Small tank advice--for a scape & betta keeping

[danolunchbox]

Hello all, I am a newbie at this and I'm interested in getting into keeping an aquarium and aquascaping. I currently have a betta in a small bowl and want to upgrade him into the nice aquarium he deserves! Here's what I am looking to do--I need all the advice I can get!

Looking to go for a 3-8 gallon tank--any suggestions? I've seen a lot of the all-in one's (like the marineland eclipse series and some glass tanks at marinedepot.com like mr aqua, or ada garden mini cube)...not sure what's the best to get? An all-in-one kit or building one from scratch?

If I build from scratch what are the best filters for bettas/keeping live plants?

Lighting?

I'll start there--any advice would be much appreciated!

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Welcome Aboard!

I have my betta in the Fluval EBI kit, or check out the Fluval Flora kit. Either one would be a great kit choice, good looking with front rounded corners and other than adding a heater (Aqueon Pro 50w), it's ready to go. A 5*, 8g kit IMO/E.

 

[danolunchbox]

Fluval systems...

Thanks for the advice!

I was looking into the Fluval systems--they seem pretty nice--and I like that everything is included.

How is the filter? Is the current too powerful for the betta? What do you think about getting the Fluval flora kit and having plants and a betta in it?

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Thanks for the advice!

I was looking into the Fluval systems--they seem pretty nice--and I like that everything is included.

How is the filter? Is the current too powerful for the betta? What do you think about getting the Fluval flora kit and having plants and a betta in it?

The filter is just right for my betta, since his favorite spot is by the heater where the spray bar is pointed towards (proper flow distribution) and he seems to like the current. There's a control valve on the filter if you want to reduce it, but I keep mine at full flow.

I got the EBI because my LFS had it in-stock and on-sale. The Flora would be an excellent choice IMO. Only add-on I'd recommend is the Aqueon Pro 50w heater.

Here's a link to my build for the EBI if you want to check it out:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...val-ebi-with-betta-as-centerpiece-146503.html

 

[danolunchbox]

awesome!

Great!

I read through your feed and your tank looks really neat! I aspire to do something like that, I just have to make sure I have enough space/support to hold a tank that heavy (the dimensions should be ok, but I'm nervous about putting it on our breakfast bar counter)

Also, did you use the peat that came with the kit? Or did you use something else? What kind of sand did you use? (something from an aquarium store)?

How is your betta doing with the tetras? I want to add some shrimps or something, but I wasn't sure how our betta would do with other fish--he's kind of feisty.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Great!

I read through your feed and your tank looks really neat! I aspire to do something like that, I just have to make sure I have enough space/support to hold a tank that heavy (the dimensions should be ok, but I'm nervous about putting it on our breakfast bar counter)

Also, did you use the peat that came with the kit? Or did you use something else? What kind of sand did you use? (something from an aquarium store)?

How is your betta doing with the tetras? I want to add some shrimps or something, but I wasn't sure how our betta would do with other fish--he's kind of feisty.

Thanks! It's my favorite tank to watch .

I have ours on a breakfast bar and I keep it against the wall with a hardened 2x3 under the shelf. I set it at level when I beefed it up and only see a 1/32" of deflection, so that's something to consider.

I use peat moss (presoaked), with a thin layer of laterite (for iron) over that and PFS (pool filter sand) as a cap. Works like a dream, plants love it and a few MTS keeps it clean/gas free.

Elvis gets along great with everyone, of course they know he's in charge so when he decides to hang out in a new spot, they clear out lol. If anything he hates the zebra nerite most because it doesn't give two nickels about anybody and will invade Elvis' favorite hang out at any given time lol.

 

[danolunchbox]

The 2 x 3 is a good idea (I see now in your pics)

Our breakfast bar doesn't stick out as much I don't think--I'll hafta wait until I get home to measure

It's a granite top, so I think it should be sturdy enough...The other tank I was thinking about is the PETCO aquatic gardens bookshelf aquarium (6.6 gallons). I like the length of it--would look nice across the length of the breakfast bar. But, the filter that it comes with may hafta be replaced with a quieter one, and I will have to buy additional items--C02 diffuser? heater? Not sure...

 

[danolunchbox]

Filter problems?

I started to read more about the fluval kit and it seems like people were complaining about the filter being loud?

Do you have this issue?

 

[Mr. Limpet]

I started to read more about the fluval kit and it seems like people were complaining about the filter being loud?

Do you have this issue?

