I am a pretty progressive guy...but I just am not thrilled about the recent explosion of plastic, underfiltered, overly-hyped mini, nano, pico tanks out there. When my kids were growing up, we did not keep a betta in anything less than a 2 1/2.
These new tanks are $50, 60, 70 and up. They are marketed based on every concept possible, including the Asian concept of chi, an all-in-one, everything-you-need built into the top (same concept as a laptop computer??) and a variety of colorful, trademarked cartoon characters floating inside the tank itself, probably scaring hell out of the fish you want to keep.
Let's do it the old way...
-1-2.5 gallon all-glass aquarium (can't find a metal framed one these days...)
-a glass top (purchased or cut one yourself)
-a small-watt heater (depending on your climate--we live in upstate NY--either heat the room or heat each tank in the winter...
-an internal box filter-yeah, those old-green tinted plastic ones (try http://www.jehmco.com/). More on media later. Better than sponge filters..but more on that later.
-air pump and tubing---if you are ging to run several, get a good-sized one...
As I design the racks and "nano"-fish room (nano refers to the room and the tanks), I will keep you posted on costs, etc.
As I used to say in my former life as a government public information officer, more to come....
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Basics can be fun.....
I've kept aquariums since I was nine. That was a few decades ago....
Back then, tanks were metal-framed, slate-bottomed and lots of fun. One of the best tanks I had in the mid-60's was a 2 1/2 gallon I got for $1 BRAND-NEW in the old Family Bargain Center in Auburn, NY.
That little tank lasted 26 years... through high school, college and my children when they were little. An unfortunate placement in the basement fish room in 1994 led to its demise...
In its day, it served as a guppy tank, a hospital, a breeding tank for small corydoras, a fry tank for several types of tropical fish, a quarantine tank and of course, a killie tank for several species of "Panchax."
Now that I am ready to do a new fish room in a new house in 2011, I thought I would revisit my old friend, the 2.5 gallon tank. Given the recent trend in nano and pico tanks, dwarf shrimp and new discoveries of small tetra and characin species, the time is right for a re-start for the little tank that could....and, one other thing...I don't have a lot of space to work with...somewhere around 3 1/2 feet by 4/12 feet.
Now you know why I am focused on the good, old 2.5!
Back then, tanks were metal-framed, slate-bottomed and lots of fun. One of the best tanks I had in the mid-60's was a 2 1/2 gallon I got for $1 BRAND-NEW in the old Family Bargain Center in Auburn, NY.
That little tank lasted 26 years... through high school, college and my children when they were little. An unfortunate placement in the basement fish room in 1994 led to its demise...
In its day, it served as a guppy tank, a hospital, a breeding tank for small corydoras, a fry tank for several types of tropical fish, a quarantine tank and of course, a killie tank for several species of "Panchax."
Now that I am ready to do a new fish room in a new house in 2011, I thought I would revisit my old friend, the 2.5 gallon tank. Given the recent trend in nano and pico tanks, dwarf shrimp and new discoveries of small tetra and characin species, the time is right for a re-start for the little tank that could....and, one other thing...I don't have a lot of space to work with...somewhere around 3 1/2 feet by 4/12 feet.
Now you know why I am focused on the good, old 2.5!
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