New Nano

hi all been seeing lots of nano tanks lately, so was thinking of building my own tank, very tiny one, low tech maybe just using moss and java fern with a few rocks or some wood. heres a pic of my plan, any suggestions would be great. also what fish can i put in, was thinking maybe 6 neons or cardinals and a oto.

 

how big is the tank going to be?

 

I like the filter idea at the back!

 

oops i knew i forgot something, internal dimensions will be 300x250x300 high. so the little filter section will be 300x50wx300 high, i have a glass drill bit will use that to the water from the front to the sump section. i have a 400 l/h pump lying around is that ok or do i need a bigger pump. so the tank should be about 20 liters or so

 

The 400lph pump might be a bit high... but give it a try.. it might surprize you.

 

ok cool the pump has an adjustment setting on it so i can play around with it

 

Just make sure the pump fist before building the filter in the back

 

lol, yeah i know i had that problem on my marine tank where the skimmer didnt fit in the sump. i will definately measure it perfectly. i already have the glass so maybe i will do a little set by set build. it will be my first tank build should be cool.

 

The biggest problem for me was, but I have huge hands, is getting the silicone on the seperator parts in the filter. Just could not get in there

 

be careful of the filter section.. if u cut a piece of glass that is 300x300 and try to put it in, u'll see that ur mm out.. you have to take into consideration the thickness of the glass at the bottom.. so for eg, if u using 1cm glass then ur filter glass pannel should be 280X290..

just a caution.. oh and when u done with measureing, measure again!!

 

Did that too

 

thanks alot guys will do my best. any suggestions for a light, was thinking maybe just a 18/20 watt cfl.

 

ON that size tank an 18/20wass CFL will work fine.

 

also, i'd suggest the last piece of divider glass to be shorter.. i had problems with mine.. if the pump " sucks" too hard, that section may become dry and your pump will be sucking up dry air instead make it shorter and fill the space above with filter crate so water can flow freely and it still keeps divided?

---------- Post added at 13:10 ---------- Previous post was at 13:10 ----------

u can do what i did.. get a CFL flood light it works, no build needed and doesnt look too bad

 

awesome stuff guys. cant wait to start i am really excited about this little tank. i have some spare wood at home so i can make a little hood too . only wish it was easy to get plants here in durban. looked in all the shops only moss i could see is java, couldnt find any short forgrounf plants either.

 

What moss are you looking for?

 

about the floodlight i think it may be too much i wanna try running the tank without c02 so dont want to overdo teh light, plus i doubt i will have any plants that demand the high light.

---------- Post added at 13:10 ---------- Previous post was at 13:10 ----------

dude durban is so bad i would get excited seeing any moss aother than java. i would like to try a moss wall thou that looks cool

 

well if u want to cheap out, get one of those desk lamps, screw in a CFL and shine that over the tank? i seen ppl do that with great results

 

Don't worry mate.. even the LPS in Gauteng only carry Java.

 

I have some Taiwan I can spare if your willing to pay shipping? Usually about R70