Ratvan
Member
So a little background into this tank set up.
I obviously have my re purposed Fluval EVO Biotope-ish Tank which is running great and personally I love the tank and its wild appearance, however my partner and her children are not fans of the natural appearance. So in an effort to please them I am considering setting up another Nano Tank before the larger agreed aquarium is placed in the living room, they also have fallen in love with Shrimp and Betta Fish and although I do like Shrimp I don't think that I will see many if any in the current Fluval EVO scape. I also would have preferred a Wild type Betta but they like the fancy pants named ones with multiple colours etc, not my thing but ok.
So I am wanting to do something a little more "Aqauscapy" for this next tank, And here is the thing I am on a strict budget (as I am getting a Larger 200+ Litre Tank in the new year) as well as a bit of a cheapskate. I also have an abundance of plants that I would like to thin down in the Fluval EVO. The Budget that I have set myself is a full tank set up including Hardware, Hardscape, Plants and Livestock for under £100.00.
Currently I have the following items after a little spending spree the past few nights after visiting a few places and using up an Amazon Birthday voucher (still counts)
Pets at Home (don't judge me we needed food and bedding from the Guinea Pigs and the Cat needed Cat Food and a Christmas Present too!)
24 Litre Tank and Lid (Aquatown Kids Aquarium) - the kit comes with a internal filter usually but this was missing as was a return so got it for cheap £20.00
Amazon
50W Mini Heater £10.00
10W RGWB LEDS £10.00
Nicrew HOB Filter £10.00
Heavy Duty Stand £20.00
The Fish Cupboard - I have been in and out of the Hobby for a few years so as many of us probably know I have a little stash of Aquarium and Aquascape bits in cupboards, cellars and attics.
Azalea Roots
Dragon Stone
Mopani Wood
Riverbed Sand - Approx 8kG remaining
ISTA CO2 Starter Set - this thing looks like crap and as such I have never used it and have 4 Cans of CO2 so might have a play with this in this tank
The Fluval EVO - I will mostly be taking plants from within the Fluval as I seem to really like South Asian/ South East Asian plants
Bucephalandra Diabolica Kedagang
Bucephalandra Micranthra Needle Leaf
Bucephalandra Pygmea Bukit Kalem
Microsorum Pteropus - grows like a damn weed
I also have various Mosses/Plants that I added to the tank that I obtained when I ordered a Tank Janitors Pack from @dw1305 which I would like to grow out. I think I have some Subwassertang and Taxiphyllum SP?
So spend wise including a racking system is £70.00 so far which I do not think is bad at all before I add any livestock to the tank
Inspiration Image
This is the type of Aquascape that I would like to try and achieve
I have never actually done anything with Mosses in the Aquarium so the above inspiration image will give me the chance to tie this to woodwork and keep it trimmed and well maintained.
I also think that the Epiphytes will work nicely in and amongst the rocks as well as on the wood
So since this tank is Cheap it is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination and I do need to modify a few things so that I am happy.
Tank Modification
I want to add a film backing to the Aquarium, I have gone for a Black backing film as I feel that this should hide the equipment better than a frosted or white background.
From my dry fit it became clear that the lip that is supplied with the tank and lid is slightly too large to allow the HOB Filter to sit flush to the rim of the tank. Since there is a cat in the house I clearly want the tank to have a lid to protect any occupants, she also likes to drink any water she sees around the house that isn’t in her water bowl. Taking a small hacksaw, I made two cuts into the lip of the tank rim until I heard a saw blade on glass, I then joined these two cuts and removed the plastic trim allowing the HOB filter to sit much more snugly onto the tank and allowing me to place the Lid on the tank.
HOB Filter Modification
The HOB filter like many came with a series of replaceable cartridges that contain lots of things that I personally feel are unnecessary, so this was discarded and instead I placed a small amount of sponge that I had placed into my main established tank, I then re installed the stripped-out cartridge to “polish” the water after the sponge. Essentially I am using the filter cartridge as some people would use filter floss to remove any small particles in the water. This will eventually be completely removed as I only really use this to remove small particles during set up or a particularly aggressive trimming. I have also cut a piece of Foam off of the Fluval EVO Foam Block (as I have two) that will fit this tiny little HOB Filter
Light Modification
The feet of the light unit annoy me as they do not clip onto the tank at all, instead they simply sit over the top of the lip. While not a huge deal it really does bug me so I decided that I would modify the light fitting slightly so that the light does not slip off the rim of the tank potentially also avoiding issues of breaking the lid, submerging the light etc. I have done this by again using a Hacksaw to make a small incision into the RIM of the tank to allow the light units feet to sit snuggly into the slots that I have made.
