FW Planted 5.5g Custom OceanBox/Nano Box Build

[Mariaface]

Why did you increase the flow after the betta? My 13g tank had at least 200GPH from the canister and I put another Koralia 425 in there because it wasn't flowy enough. My betta loved it, and all the females did, too.

 

Oh, it was super slow flow when the betta was in there; I was paranoid about the doubletail fins. A random tetra 10gal filter, anubias/short swords/vallisneria running the place... I didn't want to struggle with getting all of the water through the filtration quickly anymore. I picked the AC70 just for options - if I upgrade the heater to a neotherm 75W in the future, I can do that in the HOB instead of in the tank. Or if I want to get one of Steve's media baskets, blah blah.

[brahma04]

I have to disagree about tetras eating shrimp. I started with 5 rcs and now have over 100 (plus a bunch sold to lfs) in my fluval V with 8 neon tetra. Hope all is well!!

[NYfishies]

Hi all,

 

The tank is coming along very nicely. Pretty much zero maintenance has been put into it so far. Have not even opened the test kit!

 

We removed the Java Moss which was growing too fast and added some Staurogyne Repens, some Hairgrass and some lilly pads.

 

I have not started with the liquid ferts, but plan to this week.

 

We also picked up a few snails, 1 Sunkist Shrimp, 6 guppies and 2 cory cats.

 

We want to add some more fish as the bioload is still low even for such a small tank. Maybe we could do a small school of Tetras?

I am currently running Purigen and Chemi-Pure Blue. I was thinking of just using 1 or the other. Thoughts? Water is crystal clear right now and I have not need to clean the glass at all.

[gus6464]

 

Hi all,

 

The tank is coming along very nicely. Pretty much zero maintenance has been put into it so far. Have not even opened the test kit!

 

We removed the Java Moss which was growing too fast and added some Staurogyne Repens, some Hairgrass and some lilly pads.

 

I have not started with the liquid ferts, but plan to this week.

 

We also picked up a few snails, 1 Sunkist Shrimp, 6 guppies and 2 cory cats.

 

We want to add some more fish as the bioload is still low even for such a small tank. Maybe we could do a small school of Tetras?

I am currently running Purigen and Chemi-Pure Blue. I was thinking of just using 1 or the other. Thoughts? Water is crystal clear right now and I have not need to clean the glass at all.

 

 

Looks good. You running co2? Also chemi-pure blue = chemi-pure + purigen. It's redundant to run both.

[Mariaface]

 

Looks good. You running co2? Also chemi-pure blue = chemi-pure + purigen. It's redundant to run both.

 

 

It's not exactly the same thing, and it's not redundant to run both if you're getting added water polishing.

[NYfishies]

 

Looks good. You running co2? Also chemi-pure blue = chemi-pure + purigen. It's redundant to run both.

 

I have heard that as well. I had both on hand so that is why I cycled the tank. I would say the Purigen did an excellent job cleaning the tanins from the water as the pouch is quite dirty and needs cleaned.

 

I do run CO2. but have not needed to turn it on for a week. I ran it for a few hours a day for a week or so and the drop checker has remained green for the past week. I guess I brought it up to the right level and that is where the CO2 is at in my apt as well?

 

 

 

 

It's not exactly the same thing, and it's not redundant to run both if you're getting added water polishing.

 

Hey Maria! Are you running both in your FW?

[Mariaface]

 

Hey Maria! Are you running both in your FW?

 

 

Just Purigen and filter floss for me! But I do get algae on the glass, and I did get the 5-pack of chemipure nano in this week...

 

But that's likely going in the fusion 20 when it initially starts up. Or in the soft rock cycle that should happen this week. _{^{You know, once I actually call Dan and order.}}

[gus6464]

Chemi-pure is not really recommended on freshwater planted. You do not want to pull nutrients out of the water because plants feed on it. Carbon is not recommended either. The only thing you should be running on a freshwater planted tank is purigen to keep the water crystal clear. Stay away from products that suck up nutrients. Unlike reef tanks, dirty water is welcomed in planted tanks.

[Mariaface]

What Gus said, actually. I think Purigen's good at just removing dissolved organics, and therefore clearing the water for light penetration.

 

But if your tank is mostly root-feeders, you'd probably be fine running carbon (and avoiding the glass algae might be a nice bonus). The floaters might slow down in growing, but that's not necessarily a bad thing (more light for the plants in the tank).

[NYfishies]

Chemi-pure is not really recommended on freshwater planted. You do not want to pull nutrients out of the water because plants feed on it. Carbon is not recommended either. The only thing you should be running on a freshwater planted tank is purigen to keep the water crystal clear. Stay away from products that suck up nutrients. Unlike reef tanks, dirty water is welcomed in planted tanks.

 

Thanks for the clarification. I was stumbling on Carbon so good to hear it is not necessary. Would you bleach a used Purigen or buy new?

[Mariaface]

 

Would you bleach a used Purigen or buy new?

 

 

I'm actually about to try this. I have three or four old Purigen packs, but only one of them is still in water - not sure if I should regenerate if they've been dried out for a while. Time for me to check out the instructions!

