FishProfiles.com Message Forums

I have a 15 watt incadescent bulb and a banana plant in there right now. The plant loves the light and the fish seems to love the plant so far. He wasn't too sure what was going on in the very beginning but after abotu 30 minutes he didnt seem to mind it. I think after it sprouts some more leaves he will like it more.



Christina

Un fortunately, no pics this time. I hate to say it but my computers older than my gramma Sorry guys but I just bought the shrimp and the bettas already settled in. Thank you guys so much. Any other questions or suggestions are more then welcome.

That sound like an Excellent Idea! You shoudl try to show us some pictures when you get done! Or even while you are puttign it up so we can see your pregress.



Christina

Okay. Thanks for the suggestion it was just in time. I decided on 4 shrimp and a female betta. Sound good?

I don't think 2 bettas even females in a 2.5 gallon tank woudl work too well. maybe you shoudl jsut put 1 female betta and some shrimp in there. That woudl work better. I think anyone ouwl agree with me on this one, even bettachris, lol.



Christina

So as a final decision, I've decided on light planting but still enough for some happy fish going with a light I fount at my LFS that is supposedly made for nano tanks. I'll tell you how it works out. As for fish I think I'll put in 2 female bettas and some shrimp. Thanks alot for you're help. If theres something wrong here or w/e please tell me

I planted my 2.5 gal a while back (15w light w/ metal reflector). It went good for a couple weeks, but it ended up getting a crapload of BGA, thread algae, hair algae, etc...and my betta kept killing my shrimp that I'd put in there to eat some of the algae...

I ended up tearing the tank down after 2 months or so

Good luck with yers

thanks, solves the lighting of my 2.5 snail and java fern on wood tank!

the tank is the shape of a capital D? i could put one either side, that would be 40W of light, I only want to grow annubus and some type of crypt?

I am trying to imagine two lights on my already cluttered desk! it might look ok...... hmmm.

can you show me a pic of the compact light?

Cheers

GFG

_______________________________________
Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself.
Harvey S. Firestone

I wouldn't use a lamp like that for a 5 gallon, that's twice the size. You could use 2 of them I suppose but I don't think it would look right. I only every use halogen for 1-2.5 gallons or so (or less ). It would be much better to find some kind of compact fluorescent fixture for a 5 gallon tank.

BTW, the lamp i use for my 2.5 is exactly the same as that one, only it's black.

I want to do my five gallon as a planted tank
am going to get the lovely man at my LFS to make me a lid out of clear plastic.

this lamp being sold on Ebay is like mine (except my one is blue not that foul yellow colour)

[link=http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Yellow-Ikea-desk-lamp_W0QQitemZ4412978972QQcategoryZ20700QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem]http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Yellow-Ikea-desk-lamp_W0QQitemZ4412978972QQcategoryZ20700QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem" style="COLOR: #000040[/link]


it is 20w do you think it would be ok?

GFG

_______________________________________
Never be bullied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life; define yourself.
Harvey S. Firestone

Another option for lighting is to use a 20W Halogen desk lamp with a "daylight" or "full spectrum" bulb. Really, the bulb that comes with the lamp will grow plants but might look kinda ugly.

If you're looking for an "easy" planted tank, nanos are not for you. I would say nano taks are probably 100x harder to keep healthy plants in than a larger tank. You need a ton more wattage per gallon, it's difficult to fertilize on such a small scale (including co2, excel is better), small scale plants that won't outgrow a nano or look stupid in one are hard to find, there are a ton of reasons why nano tanks are not the best option for beginners. Personally, since the cost of a larger tank isn't very much more than a nano tank usually runs, I think the best thing to do is get a tank of at least 10 gallons first, plant it out and get some experience before you go miniature.

I'm not meaning to condescend or anything, I'm just saying you'll have a much easier time and a greater chance at success with a larger tank.

Hi,
I would immediately scrap the incandescent bulb. They
consume large amounts of electricity for very little light
that they put out. They also convert most of that
electricity into heat which can raise the water temperature
quite high, and when off, the water looses that heat and
the temperature can drop. The swing in temp can stress the
fish and they can develop ICH.

Go to any common hardware store and purchase a small screw
in compact flourscent bulb. They are rated at 6700K and
give off light that is perfect for your plant, and optimum
for you to view the tank.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Okay, I'm considering putting some VERY hardy plants such as java fern, java moss and maybe some anubias in a 2.5 gal tank. I would keep a betta, and a snail in ther and maybe something else. I know this is something really crazy to do but it just might work. I wanna know what you guys think. I just need somewhere to put extra plants but I dont really wanna sell them at my LFS because I get dirt prices. Thanks for input/help!

What kind of plants do you have in your 2 gallon and what is the lighting and fish situation? Thanks

I have plants in my 2 gallon tank right now they seem to be doing just fine so I do not see any reason you couldn't put plants in a 2.5 gallon tank. Good Luck with it! Try and post some pics if possible. I can't speak for everyone else but I know I would love to see how your turns out! I am currently trying to get a site up myself so that I can post some pics of my tanks. So anywany, Good Luck!


Christina

Ok you're right thanks. Ive dicided just rebuilding the lid and personalizing it. It should be fun

I like the idea of building a new lid to put on top. If you put the light behind the tank you might get some wierd growth to the back of the tank not to mention looking into the tank would probably mean looking into the light.

I also like to build things so that probably plays a roll in the game.

55G Planted tank thread
19G Container Pond
[IMG]http://i4.photobucket.com/albums/y118/Wingsdlc/Ric

Mine is, thonk goodness, custom built wich just means I can control water flow or just jturn it right off. I bought it off of a friend who did that. I'll probably just put a mounted bulb behind the tank and shine it in. Another option would be to mak a ne lid with a light in it. Thanks for all your help

Hi

The only thing I would worry about with that system is that it has a built in bio-wheel in the hood. Bettas spend a lot of time at the surface and I'm not sure if the spinning of the biowheel might cause some sort of injury, or at the very least create a lot of turbulence which the betta may not like.

---

Back in the saddle!

Plant _LoveRR,

First I would like to correct a mistake that I made in my last post in this thread. I didn&#8217;t mean to say fern is ok, but rather moss is ok. Sorry about that.

I went to the site that you mentioned and looked at that tank. We have quite a few people here that have an Eclipse system, I know very little about it though. It doesn&#8217;t seem to come with any light at all, is that right?

In that case, there are 2 rules:

- No light = no living plants
- If light is provided by the sun = algae

I don&#8217;t know how it would work if you place a custom build light behind, or besides, the tank and let it shine in, can&#8217;t help you with this one.

What is your motivation to get this tank? Price &#8211; Size &#8211; or what?

Ingo

---

Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club