Streetwise Indoor Aquariums

[Streetwise]

I keep many small aquariums in my apartment, mostly Walstad-style, with organic soil from a local composting spot. I enjoy running really stable ecosystems. These photos don't show much of the fish and shrimp. I also keep some outdoor tubs here in Vermont. Cheers, Jason

Edited July 19, 2020 by Streetwise

[Streetwise]

Some of my photos make my tanks look bigger than they actually are. The aquariums in photo order are: 16 gallon bowfront, 2.5 gallon, 2.5 gallon, 20 gallon, 7.5 gallon, 1.25 gallon, 3.5 gallon, utility 3.5, 3.5, and 2.5 gallon, plus three 20 gallon tubs. Not including my tubs, my average tank size is 6.5 gallons.

Edited July 20, 2020 by Streetwise

[Robin]

Very pretty. Especially like the ones with the wood coming out of the top. Such a great look. Do you have to do a  lot of top offs due to evaporation?

[TheDukeAnumber1]

I've admired the way you setup your tanks since seeing some of them in the old chat. Glad I got to see them all on the forum.

[Streetwise]

[Streetwise]

I filmed a little tour of my fishroom/bedroom/office/studio. I have been working from home a lot, so my aquariums have been a key source of balance. Sorry for the air conditioning sound. The Italian tank brand is Askoll.

 

Edited July 23, 2020 by Streetwise

[DaveSamsell]

On 7/19/2020 at 1:24 AM, Streetwise said:

I keep many small aquariums in my apartment, mostly Walstad-style, with organic soil from a local composting spot. I enjoy running really stable ecosystems. These photos don't show much of the fish and shrimp. I also keep some outdoor tubs here in Vermont. Cheers, Jason

Jason,

Very nice aquariums\tubs.  Many interesting styles.  👍

[Streetwise]

I visited my folks to add some snowball shrimp to the tubs. I went into the woods and found some dried moss that had fallen off some rocks for lack of moisture. New home in a 3.5:

 

[DaveSamsell]

On 7/25/2020 at 10:49 PM, Streetwise said:

I visited my folks to add some snowball shrimp to the tubs. I went into the woods and found some dried moss that had fallen off some rocks for lack of moisture. New home in a 3.5:

 

The more I look at these smaller aquariums, the more interesting they become to me.  Very nice....😎

[Streetwise]

Thanks Dave. I’ve thought about trying my first Betta in that 3.5, but I’m not sure it is big enough, so I will probably drop in a handful of blue neos. However, plants, wood, and moss make me happy, even without fish or shrimp.

Cheers

[Bill Smith]

10 minutes ago, Streetwise said:

Thanks Dave. I’ve thought about trying my first Betta in that 3.5, but I’m not sure it is big enough, so I will probably drop in a handful of blue neos. However, plants, wood, and moss make me happy, even without fish or shrimp.

Cheers

A betta would be thrilled to be in that environment compared to his cup on the store shelf, IMO. 🙂

[Streetwise]

I did a little bit of cleaning in my 16 gallon bowfront aquarium. This is my overgrown community tank. It currently has yellow Neos, Otocinclus, Glowlight Tetras, Leopard Danios, White Clouds, and CPDs, but just a few of each. All the fish are refugees from my 20 gallon, when I impulse bought a Rainbow Shark. I am thinking of adding more inhabitants.

I think the Glowlight Tetras are the most attractive swimmers of those fish. I feel like I underestimated them.

This is the only tank where I use a canister filter, an Eheim Classic 150, because I really like the minimal spray-bar and intake, and I like how ultra basic it is. I just run foam, foam, lava rock balls, foam. The canister is kept in a 20 gallon tub under the table, because where there is a canister, there will be water.

This was a saltwater tank in 2011 when Irene flooded my apartment with four feet of water. I'm glad to be back in the hobby, because I almost quit forever.

[DaveSamsell]

On 8/1/2020 at 12:52 AM, Streetwise said:

I did a little bit of cleaning in my 16 gallon bowfront aquarium. This is my overgrown community tank. It currently has yellow Neos, Otocinclus, Glowlight Tetras, Leopard Danios, White Clouds, and CPDs, but just a few of each. All the fish are refugees from my 20 gallon, when I impulse bought a Rainbow Shark. I am thinking of adding more inhabitants.

I think the Glowlight Tetras are the most attractive swimmers of those fish. I feel like I underestimated them.

This is the only tank where I use a canister filter, an Eheim Classic 150, because I really like the minimal spray-bar and intake, and I like how ultra basic it is. I just run foam, foam, lava rock balls, foam. The canister is kept in a 20 gallon tub under the table, because where there is a canister, there will be water.

This was a saltwater tank in 2011 when Irene flooded my apartment with four feet of water. I'm glad to be back in the hobby, because I almost quit forever.

