# Confused Newbie



## smartin78 (Jan 18, 2005)

I am experimenting with my 5 gallon tank in hopes that one day I can do this to my 75 gallon. I just want to make sure I can do this before I spend all that money on lighting.

I will start off with my parameters

5 Gallon (running about a month now, appears to be cycled)
PH 7.0
AMmonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 20

I am using a white sand substrate.

My filter is an internal power filter with built in heater much like this one.
http://www.petsmart.com/global/prod...<>ast_id=2534374302023693&bmUID=1108147871438

I keep the tank at 80F

The tank has an incadescent hood. I found a mini fluorescent bulb for it rated at 13 watts. Will this fixture be ok for my tank?

I purchase several plants that I read were very easy to maintain. 

Anarcharis (1 small stem about 3" I pulled out of my 75 gallon tank)
hornwort (1 small stem about 3" I pulled out of my 75 gallon tank)
moneywort (6" bundle)
cabomba (8" bundle)

Inhabitants
trumpet snails (to stir up the substrate and clean up algae)
2 Black mollies (Algae clean up and cycling)

My questions are as follows.
Will a 5 gallon support plant life?
How often should I fertilize or how do I know when I need to fertilize?
gh, kh what is this and how do I measure for it or control it. 
Is there any other things I should be measuring
I had asked a question about CO2 in the past and was told not to do that in a 5 Gal but to use fourish. If I use flourish will I still need to fertilize.
I had a bottle of flourish in my hand last night and if I read it correctly it said 1 cap full per 60 gallons. How the heck do I break that down to 5 gallons? Would that be one drop? Or did I just read that wrong?
Will my sand do OK as a substrate or should I by some fluorite?
Any other comments or concerns would be much appreciated.


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Camboba is not an easy plant to keep. Perfers softer water and has a tendancy to shed its leaves when stressed. The light shouls work, but you may not like the color it gives your tank.


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## smartin78 (Jan 18, 2005)

I read that about the cabomba. Oh well it looks pretty now. I will enjoy it while I can. Maybe I will get lucky. As for the light. With the white substrate it looks awesome. Almost a gleaming white. 

Can anyone help with Fertalizing?

What is KH and GH all about and how do I test for them? Better yet do I need to.


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## DavidDoyle (Jan 18, 2005)

Here is a pic of my planted 5.5. It has Estes bits of walnut gravel, driftwood and 3 panda corys and a pair of A. australe killies. It is on a high shelf so the heater was removed, has a whisper jr power filter and a fluor. fixture made for that size tank.










Plants in it are java moss, anubias, frilly tipped java fern, water sprite and hygro polusperma. Since that picture the stem plants are gone but a rergular java fern has been added.[/url]


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## smartin78 (Jan 18, 2005)

That looks Great!! I would love to add some Java Moss to mine but I can not find it. I do plan to add a java fern as soon as the LFS gets more in. I also would like to add water sprite. I saw it when I was there but I did not know anything about it.


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## drosera (Feb 2, 2005)

Hi,

I've been keeping fish for over 30 years, so I have a little experience that I can offer you. Keep in mind that these are my opinions, which may not always mesh with those of others. When in doubt, keep researching.

As you can see, a 5 gallon can indeed be used for plants. I agree that the Cabomba is a difficult plant. The hornwort is just about the easiest plant (IME). It has no roots, and gets its' nutrients directly through its' leaves. It adapts well to new conditions, but I believe it doesn't like very soft, acid conditions. At the beginning, it sometimes seems weak, and lose its' leaves, but this is often just a sign that it is adapting to the new circumstances, and it will retake quickly. I've never kept the other 2 plants species.

80 degrees seems a smidge high for my tastes. For community tanks, I prefer around 75. I seem to have less problems with the tank, plants, and fish at that temp. Just my opinion.

However, mollies seem to need higher temps like that, so I wouldn't change it for now. I love mollies, but find them hard to keep in pure freshwater. They prefer brackish water. I also find adding a teaspoon of salt ( or whatever small amount they say) doesn't help at all. Apparently they do sometimes prosper in freshwater conditions though, so my best wishes there. Feeding them a good variety of food should help with that.

Trumpet snails as you know are excellent for keeping the soil friable, but I would also recommend some kind of ground dwelling fish as well. I use sand too, and find that detritus can build up in spots. The activities of such fish as cories or loaches sweeps the mess around, allowing it to be taken into the filter easier, or at least to break down faster. On the other hand, if the fish are too energetic, it can leave the water looking permanently dusty. 

I'm not familiar with your particular filter in your particular tank, but I would be watch that you don't have too much current. It can ruin the look of your plants, sometimes even loosening them from the soil. For some fish, too much current is exhausting, can lead to stress, sometimes death. The addition of stationary decor, wood and caves, can help for some species. 

