My 2.5 Gallon Planted Tank.

[PaPeRo]

My mini tropical tank and VT Betta.
The water is kinda brown because of the tannins from the driftwood. Also the root of the floating onion plant is supposed to be buried in the gravel. I just haven't got time to do it yet.

 

[Dude]

cool betta

 

[trout_pout]

I like the way the plant is floating

It looks pretty cool like that

 

[PaPeRo]

Thanks for the comments. Yeah I like the look of the plant floating too, however, that plant had actually rooted itself into the gravel but I had to move it to net some danios out of the tank. While moving it I had to uproot it. I plan on buying a plant that's actually rootless for use as floating cover for the Betta.

 

[DarkEntity]

Nice Cambodian Betta

LOVELY tank, with space for him to swim

 

[littlelegs]

love it, i think the plant looks great floating.

And the betta looks good too. I have a spare tank and keep debating whether to get one myself.

 

[PaPeRo]

As you can see the aquascaping isn't perfect. For example the grain size of the gravel is too big for the nanoscale tank, but I got the gravel for free from a larger tank so I can't really complain.

Also the glass lid cannot be closed flush at the top because it doesn't have a cutout for the HOB filter, that's why you see the glass lid extending upward/forward. I will have to get the glass cut at a local window glass cutting place soon. Need to add a couple more plants too.

 

[lljdma06]

As you can see the aquascaping isn't perfect. For example the grain size of the gravel is too big for the nanoscale tank, but I got the gravel for free from a larger tank so I can't really complain.

Also the glass lid cannot be closed flush at the top because it doesn't have a cutout for the HOB filter, that's why you see the glass lid extending upward/forward. I will have to get the glass cut at a local window glass cutting place soon. Need to add a couple more plants too.

That's perfectly alright. You make due with what you have. My 2.5g planted tank is planted with leftovers from other tanks and the gravel is old too. I have the same problem with the glass cover, but mine only juts about 1/2 and inch. What HOB do you have? I've got the RedSea nano filter, much smaller intake tube. What did you do about lighting?

Beautiful betta. I'm sure he's quite pleased with your tank, so don't worry about it too much.

llj

 

[PaPeRo]

Thank you for the kind words. I too am using the Red Sea Nano filter...16GPH...it's perfect for this little tank. Tiny thing even has flow control even though mine is set at max, Betta doesn't seem to mind. Anyway my glass cover jutts out more than 1/2 inch because of the heater. My light is a Coralife Mini-Freshwater Aqualight, got it on sale for $25.

http/www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod...p;N=2004+113345

Initially I was going to go with the matching Perfecto 12" hood and a screw-in type compact flourescent but when I discovered the Coralife, I figured it was a better value. The Perfecto incandescent hood was $10, add a good quality full spectrum compact flourescent screw-in bulb and you're looking at $18. It's made of plastic with a plastic reflector.

The Coralife on the other hand comes with two 9W bulbs, built-in ballast, aluminum reflector and chassis, and clear sliding acyrlic bottom cover. The price of the two bulbs alone is already $12 so the fixture itself is only a few dollars more than the Perecto + compact combo. It's small too only 9" wide. On my tank I disabled one of the bulbs because I don't need that much light so when it's time to change the bulb I just need to enable the fresh new bulb.

 

[lljdma06]

Thank you for the kind words. I too am using the Red Sea Nano filter...16GPH...it's perfect for this little tank. Tiny thing even has flow control even though mine is set at max, Betta doesn't seem to mind. Anyway my glass cover jutts out more than 1/2 inch because of the heater. My light is a Coralife Mini-Freshwater Aqualight, got it on sale for $25.

http/www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod...p;N=2004+113345

Initially I was going to go with the matching Perfecto 12" hood and a screw-in type compact flourescent but when I discovered the Coralife, I figured it was a better value. The Perfecto incandescent hood was $10, add a good quality full spectrum compact flourescent screw-in bulb and you're looking at $18. It's made of plastic with a plastic reflector.

The Coralife on the other hand comes with two 9W bulbs, built-in ballast, aluminum reflector and chassis, and clear sliding acyrlic bottom cover. The price of the two bulbs alone is already $12 so the fixture itself is only a few dollars more than the Perecto + compact combo. It's small too only 9" wide. On my tank I disabled one of the bulbs because I don't need that much light so when it's time to change the bulb I just need to enable the fresh new bulb.

