Joe

I've sort of decided on something a little bigger - 52x26x31cm. I don't want to go too big, or then I'll only be allowed 2 tanks - a big high-tech one plus one smaller one. If I stick to something smaller, I'll be allowed 2 nanos plus the big tank. The ADA ones are really cool sizes, but for my first nano I want something bigger, and I'll work my way down as I gain more knowledge and experiecne in keeping nano aquariums. That's a 200 liter tank!!! Can somebody give me an answer to this?

Updates?

OK. Is 60x30x30 a nano size though? The whole point is that the tank is meant to be a nano.

What does high light do to the water chemistry that makes it hard to maintain? Is it true that H. polysperma grows really short in high light?

Hi guyz, I've heard that Hygro. polysperma grows really short and compact under high light. Is this true? I'm planning to set up a 50x25x25cm nano, and I was thinking of putting Sunset polysperma in it. For lighting I was thinking of 2x T5 30cm 8watt PowerGlos, and a couple of power compacts - 1 at each end of the tank - since the PowerGlos don't span the whole length of the tank. Joe

Ok. Thanks guys. I'll have a look at Caryl's FX5 then. I had another look in my Eheim Product book, and it said that the Pro. 3 1200 can fit 12 liters of media. But two Fluvals for the price of 1 Eheim sounds quite good, so I'll probably end up getting a couple of Fluvals. They sell Eheim Substrat Pro at the petshop here, and it's quite a good price too, so I'll get some of that when I'm ready. I'm going to try and find an Eheim Classis 250 2213, and gather the rest of the bits I need, so I can set up the first nano tank. It's going to be something like 50x25x25cm, and made out of OpyiWhite Glass. I'm thinking of using a couple of 8 watt T5 PowerGlos for the lighting. They're 30cm, so I'll also have a power compact on each side of the tank, since the powerglos don't run the whole length of the tank. You can get PowerGlos that are like 47cm or something, except they're T8, and I want T5s, which only come in 30cm. The next size up is 55cm. I'm going to put Ember Tetras in it

Looks wonderful

Thanks Caryl. I'll come and have a look at it. How long has it been in the box like that for? I remember you posted something else somewhere about an Eheim Wet/Dry filter that was in its box for ages, and then when used lasted only six months. Will the Fluval be perfectly fine? ????? Could I also just get the Eheim Substrat Pro and put it in the Fluval?

I make the money myself. I used to keep and race pigeons, but I gave them to my dad (he really likes them), who works in Nelson during the week, and comes home in the weekends. I get $10 a week for looking after them, plus I can't say to kids at school that I have pigeons, cause I don't now, and so now I don't get teased about having them anymore (kid seemed to think there was something wrong with me keeping pigeons, and that it's abnormal, and I should do sports instead. I HATE sport! I find it boring). I also have aviary birds that I breed and sell. My Turquoisine hen is sitting on 7 eggs! Hopefully most of them hatch and I get baby Turks. I'll then sell the offspring for $20 each. I also always have Ringneck Doves for sale - $10 each. I NEVER ask my parents for presents for my birthday or Xmas - they just give me money, because they know I'll just spend it on my hobbies, and they wouldn't know what presents to get me. My grandparents always give me money more my birthday and Xmas too. I'm putting the big high-tech tank project on hold, and I'm going to deal with the nanos first. They will be cheaper, easier to set up, plus I won't need CO2 on the small one, and on the bigger one I can have a small DIY system rigged up with a Pollen Glass diffuser. It will also be quicker to get all the bits for them. I really like nanos. The other reason I'm putting the other project off is because I'm scared about earthquakes, and a 350liter rimless tank in an earthquake is not a good look. For the 350liter, I really want to get a filter of superior quality, that has a large filter volume. I'm big on Bio filtration (not undergravel though), and I'll probably fill the big filter (either an Eheim or Fluval; still can't decide!) with Eheim Substrat Pro. I'm going to make surface skimmers (hopefully I can get custom-made glass ones) for the big filter, so I don't have gunk on the surface (cause it's going to be an open-top tank, so without skimmers the surface will be choked with gunk). I will use my CF1000 to do mechanical filtration, so that won't need a surface skimmer attached to the inlet. By the way, I'm still saving money for the projects. I don't have it all yet.

Wow that looks cool! It's WWWAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY beyong my budget though. How many liters of water does the Fluval FX5 hold? The Eheim Pro. 3 1200 holds 25 liters. Eheim Pro. 3 1200 flow output is 1700 lph. The Fluval does 3420 lph. That seems quite strong. I had a talk to mum about getting two Fluvals. Just like I imagined, she said no, because of all the power cables and stuff, and she wants me to try and keep that to an absolute minimum. I have to say, I REALLY like Eheims too. They look much nicer than the Fluval. But I've also heard a lot of good things about Fluvals too. WHICH ONE DO I CHOOSE :lol: Also, what is up with that box-like thing at the botton of the FX5 canister that I saw in a photo when I has on the HFF website? That sort of puts me off getting one. I think the Eheim has a really nice, neat-looking design. The Fluvals all bulky-looking. But they're both VERY good, exept the Fluval is cheaper and uglier. Oh one more question. I was looking at the Eheim Pro. 3e 700. Are these really good and reliable, or are normal Eheims more reliable?

