new 5 gallon tank

[mom2reds]

I accidentally dropped my betta's 1 gallon tank while I was cleaning it ( the betta was in anouther container) so I went to wal mart and bought a Mini 5 gal. bowfront tank with a whisper mini filter. I was wondering if any of you have used this kind of tank before and what you though of it. I put media from my ten gallon 1 year old tank in the filter. The filter came withan insert so I had to cram the bio media from my ac mini filter in with it I hoope that that was ok trying to cycle the tank a little fast since I had to put the betta in there already. He seems to be much happier. Also do you guys suggest a heater for this size tank.

Thank Tess

 

[rich311k]

Get a heater. With the one fish and established media your tank should cycle quickly if you see any spike at all. You betta will be very happy in that tank.

 

[7Enigma]

Tess,

Did you have any gravel/sand substrate in the old 1 gallon? Or was it just a vase or something? If you happen to have that it will help the cycle as well (as long as it has stayed wet).

I'd keep the feeding to a minimum during the next week or so to give your filter time to adjust (say 1/2 of what you normally feed).

And a 25-50watt heater would be fine. Just keep an eye on the temperature as I've heard some of these small tanks have wild temperature changes from the tank light heating up the water and then cooling at night. Many people replace the light with a lower wattage, or different type that doesn't produce as much heat.

 

[JustOneMore20]

Also do you guys suggest a heater for this size tank.

I would get a heater.

A 25 watt heater will work nicely. I use a Visi-therm Stealth 25w in my 3g betta tank. Your Betta will be really happy to have more room.

 

[squawkbert]

Click on the 5g portion of my sig.
I do not run a heater, but I have a 10W Coralife PC which helps keep the temp up a bit. I'm growing out Cabomba stems in it w/ an Amano shrimp. (Since last sig update, I've moved the Pristellas into the 46g and put the tank back on my desk at work, I may go on a Galaxy Rasp. hunt today).

 

[7Enigma]

Click on the 5g portion of my sig.
I do not run a heater, but I have a 10W Coralife PC which helps keep the temp up a bit. I'm growing out Cabomba stems in it w/ an Amano shrimp. (Since last sig update, I've moved the Pristellas into the 46g and put the tank back on my desk at work, I may go on a Galaxy Rasp. hunt today).

Do you keep your lights on all the time then? Temp swings in these small tanks can be quite drastic 5-7F or more is not uncommon, and that can be very stressful for the inhabitants. I always recommend in tanks to have the heater set to slightly higher than the max temp the tank will reach. This prevents a fluctuation in the tank at all times because during the day the light will provide the heat to keep the temp up, and at night when the light is off the heater takes over that duty.

 

[squawkbert]

You do have a point. My lights are on ~12 hours/day but I think the in-tank (Whisper) filter also helps moderate the temp as the impeller drive is in the tank adding its own heat. I also keep the tank in rooms where the RT is 72-75°F and it's not in any sort of draft. I see about a 3°F swing. Not too bad (it's not like I'm keeping discus or anything like that in there).