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Kayen's 5g Fluval Chi - Iwagumi - 56K beware

10K views 29 replies 18 participants last post by  boxboy 
#1 · (Edited)
Got bored. 10 gallon was looking ugly.
Tore it down, had extra substrate, picked the tank off kijiji for $40.
Didn't use stock filter/light. instead threw together some stuff I had laying around...


Substrate: Fluval Stratum
Lighting: 2x13w desklamps - trying to get a 10" Finnex FugeRay
Filtration: zoomed 501 canister filter - all the media was random stuff I had stuffed in my AC20, so filter media is already mature.
CO2: Paintball canister with cheap regulator - getting a new one soon.
Heater: NONE I was using a 150W in my 10, but that won't be feasible in this tank since i broke the temperature adjustment knob....
Any suggestions?

Plants: Dwarf Hairgrass
Rocks: Seiryuu
Fish: 3 x Sparrow Rasbora, 3 x Stiphodons (all 3 are different species...), Cherry Shrimp (7-8)

Tank in set up:

This is from last night.

[/img]http://i137.photobucket.com/albums/q207/Viettxboii/IMAG0564.jpg[/img]

After live stock:




More pics once I get the DSLR out.

EDIT - DSLR shots
Sorry for double post but,

Here's some pics of setup,
(.mko doing some planting)




Testing the CO2:







Full tank shot:


Enjoy :)
 
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#5 ·
Just an update if anyone cares, but I have ordered a new full CO2 setup, and also ordered a 10" FugeRay for the tank as well.

Again I need heating suggestions, also debating if I want to stick with the cheap glass diffuser or not. Haven't done much reading, nor do I have the time so i value your suggestions.

Also RcScRs - I intend to keep just hairgrass for the time being just for ease and uniform maintenance. Keeps it a lot simpler. Original plan was to have glosso up front, but decided just to have one species of plant in there to keep things manageable.
 
#13 ·
Some new toys ....

So i upgraded my paintball CO2 to a full set up, and I upgraded my lights to a Finnex Fugeray... For a 3w light this thing is pretty bright... hopefully it'll make my plants happy. No algae problems to report so far, so that's good.
On that note I added some blyxa japonica into the back corner as an experiment and see if it works okay.... Fingers crossed.

So onto the pics...

The new toy:



FTS: Showing gear and all


and some other shots...


Someone is looking to crash the party....


Hairgrass is yellowing, and I need to get a dosing program going... the hairgrass is starting to shoot up some runners and getting a bit thicker, so hopefully i'll see a nicely filled in tank soon.

Also I need a heater in there.... poor fish...

Enjoy!~
 
#15 · (Edited)
Your tank layout is almost exactly what I plan to do with my small bowfront.

I've haven't found many palatable options for reliable small heaters:

At the moment, the tank (Mr Aqua 7.5 gallon bowfront) is heated with a 7.5W Hydor Mini heater... and it's keeping the tank at 66-68 F in a 60 F ambient room, where the actual water volume is roughly 4 gallons after adding rocks, an aquaball, and substrate. (The tank only has White Cloud Fry and a couple of Amazon Swords) The 15W Mini may be a good choice if you're willing to dig up your substrate and your ambient temperature isn't quite as chilly.

When the fry finish their grow-out and get moved to another tank, I'm going to try a seedling heating mat instead. A low wattage (The 25W & 50W models are 9.56 inches long) Eheim Jager heater does fit, but it takes up too much room for my taste. My experience with chain store brand, Marineland, and Aqueon heaters hasn't been great. I wouldn't trust their small heaters to work for more than 10 - 20 months.

Edit: The mat might not work for your setup, since the plastic base would act as an insulator as well as break contact with your tank bottom. Heat transfer through the air works even less well than plastic, especially when you're trying to warm something with a high heat latency.
 
#18 ·
How large do the WCMM get and do they school well?

I have a Fluval Spec V (just a notch above 5G). After looking at the tank, its clear i'd have to go with some micro rasbora for even a decent schooling fish. I don't know how CPDs do in that respect.

For now, I have pygmy cories also planned for this tank as well as cherry shrimp. We'll see how it goes!
 
#22 ·
Thanks Matt, hairgrass is sending off runners. No update on Blyxa which seems to be not doing anything.

I lost one of the Stiphodons yesterday, it was struggling the moment I put it in the tank, and it seemed like it was only a matter of time. The other two are doing fine and feeding good.

Also diatoms seem to be taking over really fast, and getting some green algae as well.
Right now i'm only dosing some seachem flourish every week, in addition to 0.3BPS CO2.
 
#27 · (Edited)
heater for Chi

Howdy guys, I'm new here and this will be my first post. Kayen, I saw that you're looking for a heater for your Chi. I've been using a Finnex 50w titanium heater on my Chi since last October with great success.

http://www.amazon.com/Finnex-Contro...Gallon/dp/B00354QO9Y/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top

My main complaint would be the power cord is thick and stiff, would be nice if it was bent 90 degrees at the heater since you're supposed to have the heater placed horizontally. I had it hidden behind a piece of driftwood.

Here's a pic from last November after I first set it up:

 
#28 ·
I think at this point try to scrape as much off as you can and stick to regular water changes. Eventually all the silicates will be removed (which is what diatoms feed on). If you'd like to speed things up, maybe add an oto as a one-man clean-up crew (the RCS will help). There are chemical products but I would look at those as a last resort. Completely up to you! This thread was pretty informative for me when I had a diatom bloom: http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/aquariumforum/showthread.php?t=60144

Nice tank, either way :) I have a Chi myself! I have an Elite submersible Preset 25-watt mini-heater that keeps my water temps between 68-73 at the lowest setting. It's not super pretty but it works. I could have placed it sideways and behind the filter now that I look at the picture... not sure why I didn't, hah!

 
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