5 GAL Eclipse Startup

[Sharkrocket72]

I will be setting up a 5 gallon eclipse system after Christmas and i just want to make sure that I will be doing everything correctly.

I plan on using live plants for the first time. And am open to suggestions as to what would be the best. Some possibilities that i have researched are dwarf hairgrass, anubias nana, afzeli anubias, java ferns, cabomba, anacharis and temple narrow leaf. I obviously wouldnt be using all of these, they are just ideas. I am looking for plants that require low to moderate light and require low-moderate care.

The other thing that I want to be sure of is how to correctly cycle my tank. Plants before or after cycling? Use a shrimp, dont use a shrimp? After searching multiple sites I have discovered many different ways and just want to make sure I cycle the tank correctly the first time.

Any suggestions or comments are greatly appreciated.

Thank you!

 

[theotheragentm]

If you want to use a shrimp, place it in a bag with holes in it. It's less messy to remove. Plants can go in during the cycle time. What fish were you thinking?

 

[Sharkrocket72]

Probably some neons or cardinal tetras. I just want something with some color.

 

[Sharkrocket72]

Anybody else have any advice or comments?

Thanks

 

[Sicklid]

Yes, I kept Cabomba in my small tank, and it wants to grow right out the top... It seems like you can only cut the tops off and replant so many times before they just stop growing one day. Who knows maybe it was me? It makes a bit of a mess, too, when you touch the leaves they go everywhere... Also, it may need slightly higher requirements than you plan for being low-tech/easy care... But hey, it's only a couple bucks, so give it try!

I think most of your other choices look good. Java fern is unbeatable of a tank that size, same w/ Anubias... Try some mosses!

 

[Sharkrocket72]

Thank you! After doing some more research I decided that for the foreground I will most likely use some dwarf hairgrass and some anubias with some java ferns, green hygro, anacharis and cabomba in the mid and background. I'll see how it goes and change things if necessary.

Any other suggestions are welcome

Thanks!

 

[Alshain]

For a 5 gallon with color, I would reccomend a Betta Splendens and then add a few docile tank mates like a group of 3 cories, or maybe an apple snail if that suits your fancy. A lot of people overlook the Betta because they think it will attack everything, but that is just not true. If you go with cories, get the smaller ones (panda, peppered, albino, etc.) and avoid the larger ones (green, emerald, etc.)

For plants, since it's probably a low light tank I would suggest not using from your list Eleocharis acicularis (dwarf hairgrass) as it requires moderately high light, but the others should be alright. If you want a good covering forground plant, you should try Marsilea minuta. It takes a while to get started but once it does you won't stop it.

If you are going to do the fishless (shrimp) cycle plants CAN NOT go in before the cycle. This is because the light needs to remain off during the cycle or else algae will take control due to excess ammonia.

 

[JustOneMore20]

I agree on the dwarf hairgrass. The Eclipse tank stock lighting isn't enough for this plant.

Hygro, Anacharis, and Cabomba will fill up the tank. They are fast growing plants and the Hygro and Anacharis especially will grow pretty fast in low light.

 

[Sicklid]

My $.02 on Corys with Bettas, one Betta I had killed all tankmates, Corys included... It helps if you have the Corys in there first...

How about a paradise fish, or a Dwarf or Sunburst gourami?

 

[Sharkrocket72]

I was thinking of getting a higher wattage bulb, i think the max it can go is 15W, i think. So that would put me up to 3W/G. Would that be enough for the hairgrass?

As for the betta, i had never really counted it out but i really like the look of neons and cardinals. I was looking for something that was small and would school. I know there isnt a lot of room to school but oh well.

I also did think about a gourami. I had a 65g tank a while ago(recently moved into apartment and didnt have room) with some gouramis and they did great. I really like them and they were easy to care for. With that being said the 5 gallon tank would only comfortably accommodate about 2. I wanted to get more than just 2 fish but who knows i might find some cool gouramis when i go to get fish.

Thanks everyone for the advice!

