# Laputa - Tbro's Nano



## TBRO (26 Jun 2009)

Hi everyone,
Just started a new tank so I thought I'd give it a pretentious name - after my favourite anime film about a overgrown, flying castle. Silly names aside I wanted to do a nano for shrimp breeding and to try my hand at various mosses. 

I also wanted a really tall podium stand for my cube nano but couldn't find anything right, so taking a leaf out of samc's design I had a go at making a cabinet for the tank. It's not Louis xvi furniture but I like it.

I used thick up rights just like sam and 12 mm MDF panels to tie it together.






This is it without paint, getting the door right was annoying to say the least!





I decided that the usual black or gray wasn't right in this room so I went for a pillar box red. The cabinet is 30 cm wide and just over a meter tall. 





With the cabinet sorted, I got the hardscape in, decided to have a sand front rather than carpeting plants to the glass, used ADA xingu sand, looks very natural. I had some nice redmoore wood from TGM that I cut up to fit, some had been in my other tank with moss already maturing. I was inspired by one of Oli Knott's nanos with a big mossy stone so I found some nice welsh blue stone for the job. I have lots of small rocks and wood that can be easily removed to tie on new kinds of moss.






Unlike Oli Knott's tank I wanted some non-moss plant that I hadn't tried before - Glosso and Staurogynae sp. with blyxa behind the big rock. I only have Christmas, Flame and Stringy/Java moss but hope to try fissidens and star moss. This is just where my sanity was slipping from planting glosso plantlets   






Here is the flooded scene with a fore ground close up. 











Tank stats ; 
30 cm AE float glass cube
Wave solaris 18 W light
Fluval 105 external (just about fits in the cabinet)
Sera CO2 kit

Important things I learned - when building somthing write down your plan and remeber to count the thickness of the material when calculating, doh!

Comments and Critisism welcome, enjoy Tom


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## Nick16 (26 Jun 2009)

wow awesome red! 

i cant wait to see how your glosso does. im currently trying to decide between a glosso or HC carpet for my nano. Excellent work though mate.


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## samc (26 Jun 2009)

looks a great little nano mate

glad i could inspire you


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## Mark Evans (26 Jun 2009)

what a class little tank!

great hard scape placement


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## Jase (26 Jun 2009)

Love it, really starting to like nanos. 

No plans to stick some fish in too?


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## JamesM (26 Jun 2009)

Loves it! 

Brilliant choice for the colour of the cabinet too


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## TBRO (26 Jun 2009)

Thanks for the kind comments guys. I set it up just today and got really excited, can't wait to get some shrimp in there possibly some tiny R.brigatte aswell. I used media from a established filter to prime the new one to try and help with the ADA - ammonia spike, trying to hurry things along. 

If you've got time I can really reccomend having a go at making a cabinet, it was really satisfying and you get a custom unit. The colour was not purposefully  patriotic but like James I do hail from west of TGM. 

Thanks, Tom


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## Stu Worrall (27 Jun 2009)

thats a really nice tank and a cool podium youve made!  The hardscape looks really natural how youve laid it out, gonna be a stunner and looking forward to seeing it grown in


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## Steve Smith (28 Jun 2009)

That's a great setup mate!  And loving the stand.  I hope to give it a go someday, but not yet


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## TDI-line (28 Jun 2009)

Very nice TRBO, one of the best looking nano's i've seen, and cool colour unit.


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## Themuleous (28 Jun 2009)

Really nice, Tom, really nice.  What substrate are you using?

Sam


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## TBRO (28 Jun 2009)

Thanks for all the positive feedback guys   . 

I've been on ebay and ordered some fissidens and star moss which is coming from Hong Kong but I guess moss will survive as long as it's wet. Quite pleased with the glosso, seemed like it was kind of going out of fashion but it's one that I've never tried before. I almost went nuts planting it, don't know how people do those big scapes with it. 

The substrate is ADA Malaya powder, I reasoned it would be easier to plant in - Wrong! The glosso actually seems easier to plant in coarser substrate in my big tank. The fluval inlet/outlet is a bit of an ugly blight on the tank, I think for better or worse some glass-ware needs to be saved up for. 

