# 5 Gallon Questions



## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

I want to set my 5 gallon FW tank back up soon, and I have a good amount of questions I would like to be answered (5G corner by Eclipse). I want to this to be heavily planted tank, and I know the Stock light would be enough (15W Indecascnet). I have also taken out the filter, and the middle space for the filter (so it will allow for more room and light).

-Should I run some sort of CO2 on this tank?
-I was orgianlly goin to give this to my female betta, with planty of snails and shrimp. But I have always loved Dwarf Puffers. Would it make sense to divide the tank in half, and have 1 female betta on one side, with a DP on the other?
-If I do divide this tank, the problem is that it is bowfronted. Are there any certain dividers that can be used in a bowfront tank/be cut to fit the shape? I was also thinking about having a normal one on an "edge" (diagonal), and place plants where it is open.
-I plan on using a Coralife Colormax bulb (10W) for the lighting. But, I have also seen people use the spiral flourescent bulbs (10-15W) that you can buy at like Home Depot. Which would be best?
-I want to upgrade the filter to a Whisper 10i. Suffiencent?
-Would gravel be ok, or would it be best to use some sort of sand?

Thanks in advance.


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## bruce53176 (Apr 3, 2008)

Should I run some sort of CO2 on this tank?

You're basically going to be running 3 watts per gallon on this tank. Without CO2 the plants will grow slowly and you could possibly end up with an algea problem. I would suggest using some kind of CO2, I wouldn't go as elaborate as gas cylinders but some form of liguid CO2 like seachem excel might be a good idea.

The betta and the dwarf puffer should be able to coexist with each other I think that trying to divide a bow front tank would be too much of headache. I had a betta in with my other fish until he started getting fresh with my angel fish so I had to move him to his own tank. Then again he was a male betta the female should do fine with other fish.

I would go with the colormax bulb, the bulbs at home depot are not going to have the right wavelength for plants. The colormax is a full spectrum bulb and should be good for plants in a 5 gallon tank.

what is the GPH on the whisper? I'm guessing it's about 10GPH if so that should be more than sufficient. You figure with that filter you are turning your tank over twice an hour which is pretty good.

the gravel or sand question I quess would be a personal preference which ever one you use your going to need to fertilize the plants because regular gravel or sand won't provide enough nutrients for the plants. If you can try to use either eco-complete or seachem flourite these will provide the nutrients the plants need without fertilizing. In a 5 gallon tank you shouldn't need much, one bag should do it.

Hope this helps


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

Thanks for the info. I'm still trying to decide on the fish decision.

And the Whisper has 90ghp, not 10.


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## tophat665 (Sep 30, 2006)

Consensus wisdom around here seems to be that a dwarf puffer will not share a 5 gallon tank with anything other than maybe another DP or an Otto.


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## herefishy (Dec 14, 2006)

Cody, why not a 5g tank for shrimpers? Some rcs's with crypts, chain swords or dwarf sags, and java moss would look great. Add a couple of red ramshorn snails, and about 5 dwarf rasboras(maybe cpd's?)..... bad to the bone.

Might not need carbon if you could get some nutrient hogs in there. To dose excel for a 5g tank would not be easy. doesnt take much excel at all. You would need a graduated syringe like they use to dose our four-legged pets, I would imagine. Or filter over carbon(not the best solution, but it would work).


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

Hmm, interesting. Never thought of the rasboras. I might have to look around for them. I would definately rather do a small shoal of fish than a single.

How many RCS's could I have in here with the 'Boras and snail(s)?

I was inspired by this after I saw my LFS's 14G FW planted Biocube. It had like 8 Cardinal Tetras, an Oto, and a tiny pleco that was gorgoues (black and white, veil-tailed and under 2").


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## herefishy (Dec 14, 2006)

I'm starting a 5g with (10) crystal red shimp, (2)red ramshorns, and a couple of trios of endlers(6 fish). Sponge filters, Tetra 10 power filter, java moss, small crypts, dwarf sags, and chain swords. Eco complete substrate. No Co2 or carbon. liquid ferts(pfertz products).

Plants are here now. Just waiting on the shrimp, fish, and snails. Those ship Monday. 

Wanna race?


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

herefishy said:


> I'm starting a 5g with (10) crystal red shimp, (2)red ramshorns, and a couple of trios of endlers(6 fish). Sponge filters, Tetra 10 power filter, java moss, small crypts, dwarf sags, and chain swords. Eco complete substrate. No Co2 or carbon. liquid ferts(pfertz products).
> 
> Plants are here now. Just waiting on the shrimp, fish, and snails. Those ship Monday.
> 
> Wanna race?


Ah, I would, but I have nothing but the tank. :dunno: 

Where did you get the Eco-Complete? How many pounds with the price?

