Nano 55 Build

[Funkmotor]

The idea for this tank is high-tech and nano fish only.  I'm looking for suggestions on lighting, fish, plants...whatever comes to mind.  At this point there's not even water in the thing, so anything goes.

I've already got the tank, obviously, an Eheim 2215 canister, Hydor 200W inline heater, pressurized CO2 rig (still need some sort of diffuser) and 5 bags of eco-complete.  I've got some funky driftwood bits (roots, really, but they're leaching out nicely in water right now), some pieces of granite and I'll put together a few hidey-holes with some black ABS pipe I've got kicking around.

I'll also be putting insulation under the tank to keep the substrate at a decent temp.

What I don't know for sure is whether I should go for some specific 'style' of tank, or if I should just carefully freeform things as I go.

For starters, I'll put in hardy plants like val (corkscrew if I can get some) and whatever else is fast-growing and available.  From there, I'll move up to tougher stuff like Cabomba, Ludwigia and - my own holy grail - HC.  I reckon as long as I have enough light, CO2 and ferts, I should be okay with all of them as long as the tank is mature enough when I introduce them.  And, really, anything that displays a colour other than green is on the list somewhere.  (There's also Aponogeton Madagascariensis, but I harbour no illusions of being able to just drop that one in there.)

As for water, I've got an RO/DI system that I can put to use here to make water as soft as I like.  I'm worried about Chloramine so although I'd allow for more than zero TDS with this setup I'll still be using Prime to prep my water.  (I think the initial fill will be straight-up tap water + Prime, as I'll probably change enough of it out before a single fish goes in that it won't make a difference.  I'll be doing a fishless cycle and establishing plants before a single fish hits water.)

Any tips on Ottawa water are welcome...I suppose if I could just use it +Prime then that would be much simpler.

The only light I have right now is a 48" 8-tube ATI Powermodule, which is patently useless on this tank.  I was thinking a 4-tube T5 setup would provide me with a nice choice of bulbs and plenty of PAR for even the most demanding plants.  I've had metal halides (too hot!), power compacts (too pricey!), T8's and all the rest, and T5 looks pretty good to me.  Fixtures can be had for decent prices as well.

And because people love pics and I do too, here's the first two:

The tank is placed in the front room of the house, and I'm a bit concerned about sunlight hitting it but there's not really anywhere else to put it.  (That room is cool in the summer anyway.)

Here's the tank from the front:


And from the back, looking out from the other room.

[daworldisblack]

Wow pretty excited for this build! Some thoughts on some of the things that jumped at me:

- Diffuser: the Fluval 88g system ceramic diffuser works really well I find! Not expensive either

- Lighting: I think 8 bulbs would be crazy over kill - the 4-bulb fixture sounds more feasible; even then you'd have to raise it a fair amount over the tank. I'd say start higher then lower as necessary. There is a thread on the Planted Tank Forum that would be helpful wrt this.

- Livestock: I liked Fishnut's suggestions on the other thread! You have to get large enough numbers of each to have any impact though :p

- Background: Vinyl Black gets my vote! Makes plants and fishes pop! You can use vinyl (a few of us tried the stick-on vinyl signage from DeSerres and it works awesome! Easy to apply as well - just do it before you put in anything into the tank to make life easier )

- Plants : high-tech setup allows you the ability to try a wider variety of plants so no limits there. Something quick-growing to start with would help while your tank settles.

- Ferts: You'd definitely need to dose ferts with this set-up. Either directly into the water column or pre-made solutions. EI or PPS-Pro get my vote!

- Flow: With a tank this size, maybe some extra flow is necessary so that no algae gets ahold in dead spots where the spray bar isn't reaching. But with nano fish, you'd have to look at ways to prevent them from getting minced by propellers (assuming your solution is a powerhead or two)? This is just a thought but probably other's would be able to chime in. The guys at AI don't even use the spray bar apparently - they use lilly pipes - but personally I like the spray bar. A suggestion is to have it on the side panels as opposed to the back so that flow goes length wise. I see that potentially you might even need an extra filter or a 2217 or higher since they provide better flow as well. Over-filtration ain't such a bad thing either. Again others will probably chime in here but just a thought

I can't wait to see how this develops!

