Flame's Mini Bow Iwagumi

Jul 18, 2011
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underwater
#1
Hey everyone, this is my first tank that I actually planned out. It's an aqueon 2.5 gallon mini bow. Here are the details, although I onli have the hardscape finished:

Substrate: Petco black aquarium sand
Lighting: 10w 6500k 600 lumens Aqua Culture mini fluorescent CFL
CO2: None, although I might change my mind later.
Ferts: Seachem Flourish
Filtration: The filtration system the kit came with (since I can't find Red Sea nano filters anywhere).
Iwa (rocks): Just one zebra stone so far. Since it's a small tank I might only have one but am considering getting another zebra stone.
Flora: Still deciding, but I will definitely have Dwarf Hairgrass and Java Moss.
Fauna: Definitely RCS, and MAYBE some Boraras merah (phoenix rasbora), maybe 4 at most.

I am still a beginner at planted tanks, so please, no bashing, but suggestions for improvement are welcome.

PICS:
IMG_20120106_212419.jpg

This is the tank with room lights turned on
IMG_20120106_212401.jpg

Room lights off.

Thanks for your input.
 

Kiara1125

Superstar Fish
Jan 12, 2011
1,142
0
0
Florida
#2
Nice!! I'm gonna try and post some pics of my new 10g. Unfortunately, my camera batteries just died when I was about to take some pics. Great timing universe.... -_-'
 

Apr 14, 2008
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#3
Ooo...this will be cool! Can't wait to see it planted and with fish in!

Just a suggestion tho, I wouldn't recommend any java moss. It takes over sooooooooooooooooooooo quickly. lol Maybe fissidens[Phoenix moss] or something slower growing so you're not gonna have to trim ALL the time.
 

Thyra

Superstar Fish
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
0
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Yelm, WA
#4
I have the same tank and it is set up on the kitchen counter. If we are talking the same filter, it is that little horizontal dish like thing and it constantly plugged up with algae so I had to get the Red Sea Nano one, but I'm not sure that does much except oxygenate the water. It is by far my hardest tank to clean because of the algae. I've had it for almost two years and it has a betta and two otos in it, but the otos don't come close to keeping up with the algae, although they are nice and fat and very active.
 

Fuzz16

Superstar Fish
Oct 20, 2006
1,918
3
0
Wellsville, KS
#5
make sure your using comprehensive flourish, the flourish excel has been shown to not be so good for shrmp (if you go that route) or some plants. liqued ferts are considered column ferts, so you need a substrate fert too, because not all plants get nutrients from the column, some gets nutrient from soil. so get some root tabs also

look nto baby tears also, for foreground. your light may be enough.
 

Jul 18, 2011
291
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underwater
#6
make sure your using comprehensive flourish, the flourish excel has been shown to not be so good for shrmp (if you go that route) or some plants. liqued ferts are considered column ferts, so you need a substrate fert too, because not all plants get nutrients from the column, some gets nutrient from soil. so get some root tabs also

look nto baby tears also, for foreground. your light may be enough.
Hm. That's funny. I was looking up root tabs just a minute ago. I'll definitely get some. Yes, I have the comprehensive supplement.

From what I've heard, the wpg rule doesn't apply to nanos, so I probably only have moderate light for this setup. So basically I can only do DHG and maybe riccia.
 

Jul 18, 2011
291
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0
underwater
#8
I have the same tank and it is set up on the kitchen counter. If we are talking the same filter, it is that little horizontal dish like thing and it constantly plugged up with algae so I had to get the Red Sea Nano one, but I'm not sure that does much except oxygenate the water. It is by far my hardest tank to clean because of the algae. I've had it for almost two years and it has a betta and two otos in it, but the otos don't come close to keeping up with the algae, although they are nice and fat and very active.
Besides the algae do you think the filter is acceptable?
 

Thyra

Superstar Fish
Jun 2, 2010
1,891
0
0
Yelm, WA
#9
I don't know what to tell you. The filter media just plugs up with algae IME and the water flows over the top. They certainly didn't rinse out very well. Those filters cartridges cost almost as much as the ones for the 10g filter. That being said, its not filtering, but it is oxygenating the water. You can get a small one at Pet Supplies - Pet Supply Store - Pet Products | PetMountain.com for about $5. Just use the one that came with it and see how you feel about it. I also changed the bulb to the screw in florescent one from Walmart which seemed to increase the algae.
 