That is another though; Endler's Livebearers. I saw those in a planted tank at my LFS and it was gorgeous. I would add Cardinal's, but they need more room, correct?


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

Cody said:


> Ah, I would, but I have nothing but the tank. :dunno:
> 
> Where did you get the Eco-Complete? How many pounds with the price?
> 
> That is another though; Endler's Livebearers. I saw those in a planted tank at my LFS and it was gorgeous. I would add Cardinal's, but they need more room, correct?


Bump. 

Also, I remember seeing the Celestial Pearl Danios/Galaxy 'boras at the LFS. Another idea. So far, there are the fish I am thinking of. What would be best?

-Endler's Livebearers
-Neon Tetras
-Cardinal Tetras
-Dwarf Rasboras
-CP Danios/Galaxy 'boras.

Of course, I would only have 1 shoal and not a mix.


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## herefishy (Dec 14, 2006)

I bought a bunch of Eco-Complete for my 210g. Lfs sold me 100 bags at cost. Still bruised the billfold, even with the discount. So, the 210g is now about 15#-20# lighter since I'm also setting up a 10g planted shrimp tank, too. The 10g will have (20)red crystals, (6)cpd's, and some colored brigs.

The 10g will have najas, dwarf sags, java moss, and crypts for plants. And a little driftwood to break up the monotony..


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

I plan on adding a piece of driftwood to my set-up as well.

Any thoughts on the fish?


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## herefishy (Dec 14, 2006)

CPD's, dwarf razzies, endlers(neat little livebearer and a change from guppies), Trigonostigma espei (Rasbora espei)(a change from harlequins, similar but more beautiful imo), copeina tetras,.... any would make a neat tank. And most are not all that common so ithe tank would be rather unique in that respect.

The problem with smaller tanks, that I don't like, is I don't like "bread and butter", the humdrum. Almost all have the same thing. You need to find ways to make them unique. Much easier to do with larger tanks.


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## okiemavis (Nov 10, 2007)

I would worry about the incandescent over that tank. I think it might produce too much heat. Also, I wanna restate (although I think you've already gotten the message) a dwarf puffer would tear your betta apart in less than an hour. No way could a DP and a betta live together in a tank that size.


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

okiemavis said:


> I would worry about the incandescent over that tank. I think it might produce too much heat. Also, I wanna restate (although I think you've already gotten the message) a dwarf puffer would tear your betta apart in less than an hour. No way could a DP and a betta live together in a tank that size.


I know about the Incandescent; I plan on switching it out for a 10W Coralife Colormax Flourescent Bulb.

I know about the DP too. Thats why I was thinking of dividing, but I will not have any DP's in this tank. 

Well, I plan on ordering my things from Drs Foster and Smith today. This is where I getting most of my SW things, and I have just added the filter and light into my cart.

I also plan on stocking this with Endler's. What would be the best M/F ratio? I was thinking 2M, 3F.


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## okiemavis (Nov 10, 2007)

Endler's are pretty similar to guppies, so that ratio sounds ok, but it might be a few too many males. Also, be forewarned, they breed like guppies.


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## Oldman47 (Sep 7, 2007)

One of the big differences between endlers and guppies is the male's reproductive strategy. A guppy is pretty much a hit and run kind of breeder that will harass the females. Endlers take a more courtship kind of approach and will not usually be very forceful with the females. This means that although they are always ready to mate they won't end up harming the females. You can easily get away with equal numbers on the endlers and don't need the female surplus that you need with other livebearers.


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## herefishy (Dec 14, 2006)

Cody, I'm going to use a 1m/2f ratio on the endlers. Ghreed is correct in saying that the ratio need not be as great with endlars vs, guppies. You may also want to check out Mgamer's ad in the classifieds for endlers. There are many varieties and you may want to stick with a single one to prevent hybridization.


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

Thanks everybody with the inputs. I will either get 2M with 4F, or 3M with 3F.

What are some good plant suggestion? They can't get too big, as the tank is only about 14" tall. I wouldn't mind some that "overlap" the surface (grow to the top and out on the surface).

Also, where would I trim the plants when they get too big? I am also having this problem in my 30G, and I dont want to kill anything.


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## Cody (Dec 22, 2007)

Well, I set the tank up last night after my package from DFAS came in. The light is pretty...  . I put my gravel in, started my Whisper filter, filled it with water, installed heater, etc etc.

I also still need some plant suggestions. What can I grow at 2WPG?


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## okiemavis (Nov 10, 2007)

Pruning a plant depends on the type. If it's a stem plant you can kinda just snip wherever you want. If it's a rooted plant just cut off the entire leaf & stem. That way you won't have any rotting plant matter (like if you just cut off the leaf the stem would rot). If it's a plant like corkscrew val I always just snip off the part that's too tall, like trimming grass, but I don't know if I'm actually going about it right.


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