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10cm Pico Cube


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I'd been meaning to put up a couple more photos of the pico cube that I submitted for the aquascape comp we had. Finally got my act together.

Tank size: 10 x 10 x 10 cm

Substrate: mixture of whatever I had on hand, some gravel, a bit of ADA soil, probably put some peat on the bottom, can't remember now.

Filtration: None

Lighting: 11w power compact desk lamp

Ferts: Umm... I added Excel and Flourish for about 2 whole days then got bored of that silly routine.

Fish: None!! :) Might put some baby bettas in there just for a photo. Don't think even a snail could live in there more than a few days.

This tank was setup in February for the aquascape comp and promptly neglected apart from the occasional water top up. Now algae has taken over with a vengeance. The java moss tree hasn't really happened. Amazingly, the chain swords are actually growing. Who would've thought? I might do a bit of clean up on it and maybe rescape it a bit. Don't really like those pale pebbles. I didn't have any suitable rocks so I walked around the neighbourhood and stole those little pebbles out of someone's front garden. Well, borrowed. I'll put them back now that I'm done with them. :D

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I love this little tank! I currently have a scotch glass with moss collected from the pavement sprouting in it, and each time I look at it I wonder if i could use it to make a tank like yours. Thanks for the close ups!

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  • 4 weeks later...

I did a bit of a rescape. Ditched the tree. It was too big and I kinda killed large areas of the java moss by overdosing with Excel. Anyway, it's an iwagumi now. :cheer: Most of the chain swords were left in place. Just added the rocks and the didiplis. I'll take some better shots when it grows a bit more, ie clean the glass, get the flash out, remove dead leaves etc.

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man, they look FANTASTIC michael!!!! Its a shame they are so small that a betta wouldnt really work in it.

Where do you buy the tanks? do they make bigger ones???

Im going to have to check out the aquascape section! I dont aquascape much cuz the damn fish eat the plants or i kill them lol

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They're Aqua One tanks. Any LFS that sells Aqua One products should be able to get them for you. I've seen them at Upmarket Aquarium recently. They come in various sizes, I'm not sure about the exact dimensions but there's this one which is a 10cm cube there's also a 25cm and a 30cm cube. I know that the shops have to order them from Aqua One as a set of five sizes but then they sell them as separate tanks. So there's possibly a 15cm and a 20cm one as well.

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I have 2 of the 10cm cubes I pieced up from Upmarket pets

I thought they had a good range of them

I have been looking at Mini aquariums by David E. Boruchowitz

it give you some ideas

Between Guppys and snails in one tank then the Oscars n another

I was thinking the only way I could get anything growing would

be by itself.

Razzie I loved the first one and the you come up with something better

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Wow a java moss tree!....must have been rare caus it's the only one iv'e ever seen and you chucked it Razzi. On a more sensible note, you are correct on the cube sizes available from Aqua 1. It's advisable to have new lids cut for all of the aqua 1 cube tanks though, as the originals are very undersize with lots of gaps allowing your fish to escape and become a carpet crispy. The glazier that I use charges $1 to $2 per lid,depending on the size. I'd call that cheap insurance. :) :):fish:

Cheers all, - Brad.

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I didn't completely throw out the tree. It's sitting in a plant nursery tank I've got running. I don't think it was the right shape for that small a tank. When I get a free moment, during daylight, (and if I remember) I'll scout around the garden for some other twigs that I could use that might be more suitable.

The closest glazier to me charges $10 to cut a lid!! I need to find a cheaper glazier!

The water under water is done using rocks. For a lake, he finds a flat, shiny rock and apparently the photograph has to be taken just right otherwise it just looks like a pebble stuck in sand. I reckon he might polish them up a bit to make them extra shiny. With the waterfall effect I think he might actually melt part of the rock somehow. Or maybe he just finds rocks that have that quality. He got a bit of criticism on one forum, saying that his scapes were unnatural. He defended those comments by saying that he only uses naturally found objects in his work. Personally, I love his stuff.

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The more lids you get cut (of the same size) the cheaper they should get Razzi.10 Lids for my 25cm cubes were $2 each.10 for 15cm cubes were $1 each lid. 2 lids per tank, both the same size and overlap in the middle. Ask for "arised" edges, not ground edges. Ground edges are expensive. 3mm or 1/8" glass is half the price of 4mm when cut, so I get the thinner stuff - but you do have to be careful with it as it is fragile in larger sizes. Cheers!, Brad.

A link to the incredible gallery of Slobodan Lazarevic.......................

http://www.akvaristikayu.com/Octopus%20aqu...ing/Gallery.htm

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Oh, I thought arised was the same as ground. I stopped saying arised a while back because some glaziers looked at me funny. So I started saying "grind the edges please". Grumpy now! What's the best way to smooth off the edges yourself? I'd been told that I could just sandpaper it but never found out what kind of sandpaper to get.

I wet myself laughing when I first saw Slobodan's Lilliputian meadows. Only 8ml of water. :alright:

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This is about the only time being in the country

I can get cover glasses cut cheaply and the edges taken of with out asking.

I use a very fine sand paper(wet & dry) to take of the sharp edges of antying

that needs .

if you fold it over 3-4 times you won't go through.

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I'm thinking of making myself my own Lilliputian sized tank. I don't think sticky tape will look too good. *lol* So when I go to the sandpaper section of Bunnings there'll be something that says "wet and dry"? Please don't make me ask Bunnings staff, they're always either too busy or not around or don't know what I'm talking about.

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Bettarazzi, the sand paper which sands glass should be a dark gray in colour. Uhm... lemme see if I can find a pic...

http://www.hobbytools.com.au/prod376.htm

There *lol*

You can wet the actual paper which prevents dust glass flying around. I'd advise wearing some sort of gloves while sanding it as getting glass dust in your skin can be painful and itchy and cause irritation. Wrap the sandpaper around a lump of wood or something solid and use that to sand with so you have a hard surface behind the paper and can apply more pressure without having to worry about the glass cutting through the paper and slicing your fingers.

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The grey stuff is commonly known as "wet & dry"paper. For glass edges use 180 or 240 grade (wet) wrapped around a piece of wood as Lyralla said, or a piece of hard thick rubber. I do it in the sink with the tap water running over the glass. If I am cutting glass I do it under the tap or underwater in the sink also. This makes for an easy clean-up. Definitely wear gloves when cutting as little glass pieces go everywhere. Always use a cutter with a wheel (not a blade) on the end, and start/finish the cut past the edges of the glass for a clean break. Make sure to use a guide to run the cutter along as the cut really must be dead straight for an clean easy snap. Break the glass underwater over the sharp edge of a wood block.

Hope these tips are helpful for the creation of your micro-tank Razzi. Cheers! - Brad *lol*

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