Want to start a 5g planted, need advice

[Joey2619]

Well I was digging through my basement today, and I found a 5g that I used to have an Anole(lizard) in back in the day. If I cleaned this out, would it be okay to use as an aquarium?

And assuming it will, Id like to do a shrimp/mass planted aquarium. How is this maintainence-wise on a 5g, and what would I need to get as far as lighting for this to be properly suited. Would the shrimp be sufficient with the algae from the plants?

 

[maxwell1295]

I have a lightly planted 5 gal tank (actually 5.5g) that houses a male betta, "Mr. Jones" and 4 neon tetras. I bought the tank at a local LFS for $7.99. I then picked up a glass Versa-Top ($3.99) and a 14watt fluorescent light strip ($9.99) from eBay. Nice little setup for $30 including taxes and shipping. You already have the tank, so your a step ahead

If you have the stock plastic fluorescent hood, it should have a 14watt T-8 bulb. That will grow most low to medium light plants. If not, I'd try to find the Versa top and add an Odyssea 24watt PC fixture like this one: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=7772059817&rd=1&sspagename=STRK:MEWA:IT&rd=1

 

[goalorientation]

Wow maxwell you got a sweet deal. I went to my LFS and saw a hood and light for $35. I have a 5.5 with an anole in it now and put the lizard up for adoption. I'm thinking about starting a mini-reef tank for it, with just live sand and live rock/coral, which one of these would work? I've never had saltwater tank and after potentially establishing the correct environment wish to add a dansel somewhere in the future, but im sure ill open a thread in saltwater when the time is right.

 

[maxwell1295]

You might want to check out the Nano Reef Forum in the Saltwater section of this site. There are some good tips on setting up small saltwater tanks. At some point, I may want to look into converting my 7g Minibow to saltwater.

BTW, if you think that's sweet deal.....I just picked up a 29gal (perfect, no scratches or leaks) and metal stand earlier this evening for 20 bucks. Yes, you read that right!

 

[goalorientation]

Wow I paid $119 for my 29g and custom accessories... didn't get a stand used my brother's wood hand built chest for that,

 

[czcz]

You could go low light with a moss tank using the standard fixture maxwell1295 suggested. Assuming the temperature in your home stays stable and above 70F, you shouldn't need a heater since both mosses and shrimp like low temperature. Shrimp also thrive with and appear to appreciate the shelter of mosses. This will also avoid the need for CO2 and dosing, providing a more stable enviornment for your sensitive inverts.

 

[goalorientation]

My room stays around 75 it's about 80 in my anole's tank regularly with a hot spot when the lamp is on... is so hot gotta keep the fan on at night to sleep!

 

[Joey2619]

You could go low light with a moss tank using the standard fixture maxwell1295 suggested. Assuming the temperature in your home stays stable and above 70F, you shouldn't need a heater since both mosses and shrimp like low temperature. Shrimp also thrive with and appear to appreciate the shelter of mosses. This will also avoid the need for CO2 and dosing, providing a more stable enviornment for your sensitive inverts.

Again Im bringing back my dead post.

What kind of mosses would that be? Id really like to see some of your guys' smaller plant setups.

Also, what kind of maintainence am I looking at with a small setup like this?

 

[goalorientation]

Again Im bringing back my dead post.

Thank you for doing so. I have all the necessary components for starting a small sw tank, however, I changed my mind when a customer (I work for Petco) with a larger reef tank said it wouldn't be worth it. Guess I'm just going to stay with the several freshwater tanks I have.

In regard to the what kind of moss question, look up growing rates for java and fern moss. I have the latter of the two in both my 29's and it grows rather heavily, so fern moss would quickly outgrow a 5.5. I suppose you would be fine if you have a larger FW tank you could transfer the extra plant to if it outgrows safely for this shouldn't mess with the conditions much.

An idea for a small tank like this would involve using some baby bamboo, or if you already have some you could take 5-6 leaves, tie them with a twisty and plant them (they will grow roots!). This would make a favorable condition for bamboo shrimp, a very inactive and nice sized shrimp at about 1.5 inches.

 

[czcz]

As goalorientation said, most any moss does fine in low light. Xmas and Java are traded and offered often in Barter/Trade. Keeping growth rate slow (with low light) makes nanos way easier to maintain. Keeping mosses means you can pull tufts out or trim carefully, depending on your preference and attention to detail. If you tie the mosses to rocks or driftwood, you can pull them out to trim.

Be wary of keeping several species of tradeable mosses in a nano. It is easy to have bits float around and mix with another, ruining your trading opportunities. I had this problem and had to give away mixed mosses because I could not trade them in good faith.

You'll do great. Moss tanks are as easy as it gets, and allow for lots of creativity.