 

Beautiful aquarium.....  I am guilty of impulse buying fish as well......😅

[Streetwise]

I currently have one tank where I use a canister filter. I love the intake and spray-bar, but I have some trust issues. The tank is 16 gallons, but I keep the filter in a 20 gallon tub.

Edited August 5, 2020 by Streetwise
Details

[Streetwise]

I have a decision to make with stocking two of these tanks, and I would appreciate some advice. I don't want to add any additional apartment tanks, and I have outdoor tubs at my folks with White Clouds and various Neo Shrimp.

I had a sudden loss of my Rainbow Shark in my 20 gallon. I loved that fish, but it was a bully, which forced me to move all Tetras and Danios to my 16 gallon bow.

My 20 now has one YoYo Loach, a crew of Otos, and about four Amanos. My 16 has two CPDs, four Glowlight Tetras, and three White Cloud varieties, plus some Yellow Neo Shrimp.

While I have thought about trying new fish, I think I should finish an old idea of running just one mid-level species per tank.

My idea is to have the Glowlight Tetras in one of them, and the CPDs in another, and add more of each. I am also thinking of moving the White Clouds to my tubs with the much-younger White Clouds, but maybe I should keep them with one of the other species.

On the other hand, this motley crew of community fish have been together, and maybe they should stay together in the 16 or move back together to the 20.

Thanks,

Jason

[Nataku]

When I end up with the same species scattered across multiple tanks and then find their numbers starting to dwindle I usually go ahead and add them all back to one tank to keep up the 'school' for as long as possible as they age out. Perhaps it is me anthropomorphisizing the fish but I figure if they're schooling fish they'd  like the company of their own kind. 

Given that, I'd put the white clouds in the tubs with the other white clouds, and then who gets the 16 and who gets the 20 is down to which tank you like more and which fish you want a larger school of. I personally love the look of CPDs and a good size school of them in a 20 seems like a neat thing. 

I suppose there is also the consideration which tank is better set up to meet the needs of the species in question. But both tanks are planted so I'm not sure this is as big of a concern unless you were planning on rescaping?

[Streetwise]

I got some fish chores done today. I minimized the tubing inside my sponge filters per Cory's recent video. I was unable to catch any of the Glowlight Tetras, or the CPDs, but I removed the White Clouds, and took them to the tubs to join the other White Clouds. I stopped by the LFS to drop off Duckweed and snails, and I decided to get six more Glowlight Tetras for the 16.

I also picked up my very first Betta, a gorgeous blue female!

Edited August 13, 2020 by Streetwise

[Streetwise]

This is Nebula, my first Betta:

I made another trip to the LFS. I picked up six Pygmy Corydoras for the 16 gallon, five Blue Neocaridina for Nebula’s tank, and twelve Bloodfin Tetras as the new community fish for my 20 gallon.

Edited August 15, 2020 by Streetwise
Timeline

[Streetwise]

All the new Tetras are doing great, and the Blood Fin Tetras are the most active fish I have ever kept.

Unfortunately, my Betta jumped out. I found her when I went to take a photo. She hung on for about another day and a half before passing. I’m really sad about it, especially after losing my Rainbow Shark last week.

Everything has been so stable and healthy for so long, but these two events have been tough. I’m glad to have a community here in these times.

Jason

 

[Daniel]

So sorry about the betta! They are really resilient (even out of water). Dang, that is 2 bummers in a very short time. 😒

Edited August 19, 2020 by Daniel

[Streetwise]

I added some more plants to my Pico Zen tank, and moved the nano sponge filter to the far corner for a better fit with the wood. I also added substrate to my 1.25, and put in a smaller piece of spider wood, and some more plants.

Edited August 25, 2020 by Streetwise
Photos

[Streetwise]

This happened just as I was about to turn off the lights last night.

 

Edited August 25, 2020 by Streetwise

[MattyIce]

The out of tank stuff is very cool.

 Do you have to water any of the mosses that aren't submerged or do they get watered enough through wicking action?

[Streetwise]

Thank you!

I would say that on the knobby Mopani wood, the wicking is good for about 1.5 inches above the waterline. I just added a tiny bit more above that, so we will see. I do pour over it when doing water top-offs every few days.

When I tried some moss on some spider wood, it drooped over and took on too much water and got a little mold on top. It is a little like a houseplant that you don't want to over-water.

 

[Alesha]

1 hour ago, Streetwise said:

This happened just as I was about to turn off the lights last night.

 

Oh my word! Such a cute ladybug!!! 🐞 Glad you were able to capture the moment.

I'm so sorry for your losses the past few weeks. Those are so hard! You have some beautiful setups there and I'm sure things will swing back to the positive for you in the fish room very soon.