How to maintane small tank??

[blurrblurr]

How to maintane such a mini tank size 20cm * 10cm *15 cm?

I trying to create an comfortable environment for my drawf pufferfish so that whenever my main tank is clear of snail I can let my puffer stay in that tank.
According to the articles no filter needed only a clip on light may needed and do water change occassionally.

But my puffer stay only two days in that tank and the water starts to stink and turn choky. Plant starts to rot too. My poor puffer eye also turning white.

How do u guys maintain such small tank? change water everyday? or using a super mini filter?

I using only have clip-on light for my plant.

[byronshoh]

Hi blurrblurr

I have a 20cm cube which works fine...., i just top up water. No algae problem so far...I have 8 lampeyes, hornworts and mm

Must be your lighting or water parameters?

[chua]

Maybe you can share with us more information about your tank before we can give you some suggestion.

[blurrblurr]

wat information u wat?
U wan me to fill up the form!!! please dun torture me! Dun ask me to fill up the form with PH KH PO4 NO value!

That tank only a mini tank and the tank has

Tap water with chorine inside
Stalk of a plant (fast grower but dunno the exact name)
My puffer fish.
One clip on light
No filter.
No fertilizer

Think is my puffer who destroy the place. it eat the snail and left the uneaten part rot that make the water foul

[Heuer]

i have a 1 ft cube with only light and internal filter. pure shrimps tank. nana and moss and some frogbit. the first 2 months was a nightmare as the tank has not settle yet. BBA and hair algae came. but I left it alone doing nothing. now into its 4th month, still has BBA but the yamatos are keeping them under control.

My suggestion is to put some frogbit or floating plants as they are better water purifier than submerge plants.

Just my 2 cents

[Fei Miao]

IMO for such a samll tank, 20cm x 10cm x 15 cm, it not necessary to have a filter. that would take up space. I rather you do waterchange regularly, it's not difficult for this size, perhaps twice a week... a lot depends on the type of plants you choose for the tank. If possible do post a pic.

[sherchoo]

1. All aquariums small or big needs to be cycled. So please make sure you r tank is properly cycled.

2. If you have no filter, you should plan for more plants to take up N and P as much as possible.

3. Fert and lighting could be more tricky as balance may be difficult to strike. Therefore for fert and light, start with smaller amounts. Increase/decrease as time passes.

Generally, one should concentrate on getting healthier plants growing in the tank to ensure tank success. Growing plants will then sustain a good supply of O2 for your fish to thrive.

[vinz]

One fish, which is sometimes absent, no CO2, no fert... think about it. Should you be putting in a fast growing, nutrient hungry plant?

For a tank like this, go for the tough slow plants. Like anubias, moss or java ferns. Put in a piece of driftwood. It's slow rot will provide a (very) small source of nutrients to the plants. Don't use the light brown branchy type, I find they foul the water within days in a filterless tank. Use the type that you get when you buy Java Fern or Anubias from the LFS.

You might not need to change water, just top up. With one fish and limited feeding, the NO3 and PO4 won't build up fast enough. In fact, your plants might not get enough, but these 3 are tough enough to hang on for a long time.

Personally, I'll go with Java moss. A large wad of it tied on wood.

[vinz]

[quote:a0fe2dc5="blurrblurr"] wat information u wat?
U wan me to fill up the form!!! please dun torture me! Dun ask me to fill up the form with PH KH PO4 NO value!

...[/quote:a0fe2dc5]

Orh... like thats ah. Then we donch helpch you liao. :P

[budak]

I think you have probably heard the old maxim that larger tanks are more stable - this applies still for the nano tanks I have written about. My own 30 cm tank took about 3-4 months to stabilise (i used guppies and minnows initially before switching to my favourite boraras and loaches).

Pound for pound, puffers, I believe, tend to be great poopers (so the tank would need more plants and also time for bb to colonise it). How long has your tank been set up, and what's the plant species and substrate you have? If it's a new tank, the stinking up is to be expected. You need to cycle it with lots of plants as with any other tank. Once stable, fortnightly 1/3 water changes are enough.