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It was probably a bad idea looking back on it now...but it was a good start tank to learn with...but I bought a 12g nanocube and I am getting ready to move in the next couple months...which means I am going to sell/trade back the fish I have and restart a tank at my new place...the only problem is the tank demensions are hard to work with I think...

The tank itself is 1 Foot x 1 Foot x 1 Foot and holds 12 gallons of water if empty...

I like active fish, and I obviously can not get very big fish for such a small tank...but can anyone think of a couple good species that would be able to handle that tank demensions???

abso...

Will have to do some more thinking (it's early here ) but my first thought would be male Endler's. Definitely small and active, and their colors would look great if you went heavily planted.

A pair of cherry barbs might work too.

edit: There are a number of small rasboras, max size under an inch. I've seen then occasionally in lfs and there are a few available at Arizona Aquatic Gardens.

Sparkling gouramis too



Last edited by Theresa_M at 07-Apr-2005 03:44

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

Ditto on that absoluterain. Being a newbie, I made the same mistake you did at the prompting of LFS personnel. Nanocubes are designed to be good saltwater reef tanks and are not very good for freshwater setups. Their "integrated" design of lighting and filter really limits what you can do with hardware. I've also learned that starting with a small tank like this makes it even harder to get all the chemistry right (ammonia, pH, etc). Logging into this forum really helped though.

I would suggest White Clouds (easy to find) as a good small, active, hardy species for this tank. I have 4 in mine and they seem quite happy even though 6 is the recommended minimum for a school. Danios are also good active species but are considered to be too active by some people. I've also added 2 Otos for algae control (the powerful lighting on the Nanocube makes this somewhat of a problem) and two small Corys. This combination of species makes for a good show of activity. The Nanocube's biological filtration is quite good which makes this bioload no problem.

I would also suggest changing the light bulb if you're still using the 50/50 that probably came with it to a 6500k bulb, even if you're not using live plants.

Last edited by renoharps at 08-Apr-2005 09:28

1 cubic foot is 7.48 gallons.

Renoharps,

I am so glad to find someone else that has the same tank...I am really curious as to what else you have done to your tank...do you have any pictures???...I agree completely with the algae growth...although mine has been not to bad...

the dimensions are not exactly 12x12x12...i said that more or less to keep it simple...the actual dimensions are...14"x10.5"x11.5"...it holds with my rocks just under 11 gallons...

scratch that...sorry...i forgot to include the built in filtration into the numbers...with the filter...it is...14"x13.5"x13"...

abso

Abso,

Sorry, I'm not a premium member yet and I don't have an account on those other photo sharing sites, so I can't post any pictures.

One of the other changes I made to my 12g Nanocube was to lower the output rate of the pump so my fish wouldn't be blown away by the current. There's a slider on the pump for that. I've got mine almost all the way closed and it still generates a significant current that the minnows and the cories love.

I plan on "moving up" later this year to a 75 or 90g tank. At that point I may just use the Nanocube as a hospital tank. I, like you have learned a lot though with this small tank. My original intent was to start small, but later realized that starting small is harder and sometimes more expensive.

i have to agree with you...but I also feel confident in my abilities to create a stable environment now...I figure...If you can make it work on a small scale it will just be easier on a larger scale...

I hope to get a 55 or 75 sometime soon down the road...and intend on using the nanocube as a hospital tank as well...

abso

While logic would dictate that if you could do it on a small scale, then you should be able to handle the large scale version, in reality, with fishtanks, larger tanks are MUCH easier to maintain stability and health in than small tanks. The slightest change in anything measureable in a small results in catastrophic results. Such as, if 1ppm of copper gets into your 12 gallon tank, it may kill inhabitants. For a comparable amount of copper to appear in your 75 gallon tank, you would need a little over 6ppm, which is much less likely to occur. (NOTE:The copper measurements mentioned are completely made up and have no bearing as to whether measurements of these sizes would actually make any difference, or are logical, at all)...

PM/email/msg me if you have any questions/comments regarding me or my knowledge or if you want me to read a thread.

Don't get me wrong abso. I'm not trying to talk you out of using your Nanocube. I'm just trying to emphasize that we unfortunately took the hard road in starting off with a small tank. After what I learned with that experience and on this forum, I too feel that I can manage any size environment.

Back to your original questions and the fact that your moving. Do you plan on completely emptying the tank and starting over? I don't know how far you're moving, but with that small of a tank I'm wondering if there is any way to keep enough water in the tank to keep the gravel covered thereby preserving some of the nitrifying bacteria that you've built up. If not, I'm a true believer of the fishless cycling process. I used that process after watching 6 fish die due to ammonia poisoning.

Thought I'd peak in and drag out my [link=Small Tank Stocking]http://www.fishprofiles.com/files/forums/General%20Freshwater/55574.html" style="COLOR: #000000[/link] article. I know it's geared for tanks under 10 gallons, but I figure you can at least get some ideas from it.

There's plenty of small, active fish you could keep in such a tank, I'd think.

I think it's a great looking tank, but I just couldn't see paying that amount of money for it. Also, be wary, I've heard some rather disturbing stories of the nanocubes busting. Apparently despite all their prettiness, the design wasn't carried out too well. Just a friendly warning... keep an eye on it!

~Meow. Thus spoke the cat.~

thanks for the warning kitten...i had not heard that...

I am moving to either MA or CA...its still kinda up in the air right now...but i dont think the bacteria will survive the 15 hour drive...so I will probably just start completely over...

abso