TomStav
Aquarium Advice FINatic
Hi guys, just starting a thread for a new nano planted tank I'm setting up. I've been out of the hobby for a couple of years and used to have several tanks both SW and FW. Now in a new rental I am able to setup a new aquarium but am waiting a little while before returning to SW.
I want to setup a really easy to maintain 10G with some easy to care for plants, shrimp and fish (thinking golden mountain cloud minnows at the moment but I'll save the fish selection until later.
I had a similar tank in the past, a small mr Aqua cube that was well planted with mountain cloud minnows, shrimp, snails, Ottos and a Siamese Fighting fish. I know the betta was a little risky with the shrimp but they all got on great and it was an awesome little community tank. I would like to achieve something similar with this new project.
I have chosen to use a Innovative Marine Fusion 10 for this setup. I have not seen one setup with FW before but they are quality tanks and although the rear sump may give off a bit of gas, I think the low flow I will run will make it minimal. Although the filter in the IM10 is a bit overkill for a planted aquarium, I mainly want to use the rear sump to hide the heater and ATO as well as use filter floss to polish the water.
I have also ordered the upgraded IM filter basket and fish guard to cover the overflow. I'm hoping the guard will prevent the potential shrimp from making there way into the sump (unlikely!).
To avoid needing to put a powerhead in the main display, I have a IM spin stream nozzle for return pump outlet. This should provide adequate circulation in the tank. I plan to aim it down to avoid too much surface agitation as the sump weir will probably provide enough in such a small tank.
For lighting I chose to go with the Kessil A150 Amazon Sun LED mounted with a gooseneck. I've had Kessils on SW setups before and love them. I really like the shimmer and color that these LEDs produce, they are also much cooler and have a much better lifetime than their MH equivalents.
I have chose a Cobalt Aquatics Neo-Therm 50W for a heater. Thought it was a perfect choice as it keeps the water to .5 degrees and reads the tanks actual temps. Also not being glass, it's less likely to break in the sump.
I am going to setup an ATO in this tank, mainly to relieve the need for constant top-ups and the return pump running dry, It will also allow my top-up water to age a little. I chose to use the IM ATO for this as they don't contain any moving parts and fit nicely in the sump with strong magnets to secure them.
I will also be making a DIY stand for this tank. Still need to plan this out but it will be pretty basic.
So that's the setup, once it is all put together I will start to really think about it's contents.
I will post pictures of this build from start to finish.
Any feedback, ideas and wisdom you wish to share along the way will be greatly appreciated!
More to follow...
Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice
I want to setup a really easy to maintain 10G with some easy to care for plants, shrimp and fish (thinking golden mountain cloud minnows at the moment but I'll save the fish selection until later.
I had a similar tank in the past, a small mr Aqua cube that was well planted with mountain cloud minnows, shrimp, snails, Ottos and a Siamese Fighting fish. I know the betta was a little risky with the shrimp but they all got on great and it was an awesome little community tank. I would like to achieve something similar with this new project.
I have chosen to use a Innovative Marine Fusion 10 for this setup. I have not seen one setup with FW before but they are quality tanks and although the rear sump may give off a bit of gas, I think the low flow I will run will make it minimal. Although the filter in the IM10 is a bit overkill for a planted aquarium, I mainly want to use the rear sump to hide the heater and ATO as well as use filter floss to polish the water.
I have also ordered the upgraded IM filter basket and fish guard to cover the overflow. I'm hoping the guard will prevent the potential shrimp from making there way into the sump (unlikely!).
To avoid needing to put a powerhead in the main display, I have a IM spin stream nozzle for return pump outlet. This should provide adequate circulation in the tank. I plan to aim it down to avoid too much surface agitation as the sump weir will probably provide enough in such a small tank.
For lighting I chose to go with the Kessil A150 Amazon Sun LED mounted with a gooseneck. I've had Kessils on SW setups before and love them. I really like the shimmer and color that these LEDs produce, they are also much cooler and have a much better lifetime than their MH equivalents.
I have chose a Cobalt Aquatics Neo-Therm 50W for a heater. Thought it was a perfect choice as it keeps the water to .5 degrees and reads the tanks actual temps. Also not being glass, it's less likely to break in the sump.
I am going to setup an ATO in this tank, mainly to relieve the need for constant top-ups and the return pump running dry, It will also allow my top-up water to age a little. I chose to use the IM ATO for this as they don't contain any moving parts and fit nicely in the sump with strong magnets to secure them.
I will also be making a DIY stand for this tank. Still need to plan this out but it will be pretty basic.
So that's the setup, once it is all put together I will start to really think about it's contents.
I will post pictures of this build from start to finish.
Any feedback, ideas and wisdom you wish to share along the way will be greatly appreciated!
More to follow...
Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice
