BryceM

Well I did a journal here for my 180g tank so why not do another one for the 8" cube nano that I'll be setting up soon? A good friend from NEAPS (Texex94) graciously sent me one of his. I'm still not sure why (maybe it leaks? ) but I didn't argue. He also send a nano-sized heater and Red Sea HOB filter.

This will be going into my office at work. I joined another surgeon about a year ago, spent the past several months remodelling the office building to accomodate both of us, and finally, I have a place to call my own. I'm thinking of a bigger tank (75g) for the waiting room, but that's a story for another time.

The tank totals 2.2g if full to the brim. After substrate, rocks, etc it'll probably be around a 1.8g water column. Like my 180g tank I'll probably try a hybrid of a couple different aquascaping styles. I'll probably use some smaller Manzanita branches, a bit of rock, and a variety of plant shapes & sizes. Candidates from my other tanks include Blyxa japonica, HC, HM, a few smaller crypts, some Anubias nana 'petite', Eliocharis, Taiwan moss, and maybe some of the smaller-leafed rotala species. Probably I'll pick 4 or 5 of these to try to tie it together.

For light I found a "daylight desktop lamp" at a local junk store. It has a 27W 6,500K CF lightbulb. It's way, way too big from a WPG viewpoint (even for a nano), but the lamp matches the decor of the office perfectly and I think it'll be ok if I move it up and away from the tank a bit.

I'm still thinking about what the occupants should be. I already have some Galaxy Rasboras (aka Celestial Pearl Danios) in my 46g tank that might work. The trouble is that I have 7 of them. I don't think they'd all fit in the nano and I sort of hate to break them up. 3 would probably be a better number. It seems like a few shrimp might be fun too. I dunno. Other possibilities include Endler's or maybe even something else.

I haven't tried ADA's substrates before so I figured I'll try out some Amazonia II. Carbon supplementation will be via Excel to keep it simple. I'll post some photos when all of the components get here. One MAJOR advantage with nanos is the time and money it takes to get them off the ground. They're not as "ohhh-ahhh" as a nice big tank but still pretty interesting.

slickwillislim

I can't wait to see it.

Your 180 gallon turned out real nice so I am anxious to see what you do with a much smaller tank.

Good luck with your little tank, I hope you don't have as many problems with this little tank.

BryceM

Yeah, me too. Did you ever beat the algae in your setup?

slickwillislim

Oh in the 60g. I beat it once. Then I redid it and I am battling it again. 100% glosso tanks are not for the lazy.

This was my finished product for that tank. Back in March.

BryceM

Well, it's been a long time since I started this project. I got some rock and Amazonia from the Senske's and spent a few days playing around with ideas. The nice thing about a nano is that it's pretty easy to change your mind - much simpler than the 180! I played around with some small manzanita branches but it didn't really work.

I really couldn't bring myself to try something in pure Iwagumi style - it's pretty boring IMO - so I did what I usually do. I ended up using Rotala rotundifolia, Ludwigia '?', Eliocharis acicularis, Anubias 'petite', HM, Didiplis diandra, and Crypt willisii. A few bits of HC came along for the ride with the crypts.

After planting the tank it was a simple matter to move it to the office. I just drained the water and away we went. Total setup time at the office was about 20 or 30 minutes. I could maybe keep a dozen of these little things!!

It really looks good in the office. It provides a nice focal point and everyone comes in to look at it now and then. The office is done in fairly dark colors with dark hardwood furniture so the splash of color really draws attention to itself.

I'll be going without a heater since I'll probably be keeping Galaxy Rasboras / Celestial Pearl Danios in the tank. One male with two females is the currently plan. The temp has been staying around 70F. The fish will go in after a couple of weeks to let the thing get established. I'll be dosing Excel for carbon supplementation. Slow growth would actually be an enormous asset after trying to keep up with my other tanks.

There is a little algae on some of the leaves, but that's mostly from my 46g tank that I habitually neglect. Nothing new has shown up yet (knock on wood). See what you think:

budd

that looks very nice i like the scape that u have.
john

eklikewhoa

Looks cool!

John N.

It looks pretty good. The overall look with the light, desk and tank make it look very sheek in its setting. However, upclose, the plant selection/placement is a bit chaotic for my taste. It's almost like those fantastic rocks are clashing with the plants, giving off a mixed (unfocused) focal point. Maybe cutting out some of the plant species would refine it. Don't get me wrong, the tank looks wonderful and I'm enjoying it just my initial impression. Keep us posted!

-John N.

BryceM

John, thanks for the input. It's nice to get some actual criticism. This tank is definately in an awkward "ugly" stage - not at all what I hope it will look like when it's "done". At the moment it's more of an experiment with Aquasoil, Excel, and this type of lighting. The whole setup is completely outside of my current comfort zone. Appropriate usage of plant species at this scale is also taking some getting used to. Once I figure out how the tank is responding I'll make a more serious attempt at something semi-permanent.

I must admit though, that the plants are growing very nicely. Algae is so far a non-issue (LOL, I just provoked the algae Gods!). The Didiplis is looking better than in my other tanks and the new growth on the Rotalas is healthy and full. Maybe there is something to the ADA substrate hype. Time will tell.

Three celestial peral danios when in a few days ago. They're pretty skittish still, spending their time hanging out in the back corners, but they're doing better day by day. I'll keep updating the thread once in a while.

JustOneMore21

That is a cute little tank and the scape looks really nice! I just love nano tanks because they are so easy to change and it doesn't take as long as larger tanks. I change my 3g all the time.