noob 2 aquatic plants

J

jadefoodog

AC Members
Dec 15, 2005
357
0
0
ok i have a few questions.
first off i have a 5 gallon with lots of happy fish(well not lots) and some ugly plastic plants.

and i have a 10 gallon. i want to build up the plantlife before even adding fish to it.

do i need a filter to start with if theres just plants in there (ill get one eventually but not right this minute)

what all besides a light do i acctually need???
 
well since I am also a newbie when it comes to aquatic plants, I can not give you good advice as other experienced users here can, yet I will give you the BEST advice any will. Patience. That's it. Sorry, I was able to help ya out. lol :help: :help: :confused:
 
You will need something in there to move water. And you will need to do frequent water changes to keep the water fresh.
I would invest in a small filter for the tank. You will need to get one eventually anyway.

Len
 
ill probably pick up a cheap cheap one . do plants need a heater or will room temp be ok.

oh and the tank is only 17 inches long and the smallest hoods i can find are 20 inchers are there adjustments on the inside or am i just SOL and have to build my own hood/lighting
 
If i were you i'd just upgrade to a 10gallon for the 5gallon. a ten gallon can be bought for about 10dollars give or take a few bucks. Then you can buy a lid for it.

For a planted 10 gallon i actually really recommend the marineland (aka sold as Regeant at walmart) Canopy because it allows 2 screw in lightbulbs. Replace the incandescent with 2 coralife flourescents 10watts each and you'll have 2watts per gallon which is awesome for growing most plants.

A light source of some kind is absolutely necessary for plant growth unless you plan on growing plants with very low light requirements such as javafern.

A filter is also recommended even though plants act as a natural filter but may not be good enough. I recommend this 10gallon set you can get at walmart (Regeant AKA Marineland) that comes with the tank, canopy + lightfixture, and marineland powerfilter. You can get it for like 65dollars canadian so probrably like 50US? i dunno
 
'...do plants need a heater or will room temp be ok.'
Plants don't, but the fish you will be putting in will in the winter time.

A 5 gal. is closer to 15 inches and you can build a hood and put a screw in CF bulb, picking up the fixture for it at HD or Lowe's dirt cheap.

Len
 
you might not need a heater depending on what type of fish you keep. cold water fish like white cloud minnows don't need one.

Also if your room temperature is constant throughout the year a heater is not necessary.
 
hmm wheres all this fish stuff comming from lol

the fish is like 6 weeks down the line and its only 2 ottos and some shrimp.

ithis tank for the first 6 weeks will just be plants.

update . i found a 10 dollar filter and im just gonna build a light setup and hood for it ill have to find a diy thing for it but im a smart critter ill figure it out.

ill get a cheap heater for it after a bit too .

i dont plan on spending a ton on this cause soon ima put me a 55 gallon tank kit thingy on lawaway at walmart. i figure even if all the stuff inside is junk at 160 bucks the tank itself is worth that
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom