Looks like a good start. Which type of aquasoil did you use? I have some amazonia II coming soon, so I'm trying to get as much info as I can. I'll look forward to the progress of this one!
ringram's 2.5g nano - Iwagumi -esque
This is my attempt at an Iwagumi scape with the new 2.5g nano that I bought this weekend.
You can read the buildup to this thread here, if you want:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/planted-nano-tanks/53616-want-start-nano-two.html
I started with the tank itself, all cleaned up. The price tag and glue were hard to clean off the outside. I had to use water, a razor and a lot of patience!
I have the light sitting next to it. It's a pretty standard desk lamp with a screw-in 27w 6500k PC bulb.
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A little later on, I added the aquasoil and a few rocks I picked up. What do you think?
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I didn't take any pictures with water yet, as it is VERY cloudy. I was so incredibly careful filling it also. I had my hand down near the substrate level, serving as a "plate" where the water would trickle off. I spent about 10 minutes filling the tank this way. It's still very cloudy, so I'm not sure how some of you get crystal clear tanks from the getgo.
I ordered one of those Red Sea nano filters - http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp19169/si1380910/cl0/redseadecoartnanofilterclear
It should work out nicely, but it probably won't come until the weekend or early next week.
I'll be using Fluorish Excel with this tank and will start planting as soon as the water clears up...
Any suggestions? Can't exactly use a gravel vac in a tank this small.
-Ryan
You can read the buildup to this thread here, if you want:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/planted-nano-tanks/53616-want-start-nano-two.html
I started with the tank itself, all cleaned up. The price tag and glue were hard to clean off the outside. I had to use water, a razor and a lot of patience!
I have the light sitting next to it. It's a pretty standard desk lamp with a screw-in 27w 6500k PC bulb.
A little later on, I added the aquasoil and a few rocks I picked up. What do you think?
I didn't take any pictures with water yet, as it is VERY cloudy. I was so incredibly careful filling it also. I had my hand down near the substrate level, serving as a "plate" where the water would trickle off. I spent about 10 minutes filling the tank this way. It's still very cloudy, so I'm not sure how some of you get crystal clear tanks from the getgo.
I ordered one of those Red Sea nano filters - http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp19169/si1380910/cl0/redseadecoartnanofilterclear
It should work out nicely, but it probably won't come until the weekend or early next week.
I'll be using Fluorish Excel with this tank and will start planting as soon as the water clears up...
Any suggestions? Can't exactly use a gravel vac in a tank this small.
-Ryan
2
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10/30
Ok, here it is. It's still kinda cloudy, but not as bad as last night. I just planted a few clippings from my other tank.
You'll see the ludwigia arcuata, rotala macandra and hemianthus micranthemoides (HM) on the right side, around that larger rock.
I plan to plant HC over most of this tank, but still undecided if I want to add another stem plant to the background on the left side.
I'm also not too crazy about this desk lamp I'm using for lighting. I may end up getting something with an actual PC tube, instead of a screw in bulb. I'm still waiting for the deco art filter and I just added about a 1/2 capful of Fluorish Excel.
Suggestions? Advice? Comments?
Don't worry, I don't bruise easily.
![]()
-Ryan
Ok, here it is. It's still kinda cloudy, but not as bad as last night. I just planted a few clippings from my other tank.
You'll see the ludwigia arcuata, rotala macandra and hemianthus micranthemoides (HM) on the right side, around that larger rock.
I plan to plant HC over most of this tank, but still undecided if I want to add another stem plant to the background on the left side.
I'm also not too crazy about this desk lamp I'm using for lighting. I may end up getting something with an actual PC tube, instead of a screw in bulb. I'm still waiting for the deco art filter and I just added about a 1/2 capful of Fluorish Excel.
Suggestions? Advice? Comments?
Don't worry, I don't bruise easily.
-Ryan
Lookin good! I just love nano tanks...so easy to setup. 
I like the rocks and think the tank would look great with some HC in the foreground and maybe some Dwarf Hairgrass near the back...maybe. I'm sure you have tons of layouts in your head though.
