FartGoblin77 Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 HI all, Thanks in advance for your feedback. I am planning on starting a small aquarium for my home office. I've been doing research and have come up with a plan. I would appreciate any feedback on where you think I have gone wrong, or how I could do better. Here's the plan : Hardware: Tank-Waterbox Clear Mini 6, Hydor Centrifgual Pump 100GPH w/ Inovative Marine Spin Stream(I have this instead of a air pump or HOB filter, I'm okay with frequent water changes if the plants cant keep up) Heater - Fluval Nano 25 watt (6 us Gallon) Lighting( Fluval Aquasky 2.0 LED 15"-24" Plants: Monte Carlo (Carpet 50%-75% of tank) Dwarf Sagttaria (3-5 for accent) Golden Pothos floating and flowing out of top Inhabitants: Ramshorn snails 3-5 Dwarf Red Coral Platy 3-5(on male and the rest females) I picked they are supposed to stay smaller 1" to 1-1/4" Well? what everybody think? Am I out of my mind? Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 That sounds like fun! I can't offer that much help...I'm not an expert. Two things that stand out to me: are you sure you need a heater? (I'm actually considering this question myself on my new 17 gallon...it's 66 degrees right now and I'm not convinced I need a heater yet.) Plants I think grow a bit better in slightly cooler water (maybe because there's more dissolved CO2 in cooler water, all other variables being the same). This might be especially true for carpeting plants...but I'm definitely interested to hear others' feedback on that. The only other thing is I wonder if over time the Pothos would block the light to the Monte Carlo and slow its growth or make it harder to form a true carpet. I guess it depends a little on the profile of your tank...for some reason the dimensions are not available (or not easy to find) on the Waterbox website (weird, since that's basically the first thing I want to know about a tank...) This sounds like a fun tank; I'd love to see pictures of what you create! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FartGoblin77 Posted December 23, 2020 Author Share Posted December 23, 2020 44 minutes ago, Jess said: That sounds like fun! I can't offer that much help...I'm not an expert. Two things that stand out to me: are you sure you need a heater? (I'm actually considering this question myself on my new 17 gallon...it's 66 degrees right now and I'm not convinced I need a heater yet.) Plants I think grow a bit better in slightly cooler water (maybe because there's more dissolved CO2 in cooler water, all other variables being the same). This might be especially true for carpeting plants...but I'm definitely interested to hear others' feedback on that. The only other thing is I wonder if over time the Pothos would block the light to the Monte Carlo and slow its growth or make it harder to form a true carpet. I guess it depends a little on the profile of your tank...for some reason the dimensions are not available (or not easy to find) on the Waterbox website (weird, since that's basically the first thing I want to know about a tank...) This sounds like a fun tank; I'd love to see pictures of what you create! Thanks Jess, No heater? I guess I could see how it goes. It gets a bit chilly here in Ohio and I like a bit of a chill, the house is set at 62 overnight and warms up to a balmy 66 during the day. I think the little guys might like it a bit warmer than I do. 😉 I was planning on having the pothos at one end of the tank over some rocks that will be used to hide the heater(if I use it) and the Monte Carlo over the rest of the tank. I'll probably be trimming the Pothos every other day won't I? Once I get the plans squared away and start setup I'll post some pics. FYI tank dimensions are 14.2x9.4x11. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 I'll be following this to read what others say RE: the heater. I think the lowest my house goes is 66 (maybe it'll go to 64 in Jan-Mar). For my planning, I'm actually concerned about the summer when my tank may heat up to 78 degrees...maybe up to 80. It's harder to cool a tank than it is to heat it. So, I might be getting fish that enjoy 78 degree water and then heat it to 74 or so in the dead of winter. We'll see. Definitely this whole, "do I really need a heater?" question is the most interesting aspect of the hobby for me (even after watching Cory's video on it, twice!). Not sure about the Pothos, but I think they can grow fast! Are there any small-leaved varieties available? At any rate, this sounds cool and there's no way to know for sure until you try it! Looking forward to some pics! