Nano planted tank setup

[Milene]

I've been wanting to set up a high tech planted tank for a while but I need your help! This will be a 4 gallon tank btw



I drew this to give you an idea of what I want it to look like (please excuse the scribbles--they're meant to be moss).

So I have some questions:

-what type of light would I need? I'm thinking of setting up a saltwater tank in the future so to save money, can I use marine lights which I can "recycle" later on? I'm thinking of getting the 165w dimmable chinese LEDs full spectrum.

- would I need a heater ( only thinking of keeping a few shrimp)?

- what type of substrate would you recommend?

- what type of moss would help me achieve what's on the picture?

- for the co2 I'm thinking of using the tropica system 60 which I already own, is that ok?

- which carpeting plant will work best? Dwarf hairgrass?

P.S. Only after I drew it did I realise that I probably wouldn't be able to stick the moss to the rock that way. Oh and the white is just sand.




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[Brian_Nano12g]

Nice drawing. I had a problem with algae once when I used high light that had too much blue spectrum in it. However, it wasn't dimmable like the unit you're thinking about. Does that LED unit have other color diodes other than white and blue? Would the color channels be able to be dialed down, specifically the blue?

Moss is a low light slow growing plant, so with too much light you'll get algae in it.. But at least the shrimp can munch on it. Just have a balance. Also too much co2 is not very shrimp friendly. Do you know what species of shrimp you want to keep?

The DHG would appreciate the extra light and co2, however.

And yes, you'll need a heater for shrimp. Don't know of any cold water species.

 

[Milene]

Nice drawing. I had a problem with algae once when I used high light that had too much blue spectrum in it. However, it wasn't dimmable like the unit you're thinking about. Does that LED unit have other color diodes other than white and blue? Would the color channels be able to be dialed down, specifically the blue?

Moss is a low light slow growing plant, so with too much light you'll get algae in it.. But at least the shrimp can munch on it. Just have a balance. Also too much co2 is not very shrimp friendly. Do you know what species of shrimp you want to keep?

The DHG would appreciate the extra light and co2, however.

And yes, you'll need a heater for shrimp. Don't know of any cold water species.

http://pages.ebay.com/link/?nav=item.view&alt=web&id=291175307677
This is the light I was talking about, it does have other colours and yes you can dim the blues separately because it has 2 channels.
I really don't want algae! I always struggle to find a balance for some reason and end up getting green hair algae on my anubias, Java fern and other slow growers.

As for the shrimp, I was thinking of a few amano, or maybe cherry shrimp.

What type of moss do you suggest?

Yeah you're right, the heater question was kinda dumb ?

 

[Milene]

Do you think I could use java moss? I'm just worried that since the lights are so strong and the moss is right at the top, it will burn it somehow...is this a silly thought? I've never kept any types of moss before because my lfs doesn't have any.

 

[Mebbid]

I would go with Christmas moss or flame moss rather than java. It will look a fair bit nicer aside from being way more expensive.

As for algae, I think keeping Amanos would help with that. I would also go with rcs for a nice balance in reds and green.

Also, that light is a beast. I am using one over my 20g as a test. The one I got isn't dimmable, but I raised the light up very high and turned the blues off entirely.

 

[Brookster123]

I would go with Christmas moss or flame moss rather than java. It will look a fair bit nicer aside from being way more expensive.

As for algae, I think keeping Amanos would help with that. I would also go with rcs for a nice balance in reds and green.

Also, that light is a beast. I am using one over my 20g as a test. The one I got isn't dimmable, but I raised the light up very high and turned the blues off entirely.

+13

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[Milene]

I would go with Christmas moss or flame moss rather than java. It will look a fair bit nicer aside from being way more expensive.

As for algae, I think keeping Amanos would help with that. I would also go with rcs for a nice balance in reds and green.

Also, that light is a beast. I am using one over my 20g as a test. The one I got isn't dimmable, but I raised the light up very high and turned the blues off entirely.

Yeah, I figured I'll have to dim it down to about 20% or so cause it's so bright!

 

[Coursair]

I have had CRS, RCS and Amanos in my tanks. None of my tanks are heated...BUT my room temp stays pretty stable.

Control algae with timers on lights, CO2 and clean water. Don't overfeed.

Don't count on ANY algae eater to eat every type of Algae.


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[Milene]

I have had CRS, RCS and Amanos in my tanks. None of my tanks are heated...BUT my room temp stays pretty stable.

Control algae with timers on lights, CO2 and clean water. Don't overfeed.

Don't count on ANY algae eater to eat every type of Algae.


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How many of each shrimp would I be able to keep approximately? I think the different colours and patterns would look really good against all the green

 

[Milene]

I was on a website selling orange, blue and green shrimp... I've never seen these types of shrimp before, are they dyed?

 

[Milene]

Has anyone heard of these shrimp before?

 

[Coursair]

Has anyone heard of these shrimp before?

There are lots of colors in dwarf shrimp. Some occur naturally. Many have become more intense due to selective breeding.
You didnt post pictures or a link, so that may be why no one answered. I doubt they are dyed.
http://www.planetinverts.com/shrimp_species.html


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[Mebbid]

I have a wild colony of heteropoda neocardinia (same as rcs) and they show blues, reds, blacks, and yellows in colors. The red is the most common.

As for mixing shrimp, you should only get one type of neocardinia or else they will cross breed. You can also get a caradina species of shrimp but I would wait until your tank is stable.

With either type I wouldnt try to start a colony with less than 10

As for amanos, I would go with a few.

 

[Milene]

There are lots of colors in dwarf shrimp. Some occur naturally. Many have become more intense due to selective breeding.
You didnt post pictures or a link, so that may be why no one answered. I doubt they are dyed.
http://www.planetinverts.com/shrimp_species.html


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Oh right, sorry
Here it is
http://www.aquaticstoyourdoor.co.uk/tropical-invertebrates/

 

[Milene]

I have a wild colony of heteropoda neocardinia (same as rcs) and they show blues, reds, blacks, and yellows in colors. The red is the most common.

As for mixing shrimp, you should only get one type of neocardinia or else they will cross breed. You can also get a caradina species of shrimp but I would wait until your tank is stable.

With either type I wouldnt try to start a colony with less than 10

As for amanos, I would go with a few.

Ok thanks
I think I'll start with 10 RCS and 2/3 amanos

 

[Coursair]

Oh right, sorry
Here it is
http://www.aquaticstoyourdoor.co.uk/tropical-invertebrates/

All real Shrimp. Not dyed. Tho, deepest colors are less common. Not all look as good as pictured. You pay for high quality Shrimp in rarer colors/patterns


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[Milene]

All real Shrimp. Not dyed. Tho, deepest colors are less common. Not all look as good as pictured. You pay for high quality Shrimp in rarer colors/patterns


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Cool! I'm guessing these will interbreed so I won't get these, I was just curious cause I'd never seen them before