Cube Aquarium You Asked About

I've done a lot of projects using round shaped aquariums over the past 6 years or so. 

Buy aquariums locally on Craigslist: 

https://newyork.craigslist.org/search/sss?userpostingid=7391919122 

or buy aquariums on Amazon (paid link): 

https://amzn.to/3au54b3

All shown in hundreds of videos. 

Here you can see some of my old aquariums.

 Many times I've been asked by different viewers if it is possible to scale whatever I've been doing to a larger "normal" box shaped aquariums. 

I like and I do all can naturally - round forms are the most natural.

 And I always set up aquariums of a particular size for each particular project. 

So, finally! You can see my cube shaped aquarium that I set up for three major projects.

 First of all, to check and answer the question you've been asking.

 It is a sustainable aquarium where I've been testing a working prototype of a self-feeding setup shown in a previous video. 

And in this cube aquarium, I don't put any land plants on top as I've done in all my other aquariums.

The third major long term project is to learn more about Endlers behavior. 

And there is a long list of minor projects for this cube :)

 Now let me show the setup of this cube tank.

 I found a Plexiglas cube shaped box. 

Each side of the box is about 20cm long. 

So, it is suitable for up to a 6 cm long fish. 

A family of about 3 cm long Endlers should feel comfortable in an aquarium this size.

 I already prepared a piece of plexiglass to use as a cover to reduce water evaporation.

 I put three different types of gravel in this aquarium. 

Let's arrange gravel by color in some triangular shapes. 

Here I add Imaginary blue and white gravel.

 And some rusty-brownish gravel goes on the right side.

 It all looks pretty cool to me! 

Now let's add some seashells. 

Colorful sea-glass and marbles look nice in the aquarium. 

Add whatever decorations you like.

 I put a lot of shiny treasures in this tank :) 

Add dechlorinated water. 

I prefer to add aged algae rich water. 

Aquatic critters and fish feed on common green algae and algae feeds on waste dissolved in water. 

To make space for my new cube aquarium, I disassemble one of my old 3 liter jar aquariums. 

So, let's reuse the water from the old aquarium as well. 

And there are Ramshorn snails, Guppy grass, and Marimo balls. 

And I put all the waste from the old aquarium in the cube as well. 

I don't change water in my aquariums at all. 

So, it comes with all the bacteria, seed shrimp, and who knows-what-else accumulated in the past years.

 6 liters of water fits in this cube tank.

 I keep all my aquariums with fish on a shelf next to the southern window away from direct sunlight. 

It can take a day or so for the dirt to settle down. 

Later the same day I added a half dozen adult Scuds.

 And a small bush of Dwarf Grass goes on the back of the tank. 

Also, I add Subwassertang and a couple small Marimo balls. 

A cutting of Hornwort and a cutting of Elodea. 

I always put two or more different types of plants in my aquariums. 

Cover the aquarium to reduce water evaporation. 

I finish the initial setup on April 15th, 2022. 

With the cover on, the brimless box looks nice!

 It is already a fully functional aquarium with critters. 

Let it sit for bacteria to buildup before adding any fish.

 4 days later on April 19th. 

The water is already crystal clear - looks beautiful! 

The cover keeps water from evaporating.

 Oh no!

 The 3mm thick plexiglass walls bulged out!  

The walls of this tank are too thin to hold all the water... 

Well, that box was designed to be used as a display - not to hold water.

 Plexiglass for aquariums comes much thicker.

 So, I have to either disassemble this cube aquarium or...

Let's reduce the water level to decrease the water pressure on the walls.

 I take out 1 liter, leaving 5 liters of water in the cube. 

On April 26th, 11 days after the initial setup I add young Endlers into the cube.

 1 female and 3 males. 

The flat walls of the cube offer a much better view for observation purpose than round walls of jars. 

For that reason alone, this aquarium is going to be shown in my many future videos :) 

The walls of the cube seem to hold the water pressure after I reduce the water volume to 5 liters.

 I replaced the old cover with a wide one to cover the curves of bulged walls.

 I feed fish 3 times a week. 

1-2 times a week with homemade fish food flakes. 

And 1-2 times with live Grindal worms and Springtails. 

Well, it's in addition to the food my Endlers find in the aquarium. 

May 1st. 

I spotted the first baby fish in the cube aquarium! 

There is plenty of space for many more fry to come :)

 May 3rd, 2022

 I am setting up a feeder for self-feeding fish in the cube. 

Springtails and Grindal worms are one of the easiest live foods to culture. 

My Endlers of all ages enjoy eating them every week. 

With this feeder, the fish may have Springtails everyday. 

And Springtails are the perfect snack size live food for baby fish. 

Let me show to you how adult Endlers go after Springtails. 

And here is a view from the top - where you can actually see Springtails walking on the surface. 

And now let's put Grindal worms in the feeder as well. 

That is more than enough worms to start a new colony.

 Grindal worms and Springtails coexist peacefully in the same humid environment on land.

 So, they should be fine breeding right in the feeder. 

5 days later on May 9th. 

Springtails are already settled down on every surface in the feeder.

 Let's put a couple baby Isopods in the feeder - they are the perfect feeding size for my Endlers. 

And now it’s a regular feeding time! 

Today my Endlers get to eat Grindal worms. 

Fish love Grindal worms!! 

Grindal worms have very high nutritional value. 

And the way worms wriggle in water makes them a very attractive target for fish.

 Okay, that's more than enough for one feeding. 

Usually I give less food - overfeeding causes most problems in aquariums. 

Always be mindful about it.

Grindal worms stay alive underwater for about 12 hours.

 But fish will eat them long before that.

 June 3rd.

 Zach from Brooklyn gifted me with 3 beautiful snails. 

1 Colombian and 2 colorful pink and blue Ramshorn snails.

 I think they would make a nice addition to my snails population in the cube. 

Let's drop the new snails into the aquarium. 

Thank you very much Zach for this beautiful gift! 

The shell of this Colombian snail is already about 2 cm in diameter. 

Under the right conditions, it could grow 2-3 times larger. 

That's another ongoing project in my cube aquarium :) 

June 7th 

Here you can see about 6 weeks old self-feeding sustainable cube aquarium. 

The walls are holding the water. 

The plants have been taking the space as they should. 

The snails and Endlers are fine. 

The cube aquarium looks great! 

I will keep you updated.

 Have fun and happy aquariums :)