My New 12 Gallon Nano Cube DX (Freshwater)

[Brian_Nano12g]

Just got this 12 Gallon Nano Cube from Dr. Fosters & Smith with a free stand and $30 gift certificate for liveaquaria.com (all for around $180). For now it's just going to be used for FW. I don't intend (at least for the time being) it to be a planted aquarium. Instead, I'm using artificial silk plants purchased from Petco. I highly recommend them if you don't want to use real plants and want something that looks more realistic than the plastic plants.

Here are some pics in it's cycling phase. I started off with the fishless cycling but got real bored. So instead I added some rock and media from a friends well established tank and added some API Stress Zyme to boost the bacteria filter. After 4 days from when I got the tank I added 2 hardy Cherry Barbs (Puntius Titteya) which seem to have acclimated well to the conditions. They have a lot of personality for such little fish. They're swimming around and eating so they seem to be happy. I thought at first that the current coming out of the power head might be too strong for little fish, but these little guys seem to periodically enjoy swimming against the current.

I want to test the water but I'm still waiting for my Master Test Kit that I ordered online ($18 @ Walmart). Hopefully everything works out well. When the tank matures a bit, I intend to add 2 Dwarf Cichlids (either Rams or Agassizis) and some Neons.

Here are the pics:

And 2 videos my GF and I made :

NO FISH... DAY 1
YouTube - My New Nano Cube 12 Gallon DX - Cycling Day 1

2 CHERRY BARBS... DAY 4
YouTube - Nano Cube 12 Gallon DX - Cherry Barbs Added

 

[wolffish]

Awwww they are so cute and i congratulate you for setting up a really awsome tank i already have two and them combined dont even stand up to how cool you tank is. I hope you have good luck with it in the future.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Thank you wolffish! Planted aquariums are awesome too, when they're done right. I just don't have the time to maintain them and I just want something that was better than plastic plants (IMO)... I'm really diggin' the silk ones. Also, something about the lights that came with the JBJ Nano Cube give off this intense light with a blue hue that really make the plant color pop. I can't wait to get some colorful fish in there aside from the barbs to see how the colors shine on them as well.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

UPDATE:

Just picked up the API Freshwater Kit today from Walmart. It only took about a week from when I ordered it to pick it up. Everywhere that I've seen so far at the LFS (i.e. Petco & Petsmart) sell this kit for around $30+. I picked this up from walmart.com (here) for $17.64 (plus tax). It's free shipping from site-to-store pick-up if you live by a Walmart. On the site, it doesn't specify that it is an "API" test kit.. but it sure is!

It has 800 tests in the kit so it's well worth the money so go get it! Here's the pic:

 

[Zjovana]

I love your tank! It looks awesome. Your fish are so cute. I actually ordered that test kit from Walmart a few days ago and I chose the site to store option. Might as well save some more money! I wanted to buy it at Petsmart because I didn't really want to wait for it, but it was something like $33. Good luck with your tank! I just set mine up about 3 weeks ago and I have some neon tetras in it. They all seem to be doing well.

 

[Etunes]

lol, a nano FW. Never thought of it, looks nice though.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Neons or Cardinals?

I just set mine up about 3 weeks ago and I have some neon tetras in it. They all seem to be doing well.

That's good to hear that your neons are doing well with a 3 week old tank. I want to get some neons so bad but from what I've been reading EVERYWHERE, they are very sensitive and require well established tanks (meaning properly cycled) to thrive. Are they still doing well? What's your secret to get your tank going so fast - especially for the Neons? haha...

I'm waiting for my tank to mature then I'll get some tetras. I'm actually considering the Cardinals over the Neons because from what I've been reading as well, they are a bit hardier than the Neons. I just hope when time comes, they have them at the LFS. I have a feeling they're not as readily available as the Neons because they don't breed easily in captivity.

 

[mfdrookie516]

neons in general are just a weak fish. From what ive heard, they used to be alot better, but now theyre just not the quality they used to be. probably inbreeding had alot to do with it

 

[Zjovana]

That's good to hear that your neons are doing well with a 3 week old tank. I want to get some neons so bad but from what I've been reading EVERYWHERE, they are very sensitive and require well established tanks (meaning properly cycled) to thrive. Are they still doing well? What's your secret to get your tank going so fast - especially for the Neons? haha...

I'm waiting for my tank to mature then I'll get some tetras. I'm actually considering the Cardinals over the Neons because from what I've been reading as well, they are a bit hardier than the Neons. I just hope when time comes, they have them at the LFS. I have a feeling they're not as readily available as the Neons because they don't breed easily in captivity.

They're still alive! I really wish I would have done a fishless cycle before I got any fish. But unfortunately I didn't find this forum until after I already got the fish. I've been doing PWC daily and I've been testing the water daily also. I wasn't a big fan of the neon tetras when I saw them but my boyfriend and sister practically begged me to get them. They act like little kids sometimes.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Update: The cycle was stalling so I added a bottle of live bacteria called Tetra Safe Start, which contains Bio-Spira patented strains of beneficial bacteria. My stocking roster in the tank is: 3 Cherry Barbs, 2 Otocinclus, and 2 German Blue Rams.

The Rams are really awesome! They are truly the stars of the tank. My girlfriend took some pics of them, so here they are:

The male & female, Jack & Jill:

The female:

The male:

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

New video: YouTube - German Blue Ram - Nano Cube 12g.MOV

 

[Etunes]

Nice. Especially the music.