# 2.5 Planted



## gnod (Mar 24, 2011)

you will have a LOT of fun with the 2.5G.
one of my favorite size tanks... for me I have 13W, DIY co2, AS with HOB filter.
enough to grow glosso, and fissidens well. not too fast, not too slow

i had 23W before, with 2 2L DIY Co2... i had m.p. in there which grew crazy fast! 
i got some algae so i changed light intensity and duration of light. 

I don't know if 2.5G is enough for 1 betta. Def better than the 1 gallon but i never kept a betta before. 

For my filter, I got ceramic rings, small bag of purigen i made and those foam filter that you put into Aqua clear filters. I just cut the foam up to fit into my filter. But the purigen..works wonders. My water is seriously crystal clear, I highly recommend it.


----------



## AquaKai (Feb 21, 2012)

I agree with gnod! I love my 2.5g, it's a great size to plant! I think you have enough light for the plants you want. Listen to gnod with everything else, he's right on! For the betta, I think that the 2.5g would be great! Some people say that 5g is the min, but I have some bettas that just hate tanks bigger than 2.5g! Just make sure you have a heater for the tank, they love 80F tanks. Good luck, can't wait to see what you do


----------



## Basil (Jul 11, 2011)

Ah yeah, forgot to mention heating. Ive got a Marina C10 preset heater in my fluval spec and it keeps it 79~80 all day long, no fluctuations. I'll be running one in this tank too.


----------



## radioman (Oct 29, 2007)

I used the red sea filterfor my 2.5g I just use the sponge it came with and then cut filter floss the size. In the back of the filter I put ceramic rings.


----------



## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

in my palm filter i put some biomedia in a mesh bag, and then on top put cut-to-size filter floss pad, and cut a slit in it to put a touch of carbon (its a low tech tank, so i cant count on the plants to remove stuff).


----------



## Basil (Jul 11, 2011)

Radio and Marko,

Thanks for the input. I will be going with some ceramic rings plus cutting filter pads to fit the filter. It's pretty cool that we can have any number of filter media in this little guy, it's pretty versatile. 

Now, on to the pictures. All DW came from toofazt in SnS. 
Empty Tank









First piece of DW


















Some other pieces of DW. 


















Some DW placements.



























So, I'd say I've got some thinking to do about hard scape. I love the first piece of DW except it is almost as tall as the tank without substrate. I may use it in my Spec instead. How do the other pieces look? This is all still a work in progress. Thanks!


----------



## AquaKai (Feb 21, 2012)

Those are great pieces of driftwood! I really like the one in the back right of the pictures. It's great! The one you like is pretty awesome too, so many patterns in one piece is gorgeous! Oh decisions


----------



## gogi (Jan 28, 2012)

Awesome. I am doing a 2.5 g too. And i got alot of info from this thread thanks for posting it. I really like hat first piece of drift wood. It looks like a bonsai stock.


----------



## Basil (Jul 11, 2011)

Gogi, 

That's great! I hope this thread will help you, I know it is helping me alot. I"m currently boiling the wood to get as many of the tannins out as possible. The first piece is almost good to go while all those smaller ones are still leaching like crazy. 

Here's another question for anyone reading this. Is there a way to mount the Fluval fixture to this tank without making it rimless? As it is, the black plastic is too thick for the Fluval to attach. Thanks.


----------



## gogi (Jan 28, 2012)

I have a similar tank with the same type of rim. What i did was i used a small hacksaw to cut two notches on the horizantal lip where the light was going and then i used a very sharp utility knife and ran it flush against the vertical part of the rim over and over again until it cut all the way. It is hard to explain but i ll post a pic of it tonigt. BE VERY CARFUL AND DONT RUSH!!!


----------



## Basil (Jul 11, 2011)

Sounds like you'd have to be careful to not crack the glass. I've read threads where they crack the glass just cleaning the silly tank. I'd like to see the picture. 

As it stands the tank is still dry. I'll be rinsing the Flourite today and maybe getting the tank set up with the driftwood.
Since the DW will still leach some I'll probably run a very small amount of purigen to help keep the water clear, but I think that will not allow my cycle to even begin. We'll see. What can I place loose purigen in so it doesn't get all over? Thanks.


----------



## gogi (Jan 28, 2012)

*sorry for the wait basil*

here is a pic of how the rim looks like after I cut it and with the light fixture installed. I just finished the tank like 10 mins ago.


----------



## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

that substrate sure doesnt look like flourite... lol

what are you doing for macros? flourite is ok in micros, but has 0 N P or K. it doesnt have S either. you may want to stick some (quality) root tabs in.


----------



## Basil (Jul 11, 2011)

For root tabs I've got Seachem's. I bet I could take a look at some other kinds, since I have yet to use other tabs. Oh and Gogi, this is my fixture. The clear mount it has is just slightly too narrow to fit over the black rim of the tank.


----------



## gogi (Jan 28, 2012)

Basil, I am sorry i couldn' t help with the light fixture. 

Marko, Under the sand I have fluval plant startum. I used the sand to give the HC roots some fine grain to hang onto.


----------



## Basil (Jul 11, 2011)

Gogi, 

Are you using any sort of root tabs for your tank? I bet Marko would suggest some for your tank as well.


----------



## gogi (Jan 28, 2012)

lol to be honest I dont even know what root tabs are yet. I am what one would call a noob to this hobby/art form.


----------



## radioman (Oct 29, 2007)

gogi said:


> lol to be honest I dont even know what root tabs are yet. I am what one would call a noob to this hobby/art form.


They are nutrient rich plugs that go into the substrate that keep root feeders happy. They are mostly used for inert substrates but can be used with nutrient rich substrates for an extra kick.


----------



## Basil (Jul 11, 2011)

Look for root tabs at your Local Fish Store (LFS) or check out the powerseller section of this site and get some gel caps from somewhatshocked.


----------



## Basil (Jul 11, 2011)

Update 3-25-12: Its wet! iPhone pic so quality isn't the best.














































How's my planting? DHG in the front with Micro Sword in the back. I've got to soak my driftwood since it is wanting to float in this tank...


----------



## tenzero1 (Nov 29, 2011)

You can break up your DHG more if you want it to spread more but you are off to a great start!


----------



## Basil (Jul 11, 2011)

Well this little guy is in poor shape. No photos but algea is currently covering my
Microswords and the glass. It's been a busy end of the semester and I got to start a new job so now I'm fully employed which is nice for the budget. Would a more consistent water change regime clear up the algae on my plants or should I simply replant?


----------



## Basil (Jul 11, 2011)

Update - 
Have redone the scape some and am going the DSM this time around. Have Needle Leaf Ludwigia in the back and some DHG in the front. I do have one question. How do I fight off some green dust algae on my driftwood? Any help would be appreciated.


----------

