drwatson Posted July 20, 2005 Share Posted July 20, 2005 I know this belongs on a planted board, but there are very few dedicated planted boards and only one that I know of has a dedicated nano section and it is quite limited in audience. As I am planting my JBJ nano cube, i thought I would attempt to squeeze it in here, unless someone objects, in that case I won't bother anyone with anymore additons to this thread. I thought this would be a good thread to keep up to date (now and again) to show planted potential with the cube. I originally bought my nano for freshwater, then bored I switched to salt. Salt was difficult for me for many reasons, most of which were my own doing. After careful consideration I have moved back to fresh and I am up for the challenge of a planted nano tank. The back of my tank includes a Mini-Jet 404 (hosing from Home Depot), a Visi-Therm 50 watt heater and a Hagen CO2 System. Note how cool the Hagen ladder looks. For those who want CO2 in a planted nano, it's perfect in size as it fits hidden in the back chamber. The Hagen is also low cost, at $26 retail. You can see the gravel, it's a substrate called flourite designed to enhance plant growth. It seems flourite and eco-complete are popular. I used aquarium silicon to close the bottom vent. I have the nano original which includes two intake vents (top and bottom). As I want to control the flow of water, I have closed the bottom vent. I also modded the dividers in the back to control flow using cuts of plexi-glass from Home Depot. I know what you are going to say, moonlights on a fresh water tank ? Well they look nice and I can use them to view my nocturnal cats once I drop one or two in. These moonlights are custom. If you go to the Discovery Channel Store they sell a string of bright blue led lights (12) for $9.99. They are battery operated (4 AAs), but can easily be converted to A/C. I don't mind the battery design as I only plan to run these once in a while at night for viewing purposes only. The batteries last about 48 hours, so I will use rechargables. Here is a shot with the moon lights on. Note this shot was taken with my office lights on ! They are very bright, and should look even better when the water is in. Link to comment
BJK2 Posted July 20, 2005 Share Posted July 20, 2005 Looks awsome, I have a 15 gallon tall planted. I would suggest an otocinilus(sp) to control algae. For other fish I have 5 neons and 3 Blue Rams. Good luck, it seems like a great tank for planted. I am just wondering though, are you changing your bulb to a plant bulb?? Link to comment
drwatson Posted July 20, 2005 Author Share Posted July 20, 2005 BJK2, I have removed the 50/50 marine bulbs and added a 6700K 24 watt bulb for 9.99 from Dr Foster Smith. That gives me 2 watts per gallon, which should allow some low to medium light plants. I definitely want to add neons, they look so good in a school. I will also check out the otocinilus. I also love dwarf frogs, I had several before switching to salt. I am currently reading a lot about Takish Amano. I would like to apply some of the techniques to my tank, though the nano being a cube as opposed to a long tank would be a challenge. I want to carpet the bottom of the tank with a thick, but low profile foreground plant. I also want to add some medium and small rocks and a nice piece of driftwood which I want to tie some java moss onto. I am uncertain of mid/background plants at this time, there is alot still to learn. Link to comment
elimmel Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 drwatson, not sure if you've visited this site. http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/forumdis...isplay.php?f=22 Link to comment
phr0Ze Posted July 21, 2005 Share Posted July 21, 2005 $10 is a lot cheaper than most moon lights I've seen and those look many times brighter. Good idea. Link to comment
rickjg Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 Originally posted by elimmel drwatson, not sure if you've visited this site. http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/forumdis...isplay.php?f=22 Thanks for the link elimmel I want to setup my old ALIFE 7 as either a planted tank or a vivarium/terrarium I’m still trying to decide which Link to comment
Slamnd60 Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 Great looking tank so far, I work for AzGardens.Com and we have some real nice plants and fish, including otos. I would think about doing shrimp in the tank, they are awesome in smaller tanks and are great to watch. Keep us updated. Link to comment
Kogut Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 It really does look great. I'll be following along w/ the updates on this thread. If anyone on here objects, they can just not read the posts. Link to comment
drwatson Posted July 22, 2005 Author Share Posted July 22, 2005 Everyone, thanks for the comments. Again, I want to stress that if anyone objects I will discontinue this thread, I just thought it might be a nice change to JBJ reef tanks and might give those who have decided to purchase a second nano cube (I have friends with more than one) ideas for doing a cool looking fresh tank. One of the reasons I switched from fresh to salt was the variety, color, and challenge of a marine reef. I never did fully explore the amazing options available in fresh water in building a planted tank. After looking at some designs by Taskish Amano and people on planted forums who have produced natural design tanks, I am convinced that fresh water planted can be just as amazing as reef tanks. Slamnd60 - Thanks for the link. You have the largest selection of fresh water shrimp I have ever seen. I really like your stores variety and layout. The only thing I kept in my previous tank was ghost shrimp, and while interesting, they weren't colorful or even easy to see at times. Link to comment
fiftymillimeter Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 $9.99 or $19.95? these? Link to comment
drwatson Posted July 22, 2005 Author Share Posted July 22, 2005 At my local Discovery Channel Store in Myrtle Beach, the lights were 9.99, as well as onsale 20% off. Note sure why the online store has them listed as 19.99. Link to comment
