Chris.'s 2.5 gallon diary - Nano Aquariums

Chris. · 04-08-2009, 01:00 PM

Just picked up a 2.5g from petsmart today that I'll use as a hospital/isolation tank. Not sure what to do with it yet in terms of plants or permanent fauna. Might put a couple of the new snails in it and some shrimp when my RCS population grows. I've had a couple of them die in the last couple days. For now it has white decorative sand with plan black gravel in it. I'm thinking of maybe putting some java fern in there or a little bit of moss on a twig of drift wood. Just some slow growers that wont require co2 is what I really want. Going to use a 6500K spiral bulb for lighting. Not sure if I'll use a clamp on light or a desk lamp yet. Filter is a Aqua-Tech 5-15. More pics as this progresses.

jmontee · 04-09-2009, 09:58 AM

Check out Home Depot. They have a 27w desk lamp that costs around $20.00. It is 6500K CF bulb and is also attractive. For your application you can just put it on a timer and have it like 6 or 7 inches above the tank. I am thinking about setting up a small tank like this as a nursery.

mellowvision · 04-10-2009, 11:02 AM

I saw that desk lamp at home depot... would recommend as well. I almost bought one, they're perfect for nanos.

Chris. · 04-10-2009, 11:37 AM

I would do that but I have an OLD desk lamp that works pretty well. It's not as nice or good looking as the one you are referring to, but it gets the job done. Plus, since all three of my tanks are right next to each other, I can clamp that terrarium light onto my 10g and point it to the 2.5 for additional lighting.

I added a big bunch of plantlets that was growing on ONE leaf of the java fern in my 10g. I'll take a pic of it in a few. If I do decide to really do a planted tank in this one, it wont be anything more than the java fern and maybe some moss and floaters since I don't have the proper substrate for planted ones.

Chris. · 04-11-2009, 03:40 PM

tiny update. No fish in there yet. I tested the water this morning and it shows ZERO alkalinity. Strange when I took water from a tank with at least 60ppm for this one. I think the only things I'll keep in it are snails and RCS. Gotta wait for that gravel to grow some bacteria first though.

you can see my OLD desk lamp. It's sitting on a box and counter weighted by a 25' tape ruler. Also the java fern plantlet bunch I spoke of.

jay973 · 04-11-2009, 07:32 PM

I like what your doing with the tank and my critic of it means nothing as long as you like what you have, so here it is: I think the hardware is to big for the tank (if your kinda of using spare equipment that was laying around understood) heater and filter. A simple fix in my opinion would be a black background would hid the filter. If you get the filter all the way to the right the heater should fit completely horizontal and easier to hide with plant growth. This would take the focus away from the hardware and focus instead on your scape which the sand gives the tank more depth and your rock arrangement would definitely pop more.

I admire those who decide to take on the challenges of such small tanks keep up the good work looking forward to updates.

Chris. · 04-11-2009, 07:36 PM

I might buy a smaller filter for the simple fact that this one flows a bit too much water. If it's on the right side it will disturb teh sand too much. I have some black background that I need to dig out and put on it. I just haven't gotten around to it yet. Thanks for the kind words!

jay973 · 04-11-2009, 07:45 PM

I recently bought a RedSea Nano filter because it came so highly recommend for my Pico tank which I hope to setup soon if I can find a permanent place for it they run $13-$16 I think.

I hear what your saying sand looks great but it can be tough to control.

Good luck!

Chris. · 04-23-2009, 12:32 PM

I got one of those red sea nano's to replace the other filter after trying one of the air pump filters(very crappy). I love the red sea filter! the adjustable flow is great!

today I bought 7 pygmy Cory cats. One of them looks different than the rest. Can anyone identify it? Looks almost like a baby emerald, but it has a stripe going down the length of it's body.

jay973 · 04-23-2009, 05:35 PM

The only cories I know of that are small are the Corydoras habrosus, Corydoras hastatus and Corydoras pygmaeus. There maybe others look them up on Coryrus.com and compare the markings.

On the RedSea nano filter I assume you're another satisfied customer...LOL

Lets see a whole tank shot when you get a chance do you have any growth?