13 Litre Nano Tank!

[Urban Aquaria]

This is my first nano tank... its actually just meant as a temporary tank to hold fishes and shrimps while my larger "showcase" tank was undergoing the few weeks of growing a carpet of Hemianthus Callitrichoides via dry start method (DSM).



Turned out to be a rather nice and simple desktop nano tank... so i'll probably just keep it that way.

Here are the stats:

Tank Size: 30cm x 24cm x 18cm

Substrate: ADA New Amazonia (Powder)

Filter System: Eden 501 + Eheim Single Tap + 10mm ANS Lily Pipe Set + gUSH Stainless Steel Mesh Guard (13mm version but using o-rings as intake pipe adapters)

Filter Media: Seachem Matrix + Bio Sponge

Temperature: 27-28 °C

Lighting: Up Aqua Z-Series Pro LED Z-15 (30cm)

Light Duration: 6-8 hours

Co2: None

Fertilizer: None

Fan/Chiller: None

Water Change Regime: 20% Weekly

Water Parameters(Tested using API Freshwater Master Test Kit):
pH = 6.4-6.6
Ammonia = 0 ppm
Nitrite = 0 ppm
Nitrate = 0-5 ppm

Flora:
Fissidens Splachnobryoide
Bogwood

Fauna:
Danio Tinwini
Danio Margaritatus
Otocinclus Affinis
Neocaridina Heteropoda var. Fire Red

Feed:
Hikari Micro Pellets
Hikari Micro Wafers
Hikari Algae Wafers
Hikari Shrimp Cuisine
Blanched Zucchini & Green Peas



This tank has been running for around 3 months now, its fully cycled and requires very low maintenance.

Shrimps are breeding rapidly, dozens of of small shrimplets regularly spotted grazing amongst the fissiden leaves and the fishes don't bother them.

Very little algae seems to be appearing, i guess they are regularly cleaned up by the hardworking Otocinclus Affinis before they can take hold, so i actually increase the lighting duration periodically to help encourage more natural algae growth to feed them (blanched vegetables and algae wafers supplement their diet, but i still want them to hone their algae eating skills).



The Up Aqua Z-Series Pro light is bright and very efficient (the 30cm version only draws 10.7 watts), this light set has 2-3 times more LEDs than most other similar systems i've seen so far, which results in much better light coverage. It has a very slim casing too, so it matches the tank aesthetically and i can still access the tank easily to do basic maintenance without needing to move the light set.

So far, i can see the Fissidens Splachnobryoide growing and spreading further on the bogwood, so this LED light set seems to be quite effective for that type of moss.

Special credit goes to jamesneo on this forum, he was the one who created the fissidens on bogwood structure and it fit perfectly as the main centerpiece of this nano tank.



Danio Margaritatus look great but are incredibly shy fishes (i've read that they are very shy fish, but i never believed how skittish they really were until i got them), i added them as one of the first tank inhabitants but hardly saw them as they prefer to mill about at the bottom area of the tank. If they detect even the slightest movement outside of the tank, the little chaps will quickly hide behind or under the bogwood.

I figured having "dither" fishes of similar size might help, so i added in a group of Danio Tinwini. These fishes look very cool (like miniature leopards with their mix of spotted patterns on top of iridescent gold scales) and are very sociable. In addition, they naturally school around the middle and top levels of the tank.

It worked! The shy Danio Margaritatus immediately joined in to school with them too.



The bogwood cave... looks empty, but whenever i shine a torch into it to check, there are always shimp or fish hiding there, at one point during one of the monthly tank maintenance activities, i found almost a dozen fishes all huddled inside that small cave space!

Overall, i'm quite happy with this nano tank. It'll be a long-term fixture on my desktop.

[tongyang]

Very nice holding tank. How is the moss responding to the light? Any visible photosynthesis as in bubbles? I understand that moss don't pearl that well too. Have you tried other plants under the same light? Curious to know because UP Aqua Z LEDs are significantly cheaper than other LEDs that work for plants.

[bennyc]

very beautiful tank! THe aqua Z seem bright.

[mukyo]

Very pretty. Inspirational. I think given the chance to rescape. I will just setup like yours. Powerful yet simple

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[5stars]

Nice tank! I'm curious, how do you do water changes for such a small tank without disturbing the aqua soil? Do you just scoop out a bit of water instead of siphoning?

[trafalgar law]

nice nano the new z series led lights are good ive got one on a 4 ft tank growin UG

[AhVy]

Nice tank!!



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[ciaossu]

very nice and elegant tank.

[Urban Aquaria]

Thanks for all the kind comments!

Very nice holding tank. How is the moss responding to the light? Any visible photosynthesis as in bubbles? I understand that moss don't pearl that well too. Have you tried other plants under the same light? Curious to know because UP Aqua Z LEDs are significantly cheaper than other LEDs that work for plants.

So far, i've not seen any crazy pearling from the fissidens in my tank (maybe just a few bubbles here and there, but not sure if its minor pearling or just trapped bubbles during water change or what), though i can definitely see noticeable growth in the fissiden leaves over time, but then again i'm not using any Co2 injection and my lighting duration is relatively short... though i've seen riccia mats pearling alot under the same Z-Series light sets in the demo tank at East Ocean (their tank uses Co2 injection), so i guess it should be possible under the right conditions.

Nice tank! I'm curious, how do you do water changes for such a small tank without disturbing the aqua soil? Do you just scoop out a bit of water instead of siphoning?

Yeah, ADA Aquasoil (especially the powder type) gets kicked up very easily if disturbed, so what i do is just use a small plastic cup to gently scoop out the water, then re-fill with fresh water using the same small cup, i float the cup on the water surface and then tip it in slowly so that there is minimal disturbance... its much easier for nano tanks 'cos the volume of water change is relatively small anyways (my tank only change like 2-3 litres of water each time).

[tongyang]

Hi thanks, will probably drop by east ocean to have a closer look. Another question: why did you get the powder soil from? They seemed rather scarce in supply lately.

[Whitefit]

Bro, where u buy the light? N the damage? Thanks... Nice tank...


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[Urban Aquaria]

Hi thanks, will probably drop by east ocean to have a closer look. Another question: why did you get the powder soil from? They seemed rather scarce in supply lately.

I got the powder type aqua soil a while back at Y618, not sure if they still have stock though, you'll have to call them to check.

Bro, where u buy the light? N the damage? Thanks... Nice tank...

I ordered my sets in from eBay a few months ago (before they were available locally), but you can now get them from various local LFS. Check out this announcement thread:

http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...nd-Marines!%29

[Hipponianhzh]

Bro. On the picture you say that you dont use filter But why is theRe lily pipe?

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[Urban Aquaria]

Bro. On the picture you say that you dont use filter But why is theRe lily pipe?

I use an Eden 501 canister filter (as mentioned in my tank stats)... but its tactically hidden behind my metal magazine file and LCD monitor, that's why only can see the lily pipes.

[Goththug]

Very nice and simple tank! I am inspired to do one just like this too.

[Hipponianhzh]

Cool.

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[joe]

Simple but yet beautiful tank!!! Is that an ADA tank being used? It looks so clear!!!

[Urban Aquaria]

Simple but yet beautiful tank!!! Is that an ADA tank being used? It looks so clear!!!

Its not an ADA tank... the tanks i use are those high clarity/minimal silicone ones from GC, their overall glass quality and workmanship are surprisingly good though.

[eflyer]

Very good clarity from the tank used. You were saying from GC? Can you please elabaroate... tks.

[Shadow]

GC = Green Chapter