Thanks for the help guys. Those Fluvals sound good. Plus I have my Aqua One CF1000. I'm not sure if mum would be happy with all the cables though... (3 for filters, 2 for thermostats, 1 for lighting, and 1 for pressurised CO2, to turn it on in the morning and off at night). As you can see, I'll be saving my money for quite a while to purchase all that stuff! It's going to be a really cool high-tech nature aquarium. Will electronic heat pads be sufficient for the nanos (especially the smaller one)? If not, is there any reliable way of heating them without thermostats? I can live with thermostats in the big tank (I'll probably get 2 Fluval 300 heaters), but they are so obvious in the nanos.

It depends on the size of the tank, and what species you are interested in.

I like P44's way! Very easy and effecient. Neons are used for live food (as are guppies) as well as cycling tanks. I wouldn't mind breeding a few for my other fish if I was allowed more tanks.

Apistogramma "Steel Blue" are just as nice as agassizii, and you can buy them from $20-30 a pair. Trifasciata are nicer than steel blues, and they're about $50 a pair. Eunotus are realitavely cheap too, and they're really nice. Macmasteri aren't too expensive either, but they don't look very good. They have quite muddy colouration. Laetacara curviceps, or Dwarf Flags, are nicer looking than some Apistos, and grow to about 8cm, and you can get good-quality fish for as little as $10 a pair!

Ok. Thanks for the info I'll just have to put up with annoying thermostats then! Are the other Eheim filters without the integrated heating good, like the Classics and Pro. 3 1200? Or do they have similar problems like the thermofilters?

Sup peoplez, I was thinking of getting a tank 115x60x55cm (but I'm not sure now after the ChCh earthquake), and I was looking at Eheim thermofilters. I like the Eheim Pro. 3 1200XLT (2180). Yes I know that sounds overkill for a tank that size, but I'd prefer to have a bigger filter, because sometimes fish spawn and there is all of a sudden lots of fry, and I'd like to have super-clear water. The reason for a thermofilter is so it eliminates having an unsightly thermostat in the aquarium. I also like the Eheim Pro. 3e 700, because of all the cool settings it has, but it doesn't come as a thermofilter I'm also getting two nano aquariums, one 30x20x25cm (or maybe a bit bigger ), and the other 50x25x30cm. I want an Eheim Classic 150 (2211) for the first, but you can't get it as a thermofilter version, and the smallest Eheim thermofilter has a high flow rate (500l/h) that is far too much for a tank that small. For the second tank, I was thinking of an Eheim Pro 150T (2322), but I would prefer an Eheim Classic 250 (2213), but you can't get a thermofilter version either. So basically my point is, I don't want to clutter up my tanks with heaters, are Eheim thermofilters any good (are they known to be faulty? I know Eheim's a good brand, but I have heard of some Eheim products - heaters and filters - to be faulty sometimes, or not last long), and I think some of the thermofilters are too big for the nanos, but I don't want heaters taking up space. Could I get a heatpad to go underneath the nanos, and then I can use the smaller Eheim filters? Please help me out! I'm rather confuzzled!

Oh. Sometime's it's hard to tell if someone is being sarcastic when they write something, because you aren't there to listen to the expression of their voice.

For the substrate, you can put JBL Aquabasis Plus underneath the top substrate. As others have said, Dalton's Propagating sand is good. Personally I just get beach sand (it has lots of ground-up shells in it), but I have a lot of bogwood in my tanks which helps lower the pH or something. JBL Aquabasis Plus is really good from what I've heard, plus it doesn't cost too much either. If you don't want Aquabasis, you can use root balls, but a nutritious substrate would be better, because then all the plants benefit. If you wanted to just use root balls, but give nutrients to all your plants, you'd need an awful lot of root balls. You can also use API laterite, in conjunction with the Aquabasis, which is rich in iron, so it's great for crypts and red plants. It's rather costly though. Dalton's Aquatic Mix is another option, but just make sure it doesn't get stirred up, or the water will be cloudy forever! Make sure you have a large layer of sand if you're using it. I've also heard of some people using mineralized topsoil. Use DIY CO2 for your tank. It is GREAT for the plants. Use a Pollen Glass Nano diffuser to diffuse it sufficiently into the water.

I thought Eheims were really good quality. So if they're not really that good then, what is the best filter you could possibly get?

Apistos? They are really cool. My personal favourite is A. trifasciata. They are very hardy, and are a great begginner's fish too. Don't listen to all the stuff you read in books and on the net about Apistos. They are wonderful, tough little fish.

Good job saving the hongsloi fry. That sucks about the other fish though, especially the agassizii fry and the shellies

Ember Tetras are really cool, and grow to only 2cm. You could easily fit a shoal of 35 in that sized tank. Other possibilities are Emerald Dwarf Danios (Danio erythromicron), Celestial Pearl Danios (Danio margaritatus. They are quite expensive though), Glowlight Danios and White Cloud Mountain Minnows. Try to get something other than neons, platies, swords, guppies etc. I think unique fish are much more pleasurable. You'll find that livebearers will get quite boring after a short while, unless you're interested in breeding colour strains etc, which sounds quite fun. I'll have to try it one day. All of the fish I've mentioned above are very hardy, and they are perfect begginner's fish, and are great if you want something a little different. Good luck.

I like bristlenoses. They are cool. I have three of the golden ones. I got them when they were really little, and they are HUGE now! (about 8-10cm for the males, and about 7cm for the female)

Wow! Rummynoses will look wicked! How many are you planning for the shoal?

I LOVE YOUR TANK!!! The ferns and moss look great. Although I think you should ditch the guppies, platies and neons (they look tacky) and add a large shoal of Congo Tetras. They would look epic. Or you could add a REALLY LARGE shoal of Rasbora agilis...