I really want one of these. Would I be able to keep anything alive in something that small?
Sure can. Eclipse makes very nice all-included systems with built in filters and lights. You can have a really nice set up as small as 1 gallon. Some folks go even smaller.
I have a 2 or 3 gal hex in my office that is about 6.5" across and 15" tall. It is fully planted and home to reproducing colonies of Endler’s livebearers (similar to guppies) and red cherry shrimp, and takes - maybe - 10 minutes of maintenance a week.
Let me know if you really want to discuss specifics. Be forewarned, I am a HUGE advocate of using live plants (which I could easily provide you for the price of shipping - about $4.) Maybe an article for a certain magazine?
Oh yeah - goldfish are quite messy, and would really need a bigger tank. Other possibilities would be a single betta, or a number of other small fish. Maybe a snail.
Most folks use the prefix “nano” for tanks under 10 gal, and “pico” for tanks under 1 gal.
Cool, Dinsdale! I’ll email you on that. But in the meantime – if I do get it for my office, whatever critter I get wouldn’t get fed on weekends – is there such a critter? Or should I get this for home?
Or should I think about getting a “real” system and putting the plastic crap into it for decoration? What kind of money are we talking about?
I feed my fish and shrimp 3 times a week, MWF. No big deal if I miss a day. If I’m out for a week, I’ll ask someone to toss some food in once or twice.
You could easily set up something nice for around $50. Could probably go cheaper if you wanted.
Here’s the first on-line price I turned up for a 3 gal Eclipse system. Then you’ll need some gravel (if you want plants, we can talk various substrates - you could just use dirt from your garden). A small tank will only need a few pounds - less than $10. Then you need fauna - again, less than $10. The smallest jar of fish food - in a small tank it will last forever. A scrubby to clean algae off the walls. And I can send you the plants.
Like I said - that would be a “Cadillac” system. If pressed, you could save $5-10 here and there.
Knowing that you like plants, I can’t imagine why you would want to go with plastic crap.
Oh - I forgot. My tank also has a stick in it that I picked up besides a lake and boiled. You could also include rocks. No charge.
This ISN’T an expensive or high maintenance endeavor, but it DOES take a certain amount of planning, and a desire to do the minimal maintenance regularly for as long as you keep it.
Damn, that looks cool. Hmmm…
I don’t want you to get any work done today, so check out the pics of small tanks here. Admittedly, many of these are “higher-tech” systems than I am recommending, mainly due to higher lighting levels, fertilizers, and CO2 injection. (My large tanks at home are “higher-tech.”)
My 3 gal uses a 4 watt screw-in compact flourescent bulb I bought at K-mart, I don’t use a heater, and I add neither ferts nor CO2. And - IMO - it looks as good if not better than well over 1/2 of the tanks on that site, and has been phenomenally clean and stable for over a year while requiring next to no effort or expense.
One last post. I can’t believe I’m so clueless that I overlooked that the original tank you linked to included office furniture.
Obviously that “novelty” look is different that what I am interested in or have been describing. I’ll note it does not mention whether it includes a light and/or filter. If not, it is essentially a fishbowl - which means water will need to be changed more regularly. And I would imagine that algae would build up on all that little plastic furniture.
The best thing about a planted tank IMO is that it more closely resembles a natural biosystem. The fishes’ crap fertilizes the plants, and the plants improve the water quality for the fish. And some shrimp or oto cats will eat leftover food and/or algae.
Now I really have a bit of work I have to attend to. Or maybe I’ll watch my shrimp for a while…
Yeah, clearly I’m gonna wanna go with a natural system.
But I’m not going to read the linked stuff now – because I really, really do have work to do today. Really.
Which is why I haven’t emailed you yet. And won’t. Yet. 
Hm, apparently there’s an aquarium store here in the teeny tiny town where I work…
Dinsdale, I want to hear what you have to say about using live plants in a fish tank. Please expound.
Get a betta (siamese fighting fish). They do great in relatively small containers (mine is in a half gallon bowl) and don’t need a filtration system, just regular (treated) water changes (I also have a live plant). And going a couple days without food is really no big deal at all.
