JBJ 6 Gallon Nano Cube

by // // Comments off

Here’s a photo of what I have so far. I haven’t moved Mal (my betta, Captain Malcolm Reynolds) over just yet. He is currently still in his Current Solo 5 Gallon.

Unfortunately I ordered the wrong lights (they’re an inch too long) so the lights that are in there are for saltwater setups. I have to reorder tomorrow from somewhere else and then wait to get them.  UGGG. I’m trying to get an 18 watt 6500K 2G11 4 pin (9″) light.

I purchased another water pump because the one that was in there was designed for a higher flow rate, so I put an AquaScape 90 GPH Water Pump in there, and the flow is adjustable so I was able to set that up just right. Luckily Mal is so easy going that he doesn’t mind a small amount of flow in his tank.

Even though I have an extra 50 watt heater I went ahead and bought a Hydor 50 watt for the tank. Since I am using RO/DI water I need a heater to put in the bucket because the water coming from the RO/DI unit is ice cold. A heater in the bucket of water the night before a water change should warm things right up!

What’s in there;

  • RO/DI water treated with Seachem Equilibrium. The Equilibrium adds the missing minerals back into the water that freshwater fish require, plus this is the product you use if you have plants in the tank.
  • A mix of Fluval plant substrate and CaribSea plant substrate capped with gravel. I ran out of the Fluval substrate and could not locate any at the local shops, so I had to make due with the CaribSea. It’s capped with gravel in the front section. We’re on day 3 and so far the plants aren’t melting. Let’s hope I get lucky and they do OK. I’m sure they’ll do much better with the appropriate lighting!
  • Seachem Flourish Tabs
  • Seachem Flourish Iron
  • Seachem Flourish
  • Dwarf Hairgrass
  • Amazon Sword
  • Cardinal Plant
  • Marina Stone Wall (2 ceramic stone wall dividers come in a box)
  • Marina Aquarium Stone (hiding cubby for Mal)
  • Hidden in the back of the tank are 3 compartments; One for the mechanical sponge, one for the ceramic rings and chemical media, and one for the water pump. I’m feeling lazy, otherwise I would swap the ceramic rings with some lava rock. I very well may do this anyway since I have not started the cycle yet. It’ll give me the opportunity to swap the carbon with Purigen.

When I’m ready to move Mal into his new home I’ll be following my acclimation guide to the letter. This will be a big change in water chemistry for him (for the better). Plus I will be adding Dr Tim’s One & Only Live Nitrifying Bacteria to do a safe fish in cycle. Mal was not happy that I removed his Amazon Sword, and in fact he seemed to pout (not really, but it sure did appear that way lol). Since there were two cubby fake rocks in the box, I added one to his current tank and he hid in there the entire day after the plant was removed.

Here’s a crappy shot that I took with my cell phone. I’ll take some better shots with my Nikon DSLR later after I move Mal into the tank. Fingers crossed that the plants don’t all melt on me…. I’m still relatively new to this aquatic plant thing.

JBJ 6 Gallon Nano Cube

JBJ 6 Gallon Nano Cube