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn T Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 Unless you keep your house warm, I wouldn't suggest keeping platies in an unheated aquarium. They are, after all, tropical fish, not cool water fish. One thing to do would be to get it set up, filter running, and see how much heat it might put into the tank. That's a small volume of water, so the filter might add enough heat. I have my doubts, but it's worth checking. Since you'll want to cycle the tank before adding fish, that'll give plenty of opportunity to monitor water temperature to make sure it stays at a truly healthy level for platies. 🙂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ali Posted December 23, 2020 Share Posted December 23, 2020 Sounds fun. I'm looking forward to seeing your setup, especially with the pothos. I have platies, and I would suggest starting with 3. For me, 3 quickly turned into 20. Especially for a smaller tank, I would start small and leave room for babies. I see people talking about heating. I keep mine at 76. I think they can tolerate colder, but I wouldn't push it in the winter. When the summer comes, you can unplug the heater. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FartGoblin77 Posted December 23, 2020 Author Share Posted December 23, 2020 Good point Ali. I will stick with three Platys to start. I think I’m quite a bit away from adding fish. I want to get the plants in and established first. After I actually buy the aquarium to. 😉 I think I’ll take your suggestion on the heater also. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quikv6 Posted December 24, 2020 Share Posted December 24, 2020 (edited) I have to second what Ali said.....livebearers can quickly overrun your small tank. If you also limit your initial number to 3, you may be best with all males (Or all females...knowing that they may already be pregnant.) Male platies can be very persistant, and can really stress out the females. You don't really have the space or other occupants to lessen that stress. I started my tank with 3 platies....only one was a male. Fast forward about 7 months, and I now have approximately 80. It happens fast. Edited December 24, 2020 by quikv6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sleepybear88 Posted December 24, 2020 Share Posted December 24, 2020 Love the set up sounds interesting only thing I can suggest although I may be wrong and hopefully more seasoned people here can let us know but algae control in plants is better with shrimp not just snails alone... this I say from experience my snails stuck to rock and glass but not plants much, which is why I have now added shrimp to my small tanks and ottocinclus to my bigger tanks. I also like how planted tanks look with some shrimps in there. But either way good luck and hopefully you post pictures up to see the set up in its glory 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FartGoblin77 Posted December 24, 2020 Author Share Posted December 24, 2020 27 minutes ago, Sleepybear88 said: Love the set up sounds interesting only thing I can suggest although I may be wrong and hopefully more seasoned people here can let us know but algae control in plants is better with shrimp not just snails alone... this I say from experience my snails stuck to rock and glass but not plants much, which is why I have now added shrimp to my small tanks and ottocinclus to my bigger tanks. I also like how planted tanks look with some shrimps in there. But either way good luck and hopefully you post pictures up to see the set up in its glory Thanks sleepy bear, Do you think I’d be alright adding a couple cherry shrimp in there? I was worried about gettin to many critters in there. Thanks again everyone for the advise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sleepybear88 Posted December 24, 2020 Share Posted December 24, 2020 In my opinion I would try it since shrimp aren't really that big. But it would be up to you. I have 6 active tanks and I have a clean up crew in all. Even in my 6 gallon I have a betta with a corydora and a pleco to try and keep everything clean. In my 16 gallon I have a few plants and 1 betta 4 guppies 1 Cory 1 pleco and 2 snails. I added 5 shrimps because I noticed the snails tend to just stick to rocks or glass only. And I want to see if the shrimp will keep the plants clean. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FartGoblin77 Posted December 28, 2020 Author Share Posted December 28, 2020 Making progress, just need some substrate and rocks to start setup soon. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FartGoblin77 Posted January 17, 2021 Author Share Posted January 17, 2021 Ended up with two tanks. Setup and planted. Other inhabitants in time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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