# the CHEAPEST nature aquarium! -journal-



## jassar (Jul 30, 2006)

Hello all!
Many people dream of owning an ADA aquarium but don't have the money (like me :biggrin: ), so here's the story of this "cheap" tank:
Once upon a time (forgive my english please, lol ) a relative of mine asked me to build her an aquarium just like mine, but she wanted it to be as cheap as possible..Well I saved the day! I went to a guy who builds tanks for LFSs here in Amman and I ordered a small ( 60cm in length ) rimless tank. He built it for me for just 10$ U.S !! 
Then I collected some good looking rocks from a nearby mountain area, and got all the important equipment ( heater, a small Jebo filter and a cool looking aquarium lamp )
The whole project costed about 30 U.S dollars so far! 
And now the pics:

*The rocks:*









*the gravel ( hard ferts-pills- were added later ): *









*Tank with lamp and small filter( I wish I got a bigger one but money is an issue! ):*









First rock arrangement ( I changed it later ):









*Plants in then I started to fill the tank:*









*Done!*









*After filling with water I took these shots:*




































More pics are coming soon..
Cheers!
Jassar


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

That's a pretty sweet setup for $30.00 USD. 

Are you going to setup some DIY CO2 for it as well?


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## jassar (Jul 30, 2006)

Ah yes I will, I just forgot to mention that!
-Jassar


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## MikeD (Feb 26, 2006)

A nice tank, but when the plants will grow, it´ll just look much prettier.
Will you put a Background in the back, because right now it dont looks so nice with the cabels etc.


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

I doesn't look cheap!... Nice job


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## Anti-Pjerrot (Mar 12, 2006)

Be aware that thouse rock possibly contain calciumcarbonate and could mess up the kH/gH when introducing CO2 - 
but 30bucks - really nice tank.


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## jassar (Jul 30, 2006)

Thank you all!



> Will you put a Background in the back, because right now it dont looks so nice with the cabels etc.


You are right MikeD, I might add a white bg or fix the position of the wires so that they will not show.



> I doesn't look cheap!... Nice job


Thanks alote trenac 



> Be aware that thouse rock possibly contain calciumcarbonate and could mess up the kH/gH when introducing CO2 -
> but 30bucks - really nice tank.


I don't know if these rocks do mess up the KH/GH with CO2, I never check actually[smilie=s: , but I have used the same type of rocks on other aquariums with great success

Cheers :wave:


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## tfmcder (Feb 22, 2006)

$30...damn you are good!! It looks great, just needs a background.


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## Blue_Dolphinvn (Nov 12, 2006)

> Be aware that thouse rock possibly contain calciumcarbonate


I don't think this rock contain calcium, it look like quartz rock....but the gravel is quit big to some kind of wort used for foregound...I feel not enough lighting for this tank...


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## jassar (Jul 30, 2006)

update: (day 2)
Plants seem good and happy, but I'm planning on adding another light.




























I might spend another 10 bucks on it 

Cheers!


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## gf225 (Mar 26, 2005)

Hey Jassar, that's really impressive for the $$$. 

Is that your final stone positioning?

I look forward to seeing it develop.


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## jassar (Jul 30, 2006)

Thanks george! it's nice to hear a good comment from a pro..
About the rock positioning, I tried many positions but found this one the best ( I guess you know what a pain it is to choose a good rock arrangement, lol ), but I'm very open to hear your crits/suggestions...etc

Cheers!


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## gf225 (Mar 26, 2005)

I'm no "pro", that's for sure, but thanks all the same. If I was I wouldn't have taken so long to arrange my stones, and then only to be still not 100% happy with then now!

Anyway, as for your rocks. To me they seem to be arranged in a fashion that is not looking very natural. They are all a similar size too that adds to a feeling of artifice. The rocks themselves on the other hand look great in terms of texture and colour, much better than mine. 

I hope that perhaps some other more experienced members can give a useful critique.

I was given this excellent link that helped me - http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/aquascaping/31643-3-gal-basic-iwagumi-4.html#post241662


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## jassar (Jul 30, 2006)

Thanks for the link george


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## Tankman (Feb 19, 2006)

Hey man, for US$30- it's pretty good. Btw, I think some hairgrass on the foreground would really fill up things ;-) Just my 2 cents.


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## jassar (Jul 30, 2006)

Thanks Tankman, the problem is that I'm limited with plants here, and I have never found any Hairgrass or HC or even Glosso  , that's why I usually use Java Moss as a foreground carpet. I don't trust mail order ( I have a bad experience of mail roberies ). Any suggestions/help ? 

Cheers!


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## epicfish (Sep 11, 2006)

Wow, looks great for a $30 tank. Heck, looks great for a $150 tank.


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## jassar (Jul 30, 2006)

Update:

I've added the fish:

-Siamese Algae Eater x1
-Black Tetra x2 
-Pristella (X-Ray) Tetra x6 
-Guppys x3

And I also added a new light bulb and a white background.

Some pics:
*Before the first trimm*



























*Me working in the tank*









*I've finally added the DIY CO2*









*After I finished trimming and adding the new layer of fine gravel*


















I want to make a Java Moss foreground because I can't find any other carpet plant 

Stay tuned for the next patch of updates!
-Jassar


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## Steven_Chong (Mar 17, 2005)

Very neat and balanced! Are you planning to get more plants though? It seems like there aren't enough-- and the rocks are visually too powerful right now imo.


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## jassar (Jul 30, 2006)

Yes Steven, I will add more plants to the foreground and background soon. I also want to change the filter and put a bigger one.


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## jassar (Jul 30, 2006)

Update:

You can now see the Java Moss carpet in the foreground  , but it still needs time to spread.
I've also added some Anubias nana, another small rock, and installed a new bigger filter.





































Costs have rised to 50$....not bad huh 

Cheers!


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## GeoffinSTL (Jul 17, 2006)

those are neat lamps? where did you find them?


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## jassar (Jul 30, 2006)

Found them at the LFS...I'm afraid they don't have any website..


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## jassar (Jul 30, 2006)

Update:
Some new red plants added!










A side view ( sorry for the low quality pic ):


















I'll be posting some full tank shots soon 
Cheers


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## jassar (Jul 30, 2006)

Some new pics:

Before trimming:










After:









Both plants and fish are growing nicely  
Cheers


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## fredyk (Jun 21, 2004)

I think it's coming along really great! The real joy is trimming an overgrown plant and getting rid of the excess cuttings.


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