting up your first planted tank.

garuf

Discussion Starter · #9 · May 30, 2007

hey scott thank you for the tips you say your using 2.5gall how many fish can you keep in a tank that small?

and thanks for the dwarf puffer suggestions i dont think theyre for me but ill look into the for sure
idealy once i know what hardwear i need in my tank
again thanks
gareth

garuf

Discussion Starter · #10 · May 30, 2007

cheers for the link leaping gnome ive found an old 15w bulb from my dads old tropical tank only thing is its as big as the tank is long and a bit bit i fear

is it possible to rig up anything using ultra-bright LED's does anyone know? i use these quiet often and they kick out a fair bit of light but is it any use to aquariums?

quark219

· #11 · May 30, 2007

garuf said:
hey scott thank you for the tips you say your using 2.5gall how many fish can you keep in a tank that small?

I keep one male betta and that's it: based on the algae growth, I'd say that's about all that this tank can manage. I'm planning on adding a few Malaysian trumpet snails and a few shrimp (for algae control), but no more fish. Bettas, of course, are about two or three times the size of guppies. If I were keeping guppies, I'd probably have no more than 3.

If you're looking for an easy fish (albeit not very colorful), I hear white cloud mountain minnows are a good choice. They do well in a cold water tank, so you wouldn't need a heater, either. Four white clouds, three ghost shrimp, and a bunch of java moss, with a 13W - 20W light and a simple hang-on-the-back filter, and you'd be all set. That'd be one approach, anyway.

Scott

garuf

Discussion Starter · #12 · May 30, 2007

again thank you, i do like bettas (siamiese fighters?) i used to have one in my shared tank (dad bought it i named the fish) i realy dont know what to have in this setup i just wanted somthing bright and colourful and im familiour with guppies already these might not be what i use in the end just an initial idea
gareth

Solstice

· #13 · May 30, 2007

I vote for a pair of sparkling gouramis. http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_sparkling.php If I didn't have shrimp in my tank I'd definitely have a couple of these guys in there

roud:

garuf

Discussion Starter · #14 · May 30, 2007

cheers solstice theyre realy lovely fish
i still need to know more about filtration heating and lighting though ive been unsucsessful in finding anything about the hardwear side anyone have any recomendations?

Nano-Nater

· #15 · May 30, 2007

i used to have a sparkling gourami.. but i fnd them really shy fish.. at least mine was..

Solstice

· #16 · May 30, 2007

Azoo Palm Filter or if you like a cannister, ZooMed 501.

I have a 50 watt Visitherm Delux in my 3g with no complaints.

Try to find a 27w or 32w full spectrum desk lamp for lighting.

garuf

Discussion Starter · #17 · May 30, 2007

thank you for the links ill make a trip down to my local to see if i can find any of them in their.
i got my tank all cleaned its amazing how difficult it is to get 3 years of shed based cack of the sides it is however a little knocked here and there so its sitting on a shelf with a tray underneather to check if its water tight still
fingers crossed it will be i dont have much money to spend on this project

if it is then its a matter of finding decor gravel soil plants... haha

dufus

· #18 · May 31, 2007

I'd go for a bigger filter than the azoo palm, the zoomed canister works well.
Try a whisper10, cascade, or any of the smaller hang on the back filters.

for fish, endler's livebearer are great, the male topout at like 3/4" maybe, the females are a little larger. the males have a rainbow of colors on them, and you can have some shrimp with them.

For the record, your tank is a good size for a nano. mine is a little less than a gallon.

FelixAvery

· #19 · May 31, 2007

get 5 small fish such as ozxyias (sp) or a rasbora
you dont need meters of shiney fish to make a statement
if anything the absence of lots of fish will make it peacefull

garuf

Discussion Starter · #20 · Jun 1, 2007

thanks for the filter recomendations i visited the local pet shop (pets a home*shudder*) and they had nothing, no small filters, no substrate suitable not even any replacement bulbs just fish and tanks and loads of gawdy orniments and flourescent gravel :icon_roll ill be trying glovers tommorow to see what i can get from there fingers crossed i wont be dissapointed again
any tips on which substrate i should go for an how much ill need?

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