Will post more pics when some growth has occured, Thanks Tom


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## Dan Crawford (29 Jun 2009)

That cabinet is quality stand, when i fist flicked through i thought it was the one from TGM but evidently you made it yourself, fair play!

The 'scape is awesome too, nice work


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## John Starkey (29 Jun 2009)

Lovely nano the scape is well nice,when it fills in this will look really nice,

John


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## LondonDragon (29 Jun 2009)

Tank looks awsome, will look even better once that plants start to fill in 
Lets hope there ain't many spanish or portuguese users in the forum otherwise that tittle can be pretty offensive LOL


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## Tony Swinney (29 Jun 2009)

Very nice TBRO, the cabinet looks very contemporary like that   

I really like the steep incline in the substrate too, it works very well in the nano.

Tony


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## TBRO (29 Jun 2009)

LOL     just realised my linguistic fo-par, thanks for pointing that out Paulo! I didn't set out to insult any Spanish speaking folk was more inspired by Hayao Miyazaki's Film rather than the other thing. It also interestigly is the name of the floating island in Gulliver's Travels (as well as a curse word)





Tom


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## TBRO (7 Jul 2009)

Just got the star moss and fissidens.splachnobryoides from aqua magic today. Wish I'd done more reading before parting with my cash, seems both these species don't grow well underwater    I will try the star moss on the wood that breaks the surface. Will post some pictures next week, the glosso is growing but mostly up which is a bit annoying. 

T


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## LondonDragon (7 Jul 2009)

TBRO said:
			
		

> Just got the star moss and fissidens.splachnobryoides from aqua magic today. Wish I'd done more reading before parting with my cash, seems both these species don't grow well underwater    I will try the star moss on the wood that breaks the surface. Will post some pictures next week, the glosso is growing but mostly up which is a bit annoying.


I made the same mistake with the Fissidens, and that didn't survive in the tank, just fell apart in a few days. The star moss is another non aquatic plant, might do well at the surface though just depends how good it looks in the tank.
Just prune back the glosso and it will grow new runners which should then grow across the substrate.


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## Steve Smith (7 Jul 2009)

I bought some fissidens splachnobryoides before I realised it's non-aquatic.  I've had it on my windowsill in a pot for months.   Its grown a bit, but I've finally used it in a little emerged scape I made tonight


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## Vito (8 Jul 2009)

Hey Tbro, Lovely little tank mate, and I love the stand too well done. looks like you on to a winner here mate and just keep trimminig and replanting the glosso and it will creep instead of rise. 

Keep us posted,

Vito


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## TBRO (14 Jul 2009)

Hey, 
Few quick shots at just over 2 weeks growth. Just added some CRS which are loving their new mossy hang out. Still battling to keep the glosso growing side-ways. Had to add a unsightly heater as such I'm saving pennies for some lilly tubes and an in line heater (any suggestions for lilly size on a fluval 105?) My filter also seems to have an annoying air leak which makes it noisy, a major disadvantage to a bed room tank! The star moss and fissidens are surviving but as expected not really growing (the fissidens in a jam jar on my windowsill looks great).






















C+C welcolme,

Tom


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## TBRO (18 Jul 2009)

After lengthy head scratching and chatting with Jim from TGM have figured out the pipe sizes and have added glass wear and inline heater. I really like the inflow pipe - looks like one of those utensils for picking up honey. The shrimps approve of the extra flow. I was pretty sick of those ugly plastic inlets   










thanks for looking,  T


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## Steve Smith (18 Jul 2009)

Looking good mate   That glassware looks weird, what brand is it?


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## TBRO (19 Jul 2009)

Cheers Steve, the glass wear is the ADA - Do Aqua range (supposed to be entry level prices) Their not exactly inexpensive but I'm very pleased with them.

T


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## Jur4ik (20 Jul 2009)

this filter inflow is unsecure to baby shrimps. I have placed a piece of foam over mine to avoid them sucked into the filter.
think about this 
but, looking good though


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## TBRO (29 Jul 2009)

Happy Days, just got of a 12 hour shift to find my first baby CRS ! Like a perfect adult minature about 5 mm long   









As Macro as my little camera gets - sorry

I have now shrimp proofed the filter inlet - Tom


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## Gill (1 Aug 2009)

Love the use of the wood and the CRS look great in there.


