# 13" custom rimless cube



## apistaeasy (Jul 16, 2004)

I began this 'scape in January by building a custom 13" rimless cube as detailed in this thread.

The tank setup had to be postponed by a carpet cleaning appointment.

Finally, last week, with the carpets clean the tank went up.

Specs:
13" rimless cube, estimated 7-8 gallons
Eco-complete
Tom Rapid mini-canister filter
Hydor NRG exclusive for CO2 w/Aquatic Magic Nano diffuser
Current Satellite Dual w/ 2x 18 watt dual daylight bulbs(6700/10k)
Photo period is around 9 hours right now

Flora:
Anubias barteri var. nana 'petite'
Anubias barteri var. coffeefolia
Didiplis diandra
Rotala sp. 'Goias'
Isoetes sp.
Blyxa japonica
Hemianthus callitrichoides
Utricularia graminifolia

Fauna:
Dario dario
Microrasbora 'galaxy'
Neocaridia denticulata var. red
Ottocinclus sp.
Aphyosemiom bivittatum

Here are a few pictures after the setup. Sorry for the low quality!

In these pictures I have not planted the HC or UG yet. However, they are both planted now. The UG I purchased was not the quality I was hoping for, so I might have to use a different plant




























I've also taken some of the white sand out; I thought it was a little overpowering and too symmetrical.


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## ed seeley (Dec 1, 2006)

I love what you've done with this, like the cliff at the side!

Just a word of warning - I had a pair of Aphyosemion bivittatum 'Funge' in my cube and the male jumped out of the first night. This was WITH a cover glass, he'd jumped out one of the small gaps around the edge. Maybe killis aren't the best choice for your open tank.....


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## Afroturf (Apr 15, 2004)

Great looking little tank i think it will look really good with the HC and UG growing amongst the rest of the plants. I'm looking forward to seeing the Dario darios they'll love the little cave you've created.


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## Kelley (Aug 27, 2006)

A nice start! I agree that the white sand is a little jarring. It might look better if you extended it back to curve around the hill, thus making it look more like a beach around an island. 


Good luck and keep us updated!


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## Genin (Jan 28, 2007)

I like the white sand the way it is, i think the strong contrast isn't bad.


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## apistaeasy (Jul 16, 2004)

Ed: I've actually kept the killlis in the tank over a week now w/out incident. There was a local club auction and I picked up three pairs of three different species. I put a pair in each of my tanks. The first night I had a male jump out of my (actually my wife's) 2.5 gal tank followed by the female the next night. I've found that moonlights do a great job of calming fish at night, and greatly decreases fish jumping.
With all that said, I am planning on taking the Killis out They simply don't work for the theme of the tank

Afroturf: I can't wait for the tank to fill in! The cave was mostly an accident of picking the rock. Their aren't very many rock options in Salt Lake City; trust me, I've looked!

Genin, Kelley: I've actually changed the sand. The sand has been increasing my KH (and therefore pH) too much since it is calcium carbonate based, so I wanted to take out some so I could stabilize my parameters.


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## apistaeasy (Jul 16, 2004)

Right now I only have a very low quality digital camera. I've also been messing with the settings a little.
So, here are more pics:

I added a few plants to the far left hand corner this evening, if only temporary. I moved a stem of B. japonica and added a few stems of Rotala macrandara var. 'green narrow leaf'. For whatever reason I've been getting stunted growth in m other tank where I successfully keep Tonina, Eriocaulon, and many harder Ludwigias (verticillata 'Pantanal yellow' and 'Araguaia')










Same shot, different camera setting:










I also replaced my Tom Rapid Mini-canister filter with the Zoo Med 501 turtle canister. The Tom's filter was leaking through a factory seam. I've seen 8 of these canisters sold from work and 4-5 of them have broken!:


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## apistaeasy (Jul 16, 2004)

I haven't done a whole lot to the tank in the last week or so, and sorry for no picture updates.

I did add another clump of of U. graminifolia to the left hand side and a little more HC. The HC that was there has been filling in nicely.
However, I went out of town this last weekend and when I came back the tank looked like a green cesspool. GDA at its worst. I did a large water change, added a few nerite snails, and have seen recent improvement. 
I will need to add more shrimp as the Killifish tried to eat them and the shrimp committed harikari by jumping to the carpet below the tank...btw, the killifish should be gone soon, so I can keep my shrimp alive.

I also added some Mayaca fluviatilis. We got some in at work, and I love it! The leaves are very fine, and it adds a softness to the tank to balance out the strength of the hardscape.

One last thing, my Hydor 74 g CO2 canister is already empty...I can't believe it! It's only been running for a few weeks at the most. When I get time I will look into trying to adapt a larger canister to the reactor. I do believe the Hydor has the same threads as the ADA canisters. Anyone have any experience or suggestions using a larger canister with either the Hydor or ADA regulators?


