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Cold water planted Nano?

Manrock

Member
Joined
15 Dec 2007
Messages
225
Has anyone tried a cold-water planted nano?

I have cycled a small tank (25L/6gallon) and have 16W of light and a big (for this tank) external filter (recycled from my 'normal' planted tank) and I'm looking to stock it pretty soon. I was thinking of a shoal of white cloud minnow but I'm a bit stuck about algae eaters. Are there any small cold water algae eaters?

Any other info would be welcome too - I can't find much on the web at all! I'm trying my tropical plants in it at the moment (vallis, sag, anubis and crypts) and hope that they should do OK at room temp? It will get pretty cold in winter as the tank is in my classroom (I'm a teacher) and they turn the heating off at Christmas etc.

Oh, and I have lots of cherry red shrimps in my planted tank - will they survive in a room temp tank?

Thanks in advance
 
Hi there and welcome,
Mark Evans runs all his tanks at room temperature and grows everything, check out some of his journals! Not sure about the really cold spells during a heater less winters mind you....classrooms are cold at the best of times. Maybe worth putting a heater in set at 21 degrees c just incase.
Cheerio
Ady
 
Cherries will happily live and breed in a room temp tank, though breeding will slow or stop at low temps <16degC. My plants grew better in an unheated tank than heated (non co2) lower temp water is capable of holding more gas (both co2 and o2) for algae eaters you could look into hillstream loaches they love cold fast flowing water, I'm not sure about how small they come though.
 
Hello buddy! happy I found this post! I'm doing the exact same set up as you but styling off a triptych 3 nano 27l tank set up. I have been researching about the walstad method for some time now and currently have a few bowl set ups to experiment with prior to my 3 nano walstad. The aim is to use no filters or heaters and just cycle te system using the correct balances of life. I too have been wondering how I tackle algae.. as for my walstad bowls my algae issue is extremely minimal and I only suffer hair algae which is not too bad as I have danios and shrimp that deal with this. But i too would like something more versitle and set out to destroy the algae 100% of the time. I wonder if ottos would be ok in a cold water tank? Its interesting post you have and I hope we can stay in touch as im interested to see what it is you do, I also feel I may have some stuff you might be interested in. If you have not already researched about the walstad method I recommend you do. Because its very very interesting and opens a whole new world into low tech. my bowls are so low tech I change water 1 every 6 weeks minimum and my water clarity is better than my high techs..

Jack
 
jackrythm said:
just realised how old your post was..... damn :(
Yesterday :lol:
 
Thanks for the feedback guys.
At the moment I'm looking at hill stream loach as my algae eaters but I will also get some Cherry Reds in there too. Otto's would be better - does anyone know how they do in cold water?
I'm still thinking of a small shoal of White Cloud Minnows - anybody know if they jump (open top tank) or eat mature shrimp?
Jackrythm - yes it would be good to compare notes although you sound far more experienced and technical than me. I tend to just let my planted tanks take care of themselves and they do look a bit like overgrown jungles. Not at all like the beautiful scapes I see on here! I am running an old Ehiem 2224 on this tank and I have to keep the flow on fairly high as it has a slight air leak from somewhere so the Walstaed 'bowl' method won't be for me with this tank (although I might get my class to set one up as a project maybe - just need a bowl). Good luck and keep me posted.
 
sounds brilliant, and yeah from an educational point of view it has opened my eyes to not only the dimension of the stability and balances of the tank but has made me think hard about how our environment works. the walstad bowl explains how this planet is the way it is, unfortunately worse not better. but yes, have a google on walstad. I have some photos of one of my new walstads and later today ill attach a photo for you to see. would really feel grateful if you manage to find out if ottos can live in room temp water.. :)
 
Just found this on PFK website re ottos;

'Chemistry is not critical and, provided the water is kept clean and fresh, temperatures between 22-28°C (72-82°F) and a neutral to slightly acidic pH and soft water will make them feel at home.'

Does anyone know what a typical room temp tank is?
 
i think typical room temp is around 21-22? but im not sure on a room temp tank. my bowls are around 22... here is a photo of my new one for you :)

20120824143805.jpg


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am designing my 3 27l nanos to do the same sort of thing... thanks for the otto advice.. i think ill try it with a couple in my bowl and see how they do keeping a close eye on their behaviour :)
 
Hi,I have a fluval flora and I don't have a heater in it anymore. I have some celestial pearl danios and some yellow cherry shrimp. They all seem to be doing well!
 
wow thats doing it properly! hat sort of process did u take? did u keep them in a bag and drop them in the tank? im thinking of getting some but want to do it right and safely!
 
I've lost shrimp before within 24 hours of adding them, probably from not acclimating them properly. This time around I poured the shrimp with their water into a plastic Tupperware box. I then got some airline tubing and started a siphon from the aquarium to the tub. I then tie a knot to restrict the water flow of the tubing to about a drip or two every second. I left it dripping until the amount of water in the tub had tripled which took a couple of hours. I then netted them gently into the aquarium. Acclimating them this way allows the shrimp to get used to the new water very gradually, so hopefully they don't get too stressed. Hope this helps.
 
That bowl looks really good jackrthym. Sounds like the shrimp and ottos should be ok in a non-heated tank - so Otto's it will be! I'll just make sure I heat the tank slightly during the school holidays when they turn the heating off. What's the best way to stop the shrimp being sucked into the filter? In my 'big' tank I just let nature take it's course and reclaim the (live) shrimp from the filter every few months - they seem to thrive in there actually and I usually recover 30 - 40 each go!
 
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