How do you deal with the heat produced by the Coralife fixture? I was considering that one, but there are no mounting legs made for that model, and some people have complained of the excess heat, so I opted for a 13W desklamp from Officemax for $15. It gets the job done and actually looks pretty slim and compact. I don't have a heater in my tank, but the tank is near a computer which generates some heat, and I live in S FL. Room temp is 76, which is fine.

llj

llj

 

[PaPeRo]

How do you deal with the heat produced by the Coralife fixture? I was considering that one, but there are no mounting legs made for that model, and some people have complained of the excess heat, so I opted for a 13W desklamp from Officemax for $15. It gets the job done and actually looks pretty slim and compact. I don't have a heater in my tank, but the tank is near a computer which generates some heat, and I live in S FL. Room temp is 76, which is fine.

llj

You have to remember that I disabled one of the two 9W bulbs so I'm only using 9W total. It's on around 12 hours a day. It is true that the fixture itself gets pretty hot but that is by design as the aluminum chassis serves as a heatsink to dissiplate the heat. In other designs you would need a fan because the heat gets trapped inside the light compartment. Again I'm using only one 9W bulb so it virtually has no affect on water temp. I guess if you're adventurous you can make your own brackets to raise it from the tank.

I also have another 2.5 gallon that I'm setting up with an AZOO Palm filter. It's half the cost of the Red Sea unit. Hopefully it works just as well. I will not use a Coralife unit on that one though..can't afford too many. Thinking of saving a few dollars up front and go with the Perfecto hood + compact flourscent, however I might go your route and get a desklamp from Officemax. BTW what kind of bulb are you using? Full spectrum? What color temp?

Edit: Well I just received my AZOO Palm filter and what do you know..it's the exact same unit as the Red Sea and at half the price!

 

[lljdma06]

You have to remember that I disabled one of the two 9W bulbs so I'm only using 9W total. It's on around 12 hours a day. It is true that the fixture itself gets pretty hot but that is by design as the aluminum chassis serves as a heatsink to dissiplate the heat. In other designs you would need a fan because the heat gets trapped inside the light compartment. Again I'm using only one 9W bulb so it virtually has no affect on water temp. I guess if you're adventurous you can make your own brackets to raise it from the tank.

I also have another 2.5 gallon that I'm setting up with an AZOO Palm filter. It's half the cost of the Red Sea unit. Hopefully it works just as well. I will not use a Coralife unit on that one though..can't afford too many. Thinking of saving a few dollars up front and go with the Perfecto hood + compact flourscent, however I might go your route and get a desklamp from Officemax. BTW what kind of bulb are you using? Full spectrum? What color temp?

Edit: Well I just received my AZOO Palm filter and what do you know..it's the exact same unit as the Red Sea and at half the price!

Well, that's good to know. I'll definitely look up the AZOO if I setup another 2.5g.

You wanted to know about my bulb. It's a full-spectrum bulb that came with the lamp, I'm guessing the color temp is 10,000k, which is alright for growing plants, contrary to what some may say, and the wattage is so low that I don't think color temperature is super important. What I like is that the fixture is extremely slim and doesn't take up much space. Unfortunately, the lamp at it's shortest is about 15 inches high, which was a bit too tall for the aquarium, so I had to mount the aquarium on a very large biology textbook. It holds the weight extremely well, and the aquarium is about 3-4 inches from the light source. I also don't think you can beat the price, maybe the Perfecto hood + CF light, might be the same, but the light dispersal in the desk lamp is far superior. It's far more even, and the tank doesn't have any heat issues.

llj

 

[AesSedai]

My mini tropical tank and VT Betta.
The water is kinda brown because of the tannins from the driftwood. Also the root of the floating onion plant is supposed to be buried in the gravel. I just haven't got time to do it yet.

PaPeRo, that is the most beautiful color Betta!!!! That's the one I must have next. Is there a name for that color? I'm in love....

 

[PaPeRo]

It is a Cambodian Betta. They usually have colorless bodies with lighter colored fins. This one I guess is light bluish red. Another member here also has one very similar. Check out this thread it has a cool video too.

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=166706

 

[AesSedai]

I just love that Betta. I've decided that I'll only rescue sick Betta's though when I go to buy another. So far, I only have 1 and may stay with 1 at a time, so it'll be awhile, I hope, before I'll be shopping for a new Betta when this guy (who still has no name, poor thing...after 35 days) dies.

I know I'll look for the Betta in the worst shape so I guess it will be luck that decides if I have a Cambodian Betta

The vid didn't work for me. It's my computer. It was jerky and really grainy.

((PaPeRo))