# Butch's 10g NPT



## Cichlid Junkie (Mar 25, 2005)

After an unsuccessful first attempt at NPT (see link below), I recently acquired a 10 gallon tank that I decided to turn into a NPT.

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/el-natural/68633-butch-s-5-5-gallon-el.html

It is stocked with driftwood (still trying to get it to sink), a granite rock and 2 coconut shells.

Flora:
Water Wisteria - Hygrophila difformis
Rotala rotundifolia
Staurogyne sp. 'porto Velho'
Hornwort - Ceratophyllum demersum
Hygrophila polysperma 'tiger'
Anubias
Java fern - Microsorum pteropus
Valisneria
Echinodorus tenellus v. 'Tenellus'
Lobelia cardinalis

Fauna:
Rasbora heteromorpha - 2M/3F
Apistogramma A. cf. agassizii Net/Netz (Alenquer) - 2M/2F, the smaller 2 are still hard to sex.

Lighting: 2 10W CFL 6500 bulbs
Filtration: Secondnature Whisper Junior filter
Heater: Tetra 100W Preset heater

The tank is still young, but is coming along nicely. I am so happy I have Apistogrammas again. They are such beautiful fish. Now for some pics...sorry about the blurry ones.


























I have a few smaller pieces of driftwood with some java moss on it that is soaking in a bucket until it is not so buoyant. I am also thinking about taking the razboras out because they are so big and putting some ember tetras - Hyphessobrycon amandae, maybe 6-12 of them, in the razboras place.

Since I am not very good at aquascaping, please let me know what I should do to make it look better.

Thanks for looking.


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## ItsDubC (Jan 12, 2008)

I think that's a great starting point, and will only look better as things start to fill in. I kept 5 ember tetras in my last 10g NPT w/ no filter and they did great, so I highly recommend them. The apistos should keep them schooling.

My only concern is your substrate. Do you have a soil under-layer?


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## mudboots (Jun 24, 2009)

Hey, I was just wondering what ever happened to the 5.5! Did you completely tear it down or is it back up and running as a differnt set up?

Glad to see your back at it, and the 10 gallon is looking really great. Those Apistos are really nice looking specimens. If you decide to swap out fish from the rasboras I think you will be much happier with a smaller species, as they will help with the scale of the scape.


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## Cichlid Junkie (Mar 25, 2005)

The substrate is made up of ~1.5" Miracle Grow Organic Potting Soil capped with ~1.5" PFS.

After I took my 5.5g down, I turned it into an All-In-One tank for one of my other shell dwelling cichlids, my male Telmatochromis sp. "Temporalis Shell", that was killing everything that was put in the tank with him, including 2 of the females he mated with! I made a journal of the build that can be seen here:

http://www.shelldwellers.com/index.php/topic,4626.0.html

Since that was my first build, I ran into some design flaws so I had to break it down and it now resides on a shelf in a closet.

I really like the way this 10g has turned out. I will be adding another small piece of driftwood to the back left corner that will be covered with java fern and hopefully get it to blend in/hide the coconut shell.

Now that I have this one up and running, I am debating on getting a 20g long setup to transfer all the contents of my 10g into so the apistos have more room to pair off. lol. My initial idea was to sell of the other pair, but they are way to cool to do that.


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## mudboots (Jun 24, 2009)

The Telmatochromis look SWEET! Too bad the tank didn't make it; I liked the DIY refugium inside the tank itself.

On the 20, my guess is that the Apistos will be very glad to have double the space to swim around in, and the dimensions of the long are WAAAAAAY better than the normal 20's. 

So the 5.5 is just sitting? I'd be going crazy. Melinda laughs at me because anything that can hold water I try to turn into a planted something or another. Maybe you could turn it into a low-light Crypt. willisii tank!!!


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## Cichlid Junkie (Mar 25, 2005)

That Telmatochromis is a mean one, but he is doing well in a 20 long with a younger male version with no problems. I added the 5 razboras from the 10g in with him yesterday and they are doing well. He cant catch them, so they are pretty safe plus they school, so he doesn't mess with them.

My initial goal was to put the apistos into another 20 long so I could have matching book ends on either side of my TV, but after turning my buddies 75 gallon into an NPT on Saturday, I'm thinking I want a bigger tank! So I have been scouring CL for some tanks in the 65-80 gallon range. If I don't find something in the next few days, I might just go with the 20 long because my filter just went out on the 10g. I know I can run it without one, but I like having it filtered.

As for my 5 gallon, well that is a fry grow out tank (keep fingers crossed), but if I do go with a bigger tank, I'll have a 10 gallon open!


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## Cichlid Junkie (Mar 25, 2005)

I got a 75 gallon tank that I will be turning into an NPT and breaking down the 10 gallon. Look for Cichlid Junkies 75 gallon NPT thread.


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## mudboots (Jun 24, 2009)

I don't see how you do it; a 5.5 sitting in the closet and now a 10, both empty...you are much more disciplined that I am. Every time I see an empty glass or glass-like something that can hold more than a few gallons of water it becomes home to at least a few shrimp. Fortunately for my wife I am allowed to keep aquariums at work, so 2 of our 4 tanks are in my office as shrimp and Cryptocoryne nurseries.


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