# Arash's 5 Gallon Planted Update



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

I am new in FW planted aquarium.
Started to build 5 gallon planted and really need help and advise.


















Substrate : 8lb Fluval Shrimp Stratum Substrate.








Filter : Fluval nano internal filter :








Light : Panorama LED Module








Tank is running for two days, and it is crystal clean.

I wonder if someone could refer me to a popular plant database .

I want to plant really short grass in the front something that spread but not grow up.

Thank you in advance for your input.


----------



## vdub (Apr 22, 2010)

That's a good start. If you want to plant some grass in the tank, you're looking at dwarf hair grass. But that plant isn't good for beginners. It's a difficult plant requires CO2 and high lighting, or else it'll just melt away. Any type of low growing "carpet" plants, in my opinion, probably isn't the best plant choice for beginners. You're better off starting with some easy stem plants like sunset hygro, hygro. difformis, wisteria, cabamba and hornwort.


----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

Thanks vdub but I think this light its pretty decent for the size and hight of my tank even coral could grow under this LED light, and if CO2 is a must for hair grass I'll build a CO2 DYI system. is there anything else I should concern for low growing "carpet" plants?


----------



## Ebonbolt (Aug 12, 2011)

you could try java fern? or dwarf valisneria? maybe cryptocoryne?


----------



## scherzo (Apr 24, 2010)

Did you get the 12 bulb unit @ 8000k?

I can never really figure out the LED compared to t5 or MH conversion thing. 

In any case, if you want to do dwarf hair grass you absolutely need strong lighting with co2. The light you have may say that it is good enough for growing corals but they may mean low light corals. This still may not be enough for hair grass. Give it a go and let us know how it goes. 

Co2 is a must for hair grass. It will just sit there and do nothing for months if you don't dose ferts and have co2. 

If you are doing DIY co2 then make sure you don't agitate the water surface too much to make sure you minimize the amount of co2 you gas off. But you'll have to balance that with having enough flow in the tank so that you don't get algae stuck in between the hair grass. Mine always picked up stuff if I didn't have a powerhead pointing on it. Others may have had different results. 

Good luck


----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

Thanks for the info :
My Tank is only 10" hight and 14" long so that module should work,I'll build a CO2 system today and I'll add a powerhead once the grass are settle down a bit.

I saw clover like carpet plant in aquariums , what is the name of this plat and is it also hard to maintain? 









Which website or reference I could use to get general info about common and accessible aquarium plant?

Thanks


----------



## lotus (Apr 22, 2010)

The plant is Glosso and it needs a lot of light...I have it in my tank with Co2 and medium light and its growing slowly with ADA soil. You can check out Tropica's website and some petstores carry plants from them.


----------



## CRS Fan (Apr 21, 2010)

arash53 said:


> Thanks for the info :
> My Tank is only 10" hight and 14" long so that module should work,I'll build a CO2 system today and I'll add a powerhead once the grass are settle down a bit.
> 
> I saw clover like carpet plant in aquariums , what is the name of this plat and is it also hard to maintain?
> ...


The plant in the middle foreground looks to be Marsilea hirsuta (aka dwarf four-leaf clover). It will grow without CO2 (however extremely slowly). Another good carpet option is Staurogyne repens which will grow in non-CO2 and lower light conditions. I have also grown Glossostigma elatenoides using Metricide 14/Flourish Excel as a carbon source !

Hopefully that helps!

Best regards,

Stuart


----------



## TomC (Apr 21, 2010)

I have some dwarf hair grass in a 1 or 2 gallon with no heat and a 25 watt incandesent bulb and it grows fine with a daily dose of excel.


----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

Thank you so much for the information  

Still trying to find out the best and shortest Foreground plant .

Which is the best choice for small tank 10" x 14" I like it as short as possible? 

1-Hemianthus Callitrichoides
2-Dwarf hair grass 
3-Marsilea hirsuta
4-Staurogyne repens
5- Glosso


----------



## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

Nice little tank you got there. Going by the pix (the filter size in general), and what measurements you listed... it is not a 10gal tank ...more like 5-6gal at the most. There is a volume calculator here: Aquarium and Fish Tank Volume Calculator if you want to run the exact measurements thru it to make sure. Most 10g tanks are 20"lx 10"wx12"h.


----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

OH thanks for noticing  even better now I am totally sure I am running high lighting on this tank  I edit the title and first post. thanks again


----------



## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

lol that was fast....your very welcome & yes probably could call it high output lighting now. I thought it looked rather small for a 10g. The filter seemed kind of big inside it. I have 2 glass tanks like that with the bent corners, one is a 6g(similar to yours) the other is 3g..I love these little tanks. I had the 6 set up as a shrimp tank http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/memb...y-17/my-shrimp-tank-updated-couple-vids-3589/, it was great at first but really hard to keep the water balanced and they all died, just set it up a few days ago for my Betta and he loves it.


----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

Your Shrimp tank was amazing , I am so sorry for your loss , what was the most challenging part to keep the water balanced ?


