# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Yet another nano(s)



## imported_yv1 (Apr 18, 2003)

thought i would show off my nanos also!

this one is that whole setup thing .5 gal i think...took me forever to find that tiny heater in the corner.










and this one is a 5gal that went through algae hell and back...im using it as a growout tank now..hence the 'mess'


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## imported_yv1 (Apr 18, 2003)

thought i would show off my nanos also!

this one is that whole setup thing .5 gal i think...took me forever to find that tiny heater in the corner.










and this one is a 5gal that went through algae hell and back...im using it as a growout tank now..hence the 'mess'


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## Paul Higashikawa (Mar 18, 2004)

Wow, that is a FIVE-GAL??? It looks more like a 10 or even a 20-Gal to me







Man, impressive!


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## imported_chinaboy1021 (Jun 2, 2003)

AMAZING 5gallon. what kind of lighting is on it?


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## imported_yv1 (Apr 18, 2003)

thanks









lighting is a jebo power copact, only cost me 15 bucks and it gives off 18 watts...so im gettting like 3 wpg....

i am addicted to 5 gallons, i have another one that was used as a guppy fry tank with mystery plants, to this day i still can't figure out what they are...










heheheh i don't really have aquascaping skills but i can sure create a mess!


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## imported_~NeMo~ (Jan 5, 2004)

What is the black "sand" ?


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## imported_yv1 (Apr 18, 2003)

its some kind of substrate that my lfs was selling, i have no idea what it is though







next time i go there, i'll ask what it is.

i love how it has such a dramatic contrast to the plants.


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## imported_chinaboy1021 (Jun 2, 2003)

amazing killi fish.


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## Gomer (Feb 2, 2004)

I'll bet "black sand" is tahitian moon sand.


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## George Willms (Jul 28, 2004)

I'm having so much trouble getting my 5.5 balanced. I'm using an 18 watt pac also and eco-complete. Any suggestions?

George

4 tanks: 5.5, 12, 29, and 45 gallons.

More complete tank specs in profile.


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## Paul Higashikawa (Mar 18, 2004)

If lighting is your concern, then would it be possible for you to simply increase the distance between the light and the plants or substrates? Maybe that would alleviate the problem. Not sure exactly what you mean by 'getting my 5.5 balanced'....In what way are you having trouble? Lighting? Substrate? Plant growths? 



Paul


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## imported_yv1 (Apr 18, 2003)

i feel your pain g.w.

i'm still trying to control my algae in my other 5 gal, its driving me insane. i just bought 3 sae's and they ALL died overnight, and i have no idea why!!!!!!

can algae be poisonous? 

gomer...it probably is taihitain moon sand, from the pics online it sure looks close, just not fine grade, its more pebbley than sandy.

[This message was edited by yv1 on Mon January 12 2004 at 06:53 PM.]


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## George Willms (Jul 28, 2004)

by balanced I mean fighting algae. I'm battling thread and bba right now. Now if the tank were larger I'd just throw some sae's in there, but it's too small for them. I think I will try tossing in a few more amanos to help with the thread and just do spot treatments on the BBA.

George

4 tanks: 5.5, 12, 29, and 45 gallons.

More complete tank specs in profile.


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## Paul Higashikawa (Mar 18, 2004)

Ah, ok ok, now I get what y'all mean by balancing







Thanks for clearing that up for me. The thing that has worked well for me so far with my newly set-up 10-gal is by doing frequent water changes. I found out it is better to do an initial prevention of algal growth then having to battle it fiercely later on. By that I mean, if you can do a 10-20% water change every other day or every 2 other days then it will really put a cork over your algal outbreak. This works most effectively when you do it in the beginning of your tank's setup because you are going for 'Prevention' rather than 'Elimination'. This really makes your routine work later on much easier as you will have less algal amount to deal with. I think frequent water change in smaller amount is really much easier for smaller tanks such as yours. Faster, too! I don't know what stage of setup you are at right now with this tank, but if the outbreak is not too severe then perhaps this could help. I read from Amano's site that sometimes you can only cut off the leaves infested with algae rather then hoping for a recovery. Given the small dimension and good lighting your tank has, I suspect it will be rather easy for your plants to grow new leaves in no time







So, if the water change is a bit too late then you can just cut the leaves with algae off. Then, after that you can do the frequent water change method. Just some idea









Paul


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## Tenor1 (Mar 3, 2003)

Maintaining the perfect environment in nano tanks is more difficult than large tanks. Paul offered good solutions to reduce the potential of algae. But what we don't know about George's tank is the ratio of light - CO2 - Nutrients. With the high WPG some sort of CO2 system is needed. 

George, I can't remember if you're using some form of DIY CO2 like the Hagen system or not. Were you referring to Blue Green Algae (BGA)? This is easily controlled with antibiotics (Erythromycin). One 200 mg capsule for each 10 gallons dosed 3 x every-other-day. Myacin is one of the brands in the LFS's. After 1 week the BGA should be gone. This dosing won't affect the biological portion of your filter, but used any longer could have a detrimental effect.

Good luck,
Carlos

==============================
I try to keep the tank plain and simple but it never stays that way!


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## George Willms (Jul 28, 2004)

Hi Carlos, 

the tank is 5.5 gallons with an 18w PC. I have a flourite/volcanit substrate. I use flourish, flourish excel, and flourish iron. Problems are thread algae and BBA, not BGA.

George

4 tanks: 5.5, 12, 29, and 45 gallons.

More complete tank specs in profile.


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