 

[black hills tj]

You may be able to put a dwarf sunset gourami and a few cories in there. That way you cover multiple strata of the tank with multiple fish

 

[rkilling1]

3 WPG in such a small tank puts you in the lower light area. I doubt the hairgrass will be able to grow with that much light.

I have a 15 watt CF screw-in for my 5 gallon eclipse corner tank and it grows all the lower light plant species very well. Mine did come with a incandescent bulb. So, if your does, make sure to change that ASAP.

If you fill the tank with plants, then I wouldn't even worry about cycling it. Fill the tank (med to heavy planted) and let it sit like that for about a week or two and then add a fish. Wait another week and add another fish. So on and so forth. Ensure you are monitoring the parameters at least every other day during this process.

This is known as the 'Silent cycle'. Not only do the plants remove the NH3, they are also covered in bacteria if they have come from an established tank.

 

[JustOneMore20]

Also, on stocking....a 5g is too small for cories or neons or cardinals. I'm afraid you'll be stuck with a Honey or Dwarf Gourami or a Betta. There may be a few other choices, but there aren't too many choices for a 5g. A few Sparkling gouramis would work, or make it a shrimp only tank.

 

[Alshain]

My $.02 on Corys with Bettas, one Betta I had killed all tankmates, Corys included... It helps if you have the Corys in there first...

How about a paradise fish, or a Dwarf or Sunburst gourami?

That's not just the betta in general though. Anybody can come across a "bad egg" every once and a while, I had a swordtail that killed all its tankmates once. I have a 5 gallon with a betta, apple snail, and 3 cories and they do just fine. The cories were the last ones in. Although, I beginning to think the snail throws it over the overstocked line so I wouldn't get all three.

Anyway, Neons and Cardinals are good. Keep in mind that in a tank that small, by the time you get a whole shoal of them your tank is completely stocked. So you would be limited to the tetras alone really. People are going to tell you that the two won't shoal together but I disagree. The more similar body style of tetras will shoal together in my experience.

Also, on stocking....a 5g is too small for cories or neons or cardinals. I'm afraid you'll be stuck with a Honey or Dwarf Gourami or a Betta. There may be a few other choices, but there aren't too many choices for a 5g. A few Sparkling gouramis would work, or make it a shrimp only tank.

Thats just not true, 5G is bigger than you might think. The smaller cories get up to an inch long, thats 3"+ for a group that will make them happy, a betta would be 2" to 2 1/2" (don't count that tail). Neons and Cardinals are only 1/2" to 1" so you could fit a whole shoal in there.

If you are following the general rule of thumb that says 1" of fish per gallon (I know, not a perfect system but its decent) then your doing fine with any of these fish. The Gouramis are bigger than any of those.


As for light, I regret to inform you that the Eclipse tanks don't have good stock lighting, and worse yet you can't retrofit easily like you can with a standard ballast. If you have not bought the tank yet, I reccomend heading over to Wal-Mart and there they have a cheap 5G All-Glass tank. It comes with an in-tank filter but supports and HOB as well, and it also has a fixture for a self ballasted CF (aka screw in bulb). Then you can get a good 15W CF daylight bulb that will be better that the 15W NO that the eclipse comes with.

 

[Sharkrocket72]

Thank you for all the advice. Yesterday I grabbed a 15W daylight CFL that is rated at 6500K. That is the max that can go in the system, i think. So that should put me at 3WPG.

As far as fish go, Im not set in stone as to what I will be putting in the tank. From all the suggestions: I like gouramis, tetras, havent had a bettas or corries yet but do think they would be interesting. I appreciate all the advice and will take it into account when I purchase fish.

For cycling, one of my parents neighbors has an established tank that is well taken care of so i talked to her and long story short, I dropped in a filter cartridge into her filter to establish bacteria for when I start mine on the 26th. That combined with the plants should have it cycled in no time.

Thank you everyone!

