# New Pics Of The Retro Nanos



## keepsmiling (May 19, 2013)




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## Deanna01 (Apr 22, 2013)

Gorgeous tanks and fish!


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## Betaphototramp (Apr 13, 2014)

I second that thought. Both fish and tanks are beautifu.l


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## keepsmiling (May 19, 2013)

Thank you!


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## fidget (Aug 18, 2013)

Wow, those look great!
I've been thinking about doing something like that with potted plants- Can I ask what you have the plants in? Rocks? And are the pots floating or suction cupped to the side or something. 
Really cool idea and beautiful tanks!


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## nclnchls (Mar 18, 2014)

Wow! Those are sooo pretty, well done!


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## keepsmiling (May 19, 2013)

fidget said:


> Wow, those look great!
> I've been thinking about doing something like that with potted plants- Can I ask what you have the plants in? Rocks? And are the pots floating or suction cupped to the side or something.
> Really cool idea and beautiful tanks!


Hi, thank you. The plants are in riparium pots, the back is flat. There are holes in the bottom so the roots can grow downward. The substrate and stones in the planters comes with them. It is some type of planting soil for aquaria..not sure. I did have the suction cup ones. In fact I might still have them somewhere. I switched to these, they have magnets which keeps them in place. I got them from a guy on a site who sells riparium stuff.



nclnchls said:


> Wow! Those are sooo pretty, well done!


 Thank you.


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## SorcerersApprentice (May 31, 2012)

Beautiful fish and even more beautiful tanks!


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## AmbiantNight (Feb 12, 2014)

Nice set ups


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## xStatic (Jun 11, 2013)

I am wondering what type of sand you are using in your tanks? And where did you get it? It looks awesome.


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## Joey Fish (Jan 26, 2014)

I would say I want one, but reality is I want like four. Great job. Even more inspiration for me.


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## keepsmiling (May 19, 2013)

Thanks everyone for the very nice comments.


xStatic said:


> I am wondering what type of sand you are using in your tanks? And where did you get it? It looks awesome.


Hi, it used to be called estes sand. But it wasn't this fine. It also had a bad habit of floating for awhile , or part of it did. When you would first set up. So when I went looking for it and googled estes sand, another website popped up and I ordered it, but what I received was something different. It is called sea corals dot net, and they still list it as estes sand.


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## BlueInkFish (Jan 13, 2013)

Wow! What a beautiful scape and fish! Never seen those kinds of tanks? Are they custom made I would love to know... and buy A LOT for myself XD thanks!


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## TacoZA (Mar 2, 2014)

Amazingly beautiful! would kill for tanks like that!


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## keepsmiling (May 19, 2013)

litelboyblu said:


> Wow! What a beautiful scape and fish! Never seen those kinds of tanks? Are they custom made I would love to know... and buy A LOT for myself XD thanks!


 Thank you. No, these were made probably before you were born. Hence the name 'retro'. They were made in the 50's- 60's and the brand was called Metaframe. It is all there was in a tank at that time. No rimless tanks. The sides of these are stainless steel. They are very difficult to find, pricey, and even harder to find not leaking or broken. They did not use silicone, they had a tar-like substance to seal them. Therein lies the problem. If stored all this time dry, that seal pulls away from the glass. They have slate bottoms, so you cannot just seal them with silicone. The silicone won't stick to the slate. There are three ways I have found to fix them if they leak. The 5 gallon did leak when I received it. I was lucky and the easiest fix worked.


TacoZA said:


> Amazingly beautiful! would kill for tanks like that!


Thank you!


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## BlueInkFish (Jan 13, 2013)

Wow! That's awhile... But I still adore those tanks! And especially your fish... They may not be in their homes the next time you feed them...


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## BlueInkFish (Jan 13, 2013)

Oh! Forgot to mention! What kind of lighting do you use? The lighting looks beautiful does it actually look like that... XD I'm sounding weird asking about lighting lol  thanks though


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## keepsmiling (May 19, 2013)

It's not weird to ask about lighting. It's an important component to growing live plants. It is just a retro style new desk lamp with a 12 watt spiral CFL daylight bulb.


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## Blue Fish (Jun 11, 2012)

Beautiful, and I've seen these early aluminum tanks before, and they are so iconic of that era.  

Your bettas are beautiful, and the tank set-ups are lovely.


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## keepsmiling (May 19, 2013)

Thank you Blue Fish. Stainless steel...;-)


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## WendyKL (Dec 31, 2013)

Just one question - how many inches at the top are you leaving - so that your fish don't jump out - I would love to leave my tanks open topped - but I'm worried about my guys jumping ship. and - very lovely tanks!!!


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## keepsmiling (May 19, 2013)

Well you see the riparium tank has several inches.{I can measure if you need} The other tank I do cover at night with eggcrate. Most tanks do run near the surface, and it is best to cover them or risk jumping. I have oddly never had one jump in the daytime{knock on wood} only at night.
You can cover it with a reptile cover, make one from eggcrate, or bridal veil.


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## Blue Fish (Jun 11, 2012)

keepsmiling said:


> Thank you Blue Fish. Stainless steel...;-)


Ahh, thanks for the correction! I kept wondering if aluminum was right...lol! Now I'm educated, lol!  

They really are beautiful, and I love the small décor you have inside, is that vintage as well?


Oh, and as for the tank covers, I'm not sure if it would work with tanks like this, but it definitely does with regular black-rimmed tanks:
Sliding Glass Tank Lids:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNFMyJw4aFI


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## umarnasir335 (Jan 9, 2014)

The tanks look very well thought-out and balanced. Your bettas are very beautiful - very breeding worthy lol


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## IrishBeta (Apr 12, 2014)

Would love a link to places where we could buy them plant pots that are sticking out the top of the tanks and the plants also


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## keepsmiling (May 19, 2013)

Blue Fish said:


> Ahh, thanks for the correction! I kept wondering if aluminum was right...lol! Now I'm educated, lol!
> 
> They really are beautiful, and I love the small décor you have inside, is that vintage as well?
> 
> ...


Thank you. Yes, the two in the tank on the left, the riparium tank, are vintage. The mermaid is from occupied Japan, the small seahorse is from the 50's- 60's.The spikey seahorse is not vintage.



umarnasir335 said:


> The tanks look very well thought-out and balanced. Your bettas are very beautiful - very breeding worthy lol


 Thank you. I am too old and have too full of a house to set up for breeding.:lol:



IrishBeta said:


> Would love a link to places where we could buy them plant pots that are sticking out the top of the tanks and the plants also


 I can tell you that the plants on top came from various sources. Plants like the pink polka dot and aluminum plant can be found sometimes at grocery stores or home improvement stores. The planters came from a Riparium supply site. He also sells plants and planters for inside the tank. You should be able to google them. Links are not allowed here as far as I know.;-)


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## WendyKL (Dec 31, 2013)

It would be good to know how many inches are left at the top. I imagine the plants grow better without something blocking the light.


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## keepsmiling (May 19, 2013)

Ok..I can measure if that helps.


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## WendyKL (Dec 31, 2013)

That would be great!


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## keepsmiling (May 19, 2013)

Ok, I measured and it is 2.5 inches.;-)


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## WendyKL (Dec 31, 2013)

OK - thanks!


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