I was wondering if anyone had any good links on nano tanks, I have heard different definitions and I am interested in starting a 5g or less nano tank but don't know where to start. So you if have any good links or you know a thing or two about nano tanks, it would be very helpful. Thank you for your help in advance.
Nano tank info
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TankGirl
Aquarium Advice Addict
I know a little about nano tanks. Here's my pride and joy, a 2gal bowl (*everyone groans... don't get her started!*):
I have also kept 5gal tanks for years as well.
There is very little available on the web specifically about FW nano tanks (that I am aware of) but you can visit the nano tank forum at Aquarium Plant Central: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/forumdisplay.php?f=92
Most of the nano setups are primarily growing plants, but you can do it with a piece of driftwood or a rock and a betta or a guppy or something if you want.
The main thing to understand about a nano tank is that you need to pay extremely close attention to it as it can crash very quickly if its needs are not met. I find them very easy to maintain as long as there are plants that filter the water and provide oxygen for the fauna. Also - extremely light stocking is a must. Many such tanks house only shrimps and a snail.
There are decisions that have to be made about lighting (yes/no/bright/dim) heating (yes/no - often the lamp used to grow the plants will heat the water) and mechanical filtration (yes/no).
I have some suggestions about getting started with a simple setup, but what do you have in mind?
I have also kept 5gal tanks for years as well.
There is very little available on the web specifically about FW nano tanks (that I am aware of) but you can visit the nano tank forum at Aquarium Plant Central: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/forumdisplay.php?f=92
Most of the nano setups are primarily growing plants, but you can do it with a piece of driftwood or a rock and a betta or a guppy or something if you want.
The main thing to understand about a nano tank is that you need to pay extremely close attention to it as it can crash very quickly if its needs are not met. I find them very easy to maintain as long as there are plants that filter the water and provide oxygen for the fauna. Also - extremely light stocking is a must. Many such tanks house only shrimps and a snail.
There are decisions that have to be made about lighting (yes/no/bright/dim) heating (yes/no - often the lamp used to grow the plants will heat the water) and mechanical filtration (yes/no).
I have some suggestions about getting started with a simple setup, but what do you have in mind?
jsoong
Aquarium Advice Addict
TG - that 's a beautiful tank!!! My daughter wants a betta for Christmas ... that pic is giving me ideas.
TankGirl
Aquarium Advice Addict
A betta or a guppy are good candidates for this kind of setup, but try to have a container with at least 2 gallons. The bowl I used here held 2.6 gallons empty. If you are keeping a betta I'd definitely get a heater, since IMO they do not do as well in room temperature tanks, in spite of how commonly they are kept this way. Guppies can tolerate cooler temps much better.
I probably did not need to use a heater for mine but I was worried about some of the plants, so I got a Hydor 7w heater, which is basically a small mat about the size of a playing card, which can be suction-cupped to the side of a small tank or buried under the substrate. There is no thermostat, but it raises the temp a few degrees. It heated the water too much in my bowl when it was in the water, but I buried it under the substrate and now it keeps the tank a steady 78. The plants have grown up and hide the cord. My bowl is pretty high tech with strong light and heat, but you do not have to bother with either, and go completely natural.
If you want something easy, get some sort of bowl or small tank (I like the seamless look of bowls, personally) and use some coarse sand as substrate. Tie some java moss and/or java fern and stick it in there with a pretty guppy. Place this on your desk with a fluorescent desk lamp, on a table under a table lamp that has a screw-in fluoro bulb, or even just on a counter in a reasonably sunny room. That is it. You could put it anywhere you would put a house plant. The plants will grow even with ambient light from the room. I have a friend who has a bowl like that in her windowless bathroom, and the only light comes from a decorative lamp on the counter that is on a timer. The java fern grows fine and the guppy appears happy as can be.
Change the water every 2 or 3 days, even every day when it is first set up. I have a Solo plastic cup I use to scoop out about half of the water, then add new water with the same cup, with a couple of drops of Wardley's dechlorinator. Nutrients and waste build up quickly in a tank like this, so once a week I use a tiny gravel vac I got at Walmart, and take a pass over the substrate.
That is it. Maintenance takes mere minutes, and since mine is in the bathroom it is even simpler - the sink is right there.
I probably did not need to use a heater for mine but I was worried about some of the plants, so I got a Hydor 7w heater, which is basically a small mat about the size of a playing card, which can be suction-cupped to the side of a small tank or buried under the substrate. There is no thermostat, but it raises the temp a few degrees. It heated the water too much in my bowl when it was in the water, but I buried it under the substrate and now it keeps the tank a steady 78. The plants have grown up and hide the cord. My bowl is pretty high tech with strong light and heat, but you do not have to bother with either, and go completely natural.
If you want something easy, get some sort of bowl or small tank (I like the seamless look of bowls, personally) and use some coarse sand as substrate. Tie some java moss and/or java fern and stick it in there with a pretty guppy. Place this on your desk with a fluorescent desk lamp, on a table under a table lamp that has a screw-in fluoro bulb, or even just on a counter in a reasonably sunny room. That is it. You could put it anywhere you would put a house plant. The plants will grow even with ambient light from the room. I have a friend who has a bowl like that in her windowless bathroom, and the only light comes from a decorative lamp on the counter that is on a timer. The java fern grows fine and the guppy appears happy as can be.
Change the water every 2 or 3 days, even every day when it is first set up. I have a Solo plastic cup I use to scoop out about half of the water, then add new water with the same cup, with a couple of drops of Wardley's dechlorinator. Nutrients and waste build up quickly in a tank like this, so once a week I use a tiny gravel vac I got at Walmart, and take a pass over the substrate.
That is it. Maintenance takes mere minutes, and since mine is in the bathroom it is even simpler - the sink is right there.
TankGirl
Aquarium Advice Addict
I dose Excel, a few drops every day, plus a few drops of Flourish and Flourish Iron every couple of days after the PWC. The simpler setup with just the java fern/moss would require no fertilization.
nitrous
Aquarium Advice FINatic
damn tank girl now u got me wanting to do one of those too because ur bowl is so beautiful!
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