 

[Sharkrocket72]

I have been thinking about fish lately and wanted to get some input. I really like the look of gouramis but most are to big for a five gallon. I had some dwarf flame gouramis and loved them in my 65G tank. They were never aggressive but I know some can be. Would a male betta and 2 dwarf flame gouramis work? I would be worried about the betta getting nipped. Let me know what you guys think. Also the gouramis I had didnt get very large maybe 2" big. Hope these will not be a problem, the colors would look great together.

Thanks

 

[JustOneMore20]

Thats just not true, 5G is bigger than you might think. The smaller cories get up to an inch long, thats 3"+ for a group that will make them happy, a betta would be 2" to 2 1/2" (don't count that tail). Neons and Cardinals are only 1/2" to 1" so you could fit a whole shoal in there.

I have Corydoras hastatus and I would never put them in a 5g tank. Mine are in a 10g for the time being until I get my 40g setup. Dwarf cories seem to prefer larger groups than other cories IME. And they swim around the tank more and don't stay on the bottom all the time. 3 cories is not a large enough group, especially for dwarf cories. You will want 6 at the least and preferably 8+. I cannot see 8 Dwarf cories being happy in a 5g tank.

If you are following the general rule of thumb that says 1" of fish per gallon (I know, not a perfect system but its decent) then your doing fine with any of these fish. The Gouramis are bigger than any of those.

The inch per gallon rule is not a good one to go by. It does not account for swimming room. 5g tanks are small. I wouldn't even put Neons and Cardinals in a 5.5g which probably has a better footprint than the Eclipse 5. Its just too small. I've had Neons in a 10g and they didn't move and hid all the time. Then I moved them to a 29g and their behavior changed....they swam around the tank and didn't hide all the time. I learned that they need more space then alot of people give them.

Would a male betta and 2 dwarf flame gouramis work? I would be worried about the betta getting nipped.

Bettas and gouramis usually don't get along, especially in small spaces. I'd choose either a pair of Honey gouramis or a single Betta or Gourami.

If you can find Dwarf rasboras, you could get a small school of them. Or if you can find Sparkling gouramis, 2-3 would work. You could get some shrimp for the bottom, as the Sparklings are tiny things and would probably only eat baby shrimp.

Or if you can find some small Killies, those would work. Clown killies are tiny and very cute. You could get a pair or 2 of them.

There are other options for small tanks, but they aren't too common, so might take some effort to find them.

 

[Alshain]

Well I guess we will just have to disagree. My dwarf cories get along just fine with my betta in a 5 gallon tank. The cories show no signs that they are stressed or unhappy and the betta likes to flex his dominance once in a while and show them that it is his tank, but other than that pretty much leaves them alone.

As for swimming room, my albino cories in my 55 gallon swim around in a circle no bigger than my 5 gallon anyway. They like to stay in one area of the tank and don't leave it much.

The only exception of course is if this is a hex tank (I think eclipse makes one of those so we may be arguing with 2 different thought processes). Personally I don't recommend those much at all because of swimming room. Betta is the only fish I know of that swims up and down (in a manner of speaking) so its probably all that would go in those kinds of tanks. Even the gourami would probably not be very happy in there. Honestly, I wish companies would stop making hex tanks in the 5 gallon variety. They are fine if the tank is larger 20+ gallons but 5 gallon hex isn't good for any fish really.

I guess what we need to know is whether or not this is the eclipse 5 hex or the eclipse 5 or the eclipse 5 corner.

 

[Sharkrocket72]

My fault sorry. I thought I put it in there that it was a 5G Hex. Sorry for the confussion.

Well back to the drawing board. Probably still gonna get a betta but will have to research some different tankmates. Maybe corries

Thanks everyone!

 

[Alshain]

In that case I do agree with JustOneMore20, a betta or gourami. The simple reason is most fish swim side to side and in large groups this is difficult in a tall tank. Betta don't swim straight ahead like most fish, they almost "dance" all over the tank when they do swim but they move slow unless motivated. Gouramis are pretty slow movers as well, but not quite the same. They do swim side to side a little more. To go along with your fish you could have a non-swimming aquatic life like an apple snail.