My 1st Low Tech Planted Tank 2.5G

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

itsabadjoey

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Mar 22, 2017
Messages
13
Location
San Diego, CA
Hello Everyone!

My name is Joseph and I am fairly new to the hobby. After years of research and going to our local Fish Group meetings to gain as much knowledge as I could, I gained the confidence to begin my very first planted tank. On, January 4, 2017 I purchased my very first tank from Petco, the TopFin 2.5G Retreat and stocked it slowly with plants and a betta at first since they are a hardier fish, to begin cycling the tank. Of course I made sure I had the tank running for about a week using the Fluval Biological Enhancer Bacteria to prevent new tank syndrome. I modified the filtration to optimize the tanks health and filtration power as well as added biological biomax media to the back compartment. I am very happy to say that so far I've had this bad boy running for about 4 months and the parameters are within range, my plants seem to be doing well and the fish and invert are extremely happy and active with CRAZY appetites. As far as some issues I've faced in the past was the death of some riccia and most recently a problem with red algae killing off some of the leaves on my S. Repens, all thanks to the crappy product I use to remove ammonia, chlorine and nitrates from my water (Betta Basics - Seachem - Phosphate Buffer - big 3 enhancer - SMH!). To combat this I am turning off the lights and have purchased Seachem Prime. I dose daily with .5ml Flourish Excel and do a 40%-60% weekly water change due to my stocking option. I do need some advice on liquid ferts for a tank this small. I have read that with a tank of this size liquid ferts sometimes cause changes in water parameters and even PH. I do use Flourish tabs for root support and long term plant health. I have included some pics and a video of the various stages and shapes my tank has gone through. I took my time and new I wanted to propagate as much as I could to save some money.

PICTURE DESCRIPTIONS:
TOP LEFT: March 22, 2017 Most recent - after major cleaning.
TOP RIGHT: FIRST DAY AFTER FISH-LESS CYCLE - Aubrey the betta <3.
BOTTOM LEFT: 1st Month after set up, added riccia & driftwood.
BOTTOM RIGHT: FEB 2017, MAJOR RE-SCAPE. ADDED ANACHARIS.

Plants: S. Repens, Anacharis, Windelov Fern, Java Fern, Flame Moss, Taiwan Moss, Water Wisteria.

Fish: Double-Tailed Half Moon Betta (Aubrey aka Drake the Rapper), 3 Neon Tetras (Snap, Crackle, & Pop), 2 Panda Cory Cats (Gizmo & Gidget)

Invert: 1 Cherry Shrimp (Stefan) the rest were eaten by Aubrey, my mistake.

I am glad to be a part of this site/forum and look forward to see what you guys think and any advice you can provide! YAY! This is my first time ever speaking about something I love so much with others that have the same interests. Thanks in advance to all of you!

All the Best,
Joseph
 

Attachments

  • IMG_0836.jpg
    IMG_0836.jpg
    261.2 KB · Views: 148
  • IMG_0307.jpg
    IMG_0307.jpg
    204 KB · Views: 113
  • IMG_0449.jpg
    IMG_0449.jpg
    234 KB · Views: 105
  • IMG_0482.jpg
    IMG_0482.jpg
    262.5 KB · Views: 129
Last edited:
Right on! Thanks so much for the words of encouragement! I can't wait to continue building on this first tank! I have already purchased 2x 6G Eheim Aquas! I CANNOT WAIT to start on them! One thing I'm keeping in mind is hiding the filtration cartridge. I've been checking out all of your pages for inspiration!
 
Right on! Thanks for the comment. Looking forward to your build 2.5G. Make sure to post your progress along the way! [emoji106]
Thanks man today it is getting in for hardscape cycle

Pretty beastly
I'm just gonna get a huge bag of carbon and float it on top to clear the water.
 
Very nice looking.
My only advice would be to move Neons to at least a 10g or larger so they can swim and live with more Neons.
Ditto...but very sweet nano and cories need bigger shoal and a 20
 
Coursair & flchamp89

For sure! Thanks for the heads up! Probably explains why the tetras are usually hiding under the driftwood! I'm cycling 2x 6G's at the moment. I guess I'll move them to that bigger tank until I get something bigger. [emoji106] appreciate it!
 
Ditto...but very sweet nano and cories need bigger shoal and a 20



Didn't even see that Panda Cory.

Panda Cories are a cool water Cory. They can live with Neons. I'd keep their tank at 75°F as a compromise. A 20Long or 40 breeder would be a great size for shoals of both.

This is how happy Cories act
https://youtu.be/tPOvOije4vQNot mine.

These were my C habrosus

Even they need at least a 10g
https://youtu.be/JrLx1mKDObY
 
Welcome to AA
VERY nice scape!
Wish mine looked that good, I just put arrange plants and hope they live.
Listen to those guys and continue to learn, but great start. Look forward to seeing next one.

Sent from my N9130 using Aquarium Advice mobile app
 
Back
Top Bottom