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## apistaeasy (Jul 16, 2004)

I finally got a 74 g canister for my little CO2 setup just yesterday. I can't believe the availability on these; almost impossible to find. I have decided that in the future I will not use these little disposables anymore. I found that the thread pitch on these little guys is 3/8" npt, so all I have to do is purchase an adapter for a larger tank (like 1/2" npt or 5/8" npt, depending on the tank) and I'll be setup w/CO2 for a couple of months at a time. 

I've changed the fish around a little bit as I was thinking about doing in my last post. The kilifish are gone for starters. Since taking the Kilis out I've been able to keep my cherry shrimp from jumping out 
Also, with the Kilis gone, the Galaxy rasboras have been spending most of their time in the little cave! I did not expect this! Seems as though every fish in the tank crowds in that cave 

Current fish are :
6 galaxys
6 Pygmy cory
2 Dario dario
3 red fin oto
a bunch of shrimp

We got some unique Otocinclus sp. in at work, I believe they came labeled as "Red fin oto" (Parotocinclus maculicauda). I'm not sure where they came up w/that name b/c there is no red on these fish. I took out the Otos I had in, and replaced them w/3 of the Red fins.



As for the algae I mentioned in last post: I managed to get rid of it, and now the tank is almost 100% algae free. I'll probably need to take the nerite snails out now since their really isn't anything for them to eat. I'll also need to start putting in a wafer for the shrimp.

The plants are coming along. The Utric has yet to establish itself though, but it isn't dieing off either. I think that now that I've got the CO2 back on it should begin to grow faster.

I'll post pics later, I can't find my camera right now and I should be studying for my final tomorrow.

btw, I would love your feedback, positive or negative!


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## stepheus (Jun 13, 2006)

hmm, sound like you got in on. =D

btw, i am not trying to be a pain, but i dont endorse keeping galaxies without the intention of breeding them. Read: Under threat

good luck for your finals!!!


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## Yukilovesfish (Mar 26, 2005)

Hi apistaeasy,

Great threads! It's interesting to read about your experience with the diy tank. I was wondering how the Current Satellite Dual w/ 2x 18 watt dual daylight bulbs(6700/10k) light is working out for you. I have the 30c ADA cube (12") and have been leaning towards purchasing this light. Does the fan work well? I can't wait to see more pics of your tank, please keep us posted!

Julie


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## BryceM (Nov 6, 2005)

Hi, I don't know how I missed this thread. Nice setup. I really like how you've positioned the Anubias 'petite'. As for the CO2, don't you have more than one planted tank? Probably the easiest thing is to get a 5lb or 10lb cylinder and work up a system to run them all. If it's just the one, I'd still recommned the larger tanks. A 5lb cylinder would last forever on a tank that size.


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## apistaeasy (Jul 16, 2004)

stepheus: 
Thanks for the information on the Galaxy rasboras, actually I hope to successfully breed them in the future.

Yukilovesfish: 
I really like Current brand lights; the housing is sleek, I prefer the black housing compared to Coralife's housing, and I really love the LEDs - they make night viewing such a pleasure. Unfortunately though, Current has more of a focus towards reef lighting, so their is the added expense of replacing the actinic bulb.
This particular model does not come with a fan, although I have another fixture that does have a fan. I have not used the fan on the other light since it is on an open-top tank (and it's been cold, brrrrr winter).
I actually had to modify the legs of my light to fit over the tank...I don't know why I made the tank 13" instead of 12":???:
When it's time to replace the bulbs I'll probably go with one dual daylight and the other 6700k. I like a little bit of 10K for added brightness, but just a little.

guaic_boy: 
Thanks Bryce, I love my petite. I plan on using it in future setups too, if I can get enough of it.
I have a 5# cylinder I'm using on another tank, but it's on the other side of the room and I don't want hoses all over - my wife has enough fish stuff to complain about already! On this setup I tried to focus more on presentation, and unfortunately do not have enough room for large cylinder. 

I have been looking for a 2.5# or a paint ball cylinder I can adapt to the regulator that looks nice (their is no way to hide a cylinder where the tank is, it'll be in full view). Finding an adapter has been quite the challenge too as no one seems to know what thread pitch a standard cylinder is. I even went to the local guy I buy my CO2 from and asked......his reply was, "Here, take a look." Maybe it's just me, but I have a hard time guessing precise measurements without any tools 

Does anyone know what thread pitch a standard cylinder is???


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## apistaeasy (Jul 16, 2004)

Pictures:

Again, sorry for the low quality. I need to buy a good camera and figure out how to use Photoshop...



















and this is how it looks in relation to the rest of the room:


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## cassiusclay (Feb 19, 2007)

i like the tank love the "cave " rock looks cool as a note i have had killies jump out of many tanks allmost all with covers they seem to love the little cracks and go right for em just a note


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## ianmoede (Jan 17, 2005)

Their technical name is celestial pearl danio's now. Purist i know. Theyre tiny little bastards though huh? Significantly smaller than say zebra danios. And do your best to breed/raise them, stepheus is right. We have a duty as aquarists to keep them in good breeding condition.


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