Advice Needed on Planting a 5-Gallon Tank

[Kyohti]

I am considering planting my 5-gallon teal mini-bow and I was wanting to know some things. It is currently cycling and has nothing in it other than a small-grade gravel of mixed blue and green color (it's a themed tank). It has a 5-gallon internal Whisper filter, a 11-watt fluorescent bulb, and will eventually have a heater and house a betta and some cardinals/otos.

1) Is it vital to use fluorite as substrate? I'd rather keep the gravel.

2) Could I plant petite anubias without trouble? What about flame moss on driftwood? What other plant types could I add that wouldn't quickly outgrow my aquarium or that would thrive well in my small tank? Is a little over 2 watts per gallon considered 'lowlight' still? It's so bright in there...

3) Are liquid ferts and CO2 necessary since I'm not wanting massive plant growth? If so, how much and when?

4) What does hardness and pH have to do with good plant keeping? Is it really something I have to be concerned about or can most plants do well enough without monitoring these?

5) How do you clean a planted tank and not damage the plants? I have no experience with plants worth speaking of (as most I bought as a kid died shortly after purchase) and I'm both nervous and excited about it.

Thankyou for taking the time to read and respond. :dance2:

[GirlieGirl8521]

1) Is it vital to use fluorite as substrate? I'd rather keep the gravel.

Your lighting is low, so I'd just keep the gravel. Most of the plants that are lowlight need to be attached to wood or rocks.


2) Could I plant petite anubias without trouble? What about flame moss on driftwood? What other plant types could I add that wouldn't quickly outgrow my aquarium or that would thrive well in my small tank? Is a little over 2 watts per gallon considered 'lowlight' still? It's so bright in there...


Anubias nana petite would be a good plant for this tank. They don't require much light. They need to be attached to rock or wood though and not planted in the substrate. I believe Flame moss needs more light than Anubias. I'm not sure it would do well, but you could try it. Anacharis would be a good plant, just let it grow however tall you like and trim it every so often. Java fern, which should also be attached to wood or rock would be good. Crypts are also good...plant them in the gravel. For the foreground, Dwarf Sagittaria might do ok....you could try it. :)
Smaller tanks need more light than larger ones in terms of WPG and plant needs. The standard WPG rule doesn't apply to small tanks (i.e. <1.5wpg is low, 2-3.5wpg is medium, >3.5wpg is high....). So your ~2wpg is in the low range in terms of small tanks.


3) Are liquid ferts and CO2 necessary since I'm not wanting massive plant growth? If so, how much and when?

CO2 is not necessary, since your lighting is low. I would use a liquid fertilizer like Flourish and Flourish Potassium once or twice a week.


4) What does hardness and pH have to do with good plant keeping? Is it really something I have to be concerned about or can most plants do well enough without monitoring these?

Plants are pretty happy in any pH. I've had problems growing plants (even the easy ones) in my Malawi tank though, that has a pH of around 8. Anything near 7 works though and some people have better luck with me in higher pH.

5) How do you clean a planted tank and not damage the plants? I have no experience with plants worth speaking of (as most I bought as a kid died shortly after purchase) and I'm both nervous and excited about it.

You just vacuum around the plants. In my heavily planted tanks, I mostly vac up dead leaves and just take the water out.

[Kyohti]

I was hoping that if the driftwood was tall enough that it would allow the flame moss to work... maybe not, eh? ^_^;; I don't know how I'd get a better watt bulb than what I have in there, though. I live in the middle of nowhere, so I was glad to not have to settle for incandescent!!

[GirlieGirl8521]

Does the hood take a screw in bulb, or is it a tube fluorescent? I'm guessing since it wasn't an incandescent hood, that its a tube, but hoping its not. ;)

If it takes screw in bulbs, you can get a higher watt compact fluorescent bulb from Walmart.

If not, then I'm afraid you'll have to use what you've got. You do have some plant choices though.

And like I said, you could try the Flame moss. If its not shaded by anything, then its likely to do fine in your tank. If it doesn't work out, there's always Java moss, which grows in almost any lighting. :rolleyes:

[Kyohti]

Does the hood take a screw in bulb, or is it a tube fluorescent? I'm guessing since it wasn't an incandescent hood, that its a tube, but hoping its not. ;)

If it takes screw in bulbs, you can get a higher watt compact fluorescent bulb from Walmart.

If not, then I'm afraid you'll have to use what you've got. You do have some plant choices though.

And like I said, you could try the Flame moss. If its not shaded by anything, then its likely to do fine in your tank. If it doesn't work out, there's always Java moss, which grows in almost any lighting. :rolleyes:

It's a twist-in bulb, but my backwater Wally World only had 15-watt incandescents and 11 watt fluorescent bulbs available for aquarium use. : /

Still, I'm still hopeful that I could use flame moss. It's so lovely and I doubt I'd have as much trouble with it growing wild like what java moss does. I've never been a fan of the look of java moss. Makes me think of a big green rat's nest in the middle of the tank. ^_^;;

[GirlieGirl8521]

If you look in the lighting section of Walmart and not the aquarium section, there is a brand of twist in compact fluorescent bulbs called Lights of America (or something close to that). They come in 10w, 15w, 20w, and 25w. The 20w would be great for your tank and would allow you to have alot more plant choices. Alot of the smallish plants that are great for small tanks need alot of light. The light bulbs should say "daylight" on the box and they come 2 to a pack, but they are only about $8.

[Halibass]

You can do a low tech planted tank. If you use moss, java fern, and anubias, the gravel shouldn't matter to much since they pull their nutrients from the water. If you get "rooted" plants, you might have to use fertilizer tabs once in a while. Do some research on how to "plant" the anubias petite too, don't bury the rhizome. Good luck, I have a 10 gallon low tech in which the Java Moss, Java Fern, Anubias Nana Petite, some crypts and dwarf sags are doing fairly well.

http://www.aquariaplants.com/lowlighttank.htm

[Kyohti]

I never thought to look at the lightbulb section... I guess I was thinking they would stock the right bulbs at the pet section. I'll check that out when I have my next paycheck!!

That way, I can do the fire moss. :D

So I'm thinking Anubias petite, fire moss on a piece of driftwood, and maybe some hornwort and a curly-edged crypt plant? I want a lot of visual variety... I'd love to have a plant with red-tones, but I think a lot of those either grow too big or else would require more care. Is this true?