# Scored an 8 gallon nano cube



## Guest (Aug 20, 2008)

Hey y'all...At the lfs I work at, a guy droped off his 8 (I think) gallon nano-cube. He just got tired of it, and we were just going to throw it away, so I saved it.

Anyways...I've been looking for a 20 long for my cherry shrimps, but I"m gonna put them in this instead. Planted of course. I"m gonna try to go with low light, low tech. Flourish (if it won't hurt the shrimps) but that's it.

Here's the catch...There's no hood That means that I"ll have to buy some lights somewhere to use on it. What should I use? You don't have to answer now...We can wait till I have my plant list up so y'all know what size I should get.

Stats:

Dimensions:

Length (side to side):14"
Width (front to back):12"
Height (top to bottom):13"

Substrate:

Just regular gravel...

Flora (some of these plants will get cut out, others will be added, but this is what I"m thinking about as of now)

Dwarf Sags
Various crypts (wendtii, lutea, petchii, etc.)
Moss ( Christmas? Flame? Pea****************? I'm still deciding. Whatever I happen to have or find avialable...)
Anubia nana 'petite'
Java fern (narrowleaf or windelov)
Sunset hygro

Fauna:

Cherry shrimps (for sure, as I already have them)
Ottos (I like them )

All the rest of these are possibilities...

Tiger shrimp
CRS
Amano shrimp
Micro rasboras (still debating...this still might be a shrimp only tank, except for the ottos)

That's all I got so far...It's not a big tank, so, you know...I only have so much room. I"m planning on some driftwood (possibly manzita) that I can tie my moss too...prolly gonna be flame, cause it's sweet.

So...Lights...I'm looking for cheap. There's no lid on this, so it needs to be something with legs, sit on the top of the tank, clip ons, and most importantly, cheap, but still be enough for my list of plants. Remember, I'm prolly not gonna be fertalizing this too much, nor will there be Co2.

Should I make the back wall a moss wall? I really like them, but I'm not sure how well it would work with the 'overflows'. I guess I could always try it, and if I don't like it, get rid of it. *thinks*


The tank was used for saltwater, and the guy had metal halides on it, which is why there's no lid. I smelled nasty when I got it (it rode home in the trunk of my car ). I've since cleaned it out, all the sand is gone, the salt deposites, everything. The only thing I have left to do is clean out all the sponges. They are filled with sand, so it might be a while...haha The pump is 'broken', meaning it stops and goes. You have to hit it occasionally...haha Anyways, I just took it out, cleaned it really well, and replaced. But it was really strong, so I just put a pump I happened to have here in it, cause it's not as strong. The tank isn't gonne have that great of a bio-load, so I don't need to much stuff.

So...That's all for now I guess. Any help?

p.s. The tank was free 

p.s.s. I figured it out, it's 9.45 gallons, minus some cause it's a bow front, add some cause it has the filter thingy in the back, and it's alittle under 10 gallons.

p.s.s.s. KRISTIN HELP ME!!!!!


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## Guest (Aug 20, 2008)

Okay...I measured the tank incorrectly. It's a 6 gallon...lol

Also, I found a replacement hood on the website. They are asking 59.99 for it. Should I buy this, or should I get different lights? I'm not sure if the lighting on the hood (when replaced with freshwater bulbs) are goingt o be strong enough for the plants I"m thinking about getting.

There is a chance the tank may get set up this weekend. The lights will be a standered 15 watts strip until I get the money for new lights. 

I'm leaktesting it right now. I haven't had a leaky tank yet, but I'm not gonna let that luck streak go with this little buggar...haha


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## Guest (Aug 20, 2008)

Just use a desk lamp. Go for something around 15 watts. I wouldn't use much more wattage than that for a 6g. That would be a cheaper option IMO. Try Home Depot and Lowes....maybe even Walmart.

Since its only 6g, I'd make it shrimp only. Skip the Amanos unless you plan on adding a lid. They'll jump out. Cherries are safe though, never had one jump out of my tank.


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## welchrock (Jan 4, 2008)

Hi Fishbguy:

Sounds like a very nice tank to 'fall into' at your work!

Question regarding shrimp, and this is one I've had for awhile as I get more into planted tanks: do they serve a purpose (cleaning, agitating water, removing unwanted algae etc.) in planted tanks or are they simply kept as interesting pets? 

As I delve deeper into this forum and others I've seen they are very popular with aquarists, - but I still don't understand just why this is.

Maybe I'm just overly-partial to fish! From what I've read, it seems like most tanks are one or the other, and that not many fish are compatible (ie won't eat) with shrimp.


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## Guest (Aug 20, 2008)

Shrimps are WAY cool...haha

They (depending on the type) clean up algae, clean up extra food, look WAAAAAAY cool, breed, etc.

Yeah...I was thinking about making it a desk lamp. Cheaper, your right. 

Will flourite hurt the shrimps? I got some flourite dark today froma friend that I want to use in it.

That's about it for now. I"m hoping to get it up this weekend (tomorrow sometime, hopefully) with random plants I have at home.

So far so good on the leak test.


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## Guest (Aug 21, 2008)

Could a mod please move this into the user journals? I'm not sure why I didn't put it there in the first place.

I sent to the lfs today. Got myself some java fern, C. wendtii (not sure what type) an anubia nana 'petite' and 8 Phenix rasboras. I haven't looked up the scientific name on them yet, but if anyone has them, please share.

I also got this sweet piece of grape vine for it...lol


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