[Funkmotor]

Well, I could get a 2217 - what I have is still in the box, unopened.  I've run a heavily populated tank this size on a 2213 before and had good results, though (this from my last f/w tank in January 2007):

(Yes, that's a pair of Boesemani in the front.  I think I had 6 rainbows in there, 7 or 8 clown loaches that I kept saving, 20 or so neons, a big pleco, about a thousand ghost shrimp and a few other bits and bobs. This tank ran on a 4' fixture with 2 T5's and 2 150W MH's.)

I do have three EcoTech MP10's I could put to use, but even one of those would probably be overkill even on low speed.  There's a 'filter' you can put on them though, foam that stretches around it to avoid sucking littlies in there.  Just worried that it would gunk up over a short period of time...but they're sitting in a box so I might try one.

I also wasn't going to put a background on the tank at all and leave it visible from all sides...also light would come out on all sides.  I know fish need a place to hide, so the idea was to keep the plants more toward the center of the tank, but hopefully to have enough room to keep an open space in the interior.

With the plants toward the middle it might be work to avoid a circular 'toilet bowl' kind of flow, but I suppose I can deal with that if it comes to it.

That Fluval diffuser looks decent...and it's certainly cheap.  Might be good enough to get rolling before I switch all the plumbing out for clear tubing and glass!

Just about to start checking out the CO2 rig...it looks pretty nasty on the outside but I think it's still good!

[exv152]

If I were to buy new lighting I'd look into getting something LED for several reasons. Up to now LEDs for planted tanks haven't been strong enough but marineland and finnex have come out with some nicer HO options. The 48" finnex ray II DS at 7000k has an estimated PAR of about 60 micromols at 21". Which would be ideal for your setup. http://www.finnex.net/index.php?page=shop.product_details&flypage=flypage.tpl&product_id=321&category_id=4&option=com_virtuemart&Itemid=61 Otherwise I'd suggest a T5HO like a catalina or a tek light. Also, the co2 cylinder might need to be re-hydro tested since it looks like it hasn't been used in the last five years, and I'd do a leak with soapy water on the regulator. As for a diffuser the fluval ceramic should work, but with a 55g I would even suggest an inline diffuser for better co2 diffusion, or a DIY reactor. Good co2 diffusion tends to be a challenge in larger tanks like yours. Inline diffusers can be bought online - ebay or amazon.

[Funkmotor]

So that Finnex one...they say it's the same as 3 T5's, so I'd probably only want the one - especially if it was putting out good PAR.  And 7000K is just a twitch more blue than natural daylight, so that wouldn't be bad, either.  Am I far off?

Still not altogether certain about LED's, but I'll give them a look.  I can't find a Canadian dealer, though...do you know of one?

And don't worry about the regulator.  It looks a bit rough but it just needs some brasso or something.  I've leak tested it and it's fine (needle valve still works!), and the intention is to just run it until it's empty...acquiring replacements in the meantime.

[Fishnut]

I'm not really a plant person but I've grown my fair share of algaes over the years because of lighting mistakes. I would have to agree that 8 lights is over kill.  I'm also not convinced that the LED's are quite there as far as being bright enough for lush plant growth.  IMO the price of them also doesn't warrant an experiment either.  If I were you I would go with what I know works.

My tank is very short and I don't add CO2.  I have vals, crypts, some moss and a few other plants that I'm trying.  Nothing that needs CO2 and lots of light.  I only have 2 bulbs over mine...low light essentially.  I forget what the bulbs add up to as far as watts per gallon.  I grow duckweed quite well also

I'm more into the fish   What kinds of species are you thinking of adding?

[Funkmotor]

Oh, I love duckweed...the really small, dwarf variety.  Had some in my last tank and it ate up the surface scum quite nicely.

And, no, that 8-tube light is going nowhere near the 55...it's a big saltwater light meant to go on a 250!

As for fish, I'm not sure.  I do like the Celestial Pearls...lots of colour for a f/w fish, and I like German Blue Rams.  Had a pair of those before and it broke my heart to part with them.  I reckon in a 55 I'd have lots of room for 2-3 Rams to do just fine.

