5 Gallon FW Build/Journey Thread

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daileene

Planted Tank Addict
Joined
Jan 25, 2011
Messages
2,561
Location
Fiskdale, MA
So here I am officially started my Multiple Tank Syndrome.:multi:
I went to Walmart today to get something else but I ended up purchasing the Home Aquarium Starter Kit 5. I am planning to make it planted. So anyway, here are the things that it came in with:
  • Size 5 gallon aquarium
  • Aqua-Tech 5-15 Power Filter with filter cartridge
  • Full incandescent light hood (complete with bulb) -->I replaced the bulb with 1 x 10W CFL Daylight 6500K T3. Please let me know if that is enough wattage for my future planted tank. I am planning on doing a low light one.
  • Water conditioner sampler
  • Tetra Fish Food sampler (Goldfish flakes & tropical fish flakes)
I bought the following extras:
  • 2 x Black Gravel (5lbs each)
  • 1 x Aqua Gravel 5 lbs
  • decorative rocks
  • gravel vacuum (which I tried on my 10G but didn't work, so I PWC manually with the bucket, I think it was a waste of money. Can I bring it back? Hehe! I wish.)
  • 6 x little bulbs of Hybrid Aponogeton
  • 2 x Nymphaea Lily Bulbs
  • temperature reader
  • timer
  • extra box of filters
So, I set it up tonight with my 5 yr old son (trying to be helpful) and I didn't know if I did the right thing of putting the bulbs in the tank while cycling. I will get a heater tomorrow since Walmart didn't carry a heater that can accommodate below 10G.

Here are a couple of pictures. Water not too clear yet.

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img_1215383_1_d36fa0f8eb8dc7304f3fe35066076012.jpg


I will keep you guys updated on the process of this new tank.

And oh, I planned on transferring my veiltail betta and one of the pleco in this tank. I planned on adding the neon tetras after too, is that okay?

Thanks for all the advice in advance.
 
Following along :)

Oh, what Pleco do you have? Personally, I dont even think a dwarf pleco could fit in a 5 gallon. You could try a single nerite snail as an alternative.

The neons need at least 10 gallon fish tank, a 5 gallon doesnt have a big enough foot-print to support a school of neons.

You could do A single betta (Center piece fish), A nerite snail (algea eater), some dwarf shrimp, like ghost shrimp. (Clean up Crew). Also, make sure not to add the nerite snail until algae starts configuring and also have a supply of algae wafers.
 
cool, thanks ty. that's very informative.

with the pleco, it's the dark grey (almost black) dotted one. the most common one. is that a brittlenose or something? right now, that pleco is still 1.5".
 
Im not sure what pleco your saying, but do you have a pic?

Yeah, you do have enough lighting for a Low light plant tank. You could possibly do Crypts, Java fern, java moss, and some anubias.
 
Im not sure what pleco your saying, but do you have a pic?

Yeah, you do have enough lighting for a Low light plant tank. You could possibly do Crypts, Java fern, java moss, and some anubias.

I will get a picture tomorrow ty.

And thank you for reassuring me about my light. Wheww!

Okay, I wanna ask about the flake method. Did you do the pure ammonia plus flake food everyday?
 
Tyler is right about the stocking. A common pleco has no place in most aquariums. They'll get 18" long. I would stick to the betta, nerite or mystery snail, and shrimp. Don't be surprised if the betta eats some of the shrimp.

You could always up the size of the bulb. Small tanks don't follow the Wpg rule well. If your plants suffer under the 10W, don't be afraid to step up to an 18W CFL.

Maybe it's just the picture, but how deep is your gravel? It looks like you've got half the tank filled.
 
Tyler is right about the stocking. A common pleco has no place in most aquariums. They'll get 18" long. I would stick to the betta, nerite or mystery snail, and shrimp. Don't be surprised if the betta eats some of the shrimp.

You could always up the size of the bulb. Small tanks don't follow the Wpg rule well. If your plants suffer under the 10W, don't be afraid to step up to an 18W CFL.

Maybe it's just the picture, but how deep is your gravel? It looks like you've got half the tank filled.

Hi BigJim, you are right, my gravel is somewhat 3". I put the whole 15 lbs of gravel on it. I was gonna try to landscape it later (e.g. look higher in the back then going down in a sloop in the front). Please let me know if I am doing it wrong. This is my first time doing a fishless cycle too.

Thanks about the light advice. I will definitely put that in mind.

I will also not put the pleco in there now. Thanks again.
 
UPDATE:

so far, I am doing the flakes method. Ammonia reading is 3ppm. So far so good. Will post a picture later.
 
2"-3" is usually pretty good for plants. I guess that just illustrates how small that tank really is.
 
okay, 2 questions from me as a dummy of fishless cycling:

1. do I need to change water while cycling, or not until the end of the cycle?
2. I am doing the flake method. How much do I need to put everyday and how many times in a day?
 
1 No you dont need to do PWC unless you want to get rid of the ammonia
2 Put enough in so that it sits there then rots a little then take it out i always do that
 
Ive never done a Water change during the cycle, but once the tank is cycled (0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, and 5-20 nitrate) and you are ready to add fish, It is always good to do one an hour or day before fish are added.

I get pinch of food once a day is what I done and worked like a charm
 
Following :D. It's good that you decided not to go with they pleco, they can be big time waste producers and probably would have caused problems later down the road. Everyone's been giving great advice so far! Good luck! :)
 
Hi Wayne, thank you. I am really excited with this one. I want to believe that I will make it right knowing that I will get good advice from you dear members. :)
 
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