New mini 5.5gal! Advice plz!!

[ta2ya]

title says it all, made a nice stand for it as well.
would like to be able to grow an HC carpet.
i'll break down the details.

16x8x10, 5.5gal aqueon glass aquarium.
submersible internal filter, rated for 15gallons?
10w 6500k 'ultrasun mini compact fluorescent lamp.'

looking to go get...
- a substrate for planted tanks, not sure what my LFS has to offer.
- maybe a nice piece of drift wood.
- diy co2 injection, yeast and sugar method in a couple big water bottles.

is this a good start? enough lighting? i'll be posting pictures up soon. anything else i should get, or anything that i'm missing?

thanks, your opinion counts!

 

[fort384]

That won't be enough light to grow compact HC.

For substrate if you want to get specialty I would recommend ADA aquasoil or Ecocomplete. They both work well for growing and rooting HC.

What are you planning for fish? Are you planning to heat the tank?

 

[ta2ya]

thanks for the quick reply.

as for the lighting... my next question is i'm pretty flexible with the 6500k bulbs. i have other 42w and i believe 23w... how many total watts should i have with 6500k? should i get other color light spectrum as well?

i believe my local fish store has ecocomplete, ill look into that asap.

i haven't decided on the fish yet... a couple small fish that'll fit comfortably. open for any suggestions =).

i live in hawaii, so the temperature stays pretty constant, i think my tanks stay around 75 degrees.

 

[fort384]

6500K will work fine. For good compact HC, I would start with the 23W and see how it goes. You might want to up that later, but only after you have nutrients and CO2 balanced and cranked.

Temp sounds good.

Chili rasboras and red cherry shrimp would be my favorites for a 5 gal tank. A single betta would also be a good option, or some endlers.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

I have the same tank setup for plants with EcoComplete, HOB filter and rocks for my hardscape (looks bad, got some driftwood in the mail). I don't have HC but the 23 watt light should be plenty strong. It's such a shallow tank. I'd go with the chilli's as they won't eat shrimp like a betta will. My tank has a betta so shrimp are out.

 

[ta2ya]

thanks for the advice guys.. yea some rad boras and shrimp sound perfect. i'm getting excited.

 

[Rivercats]

Another nice combination is a couple Scarlet Badis and Red Cherry Shrimp. Borderlesscott has such a setup and it's really nice looking.

 

[tiger terror]

I have 2 scarlet badis along with crs&rcs..really nice mixture...

 

[ta2ya]

tiger, that looks great!!

 

[ta2ya]

pics update

i hope these pics show.

- first picture are the lighting i have available, left to right, 10w, 42w, 26w. all 6500k. i have a couple of each bulb in my closet.

- second one is my diy aquarium shelf with my 5.5 in the middle, thinking of one on top and another on the bottom. very bottom for storage. hinged so i can hide my lights hanging from the ceiling of the shelves. i will put another board on the back side to cover.

- my internal filter, rated at 10 gallons.

- finally, my 5.5 gallon, brand new. $15 at local fish store.

i've been busy with work, i have to take a brief pause in my setup.

 

[ta2ya]

looking to get a drop checker too, i found this online right now...

CO2 Drop Checker with Ph Solution | eBay

no offense but im skeptical from the price and where its shipped from, when other drop checkers + solution = $30 bucks.

so my question is, does it matter how cheap the drop checker is? (solution as well...?)

i'm researching more stuff on drop checkers here...
~Explanation of how a drop checker works~
CO2 drop checker - Equipment - Aquatic Plant Central

feedback, your thoughts, and opinion counts.

thanks AA community.

-t

 

[Billbug68]

looking to get a drop checker too, i found this online right now...

CO2 Drop Checker with Ph Solution | eBay

no offense but im skeptical from the price and where its shipped from, when other drop checkers + solution = $30 bucks.

so my question is, does it matter how cheap the drop checker is? (solution as well...?)

i'm researching more stuff on drop checkers here...
~Explanation of how a drop checker works~
CO2 drop checker - Equipment - Aquatic Plant Central

feedback, your thoughts, and opinion counts.

thanks AA community.

-t

No, the cheap ones work fine. I have one myself. You will also need to order 4dkh solution also found on eBay. Also, don't use the solution the dc comes with, use your api low range ph solution along with the 4dkh.

 

[ta2ya]

ordered an inexpensive drop checker online. waiting for mail sucks. i hope it comes in one piece.

 

[Billbug68]

ordered an inexpensive drop checker online. waiting for mail sucks. i hope it comes in one piece.

Yup, mine took about 3 weeks to get here from china... It was packaged pretty well though. Free shipping, can't complain. Haha

 

[ta2ya]

Aquarium CO2 Glass Drop Checker Test 4oz 4DKH Liquid Optional | eBay

this finally came in the mail, right on time for xmas. sooo, use the dkh solution that came with it, plus a few drops of api ph...?

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Aquarium CO2 Glass Drop Checker Test 4oz 4DKH Liquid Optional | eBay

this finally came in the mail, right on time for xmas. sooo, use the dkh solution that came with it, plus a few drops of api ph...?

That's right. I use 2 drops per 1ml of 4dKH solution. If it's a mini drop checker it'll probably take 2 drops of API low range pH solution and 4 drops for the regular size drop checker. There may be a better formula. This is just what I use and it works well for me.

 

[ta2ya]

how harmful is the solution to the tank... if a drop does fall in accidentally...?

 

[ta2ya]

what color should the solution in the drop checker be?

 

[ejaramillo01]

what color should the solution in the drop checker be?

At the beginning, after adding the 2 drops of the API pH test, should be deep blue. Then you will install it in the tank, start your CO2 until the solution in the drop checker turns to green, kind of light green. In the light green range is when your CO2 level in the tank is close to 30 ppm, which is optimal for the planted tank.

If the solution in the drop checker starts to get into the yellow zone, this means too much CO2.

Hope this helps

 

[ta2ya]

cool..! thanks. just like you said, was dark blue at first. I finished my DIY co2, successfully got it to about one bubble per second. Color in drop checker started turning green. I bought some small random feeder shrimp, dirt cheap, and a moss ball as well. Now... I think time to get some HC.