[gus6464]

 

Thanks for the clarification. I was stumbling on Carbon so good to hear it is not necessary. Would you bleach a used Purigen or buy new?

 

I recharge my Purigen 2-3 times before tossing. No issues. Just make sure you give it a good rinse with dechlor water before you throw it back in.

 

 

I'm actually about to try this. I have three or four old Purigen packs, but only one of them is still in water - not sure if I should regenerate if they've been dried out for a while. Time for me to check out the instructions!

 

Doesn't matter if it's dried. All the bleach does is basically dissolve all the stuff that's stuck to it.

[NYfishies]

 

I recharge my Purigen 2-3 times before tossing. No issues. Just make sure you give it a good rinse with dechlor water before you throw it back in.

 

Doesn't matter if it's dried. All the bleach does is basically dissolve all the stuff that's stuck to it.

 

How long do you bleach it for? Only bleach or dilute with water?

[Mariaface]

 

 

 

Doesn't matter if it's dried. All the bleach does is basically dissolve all the stuff that's stuck to it.

 

 

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I may just bleach it, rinse it, let it sit in Prime water overnight, and then let it dry out. Chlorine should then have evaporated.

 

How long do you bleach it for? Only bleach or dilute with water?

 

Their website says 50:50:

 

http://www.seachem.com/purigen.php

[gus6464]

Remember you want nitrates in your water. 20-40 is a good number. When dosing EI/PPS Pro the sole reason you need to do the weekly 50% water change is to reset the nitrates as they go way up from the dosing that occurs during the week. This is mostly done for fishes as some species can't tolerate sky high nitrate.

 

 

Yeah, that's what I was thinking. I may just bleach it, rinse it, let it sit in Prime water overnight, and then let it dry out. Chlorine should then have evaporated.

 

Their website says 50:50:

 

http://www.seachem.com/purigen.php

 

I do 24 hour bleach bath. Then 24 hour prime water. Rinse one more time and then 6 hour final prime soak with new water.

[gus6464]

With my planted tank I designed a connector on my canister filter with a ball valve and a garden hose connector on it. When I did water change all I had to do was attach garden hose, turn ball valve and water my plants with the super high nutrient water. My plants in the yard loved the water. Then to fill up I just put together some pvc with garden hose connector on one end and spray bar on the other. Connect my hose, drop some prime in the tank, and turned on the hose to fill the tank. Water changes took 5 minutes.

[NYfishies]

With my planted tank I designed a connector on my canister filter with a ball valve and a garden hose connector on it. When I did water change all I had to do was attach garden hose, turn ball valve and water my plants with the super high nutrient water. My plants in the yard loved the water. Then to fill up I just put together some pvc with garden hose connector on one end and spray bar on the other. Connect my hose, drop some prime in the tank, and turned on the hose to fill the tank. Water changes took 5 minutes.

 

With a 5.5 gallon tank a 50% water change shouldn't take long either.

 

I will start liquid ferts tonight and water changes every Sunday!

[NYfishies]

Hi all,

 

Did our first real water change on the tank tonight. Took all of 15 min. 50% change using RODI.

 

Also, we started dosing the EI liquid ferts tonight. Excited to see how the plants react!

 

We had Dave and his wife from Nano Box over on Friday which was a pleasure. He was kind enough to take a ton of photos of our 3 tanks. Below is a little sneak peak!

 

So far the fish are all happy since we put them into the tank. We are looking forward to adding some more fish and shrimpies just need to find the time to make it to the LFS!

I am amazed by how easy it is to keep what I thought was going to be a "high tech" challenge. We have been fortunate to have received great advice (you know who you are ) and having this tank has been a real pleasure. Highly recommend everything we have added to this tank so far!

[gus6464]

Never ever use RODI on a planted tank. You are stripping all the minerals in the water. Use tap water with prime. RO is the most you should ever use and the only time to use RO is when you have a tank with fancy shrimp that require very specific ph requirements which you use buffer on it.

[NYfishies]

Never ever use RODI on a planted tank. You are stripping all the minerals in the water. Use tap water with prime. RO is the most you should ever use and the only time to use RO is when you have a tank with fancy shrimp that require very specific ph requirements which you use buffer on it.

 

I thought I was to use RODI since I am daily dosing EI ferts?

[gus6464]

 

I thought I was to use RODI since I am daily dosing EI ferts?

 

Nope. The water used has no bearing on the ferts.

[Mariaface]

Instead of tap water, maybe mix the RO/DI with something like Seachem Equilibrium. It's like a salt mix, just.. for freshwater planted tanks. You can add enough to get to a specific hardness level; whatever you're aiming for in the tank.

[jedimasterben]

Instead of tap water, maybe mix the RO/DI with something like Seachem Equilibrium. It's like a salt mix, just.. for freshwater planted tanks. You can add enough to get to a specific hardness level; whatever you're aiming for in the tank.

That's an extremely expensive solution to something that isn't really a problem

[NYfishies]

I have a bottle of Prime so I can use that no problem. I have been topping off with RODI for weeks!

[jedimasterben]

I top off with RO water, but any water changes are always done with my tap water

Then again, I do water changes almost never for either of my tanks lol