Equipment Set Up
I will need to position both the HOB filter and the CO2 system within the tank so that the CO2 infused water flows around the tank in a direction that the water should then gain access to the HOB filter again via the inlet once it has completed a “lap” of the tank. I will also need to position the heater near the Filters outlet so the flow is pushing temperature appropriate water around the tank. I hope that I can set up the Aquascape in such a way that I should be able to hide much of the Equipment from view. The majority of this will most likely be the stone work, wood and plants – namely the Microsorum Pteropus
I obviously have my re purposed Fluval EVO Biotope-ish Tank which is running great and personally I love the tank and its wild appearance, however my partner and her children are not fans of the natural appearance. So in an effort to please them I am considering setting up another Nano Tank before the larger agreed aquarium is placed in the living room, they also have fallen in love with Shrimp and Betta Fish and although I do like Shrimp I don't think that I will see many if any in the current Fluval EVO scape. I also would have preferred a Wild type Betta but they like the fancy pants named ones with multiple colours etc, not my thing but ok.
So I am wanting to do something a little more "Aqauscapy" for this next tank, And here is the thing I am on a strict budget (as I am getting a Larger 200+ Litre Tank in the new year) as well as a bit of a cheapskate. I also have an abundance of plants that I would like to thin down in the Fluval EVO. The Budget that I have set myself is a full tank set up including Hardware, Hardscape, Plants and Livestock for under £100.00.
Currently I have the following items after a little spending spree the past few nights after visiting a few places and using up an Amazon Birthday voucher (still counts)
Pets at Home (don't judge me we needed food and bedding from the Guinea Pigs and the Cat needed Cat Food and a Christmas Present too!)
24 Litre Tank and Lid (Aquatown Kids Aquarium) - the kit comes with a internal filter usually but this was missing as was a return so got it for cheap £20.00
Amazon
50W Mini Heater £10.00
10W RGWB LEDS £10.00
Nicrew HOB Filter £10.00
Heavy Duty Stand £20.00
The Fish Cupboard - I have been in and out of the Hobby for a few years so as many of us probably know I have a little stash of Aquarium and Aquascape bits in cupboards, cellars and attics.
Azalea Roots
Dragon Stone
Mopani Wood
Riverbed Sand - Approx 8kG remaining
ISTA CO2 Starter Set - this thing looks like crap and as such I have never used it and have 4 Cans of CO2 so might have a play with this in this tank
The Fluval EVO - I will mostly be taking plants from within the Fluval as I seem to really like South Asian/ South East Asian plants
Bucephalandra Diabolica Kedagang
Bucephalandra Micranthra Needle Leaf
Bucephalandra Pygmea Bukit Kalem
Microsorum Pteropus - grows like a damn weed
I also have various Mosses/Plants that I added to the tank that I obtained when I ordered a Tank Janitors Pack from @dw1305 which I would like to grow out. I think I have some Subwassertang and Taxiphyllum SP?
So spend wise including a racking system is £70.00 so far which I do not think is bad at all before I add any livestock to the tank
Inspiration Image
This is the type of Aquascape that I would like to try and achieve
I have never actually done anything with Mosses in the Aquarium so the above inspiration image will give me the chance to tie this to woodwork and keep it trimmed and well maintained.
I also think that the Epiphytes will work nicely in and amongst the rocks as well as on the wood
So since this tank is Cheap it is not perfect by any stretch of the imagination and I do need to modify a few things so that I am happy.
Tank Modification
I want to add a film backing to the Aquarium, I have gone for a Black backing film as I feel that this should hide the equipment better than a frosted or white background.
From my dry fit it became clear that the lip that is supplied with the tank and lid is slightly too large to allow the HOB Filter to sit flush to the rim of the tank. Since there is a cat in the house I clearly want the tank to have a lid to protect any occupants, she also likes to drink any water she sees around the house that isn’t in her water bowl. Taking a small hacksaw, I made two cuts into the lip of the tank rim until I heard a saw blade on glass, I then joined these two cuts and removed the plastic trim allowing the HOB filter to sit much more snugly onto the tank and allowing me to place the Lid on the tank.
HOB Filter Modification
The HOB filter like many came with a series of replaceable cartridges that contain lots of things that I personally feel are unnecessary, so this was discarded and instead I placed a small amount of sponge that I had placed into my main established tank, I then re installed the stripped-out cartridge to “polish” the water after the sponge. Essentially I am using the filter cartridge as some people would use filter floss to remove any small particles in the water. This will eventually be completely removed as I only really use this to remove small particles during set up or a particularly aggressive trimming. I have also cut a piece of Foam off of the Fluval EVO Foam Block (as I have two) that will fit this tiny little HOB Filter
Light Modification
The feet of the light unit annoy me as they do not clip onto the tank at all, instead they simply sit over the top of the lip. While not a huge deal it really does bug me so I decided that I would modify the light fitting slightly so that the light does not slip off the rim of the tank potentially also avoiding issues of breaking the lid, submerging the light etc. I have done this by again using a Hacksaw to make a small incision into the RIM of the tank to allow the light units feet to sit snuggly into the slots that I have made.
Equipment Set Up
I will need to position both the HOB filter and the CO2 system within the tank so that the CO2 infused water flows around the tank in a direction that the water should then gain access to the HOB filter again via the inlet once it has completed a “lap” of the tank. I will also need to position the heater near the Filters outlet so the flow is pushing temperature appropriate water around the tank. I hope that I can set up the Aquascape in such a way that I should be able to hide much of the Equipment from view. The majority of this will most likely be the stone work, wood and plants – namely the Microsorum Pteropus
