Nano Tank: False Start (A.K.A. Why Won't My Drfitwood Sink?!)

So, as I mentioned a little while ago (https://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/threads/new-small-nano-tank-setup-suggestions-please.34903/), I bought a nano tank for my son (4 y/o). It arrived and is a nice, neat tank. Good choice, I think:

Curved front edges.


With a light and hang-on-the-inside filter. Light is actually decent and has dimming and night modes.

All good so far. I had a nice, gnarled piece of driftwood I had been saving for a while. I measured, so I knew that it would fit, but I didn't know how good it would look. Tried a few orientations:


Bit of an awkward shape, actually, couldn't get an angle that I liked:


Thought it may look better with some substrate:

Was sort of happy with that so I filled that tank and realised: it floats. Rookie mistake, I should have pre-soaked it. I weighted it down for a few days. Then boiled it in my biggest pot. Still floated. Has been sitting in a bucket now for nearly two weeks. Much more water-logged, but still floats! Arrgh!

Maybe I'll boil it again. Not keen on seeing if it's one of those types of wood that needs "months" to become properly waterlogged. I've actually been thinking that maybe the wood is too "thick" or strong for a small tank. Not sure. Maybe I should just get some spider wood. Or mopani: the good thing about mopani is that it sinks from the start.

So, any suggestions about where to get some nice pieces of wood in Centurion (Pretoria)? Or should I rather boil my current piece again and wait longer? Input or constructive criticism is welcome.

Meanwhile, the tank is running but looking a bit sad. Did some accelerated cycling by using water and a bit of media plus bacteria starter culture. Some clippings from my main tank are floating around to provide some cover for the 3 endlers and 10 or so shrimp that I put in as a trial. They're happy. Some algae is growing on the filter, which I actually like. Shows that the light is powerful enough, at least.


Finally, my son said plants were nice and all, but please could he get that skull ornament we saw at a pet shop? I guess that the tank is for him, but I managed to negotiate him towards something like a treasure chest. Haha.

 

I like this little tank! It looks so neat.

As for the wood, it's your call. If you really like the shape, all I can advise is either patience, or finding a way to (discreetly) weigh it down. You could silicone it to a "base" of rock, which itself would be concealed beneath the substrate.

As for the skull vs treasure chest, I'd say go for the skull

 

I tried "plants and wood are all the ornaments we need!" but lost that debate...

 

It'll sink eventually. Patience is key.

 

Patience? No way! I'll try boiling it again, and maybe hitting it with a spatula or something.

 

4 year olds tend to have minds of their own.
As long as it isn't a hippo blowing bubbles.

 

I actually have one of those that I got with random boxes of kit, weird decoration..

 

It'll sink within a week usually.

 

*UPDATE*

Okay, so it's confirmed, I have no patience. I gave up on the uncooperative floating driftwood (still love the shape so I'll use it as a bookshelf ornament or something). Bought some small pieces of Mopani wood which sank immediately. had to saw one piece in half; I must say, Mopani wood is the hardest wood I have ever cut. I don't have an electric circular saw but just a normal handsaw. It kept getting stuck and seizing. Had to finish it off with a hacksaw.

This was the result:

Still looking a bit cloudy.

I thought it would be easy enough to do with most of the water remaining in and keeping the present inhabitants in. In hindsight, it was a mistake to do it like this! I should have removed all water and creatures (only three endlers and cull shrimp anyway) and done it properly. I wasn't completely happy with the layout and thought that I'd give it a week and re-do everything.

Then a few days past and things settled:

Starting to look a little better.


"Thanks for the takeaway food, hooman."


I planted some more clippings (mainly crypts wendtii and some rotala) from my main tank. Still looks a bit bleak and haphazard but I can begin to see some potential.


Something like this, I hope.

Went and bought a few fish: 2x ottos, 2x kuhli loaches, and 2x honey gouramis. I've never had honey gouramis before but they're supposed to be a smaller variant that will be okay in a small (30 L) tank. I must say that they look stunning! I am actually quite jealous of them. (The kuhli loaches are monsters and look even bigger in the small tank, so don't use them for scale to judge the size of the tank.)

Now, we'll give it a month or so and see how the plants develop.

 

Looks good. Mopani will leak tannins for years, just a heads up.

 

I boiled them first, which helps but doesn't totally stop it. Luckily, I like a slightly tanninish colour. Reminds me of Blackwater biotopes. If it gets too yellow, I'll need to make a plan.

 

I had mine in for about 3 years - it won't stop. Purigen works well to kill tannins though

 

Activated carbon does the trick and is cheaper than purigen. And once it's clear again you can remove it and just put more again when it gets too yellow

 

Activated carbon can also remove some minerals and such from the water, apparently contributes to HITH but have not seen that much info. I keep carbon solely for removing medication, otherwise water changes/purigen are usually good.

 

I've never had issues, always used carbon cause purigen isn't student budget friendly

 

Still pretty clear so boiling might have done the trick.

The silly kuhli loaches just wouldn't settle down and would zip back and forth. One even launched clean out of the tank! It has a glass lid but there is a small gap between the lid and the glass walls. I have now relocated them to my main tank. Suggestions for small bottom dwellers? Maybe just pygmy cories. Or maybe is just load it up with spare shrimp for my main. Suggestions? (Tank is 30 L, main fish = honey gouramis.)

 

Jimmy, Looking nice.

Hhaving no patience is a thing in our hobby hahahha. I once said Aquarium must be Latin for Patience as well hahaha (it isn't btw)

Please realise the tank isn't cycled yet.
Most bacteriastarters only contain certain bacteria to keep.levels low for some time to get the wanted natural ones to settle.
Test your water to kepe the current stock safe.

In my opinion the tank is too small for Corys and even for the pygmies. Though there size makes people think they are nanofish, my opinion is they need bigger tanks. C.pygmaeus isn't a real bottomdweller btw. C.habrosus is but a hit and.miss in small tanks.

Greetings Aad

Verstuurd vanaf mijn SM-G960F met Tapatalk

 

I used water and a little filter media from my main tank. I also added some new Seacheam Matrix and treated it with Bac-Up (a starter bacteria culture). That should do the trick for an accelerated start-up. It has also been running for a few weeks. Nitrite and ammonia readings are 0, so all should be well. (Bit on the acidic side, likely due to the wood and the aquasoil. pH=6.4 but should be okay. Will gradually approach 7 as I continue with water changes and everything ages. That's what happened in my main tank.)