Fluval Chi Shrimp Tank log

[JokerWx13]

Not my first tank, but this is my first tank with co2, so i'm kinda green, still playing around with the system. This is gonna be a shrimp only tank with otocinclus catfish, and that's about it. Need help deciding what plants to fill in though. Was thinking S. Repens in the back left and A. Reineckii in the back right, and Downoi in the Center-Left, if you think something else would look better there, please let me know :3

Here are some pics!
Dry-started the Dwarf Baby Tears for around a month while I was rushing to finish my co2 set-up

Since then, nothing much has changed in the aquascape, except me filling in the hole at the top of the mountain with substrate and the DBT filling out nicely

12/13/14 - Bought some Fissidens Fontanus to put on edges of the overhang on the cliff (Anyplace that had light shining over instead of the shadow of the mountain). Really bad at gluing so I hope the FF will fill out and cover the glue stain >.> And this heater is really clunky....Was wondering if anyone had an idea of a way to regulate the temp without such a big heater....
Also moved some of the sand on the right over to expose some of the rock, giving me another spot to plant

Additional Angle (Front View and Right-Side View are the only sides that will be looked at)

 

[Fishobsessed7]

Nice!


Fishobsessed7

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Looking good.. I like the plan so far. That HC filled in nicely from the DSM. Not much you can do with the heater because other in-tank options will be just as apparent. Only other option isn't cheap and it involves inline heaters and a canister filter.

 

[FishCr8zy]

Looks great! The baby tears have filled in nicely. What shrimps do you plan to get?

 

[JokerWx13]

I do have a canister filter! It's sitting just right of the tank, you can kinda see it through the cloudy-ish water. (Anyway to fix that at the moment?) Don't know if I want to invest in an inline heater...Poor college kids have to eat too

Planning on Blue Pearl Shrimp for now, possibly expanding into a second species of shrimp (that won't interbreed) So I can enjoy 2 colors at once

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Yeah I understand.. same reason I use 25w hydor theo heaters in my nano tanks. Just have to get creative in concealing them behind taller plants or lay it horizontally close to the substrate behind the hardscape.

 

[Mattfinn]

I don't know if you were going to do this but maybe a black background will help conceal the heater. Make it blend in....

Of course you probably have to find a plant to put in right above the stone that makes a clear definition of the stone so that it doesn't blend in....

 

[JokerWx13]

That's a good idea. Maybe I'll take some posterboard/construction paper to put as a backdrop. As for plants on top of the stone, any idea of plants that wouldn't need to be dug into the substrate? Don't really know about anubias since its leaves are pretty broad (unless there are smaller leaved species), any others out there? (no java fern please...)

 

[Coyne]

You may not need a heater at all depending on what you're putting in there.
I've got a 3g Fluval with just Cherry Shrimp and no heater.


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[Coursair]

My CRS/RCS tank doesn't have a heater. My bedroom is well insulated. Running about 70f on a cold day here.


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[brennae]

Anubias Petite Nana

 

[JokerWx13]

I'm planning on getting Blue Pearl shrimp, or cheap Blue Pearls (that are barely blue) and just start selectively breeding them. How well insulated is your house? The heat at my house is only around 60-65 degrees on average

 

[JokerWx13]

It's a little worse for wear, but is this Anubias Petite Nana?

 

[brennae]

sure looks like it

 

[JokerWx13]

Alright, found 2 hitchhikers in my tank. Confirmed to be Rabbit snails. What should I do with them? The internet gives me varied answers so I don't know what to think of them.

 

[JokerWx13]

Been pretty busy with work the past month so here's a little update!

Added Limnophila Aromatica in the backleft corner and A.R mini in the backright. There's some Staruogyne Repens in a crevice at the top of the ''mountain'' but it's hard to see until it's grown upwards a little. Might be time to trim the baby tears back a bit.

I have some Blue Pearl culls in there that I'm looking to breed out eventually and there was a surprise last week when I found some cherry barb fry free-swimming. I suspect it may've come in the leaves of the A.R mini

 

[brennae]

Your tank looks great!

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[JokerWx13]

Thanks!

I'm starting to notice a slow creep of Staghorn algae coming and I have no idea how to even attempt getting rid of it. :T Might be because the flow in my tank is pretty weak?

 

[brennae]

I know little about algae. I dose excel daily in my algae tank. It's a 6g and I have hair algae. The excel is helping get rid of it.

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[Brian_Nano12g]

Wow.. very nice update! I kinda like how the HC is overgrown a bit and creeping over the edge down toward the sand. BTW, that limno aromatica looks fantastic. I wish, when I had that plant, it colored up that red. Where and when did you get it? I suspect it'll eventually grow green under that bluish LED.