Kayen Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 A nice carpet plant that i like is E tenellus, looks great, grows quickly, my friend has it carpeting in his 5 gallon with a desklamp with only a 5g spiral over it. Also, at first i was scared by difficult plants, but after a little trial and error it doesn't seem that difficult anymore. Me: Feed the fish, add a few drops of ferts whenever i remember, and throw in excel whenever i remember. In nanos, you have to be consistant with water changes, but for me i did 50% on a 2.5g every 2weeks, but some times i would go through awhile without a water change. Nanos are fun to learn with but difficulty to keep water parameters perfect is harder, which is why i went with easier plants in mine, Having stem plants like rotala rotundfolia, would make for a nice background, and given iron supplementing & a decent light which you have should grow to be nice and pink as well. Also about your light, i've heard that light gets really hot. There's those nice 27w quad PC lamps at home depot / rona that are really popular with the folks over @ plantedtank.net for 5 gallons. For stocking - cherry shrimp are great choice for tanks that size. Cycling - Planted tanks go through something that is called a "silent cycle"given enough fast growing plants, where basically the plants will suck up your ammonia, and nitrates. Hope this helped. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bignose Posted February 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 (edited) Here is a updated picture. A orange shrimp is posing on the wood. Edited February 15, 2009 by bignose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 it is a 9" fixture and I'm not very happy with the design. Yeah, I've got one of those too. Nice size, but there really isn't any good way to mount it. It should give plenty of light for your plants. I think you'll find that the Pogostemon stellata isn't as difficult as they say it is. As long as you get some CO2 or Excel in there it should be fine, and your HC will make a nice carpet. Excel has a nice little side effect- it's really good at killing algae. :thumbs: Like the java fern, your new Anubias is another plant that likes to be grown on wood or rocks. Don't bury the rhizome in the substrate. Looking good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bignose Posted February 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 I'll plant the Anubias on the wood. I want to plant the java fern on the wood but it's too tall. How do I prune this plant? Should I just get rid of it? I would like to get a old fixture that dosent work and cut it down to the width of my tank(16") and transfer the guts of this fixture into it. It seems like a perfect light except for the width. If anyone has a broken coralife fixture they don't want I'll take it off your hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firestorm Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 I actually just bought a 9" fixture from BA's yesterday. Put it on my planted 5G. Seems to emit enough light, considering it's just over 3wpg. I think they would make better fixtures for a 2.5 gallon tank if wanting to keep small species of high light plants. Otherwise it seems so small on top of a 5. I also bought mounting legs, looks like the 9" fixture doesn't support being able to add the legs.....even though the package said fits ALL coralife fixtures :eh: I find the little things get fairly hot as well, so be careful if putting them on plastic.....I wonder if they get hot enough to crack glass tops. Tank looks good so far. So what species of plants do you have in there now? Just a question, what is that little black box in the left hand corner? You can't really prune java fern other than removing brown leaves. But often leaves that turn brown will still produce plantlets. If you no longer want it, what other types of tanks do you have? You could always throw it in another one of your tanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bignose Posted February 15, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 Looking at the light I think it could be moved into a wider fixture. If I find a longer broken fixture I'm going to do some transplant surgery. I put mine on top of a 2.5G tank lid turned sideways. The box is a powerhead. I can't remember what brand it is. It has PH101 on the side but when I google it I can't find anything on it. I remember buying it at a clearence table so it probably discontinued. For plants I have Jave fern, Pogostemon, Anubias, Hemianthus and some kind of plant that looks like grass (right back). I'm not sure if I like the anubias where it is because it's covering alot of the wood. It almost seems too big for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firestorm Posted February 15, 2009 Report Share Posted February 15, 2009 Try tying the anubias to the little knob of wood on the front right hand side, will it fit there? Or you can tie it to the front of the wood and eventually the roots will grow down into the substrate. I see the sponge on the end of the power head now lol. Just wasn't sure what it was. I always find myself rearranging plants in new set ups, until I finally get something that works for me. Looks good to me so far Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kayen Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 About your hemianthus - try seperating it more, it'll fill in faster. Also the stuff loves nutrient rich substrate & Excel/CO2. Looks good though. As for the grassy plant - i have no clue. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted February 16, 2009 Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 I hope the grassy plant is an emersed-grown Sagitaria, a true aquatic plant. Otherwise, it looks like it is a terrestrial. If new leaves start coming up soon, then you're in luck, but if no new growth appears in the next couple weeks, then I'd either take the plant back to where you bought it, or pitch it in the trash. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bignose Posted February 16, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 16, 2009 I have a couple questions about Flourish excel and iron. It says one capful for 50G so how would I dose with these? Should I start dosing now? I'm going to move the anubias down to the branch to get it closer to the gravel and I'll move the grass over to the left side to cover the powerhead. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firestorm Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 For dosing nutrients like that in my 5 gallons, I usually use an eyedropper and just add a few drops of what I need in. Normally it is enough for what I have in my tank. If you are finding the plants aren't growing that quickly, just increase the dosage slightly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bignose Posted February 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 Can I use the waste water from my RO unit for my planted tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thedarkstar Posted February 18, 2009 Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 (edited) Can I use the waste water from my RO unit for my planted tank? You'd probably be best to use dechlor tap water due to the added elements in tap water. Not to say that you couldn't use the RO Edited February 18, 2009 by thedarkstar Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bignose Posted February 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 Does the waste water have all the removed elements or does it obsorb into the filters? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bignose Posted February 18, 2009 Author Report Share Posted February 18, 2009 I dosed my tank with .4ml of excel and iron. Now one shrimp is doing the funky chicken. I think I may have made a mistake. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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