A try at - Nano Iwagumi

2405 Views 5 Replies 4 Participants Last post by severumkid, Aug 4, 2008

severumkid

Discussion Starter · Jul 3, 2008

Hi,

I am Dev. I am a new member to this forum. I am from Hyderabad, India.

I have gathered the courage to try and start an iwagumi project. Hope this works out. I had set up the tank on Tuesday late night and took the pics yesterday night after reaching home from office.

Pls give me your feedbacks and suggestions. I will be falling back on your experience all the time cause this is the first time I am using ADA Amazonia II substrate.

The Tank specifications are,

12x9x9 inches
ADA Amazonia II black
Pressurised CO2 diffused through small diffuser (for 3 hrs)
Light - 20 watts of phillips 6500k and 16 watt of CFL 6500K - photo period 3 hrs now, will increase it to 6 hrs gradually in 3 months time.
Dosing - not started yet, will start from tomorrow with only ADA Brighty K.
No filters
Planning to do a weekly 25% water change on Sunday.
Flora - Eleocharis Parvula and Pogostemon Helferi
Fauna - Nothing for next 3 months. Invite suggestions for tank mates for a 12x9x9 inch nano, except Betas as I hate them.

The challanges that I am facing are,

1. How do I achieve filtration for a tank size of 12x9x9 inches? I googled and saw one product from ZooMed 501 canister filter. Is it good? Are there any better methods of filtration for nano tanks like mine? I do not prefer internal or HOBs as I am injecting pressurised co2 in the tank and I do not want a big gadget inside.

2. Very limited knowledge about ADA products and usage as this is the first time I am using it. My other attempts are done, using laterite and plain natural river gravels. I want to know what are the dosing guide lines and products that I need to use for this set up. Some one was asking me about whether I have introduced the benefitial bacteria or not. I do not know what to reply as I think I am in deep waters and soon I will find algae in this tank. How do I introduce the beneficial bacteria in my tank? I am not using power sand. As of now I am only using ADA Amazonia II as substarte and as said earlier in this post, want to start with BrightyK from tomorrow onwards. What do I need to to add to this regime and at which point of time? Pls help me.

Also advice me on 3. whether I am having the right plan and if there are some changes that needs to be done. Do I need to do something more or less?
4. How much time will the Hair grass take to set off? And how much time will it take to cover the entire tank?
5. Which fish will suite this set up? I plan to keep 4-6 in number(if possible), single species.Pls let me know?

You can have a look at the set up, here http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/?saved=1

Thanks, in tons, in advance,

Dev.

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bratyboy2

· #2 · Jul 3, 2008

check out drsfostersmith.com they shold have a very small canitser filter i believe

tank looks good and should grow in very nice

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Indignation

· #3 · Jul 6, 2008

I can offer advice on a couple of your questions.

1. From my experience with it, the zoomed 501 is a great filter! I use mine on a 5.5 gallon with good flow. You can place whatever media you like in the chamber. It should work very well for you.

5. As for possible fish, I really like the look of the small Rasboras. Look here for examples. I have the Boraras Briggitae and Boraras Merah, and they are great fish. Very lively, peaceful, and they stay small. All the fish on that page will work with your tank, but some won't do well in large numbers with each other.

Also, if you do a search on this forum for nano fish, you can find huge lists of compatible species.

In my 5.5, I have a dwarf puffer, along with 2 otocinlus cats. It is a very amusing fish, but not compatible with anything except otos. YMMV.

Another option is shrimp. They look nice, and keep the tank clean. Again, take a look around here for species/ideas.

Your tank looks like it is off to a nice start, look forward to seeing it grow in. Good luck!

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severumkid

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jul 7, 2008

Thanks for your replies.

At present I am changing 20% water every day and plan to continue so. If I see that I am facing problems with this routine, I will go for the ZooMed filter.

I am using on ADA Brighty K at this point, the tank is 6 days old. Should I do some thing more? Photo period - 3 hrs, Co2 - pressurised, 1 hr before lights turn on and continue 1 hour after lights turn off.

The Hair grass seems to be rooting in but I see that the pogostemons are turning dark geen and not doing good. Seems like they are going to melt away. The same plants were in the same tank in my previous substrate of sand and laterite and were flourishing.

I also see little bits of diatom algae in the plants, no where in the walls. Why is this happenning? What is going wrong?

Can I dose seachem's flourish excel along with brighty k?

Will post the tank pics by tomorrow.

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HoustonFishFanatic

· #5 · Jul 7, 2008 (Edited)

Dev your photo period is too short atleast start with 8 hours.

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severumkid

Discussion Starter · #6 · Aug 4, 2008

The tank is doing good, now.

Previous month beginning, I was out of station for some 5 days in between and I had switched off the light and Co2 when I left. After coming back saw that the growth have stopped with the tank looking dull and brown. Immediately changes 80% of water, added Co2 and brighty K. Took a week to get to its past growing state. Now I can see reasonably good growth with the entire tank looking green, but IMO Eleocharis parvula will take another 3 months to cover the substrate and look like a grass land.

Will post pics soon.

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