I wonder what the smallest fish you can get are, that have at least a bit of colour?

What I'm not sure about are cleaner-types.  I like Oto's, but they don't seem to do a lot.  Dwarf Cory cats can be nice, and I like Clown loaches but they grow too large for what I'm after.  Shrimp, definitely, as long as they work for their keep.

I've just been watching a video about an Iwagumi build...not that I'd do that, but there does seem to be a lot I need to absorb before I can even start pouring sand.

[fischkopp]

Duckweed is a pain in a planted tank, anything that covers the surface for that matter, as it block the light and tend to grow very, very fast.

Otocinclus are probably the most reliable surface feeders out there, better than bushynose plecos, without adding tom much to the bioload. They will take care of any soft algae buildup.

Take a look at apistogramma as well. I prefer them over rams, but it's not easy to find some nicer species nowadays.

[sas]

CPD are my favorites as well. A nice large school in a well planted tank with
a few clumps of java moss on driftwood about midway in the tank, so the CPD would be darting in and out spawning. makes for a very active tank.
Then some otos and a large school of some type of small cory. Adolfois are my
fav.

[exv152]

Traditionally LEDs have not been strong enough to grow plants, but these and a few others only available online (US) are revolutionary in terms of growing plants. SW enthusiats that grow corals also report awesome results. Currently the best LEDs are the finnex, current usa truelumen pro, kessil a150 amazon sun etc are all as good as T5HO, and they save on energy. Also the 7000k is because they also include red and blue diodes. But no Canadian dealers carry any of them. As for the regulator, it sounds like  you know what you're doing and you're well on your way. Keep us posted.

[Jeff1192]

I decided to try a Marineland LED fixture on my 15 gallon low tech planted tank. It's been running on my tank for about 6 months now and I get really good growth for a low tech tank. I'm convinced that they work for planted tanks....but they are expensive.

If you decide you want to go LED I'd look at US pricing. When I bought my T5HO fixture 5yrs ago I ended paying half by ordering it in the US and having it shipped to Ogdensburg.

Jeff

Just thought I'd mention....this is my 1000th post.....haha. Guess that means I spend too much time here!

[Peekay]

Love the title... I was sure you'd stuttered the '5'.. most nano tanks are NOT 55G!

My favourite cleaning crew is Otos and Amano shrimp.  The Amanos are workhorses, and the otos?  I never see them during the day unless I search carefully, but they always have big full bellies in my algae buffet of a planted tank.    I have seen places with Chinese Algae Eaters labelled as Otos, in which case they wouldn't do much. 

Looking forward to seeing the build.  The best ones are the ones where the people start thinking far enough ahead to show an empty tank as the first photo. 
Good luck!

[Funkmotor]

Love the title... I was sure you'd stuttered the '5'.. most nano tanks are NOT 55G!

This is true.  I thought of using Pico at first.  I suppose what I'm after - and that I haven't really realized until reading that - is a tank that conveys a sense of scale beyond the size of itself.  (I watched a ton of build videos last night...all kinds.)

Nano tanks have small things in them because they have to.  I want this one to have small things in it because by doing so it will make the whole thing seem way bigger than it really is.

By using striking nano-scale fish (Chili Rasboras, anyone?) and small but strong features in the 4 foot tank, I might be able to accomplish that.

I do like wood, and I have a fair bit that could be made to look out of scale, and I think all I'd need are some decent rocks to go with.  Preferably ones that won't cost me an arm and a leg.

Then for plants, keep everything dwarf and low except for perhaps one focal point in among wood and stone.  I'd want that to be one spectacular plant.

I'm still turning it over in my mind, and while it forms up I'll keep acquiring equipment.

[daworldisblack]

By using striking nano-scale fish (Chili Rasboras, anyone?) and small but strong features in the 4 foot tank, I might be able to accomplish that.

Chilli Rasboras are prettty darn awesome! I have about 18 in my 9.2G nano and it is pretty sweet. You'd have to get them in the hundreds for a 55G haha.

Then for plants, keep everything dwarf and low except for perhaps one focal point in among wood and stone.  I'd want that to be one spectacular plant.

