35L Arc Tank

[Tizer]

I did away with the Fluval Spec, it will be in the post to minnnt shortly, i just found it so small space wise and really couldnt be bothered to put the effort into it.

I blagged a 35 Litre Arcadia Arc tank last week so i've decided to have another crack at a small planted nano (or two).

I plan to have two of these tanks next to eachother, they fit on the shelf perfectly. Possible mirror image scape with different stock.

So far i've only put bin liner on the back and put 4kg of Fluval Stratum the smaller particle size, supposedly for shrimp, into it.

I've even ordered some propper tweezers and scissors this time, serious stuff!

No idea on plants yet, other than some Glossostigma as the the primary carpet plant and i might have a crack at some HC again, which grew well in the Spec, but the substrate didnt enjoy holding it down (Stratum for planted tanks) and it ended up floating on the top a lot! Crypts are also another must have, i want something to survive in there if it all goes pair shaped!

Anyway, another tank to order tomorrow and some more Stratum, then looking for some rocks and wood along with a couple of slightly larger filters than i have available. I cant actually decide if i want to put any wood in there, every scape i see, people seem to plonk moss on it, which im not a huge fan of. Probably because i've never been able to find a nice piece of wood to pull it off myself I think i'd rather go -- carpet plant - rocks - crypts - stem. Will have to see what i can find!

I'll probably end up painting the back with gloss black when the second tank arrives, the bin bag looks pants.

Stocking wise, i have 10 CPDs, some Cherry Shrimp from Steve and i might chuck my Fighter in there thats in my large tank before it gets eaten by my ever growing RTBS. Second tank...dwarf puffers? Undecided at the moment, could be another small fish like the CPDs with Pygmy Corys and a couple of Honey Gourami.

The tank below is holding my stock at the moment, its a bit of a mess, the clearseal tanks have no style to them at all, but they are cheap, so make great emergency tanks!

Its one of those kinds shelf units where you throw all your junk and it hides behind a door in my office.

More to come when ive spent some monies. Which could be a few hundred quid, argh ;D

 

[stu40]

The tank below is holding my stock at the moment, its a bit of a mess, the clearseal tanks have no style to them at all, but they are cheap, so make great emergency tanks!

my new tank is a clearseal.Thanks very much

 

[Tizer]

The tank below is holding my stock at the moment, its a bit of a mess, the clearseal tanks have no style to them at all, but they are cheap, so make great emergency tanks!

my new tank is a clearseal.Thanks very much

No accounting for taste mate

 

[minnnt]

Plans sound good mate. Can't wait to see the mirror image! the arc tanks are brilliant. Deceptively spacious and very stylish.

Wish I could have some racking somewhere!

Looking forward to getting my spec!

 

[Asteria]

Seems like a great plan to me

With the clearseal tank i would have had the black sign thing at the back and bin lined that side instead of it pointing out, so them you could fill it up more and see the fish better XD
But you dont have fish in it, or if you do they hate the camera xD

 

[Tizer]

Seems like a great plan to me

With the clearseal tank i would have had the black sign thing at the back and bin lined that side instead of it pointing out, so them you could fill it up more and see the fish better XD
But you dont have fish in it, or if you do they hate the camera xD

Actually 5 mintues before i took the pic i ripped off the black piece that goes on the back, same as the bit on the front. I think the idea is that they cover all the sealant that holds the two glass piece in place which a lid would rest on.

They were basically my fry tanks for my corys, perfect for the job.

There are 10 celestial pearl danios in there and some shrimp, which are usually hidden. Probably end up buying some more of each when the Arc gets going.

Mooching around shops at lunch looking at plants, rocks and wood this week with a plan to buy some stuff on Friday.

 

[Tizer]

Got some "elephant skin" rock tonight, some HC and a few Orange Shrimp which caught my eye. Boshed it in and this is what it ended up like. Gonna have a crack at growing the HC all over, only used two pots tonight, might get another couple at a later date. Dont find myself half as driven with these nanos as most of you guys but now the large tank has taken a back seat with plants i might as well piddle around with this a little. Also putting off a second tank next to it, accessing these tanks on shelves isnt exactly easy.

 

[Ps3Steveo]

Some staurogyne or crypts around/between the rocks would look good mate. I'd let ya HC grow, nothing like creating a carpet from a tiny ammount dude.

 

[Tizer]

yeah i did think about some crypts in there, got a few bits in the big tank that might nick tomorrow night, i shall ponder this!

 

[Tizer]

Slow progress on this, i've been trying not to just dive and actually think about it this time around.

Got my Aluminium food and dosing bottles to keep things tidy and my tweezers and scissors arrived at last. After some moaning to the supplier on eBay for poor postage (had been waiting 10 days), i got the tweezers for half price \o/.

Stocked it today with 10 Boraras Maculatus and 3 Red Honey Gouramis. Not entirely sure i will keep the Honeys in there, depends if they start uprooting my HC, might have to chuck the fighter back in there instead, but i was a little concerned about him eating the Maculatus as they are extremely small at the moment.

I grabbed a few Crypts i had in my big tank, they are either Crypt undalatus kasselman or Crypto beckettii, after planting them in the large tank, they got a little mixed up and i cant for the life of me remember which they are One of them has got a load of leaves around the bottom, i noticed when i was cleaning the rock wool out origionally that it had lots of tiny leaf nodes on it, whatever they are called, so hopefully this will be a nice sized plant. The Orange shrimp are already loving it.

I'm still not convinced about HC, its such a tiny tiny plant and im a little heavy handed so i might end up looking at something else later on. Depends how it all goes really, im very impatient

 

[ian]

that looks very nice Tizer, you might also want to add some stems over on the far left. Make them small leaved stems like Rotala. Once the Hc settles and takes, you can be really heavy handed with it. Chop until you drop. Make sure you get plenty of flow around it at the bottom.

 

[JonE]

Looks good mate those orange shrimp look great.

 

[Tizer]

that looks very nice Tizer, you might also want to add some stems over on the far left. Make them small leaved stems like Rotala. Once the Hc settles and takes, you can be really heavy handed with it. Chop until you drop. Make sure you get plenty of flow around it at the bottom.

Cheers Ian, Rotala is an excellent call, i spent half the day searching for other plants that might be suitable and didnt find that one. Doh.

I'm pondering the idea of moving all the HC thats on the front left over to the right and using that area for something else. Glosso was one that came to mind, a little bit more manageable/larger.

More research required!

 

[ian]

Glosso would work, just be careful mixing carpet plants though. It can get a little messy if they do both take. It can also become a pain to trim them.

ps...i like the stainless bottles.

 

[Tizer]

Yeah, quite funky little bottles, got them from Ampulla, 4 bottles and 4 tubs for about £20. Need to work out how much a squirt is from the bottles!