Topic: my new tiny tank ("microtope")

[oddball808]

The holding area is roughly a 2.5-3"cube
Ada aquasoil (amazonia II) mixed with a little eco-complete
a sprinkle of natural gravel for color
A few tiny pieces of slate
driftwood branches
And a couple of java ferns

Now sitting on my desk at work, getting Lots of sunshine. Depending how it goes, I might be adding more plants shortly. I need to do some trimming in my other tanks, so I should get some small plants out of it. Lol.

[oddball808]

*** 12/14 update ***

removed some of the java fern starters
added a couple of stem plants and some java moss

[FreshwaterTank]

Very nice setup, good looking landscape.

[oddball808]

*** 12/18 ***

[spudfeger]

Looks great! Do you plan on keeping any shrimp in there? A couple RCS would be beautiful.

[oddball808]

i cant seem to get ahold of any RCS, so i might go with a couple of ghost shrimp

[spudfeger]

Too bad; they'd really make the tank. Ghosts are cool too, though. =) Can't wait to see it teeming with shrimpy life!

[oddball808]

theres a snail in there now. i think it hitchhiked in on one of the plants.
i tried to get a picture of it, but its still really tiny.

[rocky2]

This is exactly what I want and am trying to do with a 2 gallon apothocary jar.  Do you fertilize the plants since there are no fish?  Does the water need to be changed?  How often?  How about a heater?

[oddball808]

theyre just java ferns and java moss, so there is no need for any special ferts or anything like that.
as far as heating, it is 75 degrees all year round out here, so i dont use heaters ever. lol.

i change the water pretty often just because its so easy. but i am also adding ammonia to the tank to cycle it, so that when the shrimp go in, the system is stable.
if youre just doing plants, you shouldnt have to change the water often at all (if ever)