5 Gallon tank at work...now 10g....9/24/07

[newfound77951]

Since the tank-setup diary threads seem to be so popular, as well as helpful, I thought I'd document the ongoing setup of my 5 gallon tank at work. For those of you who follow these diaries, this is Purrbox's old 5 gal that was the star of another thread a while back. I hope to get the light and filter up and running in the next couple of days, and get some plants in about then, too. I am also looking for a suitable piece of driftwood, but haven't found one yet.

Here's the tank with gravel and rock "wall", and water. Nothing else yet.


Looking down on the rock terrace.


And a rather lousy picture of the terrace from the side...out of focus and doesn't at all capture the change in gravel depth! Oh well, it was late last night when I took the picture.

[newfound77951]

Plants!...and light, filtration etc.

Picked up 2 beautiful crypts from the LFS...C. wendtii "green" in the back left and C. lutea in the back right. Don't know what the little crypts in the front left are (Jchillin? These were the ones you sent me), and some Sag from my 55 in the front right that I originally rescued from someone's tank. They grew significantly in the 55 so I hope they continue here.

I would like to add a small piece of driftwood in the back with some java moss, if I can find a piece I like. Also need a background....somehow the clutter behind the tank isn't as noticeable in person as it is in the picture.

I took a handful of biomax from my 55's AC filter, so will test the water params in a few days and then hopefully pick up some fishies. Still haven't decided what to get.

For anyone thinking of a small tank, these little tanks are nice. The filter is super quiet, you can barely hear it, which is nice if you share an office, as I do. The bulb is 10w, so I'm at about 2 wpg. Plain gravel with 3 root tabs to help the plants. I'm planning on using Excel rather than messing with CO2. Are there any stem/bunch plants that would do OK with this light? I think some different leaf shapes would look nice but most of the low light plants have similar shapes (ie crypts, java fern, anubias etc). My 55 is high light, so I can't really move anything from there, although I've got plenty of plants I could trim!

Full tank shot:


Closeup of the plants from a different angle.

[hashbaz]

That looks really cool!

I'm at work right now wondering why I don't have a tank on my desk. Hmmm...

[newfound77951]

Add fish....

I had added some "seasoned" biomax from my 55 gallon's filter, and tested my water a couple of days later....ammonia = 0, nitrite = 0, so here's some fish! I'm going to do a PWC tomorrow just in case, but between the Biomax and the plants all should be OK. I got a nice little school of 5 Pristella tetras...no time to get a really good pic but here's a decent one of them enjoying their new home.

[Lonewolfblue]

Cool, looking good....

[An t-iasg]

Very nice!

[newfound77951]

A new picture! I'm so used to the rampant growth in my high-light 55 that I don't notice the growth in this tank until I go back and look at the old pictures! Plants are coming along nicely, sorry about the green spot algae, I keep forgetting to bring a razor blade from home....the tetras are very happy and their tails are getting quite red.

[Purrbox]

I really look forward to future updates on this tank. It's definately filling in nicely. It should look especially nice once the background finishes filling in.

[azn_fishy55]

It's looking real superb, it'll look better when it fills in.

[newfound77951]

I just received a C wendtii "bronze" and some moss from czcz....and I am still looking for a piece of driftwood....so I have some plans in mind for this tank. Will post updates soon! (and I promise I'll clean the spot algae before any more pictures!)