A new Nano tank

Lynnzer

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A new nano tank, the Waterbox 6 being set up with plants in a dry planting situation. It has 2 pieces of granite glued to together to glue onto the wooden hardscape and prevent it from floating. The base is made up of AF Lava Soil topped off with Tropica Soil for plants. The rear left is piled up into a mound and planted with Monte Carlo which will grow and form a nice shape reaching up towards the tank top. To the rear right I have planted PearlWeed to give some height and hiding places for the nano fish being introduced later. More than likely these will be 1 male Blue Eyed Red Fin Rainbowfish and 3 females, perhaps with half a dozen shrimp. The tank is now entering its growth period and should hopefully be established in the next 3 to 4 weeks after which it will be ready for fish,


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Nice! I like the psuedomugli's, will be following! Like the nano tank scape a lot too, can't wait to see it when it's grown in and flooded. :)
 
It's all a waiting game isn't it ADB?
That's the part when I might just get impatient.
Having just completed my last aquascape job and offered it as my TOTM I thought a nice Nano one would be good. Perhaps there'll be a competition for nanos sometime soon.
 
Really nice arrangement and contrast between the rock and wood meeting in the middle, look forward to seeing it further along :)
 
Really nice arrangement and contrast between the rock and wood meeting in the middle, look forward to seeing it further along :)
Thanks Jitsz.
I really enjoy the aquascape thing.
I started with the tank in this months Tank Of The Month entry in March. It's really matured nicely now.
This nano tank is inspired by one I saw at Horizon Aquatics, perhaps one of, if not The, best aquascape shops in the UK. Picture of their tank room below:

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Have you voted yet, by the way. I think it's always nice to show appreciation. When the lights are on, my tanks are often viewed live from the link below my signature.
 
Thanks Jitsz.
I really enjoy the aquascape thing.
I started with the tank in this months Tank Of The Month entry in March. It's really matured nicely now.
This nano tank is inspired by one I saw at Horizon Aquatics, perhaps one of, if not The, best aquascape shops in the UK. Picture of their tank room below:

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Have you voted yet, by the way. I think it's always nice to show appreciation. When the lights are on, my tanks are often viewed live from the link below my signature.

Wow! You're so lucky to have a store like this close to you! Deeply jealous!
Do you really have to wait a month or so before you can fill the nano tank? How do you maintain in the meantime?
 
Just to make you even more jealous, it's near me as well ;)

Last time I was there they told me they have people travelling from London to shop there.
 
Just to make you even more jealous, it's near me as well ;)

Last time I was there they told me they have people travelling from London to shop there.
Oh, it would only be a four hour drive for me! In light traffic.... :p
To spend a small fortune that I can't spare, I'm sure! Would be impossible not to.
 
First off, the shop is fan-bloody-tastic. Both Nicole and James are so spontaneously generous and helpful and won't sell fish just for the sake of it. They know my own tapwater is really hard (well was, as it changed a fortnight ago) so when I asked about certain shrimp I was told NO. They won't thrive in my local water.
I've never walked into any other shop like this that has had the owner offer me a cuppa. You can sit on the sofas in the tank room and just watch all the goings on. So relaxing.
As for this new tank, I'm following my past experience of growing the plants. I first reid just planting in the first tank while it was filled with water. What a mess. They all just drifted to the top.
Next I did a dry plant, which is what I'm doing now, but didn't leave the tank long enough even though most plants stayed put when water was added. The result of that was that the Panda Corys snuffled about on the bottom and they all got disturbed and floated to the top again.
What I find is that the Tropica Aqua soil is loose and doesn't pack down like gravel or sand. So the plants need to grow the roots down into the bottom layer of Lava soil to give them some strength.
The tank is wet but only minimally. There shouldn't be free water at the bottom as it could cause mold or rot the roots. Just a spray on all the plants to keep them moist then cover the tank with clingfilm and give as much light as possible to get strong growth. A dry start is great for most plants but not all as some take their nutrients out of the water.
It's great fun though and I'd recommend getting a nano tank such as this, a Waterbox 6 at only 36cm wide, and giving it a go yourself.
Also I'd recommend that if you do go ahead then contact Nicole or James.
I have price checked their stuff from time to time and they aren't over the top.
Oh, Essjay - I believe that James has been known to collect incoming customers at Darlington Station.
 
It's great fun though and I'd recommend getting a nano tank such as this, a Waterbox 6 at only 36cm wide, and giving it a go yourself.
Also I'd recommend that if you do go ahead then contact Nicole or James.
I have price checked their stuff from time to time and they aren't over the top.