Kiara1125

Superstar Fish
Jan 12, 2011
1,142
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Florida
#14
Neat!! Kenny is giving me some plants (all different types of moss, hygro, etc) and I can't wait!! He was even nice enough to throw in some RCS for me to add diversity to mine. I'm getting them two weeks from now. I'm so pumped!!! xD I LOVE YOU KENNY!!!! Technically speaking. xP
 

Apr 14, 2008
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#15
lol Fuzz! You made me laugh![not in a bad way] Fissidens aren't carnivorous[I'd feel bad for shrimp, there!], however, bladderwort is[works like little venus fly traps and hitchhikes in with moss sometimes, but generally, stringer ones then what fissidens are]. It'd probably fit right into your setup Flametetra! I'd guess yes, it would because shrimp hide in whatever they can. The 20gL ones use the rotala rotundifolia as their hiding place... :p

Kiara: :p
 

Kiara1125

Superstar Fish
Jan 12, 2011
1,142
0
0
Florida
#16
:p what lighting do you keep your rotala rotundifolia under?? Idk if I'll have enough light for it. I have two 10 watt fluorescent bulbs. I can't get any bigger ones without buying a new hood. So do you think 2 wpg would be good enough??
 

Apr 14, 2008
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#17
They are in lllllooooooowwwwwwww light in the 20gL with only a 15W T8 bulb[9325k] and that bulb is ... 2-3 years old so they are kinda honestly wayyy past useful yet they color up quickly.

You gotta remember something tho. WPG isn't always 100% accurate because like say I have a 108W T5HO light on my 55gal. Well, with good reflectors[I never looked] and good bulbs, I'd have 4WPG technically because they can be ~twice what T8 bulbs would run if that makes sense. It really depends on the individual bulbs and fixtures you have. And those 10gal incandescent lids can hold 2x 15W CF bulbs. I know cuz that's what my shrimp10 has[and the moss from that tank is beyond healthy like the hornwort in my 5.5 is]. They are just spirals[normal CF bulbs] vs. "u"s.

Anyways, beyond the rambling, I would think that would be fine for what I'm sending you. :p
 

Jul 18, 2011
291
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underwater
#18
Sorry I haven't posted pics in a while. Buuuuuut, my RCS have finally arrived! Lol, I ordered six but got about 10-12.

Here are the shrimps eating a Hikari Algae Wafer:
IMG_20120114_095544.jpg

Sorry for low quality; I take pictures with my phone.

Also, the guy on eBay who gave me the shrimps threw in some duckweed (I think). I looked on his items for sale and found that the duckweed he sells may contain snails. -.- I had already put the duckweed in the tank, as there was no way to separate the duckweed and the shrimps, so, I took out ALL the duckweed in the tank, used a PP dip, and put it in a separate container at 10:30 PM.

Here's the duckweed:
IMG_20120114_095622.jpg

I forgot to add heating, it's a marina 2.65G submersible heater.
Right now I have Boraras merah and RCS in the tank.
Pointless fact: Two days ago I won second place in my school's spelling bee. The winner was my friend who's a grade above me. -.-

Bump
 

Apr 14, 2008
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#19
Yay for RCS!

Those Boras merah tempt me. I think I need some for one of my tanks. :p Too bad a 10gal is too small for them and a DP[or maybe I should drop the DP and get a couple of nano-fish sp?] *plots*
 

Jul 18, 2011
291
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0
underwater
#20
Yay for RCS!

Those Boras merah tempt me. I think I need some for one of my tanks. :p Too bad a 10gal is too small for them and a DP[or maybe I should drop the DP and get a couple of nano-fish sp?] *plots*
Is DP a dragon plakat betta? BTW it wouldn't be too small for a shoal of about 6 with a betta except you still couldn't do it since the betta would eat the shrimp.

LOL I have 10 Boraras merah in the 2.5G. It's been done before except the guy who did it before had 13.