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## lljdma06 (1 Aug 2009)

How is the fissidens doing?  I want to use it in my Dutch scape, but with all the controversy a couple years back as to whether it was truely aquatic, I'm not certain.  A while back I followed a huge thread at APC with experiments and everything, and based on the evidence from that thread, I'm on the fence with it.  It's so popular now, though, but most of these scapes are shorterm, so technically a non-aquatic can thrive for a limited time under those circumstances until it begins to decline.  

Your other mosses look great.  

Love the arrangement of the wood as well. 

llj


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## TBRO (1 Aug 2009)

Thanks for the comments guys, I have found that the fissidens splachnobryoides just slowly died but have kept going emersed (see thread on growing mosses in the emersed section) I've never tried the other fissidens species but others have succeded especially with f.fontanus. I've re-arranged the wood and rocks slightly as I wasn't quite happy with the right hand side of the big rock. Might post some more pics tonight. Found about half a dozen CRS babies now....

T


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## lljdma06 (1 Aug 2009)

TBRO said:
			
		

> Thanks for the comments guys, I have found that the fissidens splachnobryoides just slowly died but have kept going emersed (see thread on growing mosses in the emersed section) I've never tried the other fissidens species but others have succeded especially with f.fontanus. I've re-arranged the wood and rocks slightly as I wasn't quite happy with the right hand side of the big rock. Might post some more pics tonight. Found about half a dozen CRS babies now....
> 
> T



Good to know, T, as it was specifically f. fontanus that I was considering.  I will avoid f. splachnobryoides.  

Thank you. Glad to know that you have more shrimps!


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## TBRO (3 Aug 2009)

Here's a couple of shots with the current hardscape layout + an origonal for comparrison. Hopefully this will improve the sense of height and make the big rock look less isolated. I've been a bit brutal with the rotala trimming and my C02 has run out (just TPN and ez carb). I'm still having trouble with air leaking into the Fluval 105 which I must conclude is coming from the aquastop point. Any ideas for hardscape adjustment or filter tips most welcolme (including alternative externals, as I'm getting annoyed   ) Thanks - Tom




Original Scape


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## TBRO (24 Aug 2009)

Since my CO 2 ran out and i've not bothered to refill it the straug and glosso really melted. They just weren't giving the cover I wanted. 

Decided to rescpe things a bit and raided my Xmas moss from my window-sill experiment. Tried to go for more of an uneven moss carpet but ran out of moss    It did give me a chance to re-do the beach area, although the shrimp will probably re-arrange as they see fit. 

Anyway the shrimp seem happy, there are now a few dozen baby CRS, I've put 2 pregnant Cherry shrimps from my main tank in to try and select out the deep red strain. 









Hope to see some people at the Oli Knott thing - Tom


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## Superman (24 Aug 2009)

That looks nice, I like the moss growth in the tank.


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## TBRO (6 Sep 2009)

Thought, I'd post some feeding time pictures, there's loads of CRS juvenilles and the oldest are getting cheeky and fighting with their parents. I know their not the highest Grades but there the only CRS I've seen for sale in the NW. I guess there could be some scope to selectivley breed them but with only a limited gene pool, I'm not sure if thats a good idea. The tank looks kind of a mossy mess but the shrimp seem to like it that way   Sorry about the poor quality pics, best I could do - T


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## aaronnorth (6 Sep 2009)

looks excellent


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## Mark Evans (6 Sep 2009)

looking great! 

a bit of cleaning would of made it look better, but good all the same.


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## TBRO (6 Sep 2009)

Thanks Guys,   Yeah the glass could be cleaner, you'd think the shrimps would help out with that ! I need some Amano style minions to maintain my tanks..... I think I'll let this genaration mature and strip it down to do a proper clean.


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## John Starkey (6 Sep 2009)

Hi Tbro,
nice crs nano,I've been growing fissedens fontanus for three months and it just gets better,
regards john.


