GOT IT! 5.5

[d9hp]

I got my 5.5 tank. I have a filter and heater. Tank and of course a light. now for the bad news. I have no substrate. I have an incandescent light. I need your help. What substrate do I need. If my LFS doesnt have a plant substrate, can I use gravel? What kind of substrate do you guys have. Is a single 13 watt bulb enough to have a healthy tank? Im in no rush to add anything, except those two goldfish... Does it need to cycle? Do I need to wait to put plants in? What is the cycling process? Do I need a substrate to cycle? Lots of questions I know. Thanks a lot.

 

[Guest]

OK, here goes.

Cheap substrate, Kitty Litter! Cheapo walmart kitty litter, unscented, mix half and half with gravel of your choice, then cover with all gravel. Rinse litter very, very well before using! litter is supposed to be a very good plant substrate, I've heard many good thins about it.

Is your bulb flourescent or incandescent? 13 watts on a 5.5 = over 2 watts per gallon, should be able to grow a fair amount of plants.

Best to plant heavy from the very start, the plants eat up ammonia right off the bat.

 

[totalbeginner]

cat litter sounds good, but i have managed to keep plants in my tank with just normal gravel, though they come in little plastic pots they soon (2-3weeks) root into the gravel. all i add is 5 ml of plant grow per fortnight, though they probably don't need it, just don't want them to die

isn't cat litter just clay? doesn't that affect the water chemistry? , goldfish tombstones are pretty hard to come by ( unless you make them out of the clay that killed them. )

 

[Guest]

isn't cat litter just clay? doesn't that affect the water chemistry? , goldfish tombstones are pretty hard to come by ( unless you make them out of the clay that killed them. )

I assume you are just joking with me here.

Yes, cat litter is clay, but it is neutral clay. Doesn't affect water chemistry. mixed with gravel to prevent compacting.

I have no personal experience with kitty litter, but lots of other people use it with no ill effects. Some plant tank people prefer it above all other substrates.

 

[totalbeginner]

sorry, my first attempt at ironic humour.

i'll keep the cat litter in mind, thank you corvuscorax.

 

[tyler]

i hear kitty litter is a rather large pita (ie murks up the water every time you move plants around, and you WILL be moving plants around)

i use shultz aquatic potting soil in my 5.5 and shultz mixed with sand in my 29. i like the looks of both, though shultz is a bit light (strong water currents push it around). if you do use shultz, rinse the crap out of it first. it's a bit dusty.

 

[Guest]

I have GOT to get some of that Schultz product! I keep hearing about it, never see it anywhere. Hopefully I'll find some before I need to repot my pond plants. If I'd have known about it, I'd have tried it in a tank, but don't need it any tanks. Must find a retailer in my area.

 

[d9hp]

Can I get this shcultz stuff at the LFS or at Lowe's home improcement or something. Ill wait on the kitty litter, sounds dusty.

 

[tyler]

i picked up my bag at wal-mart. i think they might carry it at lowes or home depot. if those places don't work, check out any places that sells pond supplies. that's what it was with at wal-mart.

 

[Guest]

I went to the schultz website, all walmarts are supposed to carry it. I'll have to check mine soon, they didn't have it last year.

 

[d9hp]

Thats my luck, thats where I got my kit, o well. Do I want big or little gravel to mix it with? You guys are great for helping me out. But what about the cycling thing, do I want to wait a while to add fish. I got two goldfish last night when I got the kit so they could start to cycle the tank. Bad idea? Do I need to ditch them? Thanks again

 

[totalbeginner]

don't know if it is technically a good idea. but when i kept goldfish (for about 18 months) before i got a filter the tank used to go green and i (foolishly) did a 100% water change and dumped the fish right back in, no floating to adjust to temp, no dechlorinator. i had 2 goldfish, 1 fancy goldfish and 1 chocolate oranda, they all survived this for about 3 months until i got a filter (the regular goldfish died after 1 year, the others 6 months later). i am not advisng this kind of cruelty. but the point i am trying to make is that goldfish seem to be VERY hardy fish. when i got the filter i plonked the fish in, never new about cycling. they will PROBABLY be ok (do not quote me on this), just think how many people, and were talking hundreds of thousands or even millions have bought a goldfish and a wee bowl, run the cold tap and put the fish right in. not saying it's right but it happens and the fish survive.

The main thing i think is not to overfeed as the tank will gett excessively polluted. it's a good idea to buy a water test kit, if the levels get too much dilute them with a partial water change.

 

[d9hp]

I dont want to sound like a cocky kid, but I know stuff about water chemistry and all that, I have multiple test kits. I have been in the hobby awhile and most of my knowledge is of SW.

I know it may be cruel to have fish and just throw them in. I want them to live for a while and then I can give them to my neighbor who has a small tank. I want to know if they will help. If they wont, I will give them away. Thanks, all thought are appreciated and I totally understand where you are coming from with the info. I love that you are here to give it. Just want to let you know I know...

 

[d9hp]

Do I want large or small size gravel for my tank. I could not find the potting soil stuff, what is this flourite you speak of. Thanks again.

 

[d9hp]

got the Aquatic plant soil, but man is this stuff dusty! I cleaned it for a long time, and i put it in my tank and it clouded it all up. I got some small gravel to place on top of the other,doesnt look really good but I will live. Right now it looks like the most ordinary household fish tank with two goldfish, I feel so odd. I really cant wait to get a good peice of driftwood and some plants! First I need a hood to hold some lighting. I ran out of money so I may be stuck with this ugly thing for two weeks, o well. When do I know the cycling process is over? I grabbed an older filter I had from an established tank, used the pad the one I just got. Any ways, need the info about cycling. I put some anacharis in the tank, its under incandesct lighting.

 

[tyler]

i saw something in the diy forum with you talking about lighting. if you have your lights installed now, jam as many fast growing plants as you can in there. that is generally how people start new planted tanks. once the chemistry starts balancing out, replace the fast growers with what you actually want. goldfish may not be the best as they have a taste for plants.

 

[d9hp]

I figured the thing about the plant niblers last night, they were munching out on a peice of anacharis, I am gonna get rid of them real soon. But until I get some plants in there, I dont want an empty tank. Thanks for the info. I think im gonna have a lot of fun with this

 

[Chrismac]

Hey d9hp,,
I use white Clouds to cycle my tanks. when I got my 33 gallon I put them in the first night of setting it up. they lived through the cycle alright.
I put 6 in and three are still alive today.
Chris.

 

[tyler]

good call on the white clouds. smaller (zebra) danios would work well also, i think.

 

[d9hp]

Will a white cloud be ok for such a small tank, I found one of my goldfish stuck on the filter strainer, so there is only the one larger one now, he isnt eating the plants from what I can see, I have to check out this white cloud, whats species is it, I am not really fond of zebra's so that might be a problem for me. I should have my new lighting up and running by Sat. and lots of plants in the tank Sun. Do you think Anacharis, Water Sprite, and maybe a small blade type plant or some moss would be good for the cycling process? THanks a lot.