Cheap Mushroom tank?

[FisheriesOmen]

Ok I had been pondering this for a while. I love all the Corallimorphs and wanted to see if I could make a cool little tank just for shrooms.

Requirements (let me know if I need to add something):
-Low-Med lighting
-Low/gentle flow
-lots of rubble to attach to
-2.5g-5.5g glass aquarium

Tank Specs:
-2.5g or 5.5g tank
-2 pico powerheads (on opposite sides), 3 secs on 20 secs off timer
-Lighting open for suggestions (keeping it on the cheaper side)
-Filtration Open for suggestions (or would WCs be enough?)
-3 lbs or 6 lbs of rock
- ~2in crushed coral substrate (or black sand)

Any help would be greatly appreciated! I really want a cheap, easy care tank for shrooms.

 

[caudill187]

Looks like it would work well......

 

[Mr. D]

Why don't you go with the 5 gallon fluval spec. It's got everything you'll need minus power heads and heater.

 

[FisheriesOmen]

I prefer to sort of "Customize" my tanks over just buying a nano-kit. Besides, a lot of the Fluval products are Show > Function. Also I am now veering towards an even smaller .5g glass cube I have which I'm currently waiting for some silicone to dry cause it had a small leak on one side. Eventually I will probably upgrade it to a larger tank, starting at .5 then going to 2.5 and eventually probably having a 15g in the end. I just want to try this out first before I really commit to anything.

 

[fsu1dolfan]

I really dig the idea. I totally would go black sand.

 

[kmaintl]

wow, this sounds like a cool idea. and one clownfish to play in the mushrooms. LoL

 

[shecter]

being so small will there be room for a power head? what are the dims of the .5 cube? sounds like a really cool idea. if you can pull it off it should look amazing.

 

[FisheriesOmen]

Biggest thing is My dad is excited about the idea too so that means I'm all out on this "experiment". I'm currently researching the possible lighting and filtration options. Currently I'm thinking. . . .
Lighting: Aqua Medic Aquasunspot LED Aquarium light.
Filtration: UnKown
Substrate: Carribsea Black Sand
Rock: 1lb of rock

If anyone has any ideas chime in. This is definitely a Pico tank at its greatest. Oh and the dimensions for the cube is...well.....a cube not sure on the exact inches though.

 

[FisheriesOmen]

Quick Update:
Lighting: Aqua Medic Aquasunspot LED Aquarium light.
Filtration: Hydor Pico Filter
Substrate: Carribsea Black Sand
Rock: 1lb of rock

 

[dwilliams87]

I can't wait to see pics.

 

[FisheriesOmen]

K, I'm back home and by now the Silicone should be dried.
So here is a water test to check for leaks.

 

[Mr. D]

That's a neat little tank lol. I'm usually bashed for the really small tanks I like, but you've blown my out of the water a smidge...still like it though. A little pico HOB will do great on that.

 

[Gabe]

An AC-50ish HOB could be modified to provide the flow and filtration you needed. The standard thermostat controlled heaters will only fit in a 70 though (as far I have seen).

 

[FisheriesOmen]

whoops almost forgot about needing a heater....that would've been bad.
I currently have a 50AC on my 10g as a refugium so I could probably try that for this tank too but I can't imagine trying to get it to a low enough flow rate to not just blast the mushrooms.

 

[Jake1]

What about a beta heater?

 

[dlogfx]

If you go with a canister filter an inline heater would be great
less equipment=more shrooms

You could drill the tank like I did for my 5g and do a 10g sump. It's kinda crazy buy it makes it a lot easier to maintain the tank.

 

[FisheriesOmen]

I don't have the equipment to drill the tank.....also considering it's only a .5g and would probably eventually get a hand-me-down of my 2.5g planted tank once I buy a 5.5g tomorrow....I really don't want to put a massive hole in the tank :/
Maybe frequent WCs would be enough for such a tiny tank, pretty much just take a cup and scoop water out, then pour in some of my 55g water.