I don't think I would have more than 6 *small* fish in a 5 gallon.

Back to the plants. IMO, I wouldn't use CO2 or fertilizers. My first reason is sheer laziness  But I've also found that the more you artificially "mess" with a system, the more it can become prone to problems. This is especially true for newbies. CO2 can cause water problems if done incorrectly, affecting the pH for instance. Fertilizers too have their negative sides, often adding nutrients that are not needed because they are already there, contributing to excess algae.

What can happen though is that tap water can be lacking in a couple of specific nutrients. If you suspect a specific deficiency, then look for a fertilizer that specifically contains that (those) nutrients. This can be difficult to find, so if you find you are forced to use "complete" fertilizers try starting at half doses. This is sometimes enough to do the trick.

Also, fish wastes and uneaten food will contribute to the nutrient load (and CO2) of the tank. I find I usually don't have to bother with fertilizers.

I talk too much!  Try not to overwork your tank is my basic advice. You already seem to have a good base knowledge, so I'm sure you'll keep up the tank well. As far as the plants go, don't take any special measures until if/when a problem occurs. Then deal with it as you see fit.

Take care!

Chris


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Good Post! Very informative (although lengthy, but I'm just lazy when it comes to typing). Other than the fertilizer part, I couldn't have said it better myself. Fertilizers are not hard to find, nor are they hard to use. There are 2 basic methods to fertilizing, and I believe anyone with a tank over 2wpg should heed one. The PMDD or estimative index (Tom Barr) A simple google search will reveal these two methods. As far as sources of ferts, they are easier for you to come by than you think. You can get them from places such as Lowes, Home Depot or a pharmacy.
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/showthread.php?t=31


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## smartin78 (Jan 18, 2005)

Thanks a lot for all the info. I am excited to see if I can keep this going because I would love to make my 75G look like some of the tanks I have seen posted in this forum. I will keep you informed on my trials. 

To let you know my current plans. I would like to get a couple of coreys to stir up the bottom and maybe a few neons to add color. As for plants I would like to add a Java fern and some Java moss. Hopefully that will make it look complete. I also added a second bunch of moneywort. I had it in my 75 gallon but the Severums were munching on it. I plan to move the Severums to a 29 gallon and use them as a breeding pair. That will allow me to plant my 75G when I feel I am ready for that challenge. 


Thanks Again


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## smartin78 (Jan 18, 2005)

Just wanted to update this post. 

The tank is doing incredible. When I first started reading about aquatic plants I read some posts on how much of a pain it was to prune the plants all the time and I could not understand that at all. Now I understand. I have to prune this tank at least once a weak. If not you can not even see 2" into the tank and the poor fish have no room to swim. I am really excited about how well this tank is doing. I am considering getting rid of the cichlids in my 75G now and planting it. I just started a 10G marine tank to hold me over on trying new things. So if the 10G marine goes ok then the 75 may turn into a reef tank. decisions decisions. 

Thanks for the help


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## LeafGoblinFish (Mar 15, 2005)

these might be a few tips for you since i have been doing research on a few things for my new tank. first off dont change your water to brackish if you like the hornwort i just had 6 bunches of hornwort go back in my brackish tank and i mean NASTY they dispise a true brackish you might be able to add a little bit of salt but i think 1.008 (which is average brackish 1.004-1.010)is too much salt. kh is a buffer for ph if your kh lowers so will your ph i had to do some research on that after a bad experience with the wrong ingredients for a DIY which is a cheaper form of Co2 honestly i would just let the tank go and see what it does without adding anything to it it might do just fine next..about the fertilizer with that many plants in your tank...whatever the feeding limit is that the LFS tells you up it if the amonia lvls stay at 0 your nitrate is a little odd but will probably pan out very soon my nitrate is at a flat zero i was on a website where they said that doing a 10-20% water change every week to every 2 weeks is a good deterent of having to do a complete overhaul that might also lower your nitrate lvl and wont affect your other lvls other than keep them low. as for something that stirs up the sand,substrate whatever its called you might look into a flounder...and although ppl say that flounders are bottom feeders you might try throwing him in with a brine shrimp or 2 for feeding brine shrimp will not live more than about an hour in tha freshwater but i was on a website where they owner of a LFS says that they eat brineshrimp and they are very wicked little animals unfortunately for me im gonan give mine up due to that new info that i got from them since my fish eat every last brine shrimp they can and they prefer sand to gravel because they enjoy hiding under it(which in turn stirs it up) maybe that could help you when the tank starts having problems then i would suggest posting those or any good outcomes one of my favorite sayings is "if it works....DONT FIX IT"


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