Desktop Planted Nano

Hi,
I thought I'd share with you a little idea that I have been thinking about for a while for a vertically oriented desktop planted aquarium. I need it to have a fairly small base since space is at a premium on my desk, so I was thinking of a tank with a base of 30cmx30cm and a height of 50cm to increase the viewable volume of the tank since low tanks generally end up with you staring at the choppy surface without a fish in sight. I used the glass thickness calucaltor available on MASA and I came up with 10mm glass for the base and 6mm for the sides with bracing at the top. Will that do?

The tank is intended to be planted so I was wandering what type of lighting you guys would recommend- Bare in mind I am on a budget. I will be investing in some planting substrate like Seachem Flourite and I'll be using a DIY CO2 system. I am unsure about the plants at the moment, I would really like to keep some HC or glosso as a carpeting plant but I have heard that they can be a bit tricky. I'd like to take up the challenge of growing them but if it is unrealistic then let me know. I would also like to try phoenix moss tied to driftwood to give the tank an open and minimalistic but still green look.

 

Nice man sound interesting, personally I dont see the need for 10mm base and no need for bracing either.

But if you want to go for it.

 

50 cm is quite high, I wouldn't go with anything other than LED but that will pretty much blow your budget.

 

Why dont you rather go 45 high this is much better for planted tanks.

 

I could go 45cm high. If I did would I be able to use T5's? And would a 6mm base be adequate?

 

Yes with 45cm high you can use t5 tubes and yes 6mm glass is used to build a standard 3 foot tank you could use 8mm for the base if you want to have piece of mind but personally I dont think it is needed.

 

Okay so I'll go for a 30cmLx30cmWx45cmH tank with 6mm glass all round. What sort of wattage should I be looking at in order to keep glosso at that depth?

 

Does anyone know from where I can get ADA Aquasoil or an equivalent?

 

You can get it at hillcrest pets, Eurospirit and northlands.

 

Thanks Sean J, I will stop off there this weekend.
I got quotes for the glass- The summary of it is that it will be a little too costly to build my own tank. So instead I am going to use my old 46cmLx23cmDx23cmH tank as it has a nice small base and is a lot shallower so the lighting will be more effective.
I also wanted to experiment with a mini sump made out of a 30cmx15cmx15cm tank to maximise space in the display tank, the only issue with this is the need for an overflow, any suggestions?

 

Okay cool man think it should work nicely for you, personally I dont think it is worth it using a sump for such a small tank. Just get yourself a hob filter and maybe a very small internal filter for extra water flow, plants need good flow so that the ferts can be spready nicely.

Good luck.

 

I think you're right, I may be over complicating things. I have an old HOB filter and a few small internal filters that I use for my grow-out tanks. What kind of ferts should I get to start off with?

 

Yeah they will work nicely. Yeah dont over complicate things to much keep it simple. It all depends on your budget you could go the tropica specialized range which is a all in one fert cost about about R230 for 300 mil and for you small tank it will last a couple of months. Or you could go the seachem range nitrogen potassium and phosphorus, flourish comprehensive, iron and excel.

 

Thanks @hviviers75. This advice is really helpful. Any ideas for fish? I was thinking a small shoal of some kind of tetra or rasbora.

 

Pleasure dude, yeah keep it at one species of fish maybe a couple of micro rasboras or some cherry barbs.

 

I like the sound of those, I have also wanted to try getting a group of rummynose tetras but would my tank be too small for a school of 6 rummynoses?