----------



## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

arash53 said:


> Your Shrimp tank was amazing , I am so sorry for your loss , what was the most challenging part to keep the water balanced ?


Thanks, I was pretty fond of it. The hardest part I dealt with was the water parameters in general, high Ph all the time was a big thing. Being a smaller amount of water and water changes twice a week, I found it hard to keep the parameters in check. Next shrimp tank I do will be a 10 gallon set-up minimum, seems that's what most use and I'm sure it's easier to keep the water balanced.


----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

I think if it is only shrimp tank you dont need water change only need top-off with aged water. this is what I heard from people having shrimp tank!


----------



## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

I'm a bit later jumping in, but that's a nice setup. That LED light will grow anything you want, including corals if you went pico reef, as you indicated. I would consider getting the S. repens as it grows with or without CO2 and is fairly easy. I like HC but it's a pain to keep down in lighter substrate (i've never been able to do it properly in Florabase). One thing is that I would work on the illusion of depth some by sloping the substrate more dramatically front to back, maybe towards the rear right. That will make the tank seem much wider than it is.


----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

Thanks 2wheelsx2, I was thinking two have some kind of really short carpet like plat in the front and some nice random plant in the middle and some on the wood, and I thought HC or Dwarf hairgrass would be the best for small size tank , repens grows about 10cm and its too much for 10" hight tank ,isn't it?

And I defiantly slop the substrate more towards the rear right, thanks thats a great idea  

What do you suggest for the middle and wood plant I want some nice plant which no grow fast to the top.

Should I get cleaning crew just like my reef tank to cleaning up the alge and left over , some kinda plat safe snails?


----------



## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

HC would be the shortest. If you don't intend on using CO2, nothing will grow that fast. The S. repens can be hacked back regularly to minimal, but if you're after low maintenance, that's probably not the answer and you might want to try HC.

In the middle you may want to try Blyxa Japonica. Without CO2 it grows well but slowly. On the wood, I would do Anubias nana sp. petite which will have some coverage and still show off the wood. 

For algae eaters, i would do only Amano shrimps or otos in a tank that size. I personally don't like snails, but some people have success with them.


----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

Thank you so much


----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

For the size of my tank should I supply Excel or build an small Jello mix CO2 systems ?


----------



## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

That's again a matter of personal opinion. I tried DIY CO2 and hated the inconsistency. I now do only pressurized CO2 or Excel. A simple pressurized system need not be expensive. A 5 lb pressurized system used may only run you $100. And with that you can split it off with a manifold and run multiple tanks for months. 

I find Excel nice and easy as long as the lighting level is managed. Some have had success over the short term (say a year) with DIY CO2, but in the end, most have found it to be a lot of work.


----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

I will go with Excel then , is there any recommended brand for Excel ,or I could just go for SeaChem Flourish Excel 250ml for $6.15 on J&L?


----------



## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

Seachem flourish Excel is what he is referring to. Metricide is the only alternative I have heard of or seen, though I'm sure there's others available. Metricide is twice as strong and you can get it by the gallon( I believe) for around $20 from Bowers Medical Supply - Home Page. Watch the advertisement thing up above and you'll see an ad for it on there. Probably more than you would need, but maybe you could buy some from one of the members here. It is sold for medical use, so there is no directions on the bottle for aquarium use lol But you can do a search for it on here and find a few threads about it


----------



## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

As John said, Flourish Excel is Seachem's branded name for their liquid carbon source. Metricide 14 has a similar if not identical ingredient and is cheaper, but for a tank this size, the savings are almost irrelevant.


----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

Flourish Excel 250ml is only 6$ ,and I only need 1ml per day so its good for about 8 month.


----------



## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Yeah, that's what I meant, but for reference, a 4 L jug of Metride for $20 would be 0.5 mL per day for the same dosage, so that $20 would last you 5 years.


----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

I went Rogers Aquatic today , and bought one HC $9 and one Dwarf hair grass $9 also a bottle of Flourish Excel $10.99 .

Any hint and help for plating them would be perfect.


----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

OK , All planted HCs in first row and Dwarf Hairgass in the second row.









Some of the roots are not under substrate is it OK , will they go under ?


----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

My tank flow is really low do I need beter flow ? if the answer is yes , what is the smalest power head I could use in my tank?


----------



## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

I would think that filter should provide enough flow since it's rated up to 15 gal. Might want to make sure the filter is clean and your flow control is turned up more if needed


----------



## scherzo (Apr 24, 2010)

Smallest powerhead is a korallia nano. 

Have you been running the tank with the lights off since you have set it up? It is still very clean!


----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

The filter is clean , and you are right it should be enough flow.

I start dosing Flourish Excel in my tank, it says daily 5ml per 50 gallon ,so for 5 gallon I only need 0.5ml. should I go with the instruction on the bottle or people dose differently ?

I turned on the list from 9am to 10pm since yesterday, after I plant the water gets cloudy but it should be clean soon.