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## Mark Evans (6 Sep 2009)

john starkey said:
			
		

> I've been growing fissedens fontanus for three months and it just gets better,



mmm, i might try this stuff.


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## Themuleous (6 Sep 2009)

Love the baby CRS 

Sam


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## Graeme Edwards (6 Sep 2009)

Looking nice Tbros....

A little trim on the moss will help them give more shape. Fissidins and xmass moss not included, they dont look great when trimmed. The others though would approve. 

Love the shrimp, where did you get them?

Oh,where did you get the fissidins from too?

Good work.


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## TBRO (7 Sep 2009)

Thanks Graeme,  I would love to trim and clean it all but every bit of moss has half a dozen shrimplets sheltering in it !

Overall I'm not really happy with the scape and will re-do it when the shrimp have matured, I think the big central rock is too distracting. I would like to do a branchy predominantly moss scape in future, with just plain sand on the bottom. Next time i'll also use just one kind of moss, instead of four.

Believe it or not there is some star moss still surviving (not exactly thriving). The Fissidens was from aqua magic but it was the non-aquatic one! The CRS, I found in Pier Aquatics in Wigan, I used to work near there. I guess in a couple of months i'll have an excess of shrimp, so I could spread them round. Tom


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## TBRO (22 Sep 2009)

I have managed to find time to clean the tank a bit but still can't really trim the moss, the shrimp however seem not to care and are thriving. Does anyone know how to grade the babies? they seem to have better colours than their parents, I guess this might change when they reach adulthood. Found a healthy population in the external filter! Here's some picks of the shrimp rodeo....


















About four months untrimmed growth of flame moss


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## JamesM (22 Sep 2009)

With some careful pruning, that could be a stunning tank!


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## TBRO (25 Sep 2009)

OK, I finally got my ass in gear and did some trimming, was amazing how much moss I pulled out. Here's the new crew cut lay-out. Now my dirty glass wear looks rank.... next job   
















A leaf out of Clark's Journal - View from My Bed





C + C Welcomed, Tom


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## Superman (26 Sep 2009)

Looks nice Tom.
I fancy trying something mossy when my 'gumi layout is finished.
Love the shrimp, they must love it in there.


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## TBRO (27 Sep 2009)

Just managed to capture the Rasbora brigatte out of my big tank, added them to the nano and already their far more outgoing. I think they just don't like being in a big open tank. Trying to take a shot of one is tricky but you get the idea, nice to have some movment in the midwater of the tank. They are a awsome little fish, definatley to be recommended for nanos. Their also so small they only pose a threat to the very tinyest shrimplets. I suspect I have two species as some have a black stripe and some have two black ovals -  T


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## LondonDragon (6 Oct 2009)

La puta is looking great  a lovely shrimp paradise with all the mosses


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## Themuleous (6 Oct 2009)

Looking pukka  the fish really work well in a small tank like this. They have always been one of my favorites.

Sam

PS - if you decide to sell some of the CRS let me know


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## flygja (7 Oct 2009)

Those microrasboras coloured up really really well! They must be really happy in this tank.


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## TBRO (7 Oct 2009)

Thanks for the comments guys, I'm not purposefully neglectful of my tanks but have a big exam coming up. Hopefully will be able to give the tanks the attention they deserve after. I'm very happy with this one, as the moss is the ultimate in low maintainance, the Crypt wendtii is really nice, seems to being growing in smaller leaves now. I've moved the hardscape around a bit, will post some pics at the end of the week. 

Cheers, Tom


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## TBRO (9 Oct 2009)

I've had a play around with the wood and the big stone, I prefer it this way round, feels more interesting to me. What do others think, this way round or the previous scape :?:  Does anyone know how I could clean my glasswear :?:  it's so tiny that I can never imagine a brush doing the job. Can you bleach them with lots of rinsing, or is that just asking for shrimp genocide  :?:  Thoughts most welcolme, Tom












I hope the moss grows over in a nice curtain for the shrimp to hide under


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## malbros (12 Oct 2009)

Hi Tbro  -  The  nano  tank  is looking  really good -  getting  a  mature  look  about  it.

malbros    [/size]


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## NeilW (13 Oct 2009)

This tank is awesome - you must spend hours looking through all that moss at the masses of shrimp!  This cube was part of the inspiration for my new tank.



