New 5.5 dwarf puffer tank...Comments? (pics!)

[trashion]

So my lovely 15 gallon hi-tech planted tank has become too bothersome for me to take care of any longer Also, hauling a 15 gal with 20 lbs of substrate to school and back twice a year is a real pain. So I'm downgrading to something smaller. I had a 5.5 quarantine lying around, but I figure with 1 tank with one inhabitant, (plus the shrimp tank I might build, as seen in my other recent thread) I don't really need it to serve that purpose any more.

So I scooped a bunch of substrate, some crypts and vals, and my driftwood/java fern from my 15 gallon, after I emptied it out. Put 'em in the 5.5 with all of the filter media from the 15 (in an Aquaclear 20) and voila! I got a really cheap deal on this 13w compact flourescent craft light made by Ott-Lite, so I put that behind the tank. I've read that the WPG rule breaks down on smaller tanks, so it's not really as high lighting as it sounds. Here's some shots!




I love that driftwood, it has a great little cave in the front! Current inhabitants are my 4 harlequin rasboras, who are being traded to the LFS for a DP this week. A few tiny baby ramshorns hitchhiked in, so the DP will have some crunchy snacks LFS guy swears they'll eat frozen bloodworms like candy, so I don't have to worry about culturing live food

P.S. Can't for the LIFE of me figure out what the K rating on the Ott-Lite "Truecolor" craft lamps is, but the plants have really seemed to perk up and are doing just fine under it.

Comments? Inspiration? Scorn?

[elvis332]

nice tank like the drift wood

[welchrock]

heater on an angle like that looks strange - is that to provide a more even temperature?

[trashion]

Nah, the tank isn't tall enough for it to stand upright.

[MaelStrom]

Looks great! Your puffer will love his new home!

[mesapod]

looks great!

Do you does with ferts cause your plants look really healthy

[mykidsmom]

I think it looks GREAT, too! Not too cluttered, the plants and the puffer will be the stars! If the angled heater bothers you - it looks like a black plastic Marineland Stealth heater - why not just lay it down horizontally - either on the gravel or just above it (heat rises so it will help the 'thermodynamics' of the tank) I would put it so you could see the top of the heater from the bottom back corner below the filter. That way you could check what you had it set for while it was still in the tank, and the black plastic would just blend with the black gravel - and it would disappear! Other than that admittedly minor distraction - I think it is a great looking little tank! Nice scale/proportions!
Your plants seem to like it, too!

[trashion]

I took them out of now dismantled high-tech tank, where they were receiving regular ferts and high lighting and CO2. They're still getting the occasional fert, but not as much as before.

[COM]

I think the tank looks great! I'm sorry to hear that you took down your high-tech tank, but maybe we'll gain another anti-CO2 convert out of this experiment.

The heater on an angle looks normal to me. I've always put them in like that ever since fully-submersible heaters became the norm.

[trashion]

I got my puffer today! I got him from Fishtopia, in Fishkill (irony) NY. I carefully picked out the healthiest-looking one. After acclimating him, I watched him pick at a snail. Thinking he might be hungry, I thawed some frozen bloodworms, and dropped one nearby him (hoping to god that he would accept frozen...) BAM! He ate it up! Glad feeding him won't be as difficult as I'd worried. I'll repost with pics in a few days. He's so cute!

[mesapod]

Oh that's good it eats it and the LFS gave you the right info.Pics coming soon?

[trashion]

Puffer pics!




I tried feeding him some frozen mysis today, no luck. He took it into his mouth but spat it out. Guess he doesn't like it. Slurps up bloodworms like spaghetti, though!

[Sea-Agg2009]

He's cute!