drwatson Posted July 22, 2005 Author Share Posted July 22, 2005 the ones online are two strands of twelve lights (24 total). Mine were only one strand of twelve, that explains the double price. Link to comment
szesteve Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 drwatson, Good start you're off to. I TOTALLY DO NOT OBJECT. On another note, do check out www.aquaticquotient.com for useful information too. I used to have a 120gallon planted but took it down a year ago. What are you planning to use as fertilizer? Base fertilizer or just dosing the liquid kind? I really like Xmas tree moss if you've seen those. They look awesome especially with cherry shrimps breeding in them. What are you plant choices? p/s: Takashi Amano is a real genius. I have 2 of his books on mini planted tanks. Amazing! Link to comment
drwatson Posted July 22, 2005 Author Share Posted July 22, 2005 I used to have a 120gallon planted but took it down a year ago. What are you planning to use as fertilizer? Base fertilizer or just dosing the liquid kind? I have heard that seachem flourish works pretty well. I really like Xmas tree moss if you've seen those. They look awesome especially with cherry shrimps breeding in them. I am thinking about cherry shrimps. I do love the moss. What are you plant choices? p/s: Takashi Amano is a real genius. I have 2 of his books on mini planted tanks. Amazing! Where do you find books on mini planted tanks by Takashi Amano ? Link to comment
szesteve Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 Originally posted by drwatson I have heard that seachem flourish works pretty well. I really like Xmas tree moss if you've seen those. They look awesome especially with cherry shrimps breeding in them. I am thinking about cherry shrimps. I do love the moss. What are you plant choices? p/s: Takashi Amano is a real genius. I have 2 of his books on mini planted tanks. Amazing! Where do you find books on mini planted tanks by Takashi Amano ? Seachem fluorish does work well. Just becareful with the types of plants you'll be stocking and the way they absorb nutrients. I bought the books in Singapore. Link to comment
rickjg Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 Originally posted by szesteve drwatson, I really like Xmas tree moss if you've seen those. They look awesome especially with cherry shrimps breeding in them. I had someone mail me a starter packet of Xmas tree moss from Hong Kong a couple of years ago and they are doing nicely. : I would be happy to send out a few starter packs of Xmas tree moss to spread the wealth. PM me if you are interested and I’ll PM you with my address, you send me a SASE (self addressed & stamped envelope)by mail, and I’ll mail you back a starter packet. Link to comment
szesteve Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 Originally posted by Rick J G I had someone mail me a starter packet of Xmas tree moss from Hong Kong a couple of years ago and they are doing nicely. : I would be happy to send out a few starter packs of Xmas tree moss to spread the wealth. PM me if you are interested and I’ll PM you with my address, you send me a SASE (self addressed & stamped envelope)by mail, and I’ll mail you back a starter packet. Interesting. I'll definitely keep that in mind if i do setup a planted again. Any chance of you sending some cherry shrimps too? LOL Link to comment
Hwarang Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 take him up on that offer, i got a pack of xmas tree moss from hong kong (heck, it was probably the same dude) and i have yet to see the exact same beautiful species in any LFS in the states. i had that stuff in my buhquarium for like 3 years and i loved it every day. i even bought a special driftwood to put it on. Link to comment
steelhealr Posted July 22, 2005 Share Posted July 22, 2005 You know Dr. Watson, I've seen one post here, but, you could have done a planted MARINE tank. I've seen someone's post here and it was done with macroalgae. It was beautiful. SH Link to comment
drwatson Posted July 25, 2005 Author Share Posted July 25, 2005 I am not totally done with saltwater, afterall I don't want to give up all the exciting fish, coral and inverts that come with a marine tank. I am thinking of doing a pico reef tank, maybe a minibow 2.5 with a corallife 50/50 bulb. Link to comment
rickjg Posted August 8, 2005 Share Posted August 8, 2005 Originally posted by elimmel http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/forumdis...isplay.php?f=22 BUMP Seems to be a lot of interest in planted nano cubes. I’m in the process of converting my old ALIFE 7 into a planted tank. It should make a sweet little Cherry shrimp/Xmas moss tank. I’ve been using a lot of parts left over from modding my NC6. Right now the driftwood is still soaking and turning the water brown, I’ll post some pics after the water clears & I add the Xmas moss. :x Link to comment
rickjg Posted August 16, 2005 Share Posted August 16, 2005 I converted my old ALIFE 7 to a fresh water planted tank. It was a nano-reef tank for the first three years, before being replaced by a new modded NC6 tank. When I modded my NC6 tank I saved the parts & installed them in the ALIFE 7. The ALIFE 7 has (2) 18 watt 7,100 K PC lights & LED moonlights. It also has the stock pump from the NC6 along with the bio balls, ceramic rings & sponge filling the back chambers. I built a small stand for the tank so I could set it on my night stand. http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthre...5430#post175430 Link to comment
drwatson Posted August 18, 2005 Author Share Posted August 18, 2005 Sorry, I have been busy. I did make some changes, I removed the florite substrate and added eco complete. Eco Complete looks more natural IMO. I have a Blue Ram Chilid, some zebra danios (for cycling) and four monster (3 1/2 inch) whisker shrimp. I have some micro sword and some amazon swords at the moment. Link to comment
phr0Ze Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 Like the shrimp hiding behind the leaf. thats cool. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.