MissMTS

Thanks Nate Yup, I've been browsing differnt forums trying to find some more plants. The seller in Arizona is Chambers3530 at Aquabid.com I highly recommend her!

Amanda

I hope this works out, I would LOVE to do this with a betta tank

capekate

Hi Kate
your tank is looking fabulous! And your guppies are adorable... Best of luck and keep us posted (with new photos of course!)

harpua2002

You could use a small powerhead if you'd prefer that over the bubbles. Marineland's Mini-Jet pumps are small and have adjustable flow. Anyway, just a thought, I'm sure you've got it figured out.

TedsTank

I have posted this a while back....It isn't hard to do but you must move slowly....let the tank adjust. I've seen a 30 gal long tank setup up for at least 3 years....nothing done to it, except adding water for evaporation!! They used sand as a substrate....not too deep. Was planted with just Vallisnaria. And had about 10 fish in it. Guppy types.
The tank was kept in a bright natural light area....not direct sunlight.....good luck, but go slow with adding fish until the plants are ok. They will reach a natural balance including having a few fry now and then from small live bearers.

IIIHawKIII

the fry from livebearers was what i was gonna bring up. how will you deal with these livebearers dumpin babies out all the time?

but you have inspired me. i wanna try it too.....just gotta find the room for another tank......AND get the girl to let me put another tank up in the APT.......wish me luck!

MissMTS

Thanks Amanda I thought about doing another betta tank, but my husband convinced me to try something different. If this works with this tank, I would deffinetly like to try it on my betta tanks in the future.

Thanks Kate I can't believe how tiny the guppies are! They are just babies, lol.

That's a really good idea. Right now I'm gonna have to see which is cheaper and go with that. I have never had bubbles in my tank before, so I don't know how I really feel about them.

That tank sounds great. The fish are so tiny, the bioload is next to nothing right now. Hopefully the plants will adjust as the fish grow and everything will remain balanced.

I am going to grow out the fry in an outdoor tub pond this summer and then sell them to other hobbiests or take them to my LFS. Good luck with getting another tank! Finding the room won't be hard....convincing your girl may be another story (constant battle in my house lol) j

MissMTS

Update:

So far water parameters are good! I have not done any water changes yet.

Week #1: Cycled Tank
On day 7, water parameters were as follows:
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 5

Week #2 Test Results
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5

I added 20 red cherry shrimp to the tank today. They are pretty pale right now from shipping, but I'll try to get some pics when they color up. I also added a dwarf chain sword to the foreground of the tank.

harpua2002

You may have trouble with the dwarf chain sword with the lighting you have. I've never had any success with it even under 130W PC (tank was 55 gallons). I really hope it works out for you.

MissMTS

Thanks for the heads up I was wondering about that myself. It was sent to me as a freebie because there was an error with one of my orders, so if it doesn't work out, at least there's no loss on my part.

MissMTS

Week #3
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5

Still haven't done a water change!!!

temptryst

That's really cool. I've really enjoyed reading this thread. I'd love to try something like this someday.. but first got to get my 20 gallon up and running lol.

Do you suppose it would work as well for a smaller 5.5 gallon?

MissMTS

Update

Week #5:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5

I still have not done a water change. My fish and plants are growing like crazy. I am really liking this project. I think I may try this same thing on my new betta tank and try some different plants such as needle leaf java fern....

Lucy

That's great!
Where are the pics? Hmmmmm? lol

soldieroffortune1974

Great idea without the filter (pump anyway) the natural bio-filter is doing really good,the plants are doing their job with the nitrates. It doesn't look like CO2 was needed at this stage. Have you thought about adding a DIY CO2 system? Did you get an air pump or power head? PICS?!?!?!

MissMTS

Thanks Lucy! Here's an updated pic:



The plants have really grown a lot. It doesn't look like it, because I pulled some of them out and added them to other tanks.

I did add an airstone to the tank (I liked the idea of a pump better, but airstones are cheaper, so that made my decision). I haven't thought of doing CO2 on this tank. With the low levels of light, I really don't think that its needed. I may add a layer of organic potting soil under the substrate like I did in my 70 gallon tank. The bubbles of CO2 that come up out of the substrate really make the plant growth explode

Thanks I think it would work great on a 5.5 gallon. Just make sure you stock lightly. A betta or a DP would be a good choice

Lucy

The tank looks really good Kate, nice job. Such a natural looking tank, I'm so glad this has worked so well for you.

SWilkins

Looks great!! Your guppies are hiding well in all the plants it seems. I have a trio of those guppies and they are definitely eye catching. I might have to give this a shot on a tank soon and see how it works out for me. Thanks for the updates and definitely the idea!!

MissMTS

Thanks Lucy

Yup my guppies love to hide in the plants I hate trying to get pics of them because they love to stay in the guppy grass near the top of the tank. They deffinetly are eye catching though. You should deffinetly give this tank a shot if you get a chance. The best part is that you don't have to do water changes, so the maintinance schedule is great

SWilkins

Well I have four 10s up and running now two of which are fully or overly planted. The other two are just beginning to get planted. They all have guppies from Dino and Ross in them, different varieties of course. Hubby has built them into our entertainment center surrounding the TV. He has made maintenace pretty easy for me with hidden hinged doors but no water changes would definitely be easy.

So what do I do...just remove the filter systems and put just a bubble stone in there and test test test Well there goes my night of relaxation now I gotta work my brain thinking about this...LOL.

eiginh

Wow, that is looking great!

What kind of plant is that with the long stringy stems and narrow leaves hanging on the top left in the first pictures?

MissMTS

Thanks so much Are you talking about the floating plant? If so, its guppy grass and it grows like a weed! Lol, its great for why fry need to hide to keep from getting eaten.

Yup, that sounds about right Have fun experamenting!

SWilkins

Well how is yours going? Any new pics lately? I want to try this but I have this NEED to keep my substrate really clean and vacuum at least once a week sometimes more. That would be easy if I could just stop myself from cringing when I see poo in the tank and wanting to get out the old Python and give it the once over. My hubby says if I just cleaned the house half as much as I cleaned all my tanks he would be soooo happy....yeah like that is going to happen. Tanks are fun and cleaning house is not.

MissMTS

Update:

Found a little baby guppy in my tank last night! I am wondering if there are more.... I can't believe they are breeding already, they are still babies themselves!

bolivianbaby

Congratulations!