Redoing Betta Tank

[Chels10117]

Hello,

So I'm on my way off to College again. I have a 5 gallon fluval spec Betta tank I set up in my dorm. My Betta named Jimmy actually travels cross country with me on my way to school. (I live in Arizona and go to school in Kentucky). I drive there and he's already made the trip with me once. I have a very creative way to keep him and my biological media safe on the trip!

Anyways,

I'm thinking of fixing up my tank. Well, I'm 100% sure I want to switch it up. Right now it's got a black gravel that I'm getting really tired of looking at. It has a darker background with some bright green and red plants on it that I want to keep... But I want an overall brighter/lighter looking tank. So I might change the background to a plain blue or something. I'm thinking white/tan sand with driftwood as a centerpiece as well as I'm also considering to go low-tech planted?

I've never done a planted tank before. I need something that can easily be taken down and set up again. I plan on staying out there for the summer so it actually will only get torn down maybe once or twice.

My Betta is red. And there is red in the background. Any suggestions on low matinace plants? Something good for a beginner and I want bright greens and maybe a reddish color that will match my theme. No grass type plants or floating plants.

Any tips on a first timer planted tank? I don't have any Idea on what I need for it. Root tabs? Water additives? I really can't do Co2. And I'll have to stick with the light that comes with the tank.

Also any suggestions on a decoration theme would be appreciated.

Thanks guys!

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[Trainer_Ruby_]

Get some white sand and mix it in with the gravel to make it black and white and for plants I'd recommend hornwort it's a great beginner plant and my Bettas love it. It's a floating plant so no root taps are needed and it doesn't really need co2 to grow aside from what your fish gives off. Mine that I had in my 10g grew 5-6in in 2 weeks with a Betta and 5 rasboras with it. Just use plant weights to keep it on the bottom if you want to to be a wall. Or get some cheep fishing line to hold it in one general area if you want to let it float. Never bury it. The needles will fall off and it'll make a mess that takes forever to clean


Keep calm and drum on

 

[absolutangel04]

What kind of light comes with the tank? Make sure it is not incandescent, that will just grow algae. Small cfl bulbs or led lights can usually grow a couple of easy plants in small tanks, but it might depend on your exact light, to make sure you have a bulb that can grow any plants.
I don't personally know of any sort of low maintenance red plants, they are generally a little more work, especially to keep them red. The normal low lights I suggest are anubias nana, java fern, java moss, and hornwort. Somebody else might have more suggestions for you though, especially after we know what sort of light you have.
Fertilizer, co2, and light all work in conjunction and if you don't have much of one, you don't want to add an excess of another. Root tabs work for heavy root feeding plants, but not so much for plants that are leaf feeders. So, consider what you want and then look into what might be a good fert to add a little bit of.

 

[Chels10117]

It does not say the type of light just that it's an LED which is good then.

It's the fluval spec V. I tried to post a link but the website messed it up.

Thanks for the suggestions.

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