Works nicely in my 3g. I just use a cup to do water changes though....easy as pie.
I like the rocks and think the tank would look great with some HC in the foreground and maybe some Dwarf Hairgrass near the back...maybe. I'm sure you have tons of layouts in your head though. In my small tanks, I use some airline and a bucket to do gravel vacs and get stuff off the bottom. Suck on the end or fill the tubing with water and you have a nano siphon.
Works nicely in my 3g. I just use a cup to do water changes though....easy as pie.
In my small tanks, I use some airline and a bucket to do gravel vacs and get stuff off the bottom. Suck on the end or fill the tubing with water and you have a nano siphon.
I'll give that a try. I have some airline tubing lying around. I tried using my python the other night and it drained the tank halfway in about 5 seconds flat. Then, when I broke the siphon, it made a mess and stirred up the gravel.
Yes, I'll be planting HC in there. I'll be getting it at our local club meeting next Tuesday.
Looks like several people think I should go with larger rocks....I can do that. I have more in my garage. I was just afraid they'd be too large for this tiny tank.
*EDIT* I've never taken the rim off of a tank before. Is there an easy way to do it? Also, it is possible to do with water in it?
Ok, here's an update:
On a side note, after doing this I can really appreciate the difficulty of nano tanks. This is one of the more frustrating and difficult tanks I've ever tried to plant. Trying to plant and move substrate....very carefully...made me feel like I had GORILLA HANDS!! LOL
I took out the rocks and picked some more interesting (I think) and larger ones. Once I did this, I decided I wanted to arrange the plants differently.....2+ hrs pass, where I was **VERY** carefully draining and refilling, to reduce the cloudiness. Here's an example of the airline hose siphon I had going:
![]()
The end result is this. I'm pretty happy with how it looks. I'll be adding some HC soon to fill in the foreground. I'm also going to toy with the possibility of getting a PC tube, so I get better light distribution. I'm also thinking about getting pressurized Co2 -- not so sure that the look I'm going for will be possible with Excel or DIY. The filter should be getting here on Friday or Saturday.
What do you think? (at least so far)
![]()
Try to visualize the HM growing into a lush, green bush and billowing over the front of the rocks a bit. In front of that will be a lush carpet of HC.
At least that's the plan.
-Ryan
On a side note, after doing this I can really appreciate the difficulty of nano tanks. This is one of the more frustrating and difficult tanks I've ever tried to plant. Trying to plant and move substrate....very carefully...made me feel like I had GORILLA HANDS!! LOL
I took out the rocks and picked some more interesting (I think) and larger ones. Once I did this, I decided I wanted to arrange the plants differently.....2+ hrs pass, where I was **VERY** carefully draining and refilling, to reduce the cloudiness. Here's an example of the airline hose siphon I had going:
The end result is this. I'm pretty happy with how it looks. I'll be adding some HC soon to fill in the foreground. I'm also going to toy with the possibility of getting a PC tube, so I get better light distribution. I'm also thinking about getting pressurized Co2 -- not so sure that the look I'm going for will be possible with Excel or DIY. The filter should be getting here on Friday or Saturday.
What do you think? (at least so far)
Try to visualize the HM growing into a lush, green bush and billowing over the front of the rocks a bit. In front of that will be a lush carpet of HC.
At least that's the plan.
-Ryan
2
It's perfect now!
Lookin' good. Its going to look great once the plants adjust and start filling out.
I can totally appreciate the madness of trying to work in the 2.5g, its quite frustrating and makes planting pretty difficult. I remember when mine was setup I did it by the sink and ended up doing 4-5 water changes to get rid of the initial cloud from the AS. Your setup is really making me want to strip mine down and start over with new rocks.
I can totally appreciate the madness of trying to work in the 2.5g, its quite frustrating and makes planting pretty difficult. I remember when mine was setup I did it by the sink and ended up doing 4-5 water changes to get rid of the initial cloud from the AS. Your setup is really making me want to strip mine down and start over with new rocks.
Beautiful! I love those angular rocks, they bring mountain peaks to mind
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