			
				TBRO said:
			
		

> Does anyone know how to grade the babies? they seem to have better colours than their parents, I guess this might change when they reach adulthood.



The more strong white in them the better.  The 'ideal' CRS is almost entirely white apart from a spot of red across the 'shoulders'.  Most of the colouring is down to genetics of the individual shrimp, but the strong white can be helped with calcium in their diet and water.  They say the calcium is crucial when they are young to develop to their 'best potential'.  You can buy specialist CRS calcium supplement powders and liquids to help boost it, but I'm not sure how effective they are for their high cost.  Just keep an eye on GH, also Snail Shop do a cheaper liquid calcium that you could use.  TBH though I'm not fussed  on grades with my own CRS but its good to keep an eye on the calcium to stop 'pitting' in their shells.   

A lot of the red and white in the babies may look stronger because your eyes make the colour more concentrated where they're so small in comparison with their parents so you can't see the more translucent bits.

Hope any of thats helpful to you!  

Neil.


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## Dan Walter (13 Oct 2009)

This tank ROCKS! Well done on the CRS reproduction too


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## TBRO (13 Oct 2009)

Cheers for the nice comments Guys, your right Neal at the end of the day grading doesn't matter if your enjoying the shrimp doing what they do. 

They behave a lot more naturally in this tank than in my big tank, swimming around and surface skimming etc.. Malbros has first dibs on any extra babies but I'll pass them on if the population needs thinning out. I found about 5 happily living in the External the other day :!: 

Thanks, Tom


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## nico (14 Oct 2009)

very nice nano , i think this one has a great potential , maybe only be careful that the most doesn't cover all the hardscape , would you have a front picture taken from a bit higher than this one and without the filter ? (i edited it a bit , sorry    )


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## chilled84 (14 Oct 2009)

I realy want to get a nano tank that size just like that. I did find someone on here who said i could buy theres but ever since they have gone never to be seen again lol. Im loveing the scapeing ur doing here too.


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## TBRO (15 Oct 2009)

Thanks Nico, that shot is loads sharper, must check out the photoediting thing sometime. The white background always makes things look over exposed. Here's a few shots without the filter, until I learn to take proper photos  :!: 














Cheers - Tom


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## Superman (15 Oct 2009)

You should rename your tank to "Shrimp Heaven"


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## TBRO (15 Oct 2009)

Thanks Clark, the shrimp and the moss both seem to do well in the no CO2 and minimal ferts (I drop some TPN in when I remember) enviroment, having said that the Straugones has pretty much died off....


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## hydrophyte (16 Oct 2009)

TBRO said:
			
		

>


Oh here is this tank again. This is delightful--makes me want to set up a nano with moss and shrimp. Those microrasboras look great in there.


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## laimyzaz (16 Oct 2009)

very nice lookoing tank


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## TBRO (2 Nov 2009)

Thanks hydrophyte and laimyzaz, I love this little tank. Makes me seriously think about changing my big one for another nano! Been messing around with the wood a bit today. Also I found a great pipe cleaning device from Eheim, it can just about get round the curves of the ADA Do-Aqa nano pipes. So I need not remove my glass wear in shame anymore   .
Her's the device and my now clean pipes. Will post some tank pics later when the water clears - Tom 





A Tiny brush is attached to some stiff monofilament (like lawn mower string), comes with other larger brushes too




The evidence !


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## Superman (2 Nov 2009)

TBRO said:
			
		

> Also I found a great pipe cleaning device from Eheim


Agreed, it's the best thing in the world. I wish I found it sooner!


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## TBRO (12 Nov 2009)

Few Update shot, yes again I could do more moss trimming but what can you do. I've moved the wood around a bit but otherwise it remains the same. The glasswear and eheim classic are still running in dead silence, which is a must in a tank that shares your bedroom! I'm quite excited by the pico challenge, I will get a Tbro styled version for the comp..... as well as re-scaping my big tank, fun, fun   


























Work in progress, Tom


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## leehan (12 Nov 2009)

Refreshing little piece of nature living in the corner of your room   

Great pico tank as well! Very clean lines. Where did you got it from?