As for a focal point plant, a Crinium Calamistratum? They look pretty awesome.. or a crypt Balansae. They grow taller and would be 'gigantic' in comparison to your other nano tanks

[Fishnut]

LOVE chili rasboras!!  I have a bunch in my tank with the Celestial Pearl Danios.  I need more though.  You'll probably want to get a really large number of them.  I started with 20, some died over the past year and I think I'm down to a dozen.  I can still see the specks of red nicely but my tank is smaller.  

One thing I would suggest when planning your set-up is that Celestial Pearl Danios and Chili Rasboras both need something tall and dense to hide in.  It makes them feel much more secure.  I'll take a pic of my tank to post when the lights come on so you can see.  My CPD's hide more in the vals but they do come out and swim in the open.  The Chili rasboras tend to hover under anything floating at the surface or they're in the vals with the CPD's.  

Amano shrimp are the greatest clean up crew IMO.  I would choose them over otto cats any day just because they're interesting.  They eat hair algae and all kinds of things so they tend to be a more versatile cleaner.  The only thing is that they're going to look so big next to all the teeny fish!!

There are quite a few interesting species of little rasbora out there now that have recently been discovered in various areas of Myanmar.  I saw yet another one in Critter Jungle a few weeks ago.  It looks like a bloodfin tetra but it was tiny and the shape of a CPD.  There's also the Blue Axelrod Rasbora...although they didn't do well for me and I've never seen them locally.  So far I haven't found a micro species of fish that likes to spend most of it's time swimming in the open.  Can't blame them I guess!!

You know...since you're going to have CO2 and some great lighting, why not try a madagascar Laceleaf plant as your focal point?!!  I've been trying but I'm not having any luck.  It would fit in well with the little fish as well because they should not be in a heated tank.

[exv152]

I have a dozen chili rasboras (b. brigittae) and 2 boraras merah, and although I love them, I think they are best suited for a species only tank. In my experience they do not do well with other even slightly larger fish, they tend to hide and not eat. Even a slightly bosterous fish can make them shy away from swimming in the open, and they're easy pray for bullying given their size. So I keep them with some lemon tetra fry, cherry and amano shrimp and they do very well. If you're thinking of doing a mixed community, I would not recommend this fish. Especially not with larger SA cichlids like german rams.

[Funkmotor]

Well, how about Chili's *or* Celestials (given what might be available) and shrimp...and nothing more.

No Rams, no cats of any sort, nothing else.

I've had Ghost Shrimp before and they were rather unobtrusive...not to mention that their numbers grew as needed to keep the tank clean.  Other shrimp look better, perhaps, but won't be able to breed in f/w.

But here's the thing...I like warm 'tropical' water because the plants grow better in it.  And this is more about plants to me than fish (I know, heresy) ... but the fish bring life and movement.  So I think I'll have to check that out a bit better.

Though the Madagascar Laceleaf is a tempting proposition...and it would perhaps make a nice centrepiece.

[Funkmotor]

As for a focal point plant, a Crinium Calamistratum?

That is an interesting plant.  I've seen them before and they are quite neat with that kind of messed-up growth pattern and the wavy leaves.  Very interesting...

[76brian]

This is true.  I thought of using Pico at first.  I suppose what I'm after - and that I haven't really realized until reading that - is a tank that conveys a sense of scale beyond the size of itself.  (I watched a ton of build videos last night...all kinds.)

Nano tanks have small things in them because they have to.  I want this one to have small things in it because by doing so it will make the whole thing seem way bigger than it really is.

I really like that idea. I look forward to seeing the progress.

...as if I didn't already have enough of a problem making up my mind what I want to do! lol

[exv152]

This is true.  I thought of using Pico at first.  I suppose what I'm after - and that I haven't really realized until reading that - is a tank that conveys a sense of scale beyond the size of itself.  (I watched a ton of build videos last night...all kinds.)...

If you have your heart set on small scale then I recommend looking at finer leafed plants (like HC, glosso, UG) and finer detailed rocks, like seiryu stone (google it), and of course, smaller fish like cardinal tetras that have tons of colour and like warmer water, or the other micro species rasboras but they tend to be hard to find locally.