5 gal. dirted start up

[Fishey bricks]

I'm in the proses of setting up a dirtied standard 5 gal. tank and I'm looking for ideas for the plants. The lighting will be one daylight CFL bulb 3500K and the substance is a light dusting of 16-4-8 dry fertilizer then one inch of local orange clay then one inch of sterilized mineralized local topsoil which will be capped by a inch of black diamond blasting sand.
Thanks for the help.

 

[FWFishTanks]

Crypts and swords will love your dirt. Jungle val is also a great option.

 

[Fishey bricks]

Crypts and swords will love your dirt. Jungle val is also a great option.

What swords and crypts do you recommend for a 5 gal. tank?
And do you think HC and dwarf hair might do good in this tank with this conditions?

 

[Fresh2o]

What swords and crypts do you recommend for a 5 gal. tank?
And do you think HC and dwarf hair might do good in this tank with this conditions?

Crypt wendtii (green or red). One of the smaller types of swords (I'm sword ignorant).
IMO it might be tough to grow HC and DHG without CO2 and with a single CFL.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[jetajockey]

Maybe rosette sword, kleiner prinz would be pushing it, or a ruffle sword. Crypt parva is another good choice.

 

[trennamw]

I have an ozelot sword in a 3 gallon. It takes up much of the tank but I find it interesting ... Like the betta is under a giant oak tree.

But I think I have less light than you do, and it doesn't grow very quickly.


Sent from my iPhone with three hands tied behind my back.

 

[F.Sam]

Don't get jungle val in a 5gallon, the leaves will get too large and block the lights again and again. Ozelot sword is good tho...

I wouldn't try spending money on hairgrass or baby tears, IMO they really need co2 to grow to full effect. I've had some good results with pogostemon, you might want to try this. Or maybe dwarf sagg? Or a more common anubias nana?


Sent per three-eyed raven...

 

[Alan79]

Crypts that would work well are Parva (foreground), Walkeri, Lutea, Red undulata. They're the smallest i know of and should top out at about 20cms. Lobelia Cardinalis might be good too. Anubias would be another nice addition. For the bulb i would find a 6400-6700K bulb as that provides the right light color for the plants to use. The 3500k bulb would grow algae better than plants. In a tank that size you could add a couple of stems of something like Sunset Hygro, trim the tips regularly and it would grow very bushy with side stems. I am trying it in a 5g i set up a couple of weeks ago and it is going well.

I like the sounds of your substrate. I only use clay in larger tanks as 1 inch of clay in a 5g tank takes away a fair portion of height in the tank and the bioload in the tank probably won't be very high so lesser need for nutrient absorbtion. It is not an issue to have the clay though i would probably use a touch less personally.

 

[tiger terror]

I'm in the proses of setting up a dirtied standard 5 gal. tank and I'm looking for ideas for the plants. The lighting will be one daylight CFL bulb 3500K and the substance is a light dusting of 16-4-8 dry fertilizer then one inch of local orange clay then one inch of sterilized mineralized local topsoil which will be capped by a inch of black diamond blasting sand.
Thanks for the help.

You'll have better luck between 5000k-6500k for your light source.

Getcha feet wet fish tank people!

 

[Fishey bricks]

Thank you for all the great responses. One thing that I forgot to mention in first post is that I will be having a DIY Co2 system. Also the light is suppose to be a full spectrum, but I have a ten gal. dirted tank that has two standard aquarium incandescent bulbs and the plants are growing like crazy, I would think that 3500K would have better light then a incandescent? Or is it less?

 

[tiger terror]

Its basicly falls into a useless spectrum of light that plants won't benefit from of any at all...your local hardware store would have cfl's to fit your hood most likely..look for "daylight" cfl's at k values between 5000-6500k this being the optimal spectrum for which your plants will grow their best...personally I'd remove the halogens &replace with cfl's(daylight not full spectrum ,run cooler&more energy efficient) which can be done for less than $10...

Getcha feet wet fish tank people!

 

[Fishey bricks]

Its basicly falls into a useless spectrum of light that plants won't benefit from of any at all...your local hardware store would have cfl's to fit your hood most likely..look for "daylight" cfl's at k values between 5000-6500k this being the optimal spectrum for which your plants will grow their best...personally I'd remove the halogens &replace with cfl's(daylight not full spectrum ,run cooler&more energy efficient) which can be done for less than $10...

Getcha feet wet fish tank people!

Sorry if I miss worded it wrong but this bulb is a cfl daylight.

 

[Lung Fish]

When you stock your tank,i reccomend stone nano catfish,here is the link.

Stone Nano Catfish Live Freshwater Aquarium Fish | eBay