I do have a little ciano cube 15L tank that I picked up from gumtree for a fiver, that I want to use later to try soil for the first time, and perhaps keep a few of my shrimp in. My chance to have a go at proper aquascaping, you know? So that could happen :) So I'll be watching this thread closely! I had similar problems with trying to rotala bonsai to establish, looked great at first, but moved a batch of young cories in there to grow out, and they kept uprooting it til it just died off. Along with the alternanthera reinekii. But since I'm low tech too, probably tougher too.
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Shop sounds amazing! But a bit far for me to travel, lol. I have The Aquatic Store in my city which is small, but fantastic. Great choice in healthy plants and fish, really knowledgeable staff, but I don't get to go there as often as I'd like. My other local fish store had helpful people, but has since closed down. Other than this one, it's only chains now, despite Bristol being a big city.
 
Bristol is JUST a bit far away.
Tell you what....next time I'm over in the shop I'll take a few photos of their equally small tanks. You'll be amazed at them.
Most of the nano tanks, and I mean NANO, are shrimp homes or for a handful of Chili Rasboras. Most of them are planted high at the rear or in a rear corner much as mine is, and most use Monte Carlo and Baby tears for plants though not exclusively.
My own tanks are truly copied as near as possible to ones in their showrrom and they even have a table where you can place bits of wood stone etc to figure out what the best layout can be achieved. it's like Legoland.
 
Bristol is JUST a bit far away.
Tell you what....next time I'm over in the shop I'll take a few photos of their equally small tanks. You'll be amazed at them.
Most of the nano tanks, and I mean NANO, are shrimp homes or for a handful of Chili Rasboras. Most of them are planted high at the rear or in a rear corner much as mine is, and most use Monte Carlo and Baby tears for plants though not exclusively.
My own tanks are truly copied as near as possible to ones in their showrrom and they even have a table where you can place bits of wood stone etc to figure out what the best layout can be achieved. it's like Legoland.
I'd really appreciate that, thank you!
I'm currently switching stock from one tank to another, so won't be setting up the 15L for a while yet, will be keeping an eye on current set ups for a bit. But I grabbed it because it was a bargain, and I'd be able to try out soil without any risk, ya know.
Are you gonna use CO2 in this new tank?
 
I'd really appreciate that, thank you!
I'm currently switching stock from one tank to another, so won't be setting up the 15L for a while yet, will be keeping an eye on current set ups for a bit. But I grabbed it because it was a bargain, and I'd be able to try out soil without any risk, ya know.
Are you gonna use CO2 in this new tank?
I think I'll give it a miss to start with. I have a new light coming, a Chihiros A361 that I think will be great for growth and with addition of fertiliser I guess everythng will work well.
If not then I have a spare CO2 kit to make my own inexpensively
 
Wow that's some tank room, I can see why people travel up there. I have a nano that currently houses a betta and the odd shrimp. I would certainly like to do a plant only tank though, to have a proper go at the whole aquascaping thing. I just need to find somewhere to put it..

I have seen the TOTM which I thought was neat and sent my vote in. Really interesting to hear how you went about getting it setup as well. I do sometimes head up that way, I will be stopping by at some point for sure! Equally interested in seeing any pics before then :D

I do have a little ciano cube 15L tank that I picked up from gumtree for a fiver, that I want to use later to try soil for the first time, and perhaps keep a few of my shrimp in.
What a steal, I have a ciano cube and it's a neat little tank. Will be perfect for it :)
 
Wow that's some tank room, I can see why people travel up there. I have a nano that currently houses a betta and the odd shrimp. I would certainly like to do a plant only tank though, to have a proper go at the whole aquascaping thing. I just need to find somewhere to put it..

I have seen the TOTM which I thought was neat and sent my vote in. Really interesting to hear how you went about getting it setup as well. I do sometimes head up that way, I will be stopping by at some point for sure! Equally interested in seeing any pics before then :D


What a steal, I have a ciano cube and it's a neat little tank. Will be perfect for it :)
I have a Ciano too but I think it's 28 ltr, ah, I see it on Google images, a Ciano Aqua 30. I have Emerald Rasboras and Black Carbon Rili shrimp in it. It's also aquascaped a bit, though with a lid on it doesn't look anywhere near as nice.
My initial scape venture though was with my current TOTM tank. It took a hell of a lot of imagination and work to get things right for me, and a single image of it, as in the TOTM contest doesn't really bring out the 3D nature of all the wood etc.
A single piece of wood in a tank with a few plants surrounding it is nowhere near as demanding as putting a tankful of wood and loads of different plants together to make a 3 dimensional full aquascape, somewhere the fish can feel really safe and at home.
Sort of like comparing a bugalow and nice garden with a castle and its grounds.
When you do find your way up here, you're welcome to drop in if you wish. Just let me know beforehand.
 

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