Ilhan


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## JamesM (12 Nov 2009)

I still love that red cabinet... gonna have a rethink on how to re-finish mine now 

Tank looks great too btw, but the moss needs a trim... it'll come back thicker in no time


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## AdAndrews (12 Nov 2009)

Your tank has blown me away, absolutely amazing! well done  and i would also be intrested to know where upon you stumbled across that amazing pico.
Adam


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## TBRO (13 Nov 2009)

Thanks for the comments Guys, I get immense pleasure from this tank. The shrimp and microrasboras are a joy to watch. I'm going to harvest some moss for my Pico entry. The Vase came from John Lewis see my entry 

http://www.ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=58&t=8676

Hope lots of you people give it a go, regards Tom


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## hydrophyte (13 Nov 2009)

TBRO said:
			
		

>



This tank is looking great. I love this _in situ_ shot. This setup is such a perfect illustration that you don't need a huge aquarium or huge budget to put together a wonderful display.


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## Dan Crawford (13 Nov 2009)

I can't believe i missed this, proper stunning little tank, great stuff


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## planter (14 Nov 2009)

nice little tank fella, well done !


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## TBRO (30 Nov 2009)

A water change made me want to post some update pics. I get so much pleasure out of this little cosmos, that I like it even half full ! I've been trying to keep on top of the pruning but I never was too good at that....  Decided that my main tank needed some CRS action, it's full of cherry shrimp dezpite looking a bit of a shambles they're breeding like rabbits. My cats got excited when they spied an old food bowl being used to transport a shrimp cocktail   




The glass - half full








Nervous little CRS




Their new home


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## George Farmer (30 Nov 2009)

Marvellous little nano!  

The moss lends itself perfectly to a set up like this.

I really like the half-full shot.  It would make an awesome paludarium!


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## TBRO (2 Dec 2009)

Thanks for the kind comments Dan, George and planter. 

Unfourtunatley I know one day I will want to re-scape things but hopefully as the moss is slow growing and easily maintained that won't be for some time. 

All those scapes you do for PFK, George - I bet your gutted having to pull each one down to do the next one, I guess change is good....


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## chump54 (2 Dec 2009)

great tank, it's funny I like my 125l tank half full too   

Chris


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## TBRO (2 Jan 2010)

Just updating this post, not much has changed but that's the nice thing about this tank. No CO2, very occasional ferts and waterchanges, slow passage of time. Trying to reduce the shrimp population by exporting them to my big tank. Seems to be helping as the remaining shrimps are now growing again. 

Enjoy, T


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## viktorlantos (2 Jan 2010)

Awesome tank mate.   With all those shrimps and the nice mosses this is the best shrimp tank that i've seen a while ago here.


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## chump54 (2 Jan 2010)

very nice. keeps getting better.

Chris


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## Jase (3 Jan 2010)

The nano looks amazing Tom, i'll bet your TV doesn't get much use with that beauty around


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## TBRO (3 Jan 2010)

Thanks for the comments Guys, the stability of this scape is great. It is charming to watch the shrimps and mirorasboras flit about the scape. Although by no means a bio-tope I think it suits the residents very well. ItÂ´s been a slow selection of plants that suit the conditions, the glosso is long gone but suprisingly the blyxa still looks healthy. 

The blyxa has not done the annoying thing it does in hightech tanks, were the lower stems die off. IÂ´ve never trimmed the blyxa. 

Hope you enjoy it like I do, Tom


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## DHenry (11 Feb 2010)

I really love this tank. Such a lush green oasis. I hope to get mine somewhere close to this level of green. Good work.


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## TBRO (11 Feb 2010)

Thanks, wish I had more time to spend on it! Tom


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## NeilW (16 Feb 2010)

Hey T, 

Was looking through your journal for inspiration, just curious as to wether you kept the Aquasoil in there after you took out the Glosso.  If you didn't do you find it mixes with the sand?

Cheers,
Neil


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## TBRO (17 Feb 2010)

Hey Neil, there is indeed ADA Malaya powder (now under 2 inches of Christmas moss). It mixed completely with the sand! TBH it was only a rock border, I think to stand any chance you need a plastic border taped into place and hidden with stones. 