How long usually takes for plants to settle down and the roots grow under substrate ?


----------



## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

The first thing I would do is cut the light back to 12 hours or less, preferably 10 hours or so. Do you have any livestock in the tank? If not, you can dose 4 or 5x the recommended amount, or unless your plants show signs that's it's too much. That stuff is broken down in about 24 hours though, so you're wasting your money if it's not being fully utilized. If it were me, I would try 1 ml a day for a while and go from there.


----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

No I dont have any live stock, and I dont have any plan for it yet, I'll go with 1ml per day and 10hours light, 11am to 9pm. I ordered blue led strip for after 9pm to 12am.


----------



## monkE (Aug 4, 2010)

looks good so far! What are you planning for the rear of the tank? 

x2 to what wheels said about the excel, if there's no fish you can pump lots of carbon in there, but I'd probably just do what the bottle says... some engineer somewhere figured that dosage out


----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

Still not decided for the back and the wood , I am looking for beautiful slow growing plants .


----------



## scherzo (Apr 24, 2010)

I was actually commenting on the glass.... It is very clean for a tank that didn't have any plants in it! Especially with high light. Usually you will get a tonne of algae growth. 

As for the excel... You can dose as others have said.. Some plants will melt away with an overdose of excel... That is what you should watch for. 

It can take a couple of weeks to a month to see if the plants have settled in and are growing ok... I've always noticed that my hair grass used to grow so slowly... It was literally like watching grass grow . 

I had 350 watts of light over a 90 gallon tank and dosing excel didn't cut it after awhile.. The hair grass never grew. I had to switch over to compressed co2!

Great start though... Looks good...


----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

Few plan added , I am not sure those are the good choice !


----------



## gouedi (Apr 25, 2010)

i think thats too much of plants, and if you dont run co2, hc and hg wont grow well, my melt or float up...


----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

I do use Excel, if it was not enough , I'll go with the other method.

Any suggestion on shrimps? something beautiful which dose not eat plants and eats alge?


----------



## Ebonbolt (Aug 12, 2011)

crystal red shrimp are cool, nice colours and dont get big, not sure on the algae eating though. Jiang604 had a huge stock of various shrimps like a week ago. Drop him a pm and see if he's got any more.


----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

Thank you ,I'll ask him.
The crystal red shrimps do not eat plant , do they?


----------



## Chappy (Apr 21, 2010)

What a beautiful little tank  You've done a great job with it; looks awesome.


----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

Thank you


----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

Week 3, live stock added :

6 Jambo Cardinal Tetra + 2 Otos from Charles 
2 Assassin Snail + 2 Amano Shrimp from Patrick


----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

10 Red Cherry added from JC


----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

10 Red Cherry Shrimp added from JC.


----------



## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

Looks really great Arash...great job!


----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

Thank you


----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

Thank you


----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

Week 4 Photos:


















Cardinals are still shy , they hide behind the wood as soon as some one get close to the tank 

I wonder if I cover the tank for a week with magazine it helps , please advise .


----------



## Ebonbolt (Aug 12, 2011)

They'll do that. I find that if i dim the lights, provide some overhead cover, and don't make too many sudden movements, they'll come out of hiding after a few seconds.


----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

*After 2 month*

Everything doing great and still no algae 


















The red plant is getting big , I wonder how could I trim it from top or bottom ?
what is its name?


----------



## Sanctum38 (Oct 2, 2011)

*Curious*

Hey there. You have a beautiful tank. I am just wondering what sort of prices the filter/lighting cost you.

And good choice on substrate, thats what I use for planting


----------



## teija (Sep 30, 2010)

Wow, your tank is looking fantastic! What a great result after such a short amount of time.


----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

Panorama LED Module about 99$
Fluval nano internal filter 20$



Sanctum38 said:


> Hey there. You have a beautiful tank. I am just wondering what sort of prices the filter/lighting cost you.
> 
> And good choice on substrate, thats what I use for planting


----------



## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

arash53 said:


> Panorama LED Module about 99$
> Fluval nano internal filter 20$


I must have missed it, but you have an Ecoxotic Panorama LED module? Where did you get it? I'm trying to decide between that and the UP Aqua LED clamp on for a project. Based on your growth it looks like plenty of light.


----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

I got it two years ago for my Nano Cube 12Gallon, I sold the tank last year and used the module for this 5 Gallon. 
I have great growth with this light and Florish Excel 

I bought it from Ocean Aquatics in Delta.


----------



## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

Thanks for that info. I didn't know it was available locally.


----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)




----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)




----------



## arash53 (Aug 13, 2011)

I did trimmed the Rosophilia from bottom , the root and about 2mm still is in the substrate, they grow so fast and they did block the light and my HCs turned yellow.










and also get rid of all guppies , current have some CRS and RCS and two amano and two otos and 4 Cardinal. I dont see Cardinals they sometime come for food. I might get rid of them as well but its pretty hard to catch them.

and Finally found a shrimplet in my tank only one!


----------

