# Morainy's .9 gallon pico shrimp tank



## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

I was inspired by Deanorama to set up a Marina Betta Cube tank. I think that it's about 6 inches square. I'm taking Deanorama's word for it that this is .9 gallons. It looks tiny to me, but it's just the right size for my desk.

I started with a Marina betta cube. Then, I added some rinsed Fluval shrimp substrate and some Eco-Complete, glued some moss and ferns to a piece of driftwood, and in a few minutes the whole tank was ready for filling.

The tank was very cloudy for three days. (I'm attaching a photo from the third day, when the dust had settled a little.) Although I usually like shrimp substrate and Eco-Complete, I realized by the third day that I hoped for something brighter for this little tank.

Then, I replaced the substrate with rinsed fine gravel, attached more moss and ferns to the driftwood, and soon had the tank completely redone.

Here are some photos. Thank you to Stuart and Mferko for the plants. The piece of driftwood was a gift from Cam at Aquariums West, who thought that it fit perfectly into the little tank.


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## O.C.D Fishies (Apr 21, 2010)

What a nice looking tank, I love the glass, most tanks that size are plastic. WHat color is the gravel in it now???


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

There are no shrimp in the tank yet. I want to make sure that the water temperature remains stable for a few days. I've got a 10 watt Marina heater in it, and so far the heater is holding the water steady at 25 degrees.

To summarize, the setup is:

Marina betta cube 
Marina betta cube light, with 3 LEDs. (I plan to upgrade this to a Dymax)
Rinsed fine gravel over a small amount of Eco-Complete
driftwood
moss, java ferns, and some mossy ferns that Stuart gave me and that I can't name!

I hope that this tank will support 3 or 4 cherry shrimp. I plan to rotate shrimp from my bigger tanks through this tank.


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Hi, Candy! You're so fast!

The gravel in it now is a natural colour. Here's a pic that shows the colour. By the way, this messy shelf is not the shrimp tank's final destination. Its final home will be my messy desk...



O.C.D Fishies said:


> What a nice looking tank, I love the glass, most tanks that size are plastic. WHat color is the gravel in it now???


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## O.C.D Fishies (Apr 21, 2010)

It looks way nicer and brighter with the natural gravel in there. Looks like there is a piece of glass across the top??? What happen to down sizing?? Am I the only one doing it??? You should try some different shrimp, you and your cherries. How are your blue pearls doing???


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## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

Looking good Maureen. Yes.... whatever happened to downsizing? lol

Stuart


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## Claudia (Apr 21, 2010)

Maureen your tank looks so nice and cute too
Candy dont worry i am downsizing but is taking me a while lol


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## t-bore (Apr 21, 2010)

Nice looking tank!


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## TomC (Apr 21, 2010)

Nice little tank.


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## djamm (Sep 25, 2010)

I almost bought myself one of those tanks but couldn't figure out what to put into it...couple shrimp, a small neon or two...

Looks good, let us know what the shrimp make of it...

cheers


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## crazy72 (Apr 22, 2010)

Very nice, Maureen. I too really like the fact that it's glass. I had an Eclipse 3 running for a while and the only thing I didn't like about it is that it wasn't glass. If I ever go back to a small tank (as part of my downsizing effort), I'll likely go for glass.

Let us know when the shrimps are in.


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## theDeanoRama (Oct 23, 2010)

Looking good Morainy! You are now faster than me. I was going to plant tonight but alas, I forgot about a Strata SGM being held so I was off to that tonight instead. Hopefully tomorrow evening or Wednesday (hard to say as my mom-in-law may be landing at our doorstep for a few nights). I also see what you mean by the coal mining effect, the second run at the substrate is a major improvement.



O.C.D Fishies said:


> Looks like there is a piece of glass across the top???


Its a plasticy/acrylicy lid. Since this tank was originally supposed to be a Betta torture chamber they wanted to make sure the victim couldn't escape.


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

lol. I am downsizing! I am! 
My 25 gallon tank went to 2.5 gallons. This .9 gallon is replacing a 6 gallon! See, they're getting smaller!

Yes, I do seem to be accumulating more tanks, but don't forget that I'm babysitting some of them, only until March.

My thinking with the .9 gallon tank is that it will be very easy for me to do water changes on it. I should be able to carry it to the sink. The 25 gallon tall tank was just too tall for me to reach into.

The blue pearls are doing wonderfully! One tank is Scholz's and I have to give them back, but I've got some of my own now, too, from Stuart. And I've got some Sunkist orange shrimp in with my blue pearls. They seem to get along quite well.



O.C.D Fishies said:


> What happen to down sizing?? Am I the only one doing it??? You should try some different shrimp, you and your cherries. How are your blue pearls doing???


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## Atom (Apr 21, 2010)

lol, now that you don't have the large tank anymore you seem to be gathering smaller tanks 

The new gravel certainly brighten things up. Lovely set up.


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Well, my beautiful little tank leaks! I can't figure out where the leak is coming from, but I've ruled out condensation rolling off the lid. 

My driftwood and ferns are how housed temporarily in a small glass betta bowl, while I figure out whether to reseal the little tank or exchange it for a non-leaky one. It's too bad, because I am very fond of that tank! On the plus side, it only takes 2.5 minutes to completely aquascape and fill it.


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## InfraredDream (Jun 24, 2010)

Oh, no, I was just about to say how beautiful it is. Hope resealing will be fast and easy, the good think about small tanks - easy maintanance and all. Hope to hae it up and running again very soon. Looks lovely!


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## theDeanoRama (Oct 23, 2010)

Sorry to hear about the problems. I'm yet to actually fill mine with water, hopefully its not going to do the same to me. I guess I'll find out Saturday


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

Unfortunately, things have not been going well with this pretty little tank. Although new, it leaked. I bought a tube of aquarium sealant and resealed the bottom very carefully but it still leaks! It's leaking from one side.

At this point, I'm going to give up on this tank even though I like the looks of it. I just can't put a leaky tank near my computer. 

I'll probably give it away, with the sealant and light, to anyone who wants it.

But, I still like the idea of the tiny cube shrimp tank and I've got the driftwood and moss, so I'm going to look for another glass container that's all one piece. I have one that is housing the driftwood right now, but I'm looking for something that is about half an inch bigger all around, or more.

I'm not giving up on the pico shrimp desk tank, just on this version. I'll post pics soon.


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## TomC (Apr 21, 2010)

You should turn it into a mini terrarium.


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## Morainy (Apr 21, 2010)

TomC said:


> You should turn it into a mini terrarium.


That's a good idea, but I'm not that brilliant with plants. You're welcome to it, if you'd like to have it.

I think that it will hold water if someone with more dexterity runs another bead of silicone along the edge. But -- that won't be me. I know that if I try to seal the sides of a tank this tiny, the tank will be hideous with lumpy sealant. It's really too exquisite to mess with.

But as is, it would make a pretty terrarium or cactus bowl.


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## Homahfan (Apr 22, 2010)

Morainy said:


> That's a good idea, but I'm not that brilliant with plants. You're welcome to it, if you'd like to have it.
> 
> I think that it will hold water if someone with more dexterity runs another bead of silicone along the edge. But -- that won't be me. I know that if I try to seal the sides of a tank this tiny, the tank will be hideous with lumpy sealant. It's really too exquisite to mess with.
> 
> But as is, it would make a pretty terrarium or cactus bowl.


Might be a brilliant home for a carniverous... say a sundew or a flytrap!


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