My guy sits right next to my monitor and keeps me company at work. Before I got a betta, I had no idea fishes could have so much personality; I was used to keeping bovine-like goldfish. My little guy exitedly flaps his fins at me whenever I enter the cubicle and likes to play keep away with his pellets. If he gets bored, he’ll make splashy noises to get my attention or stage a fight with the mirror I put by his tank…
Make sure that you can actually keep a fish tank at work. One of the buildings my company used to be in prohibited fish tanks of any size. The rule was probably put in place to stop one of those bizillion gallon jumbo tanks from causing damage, but the way the rules in the lease were written even tiny goldfish bowls were forbidden.
Good advice, but since someone in the art department has a 20-gallon water garden, I don’t think a little fishtank is going to get me in trouble.
I really like the forums at this site for info concerning planted aquaria. Tho lots of these guys go a pretty high-tech route, you don’t have to. Check out the low-tech forum, or Google sites on “natural” aquaria.
The main limitation on plants in a standard tank is the lighting. Speaking very generally, a standard flourescent tube doesn’t provide enough light. As a general rule, 1 watt per gallon is pretty much a minimum for growing anything. (My higher tech tanks have as high as 5 wpg.) With the basic flourescent strip that comes with most tanks you’ll be able to keep some low-light species alive, but they won’t thrive like the pictures you see. And you will not be able to grow all of the species you might want.
The substrate is another factor to consider, as many alternatives are better for plants than inert gravel. If using gravel, you might want to supplement it either with another material such as peat, laterite, or many others, or bury some fertilizer tabs. Or you can keep your plants in pots. Plant geeks get into huge discussions over the relative merits of different substrates. Living in the midwest, my next tank is going to use dirt from my yard.
A big step affecting a number of factors is whether or not to inject CO2 (keeping CO2 levels high is also relevant to reducing surface agitation. Most planted entusiasts do not use biowheel filters, as the agitation degases CO2.)
Then if you are adding CO2, you’ll probably want to add ferts (micros and macros). You can easily buy them on-line in bulk for pennies compared to commercially prepared liquids.
Higher tech systems essentially require that you figure out and maintain the balance between CO2, ferts, and lighting.
Some fish - like many cichlids - are diggers and will uproot plants. Others, such as silver dollars, treat plants like a salad bar.
But for someone wanting to get started, you can simply research some low light species (anubias, crypts, java fern, java moss are good basics), stick them in the gravel and see how they do. You can generally find these at Petsmart or LFS for less than $10. Or, check the “swap” forum at The Planted Tank site, and look (or ask) for cheap low-light packages.
When I started out, I had a mixture of real and plastic plants. As time went on, I gradually added more real plants, and removed more fake ones. But until you increase our lighting, you are really limited in what you can do.
I’d be glad to answer any specific questions. I know there are a couple of other folk around here who do planted aquaria.
We have a betta that we keep in a gallon cider jug. He has one plastic plant in the water and we also have a philodendron sticking its roots down in the water. They don’t need any soil and when the roots get too long, we just hack them off.
My kids’ afterschool program keeps another betta the same way. He rarely gets fed on weekends and seems to do just fine. I think they give him a little extra on Fridays.
I second the idea of starting with a small decorative bowl and a single Betta. See if that works for you, first.
I know a lot of people keep bettas in bowls.
My understanding, however, is that they really prefer and do better in warmer water, and would benefit from a heater. I’m certainly no expert, tho.
They are beautiful fish. Really fun to breed as well.
Is that nano-tank you linked to upthread heated?
No. Does fine with just the office’s ambient heat.
My reasoning (see - I think WAY too much about these things) - you can get a small heater really cheap. $6 or so. But I think tanks generally look better the less “equipment” you have in them. Which is more important in a small tank, as there are fewer places to “hide” things.
Certain fish are more “touchy” than others. And there is always the distinction as to whether something will “survive” in certain conditions, as opposed to “thrive.”