I saw you're thread, why not just get several boulders and tie moss around them. I give the moss no care and it still looks good. In fact your picture of the river inspired me, I might try something similar for stiphodon gobies (The ones in this month's PFK look amazing)

Can't wait to see what you come up with - Tom


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## NeilW (17 Feb 2010)

Glad to be inspiring    that river picture is really nice, I've been forever searching to find a moss that'll give a a similar effect.   

Im torn between going for a half re-scape tommorow by removing the nature soil at the front and extending the sand back and adding lots of moss on small stones, or waiting and going for a complete change with new rocks.  I think you've got away with it mixing because malaya is a lighter colour so it doesnt notice whereas my nature soil completely stands out against the sand and I'm fed up of fighting the tide    Be a good chance to get lots of lovely moss in too which I've always wanted to have a proper go at.  I think I've been trying to keep plants that only do well on CO2 so moss I think is the way forward looking at your beauty of a tank.  

Trouble is I got to make my decision soon as my shrimp are about to drop and I don't fancy trying to remove thousands of tiny babies.  I suppose I could half re-scape tomorrow, see if I like it and if not wait until the babies are older and I have the new materials.  Sound a plan?


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## TBRO (17 Feb 2010)

I'm forever half-rescaping my tanks due to the innumerable shrimp that would be almost impossible to remove. It would be do-able as long as your only using moss (which is just tied to rocks anyway). Planting underwater is just so annoying! Could probably send you some java or xmas moss this weekend when I do a trim?


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## NeilW (17 Feb 2010)

Surprisingly I don't mind planting underwater.  Got me a chunk of Java but it would be great to give Xmas a go.  Thanks very much T!  Let me know when you do the big trim and I'll PM you my address.


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## TBRO (17 Feb 2010)

Cool just PM your address now and then I've got it, always makes me sad to throw out good moss!


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## nisharific (3 Mar 2010)

do the micro rasboras eat baby shrimplets... can you keep them if you want to breed your shrimp?


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## andyh (3 Mar 2010)

nisharific said:
			
		

> do the micro rasboras eat baby shrimplets... can you keep them if you want to breed your shrimp?


No they dont, have 3 tanks with micro rasb with CRS and Cherry baby shrimps with no problems. They show no interest.


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## TBRO (3 Mar 2010)

I agree they don't seem to bother, that said my shrimp seem to breed less since I've added them? This could obviously be unrelated. I have ember and cardinal tetras in my big tank and they also don't seem to bother the shrimp, the emperor tetras do sometimes chase the shrimp but I've never seen any come to harm -T


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## frothhelmet (19 Apr 2010)

Hey T, any news on your Star Moss? Did it make it in the end or melt away? Any suggestions on how to keep it?  I have a friend that just bought it and I want to help him keep it alive...

Updated journal photos would be loverly too


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## TBRO (1 May 2010)

Hey, sorry for the delayed reply. The star moss never did very much. It didn't die but didn't grow much either. I understand it need alkaline conditions and lots of CO2 to thrive, might be good with Sulewesi shrimp etc ?

Here's a shot of a rather neglected tank. I'm still thinking of a rescape. :?:  Riccia gumi  :?: 




T


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## andyh (13 May 2010)

That looks v cool, some nice moss growth?
Your CRS breeding?


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## LondonDragon (13 May 2010)

Looks pretty good to me  love the mosses


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## dr zaius (17 May 2010)

laputa is an amazing film! miyazaki's finest! your tank really embodies that film!


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## TBRO (17 May 2010)

Cheers Guys, this was definatley one of my favourite scapes. The shrimps were pretty happy as I netted out about 50 CRS when I broke it down. My new scape is still developing and I'm toying with the idea of making it a riparium. Check it out http://ukaps.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=11330. Tom


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## Pixels (17 May 2010)

Hi Tbro

I must say your tank was one of the first that really caught my attention when I first joined UKAPS, so thanks for the inspiration.  

I can highly recommend the riparium idea, mine is only in a 17 litre tank on my desk and I love it. Especially now I have all the planters filled.

Cheers
Paul


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