Nano: Moss Terrace

Me again.

Working on another Nano that wil take some time.

13L Tank but with all the rocks down to about 9
Desktop 9W lamp.
PLants: Only Moss.

The tank



Played around with some rocks, one of the choices.



Decided on this one though.




The future plans



Pink: Taiwan moss
Blue: Flame moss
Green: Java Moss growing from the top of the rock down.
Yellow: ?
Purple: ?

Maybe another type from on top of the tall rocks in the back.

The moss will fill a big part of the rocks, rocks sticking out here and there, to create a terrace.

If anybody have the smallest of piece from a different moss he can donate please let me know.

 

Looks Good Vis
I have a very stupid question here... What is a nano tank?
I have seen Zoom talk about it and I thought I will understand when it is done but I still have no idea...lol

 

You really dig your rock/moss scapes Vis. Nice one!

 

Gareth it is a tank +- smaller than 40L, then they call it a Nano tank.

Thanks Gaawie, very excited about this one.

 

vis one day on my way back from sodwana im going to stop in ermelo, seek you out and beg for some moss

 

You are more than welcome to do so.

 

Vis, that looks amazing. Where did you source those rocks, and do you have any idea what they are? It's going to look awesome when all the moss grows.

Also, are you using any special bulbs in that light? I know its 9W but any spectrum or anything?

I need to get some moss like you have!

 

Thanks Nirv, ummm the source is N17. Not sure what they are but they must be close to granite. Tried to cut one for my 3ft tank, they sure dont think much of a grinding disk.

These grow quite quickly under the right cercumstances and sooner or later there will be a lot of trimming. Will let you all know if there is any up for grabs.

No special spectrum light, moss grows in very little light so this is more for viewing than growth. The light does however keep my other tank growing well. I think it is 6500K or just below.

 

these nano tanks are geting out of control !

time I get in on the action , ill be joining the nano tank scene next month !

what you have planned is awesome !

I have spikey, flame and java at my disposal .
would love to get my hand on some japanese moss balls when dolphin brings them in .

imagine a half moon betta in a nano full of moss .

cheers

 

I am rooting for a Nano tank section, so hopefully if we all have one we can justify it.

Also thought of getting some moss balls but for another setup.

This tank is getting a white plakat female Just to ad to the mystic of it.

 

A Nano tank as vic has said is a tank smaller that 40litrs (or 10 gallons) Then between 0 gallons and 5 gallons is caleld a Pico tank. But I think a Pico tank specifically refers to a reef tank... not sure if it could be the same for tropical. If that is the case, then my nano is in fact a pico.

Vis, a 9 watts, on 9 litres, you are still getting 1 watt per litre, of the right spectrum... so even if it seems little, you have the right stuff there.

Brads, I think there is a tendancy for people to move either toward reef or to Nano's when they reach the state of "equilibrium" in their main display tank. I had reached a point in my big tank where my W/C is down to a tee, fertz strategy and general maintenance on the big tank had becoming easy, and dar I say mundain, and wanted something more challenging.

Keeping a Nano in my opinion is a lot more difficult that keeping a big tank. Your water chemistry becomes rather challanging, because you are dealing with so little water. 1mg of nitrogen in a 12litre has a much bigger effect that 1mg of nitrogen in 300litres. So maintaining the balance becomes interesting as usually you have huge breakouts in algae, and need to find the correct balance. I havent' filled my tank with water yet... I'm still growing the hairgrass, so I haven't discovered this fun yet.

Now there's an idea.



Vis... you have yet again gone an effectively hit me with the "wow" factor! Those rocks are really awesome, and the idea is brilliant. I can't recall now, but did you create a cave with those rocks at all... would make a lovely rockery with caves for some rams or apisto's to spawn in!

I think I mentioned it to you in PM, but I'll put it here as well... you gave us a link to a very interesting lighting article a few weeks ago. I finally managed to wade through it... and the one thing that stood out to me is the fact that the author recommended to rather use ACRYLIC if you want to put a cover over the top, as the glass breaks up the light, and doesn't let the correct spectrum of light through... meaning the glass stops the right type of light from getting through. Your idea's on this?

I also noticed an airstone in the tank... would this not cause the loss of CO2? And how are you filtering this tank? I didn't notice any filter, but I know it's still early days, just wanting to hear what your thoughts are on filtering.

 

looks good vis

 

Havent really looked at it that close, was looking at the lighting specs first in that article as I had to change the lighting in my 3foot. Will go throught that link again and get an idee about this. Sounds like a fair call to me.
I did notice that the very first light to break down is the red spectrum, the ones we want, but nanos being so shallow I do not think it really has an effect.

They also said that you cant get sunburn through glass but I can say different from experience.

Filtering mmmmm yes problem. Good point about the airstone though. Will be going with very frequent water changes for know.
Have thought of building a overflow at the back of the tank and then adding a very
small return pump.
Thought about that Super mini HOB but changed my mind when you said it needs to be primed, will check this one though to see if it is necasary.

Most of the times its easier to solve the problem when you acually run into it.

 

yeah my main tank still needs some more plants and drift wood but I need a challenge! my main tank maintenece is very low as my fish stock is small , less than 15 fish in a tank your size zoom , with a overhead filtration and a internal eheim pick up filter . my main tank needs more fish just waiting for the right exotics from dolphin !

as for new challenges I have a 25l hex nano , with built in filtration and cfl lighting as standard . it currently has endlers in it wich slagter have me (he got them from the prof ) I plan on getting midnight black gravel to show the endlers colours !
having a nano will give new challenges and provide fun . seriously I can do water changes with a 2L jug !

lol with my big tank I have to use a 80L and 60L container to store and treat water !

also have a 12 L don't know what to do with that !

cheers

 

Vis, you should take a look at some of the built in nano marine sumps for inspiration

 

Jip one 10L bucket and I do a 98% water change

A 12L would make a great Nano.

Zoom I just decided on a build on sump at the back of the tank. Will solve my heater and filter problem. Doesnt need a big one for its size.
Finding a pump with very little flow is the problem now.

Hi fly do you have some links?

 

what size pump are you looking for ?

 

have you considered buying a really small internal filter ? via aqua and sera make tiny ones and they are like 100 bucks to 200 bucks max .

otherwise i have seen really small pumps at builders wharehouse I think they are used for small water features it should be perfect !

has any one considered using perspex as a tank cover or sliders ?

as for c02 I think those sera tablets and co2 dispenser should work well in a nano any one considerd this ? the tablet system costs 300 odd

cheers

 

OK got the pump sorted because of some previous mistake I made.
I have a little Dolphin f-380 internal filter. When you close the output tit would push water out the air intake.

I will construct a small sump at the back of the tank with this filter in it. Close the outake so a small stream would go out the air intake back to the tank. So my tank would still be filtered way over its potential in the sump but the flow in the tank would be minimal.

 

Very nice idea Vis.
Have never thought of using this air-intake feature as a minimal water supply point!
Let us know how this works.