MiniBow 5 Aquarium Starter Kit / Replacement bulb

[eah]

Howdy everyone,

I'm considering buying the MiniBow 5 Aquarium Starter Kit from Drs. Foster and Smith for one of my betta fish for $37.99. Does anyone know if Drs. Foster and Smith sells a replacement flourscent bulb for this tank that I could purchase at the time of my order? (see links below) I always like to have an extra bulb on hand in case mine dies and I couldn't figure out exactly what kind of bulb would be compatible -- the tank comes with a "UL-Listed full incandescent hood with 15 watt bulb".

The tank:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Produ...ll&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&N=2004&Nty=1

Would this bulb work?
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&pc=1&N=0&Nty=1

Also any general feedback about the kit would be much appreciated. Finally, what kind of a heater would you recommend for this?

 

[Devilishturtles]

Yep, that bulb would be fine.

Heater, I love the visitherm heaters. I would think a 25 watt heater would be sufficient for that tank.

HTH

 

[Musket]

I got a replacement cf bulb at Walmart for $5. I have a 5g bow but mine is acrylic and came with an incandescent bulb. Now I have about 2.5w per gallon of light and everything grows. I don't use a heater since my house is just warm all the time and the heat of the light does add some. However, at Walmart (and I have looked just about everywhere else, and only Walmart has it) I have found for $13 a small heater by Whisper (Tetra) that works GREAT! It is preset so all you do is plug it in. It is about 4" long and 1/2" wide. Has a suction cup and a bumper on the bottom of it. I like it a lot! I don't have the box anymore, but it says something like 2-15g tanks.
They also have a small black one for $7, but I did not give it a fair chance yet, I have to try it again before I give an honest review. This $7 one does not have a light to let you know it is on.

I got the Tetra one for a temporary holding tank. My kuhli loaches kept dying, (I had 8 now I have 3 in the course of 1 week.) I got this heater and no more deaths and everyone has recolored up and is much more active. I'd say this holding (qt) tank is equivalent to a 5g. I really like this heater and would recommend it.
Good luck with your choices and have fun. I LOVE my 5g bow.

 

[eah]

Thanks for the advice, everyone! You guys are the best.

 

[Gplayerz]

ya walmart has a few good things on the shelves in the fish section, and they are a bit less than what my LFS charges like stress coat and bulbs.

 

[eah]

Well, the tank has arrived and I've set it up. As expected, the light bulb fit perfectly and is working like a charm. Thanks for the help with that and the heater, Devilishturtles! I did end up going with the Visi-Therm.

I think Finnegan (my betta) is feeling pretty good in there. Now I just need to decide what I'm going to put in there with him. I deciding between a few ottos or a small group of dwarf cories.

 

[WaterPond]

i have a betta with the same name, different spelling (finnIgan) lol

Nice tank, he will be very happy in there!

 

[severum mama]

Great job with the aquascape! That will make your betta happy for sure. The driftwood looks awesome in there. Glad you went with the CF bulb. Those incandescent bulbs are just too hot for a small tank, and they don't really put out much light. What light they do put out is really yellow looking IME and I didn't like it at all.

My betta lives in a 10 gallon with 3 harlequin rasboras, 4 amano shrimp, and 5 pygmy corys- I assume this is what you meant by "dwarf corys". I didn't mean to have 5, but I've found them kind of difficult to acclimate in the past, so I was expecting a loss or 2. I got this recent batch from my new LFS (also my work LOL) and they have done great. I think you would do fine with either 3 otos or 3 pygmy corys, or maybe a few amano or cherry shrimp instead.

 

[eah]

Thanks for the compliments on the new tank!

...and 5 pygmy corys- I assume this is what you meant by "dwarf corys".

I was actually thinking of cories like the hastatus and habrosus varieties (hope I spelled those correctly) that are supposed to max out at 1" - 1.5". I am hoping to find a store near me that can get in the habrosus type because I have read that the hastatus like to frequeantly swim in all parts of the tank instead of sticking to the bottom like most cories do. That wouldn't normally be too much of a problem, but my betta is a little ornery and I think it would be better to get fish that won't be getting into his swimming space.

 

[severum mama]

That's cool eah! I haven't seen those species before so I will have to Google them now. My betta is ornery as well, but does fine with corydoras pygmaeus (sp?).