Fluval's got about 10 kits that I know of and since this ones internal, there is no noise.

 

[danolunchbox]

Tank is on the way!

I ordered my fluval flora tank!! I'm pretty excited! Ordered some aquaclear biomax filter media, water conditioner, complete water test kit, and some extra sponges to start. Also ordered some extra fluval plant stratum--decided to start with that as my substrate because I like the look of it.

Stuff should arrive by wednesday this week!

My next question is about cycling the tank.

My betta is currently in a bowl, I was thinking of using some of his water to help cycle the tank...maybe dipping the filter media bag into the water to get some bacteria then adding it to one of the filter slots.

I was also thinking of picking up one fish to use for cycling--like a cory or tetras...I want to keep tetras with my betta (hopefully he gets along with them, he's pretty mellow)

Should I wait until cycling is complete to plant some plants, or do some planting first?

Advice appreciated!!!

 

[Mr. Limpet]

I ordered my fluval flora tank!! I'm pretty excited! Ordered some aquaclear biomax filter media, water conditioner, complete water test kit, and some extra sponges to start. Also ordered some extra fluval plant stratum--decided to start with that as my substrate because I like the look of it.

Stuff should arrive by wednesday this week!

My next question is about cycling the tank.

My betta is currently in a bowl, I was thinking of using some of his water to help cycle the tank...maybe dipping the filter media bag into the water to get some bacteria then adding it to one of the filter slots.

I was also thinking of picking up one fish to use for cycling--like a cory or tetras...I want to keep tetras with my betta (hopefully he gets along with them, he's pretty mellow)

Should I wait until cycling is complete to plant some plants, or do some planting first?

Advice appreciated!!!

I'd suggest canceling the fluval filter sponges, I don't even use mine (never did) because I use poly-fil and biomedia where the sponges would go and HBH filter pads in the first 2 slots.

What kind of media is in the betta bowl now and how much water/gravel/decco? If it's enough media and it's cycled now, you should be able to instant cycle the flora IMO/E.

I'm not a fan of getting fish for cycling, but you can plant right away (I always do ).

 

[danolunchbox]

Ahh my aquarium arrived shattered. Have to send back and try again! I read that this happens, of course it happens to me.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

Ahh my aquarium arrived shattered. Have to send back and try again! I read that this happens, of course it happens to me.

Bummer. You're the 2nd person it has happend to in the last couple weeks or so. I paid about $10 more for mine instore, than I saw online and glad I did .

 

[danolunchbox]

On the bright side they are sending a new one (hopefully packed better) over night shipping and they are letting us keep the broken one--which means an extra light, substrate, filter, etc. Woo!

Let's hope this one arrives intact, otherwise we'll have to go find it in a store ha!

 

[Mr. Limpet]

On the bright side they are sending a new one (hopefully packed better) over night shipping and they are letting us keep the broken one--which means an extra light, substrate, filter, etc. Woo!

Let's hope this one arrives intact, otherwise we'll have to go find it in a store ha!

That's a sweet deal, since the light alone sells for $37 at my LFS and the filter/co2 units are $20 each.

 

[danolunchbox]

Second tank has arrived and we put it together! Hooray!

I do have a question...we've added the water and the substrate and of course the water is turbid at the moment...is it all right to run the filter while the water is turbid or should we wait until the substrate settles more?

Pictures to come!

 

[Mr. Limpet]

YEAH! it came in one piece . Did they pack it better this time? lol

I'd let it settle myself since you're just starting it and even use a cup to scoop to out dirty water. When you pour, use a plate to pour on so it doesn't stir the substrate.

 

[danolunchbox]

Completed tank (2 months later)

Hi!! I completed my planted tank. It is now fully cycled and contains:
2 cory cats
4 pinnoccio shrimp
plants: 2 amazon swords, 2 anubias, some java moss attached to driftwood, a red cryptocoryne and some grasses in the front

I want to be able to add my betta shortly, but we've been on vacation so I wanted to wait until we were back so we could monitor him.

Everything is going swimmingly--the only problems we are having are the diatom algae growing on leaves (shrimps can't seem to keep up with cleaning it fast enough) and some mold/fungus problems with our driftwood.

Thinking about taking the driftwood out to scrape the mold off, but others seems to say it's natural and will go away after a few weeks or months. It's quite unsightly though!

Here's a photo from a couple weeks ago:

Here's a link to my build:

http://flickr.com/gp/danoraptor/0R05X3/

Thanks for all the help on building a wonderful tank!