# 5G Low Tech, Rocks and Stems...Updated 6-8-2012



## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

This is the first small tank I have had. It is actually my girl friends tank but I set it all up, do all the maintenance, etc. It started off as basically no tech, just a light, no heater, no filter, etc. It is just over a year old. It is also the first time any aquatic animal I have had has a name. She is Liby, aka Liby Liberty as we got her on the 4th of July

This tank has been awesome as it has been the easiest tank ever. I have had no algae except a tiny bit of GDA on the glass, and I mean tiny amount. I only paid about $30 for everything, tank, top and gravel. The light and filter were left over. Pretty much all plants were from my other tanks.

Specs:
-AGA 5 gallon
-Home made light fixture using 2 CFLS (15 watts x2)
-Zoo Med 501 filter
-No Heater
-Critter cage top
-Petco gravel

Ferts:
Food and Excel when I remember

Fauna:
1 Dwarf African Frog

Flora:
Misc Stems


This is really hard to photograph due to where the tank is, the light fixture, and the fact I don't have a tripod here. I did my best but it looks better in person. Probably time for a trim


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## PinoyBoy (Mar 14, 2008)

Nice scape for the tank, it looks larger than a 5G if the shells aren't visible. How long has the red plant been in your tank? It looks like a red tiger lotus and I thought they get huge.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

The tiger lotus has been in for about 4 months. I trim it back constantly. Honestly, I used to trim it so the leaves where only about .5in. My GF likes the bigger leaves so I keep it about the size it is with that size leave. You can keep them small with trimming.


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## FIT BMX (Jun 5, 2010)

Looks really good, great job!roud:


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## Aphyosemion (Oct 15, 2004)

A very nice looking low maintenance jungle tank. The only thing that seems to be lacking is a good foreground. You could try some low light options like mosses to fill it in. I'll bet there are some others that might work as well, depending on how much light is getting to the front. I think that would really complete your tank and give it a little extra something.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

Aphyosemion said:


> A very nice looking low maintenance jungle tank. The only thing that seems to be lacking is a good foreground. You could try some low light options like mosses to fill it in. I'll bet there are some others that might work as well, depending on how much light is getting to the front. I think that would really complete your tank and give it a little extra something.


I have tried a few foreground plants. HC was the first, then I tried two types of grasses. The light is not the issue, the frog rips it up. HC was too fragile, anything that throws out runners gets pulled up as the new runners don't root deeply enough.

Right now there is some glosso, about 1/3 of what I originally planted. I am hoping that it will be durable enough. It is just starting to spread but I may buy some more to have it fill end more quickly. 

I totally agree with you, it really needs something, I didn't take the frog's behavior into account on previous attempts.


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## firefiend (Sep 3, 2009)

Absolutely gorgeous! Great work.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

Small update. I trimmed and put in some Blyxa. I am planning to add some more Glosso, it really needs a foreground


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

Sooo, unfortunately Liby died. I am not sure what happened, my girlfriend had been working a lot and I had been sick so I wasn't over there for a week. I tested the water and everything seemed fine, don't know what happened.

I also had to tear out all the plants in the back to find the body. I didn't take pictures but it will have to "grow into itself again". I am thinking it will look back to normal in about 2 weeks. The good thing is I made more room for new plants.



My question. We are not sure if we want another frog, or fish. As much as my girlfriend likes frogs, I think fish will bring a lot more life to this tank.

What would you suggest for a 5 gallon? I don't want to break the bank with something rare or exotic. A frog costs $2. A LFS has some cool varieties of Endlers which are appealing to me as I like the colors. I really would just go for guppies but they will be too big for the tank. I am just looking for something colorful that can deal with the small size. The smaller, the better.


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

Make it a shrimp tank!


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

shrimpnmoss said:


> Make it a shrimp tank!


As much as I love the idea, it's my GF's tank and she doesn't like shrimp. Frog or fish.


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

talontsiawd said:


> As much as I love the idea, it's my GF's tank and she doesn't like shrimp. Frog or fish.


Whatever you get, you can always throw 10 cheaper nice looking shrimps in for her...she might like them eventually. Fire Reds are about a buck or so on SnS. Lot of people keep fish with shrimps and eventually decide that the shrimps were much more fascinating to look at and turn to the dark side.:biggrin:


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

shrimpnmoss said:


> Whatever you get, you can always throw 10 cheaper nice looking shrimps in for her...she might like them eventually. Fire Reds are about a buck or so on SnS. Lot of people keep fish with shrimps and eventually decide that the shrimps were much more fascinating to look at and turn to the dark side.:biggrin:


Right now I have GBR in the tank I have at my house that I wanted for shirmp. I have some Fire Reds in there but the GBR's keep them hiding. I may move them and them my Fire Reds will start breeding. I will say I have too many. That's probably the only way she will do it. But I now have a plan:biggrin:


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

once you move your fire reds over...they'll do nice in that jungle of hers....that's a good size tank for shrimps too...plus it is a mature tank so they'll do great...GBR chow shrimps like nobody's business..at least mine did....


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

shrimpnmoss said:


> once you move your fire reds over...they'll do nice in that jungle of hers....that's a good size tank for shrimps too...plus it is a mature tank so they'll do great...GBR chow shrimps like nobody's business..at least mine did....


Yeah, the GBR wasn't a good choice but I had no choice. I was sold 2 males for a different tank and they were going to kill each other. I bought 2 females and separated them. They were only going to be in this tank for a bit but they ended up hiding so much I don't know how to catch them. Someday I will get to that.


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## gnod (Mar 24, 2011)

very nice tank! love the scape

2 questions: 
1) the red plant is...? tiger lotus? cause that looks AWESOME
2) the zoomed 501 - how do u like it? does it have good flow?


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

gnod said:


> very nice tank! love the scape
> 
> 2 questions:
> 1) the red plant is...? tiger lotus? cause that looks AWESOME
> 2) the zoomed 501 - how do u like it? does it have good flow?


1. Yes, tiger lotus. People say it isn't a "nano" plant. I wish I took some pictures yesterday but you can keep the leaves very small and it only grows big if you let it. Make sure you let it establish itself first. Right now, the leaves are the same size and my anubus petite "nana". They will grow big left unattended.

2. The zoomed 501 has plenty of flow for a 5 gallon, IMO. I actually had it on a 10 and was content- http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/t...bum/103106-10-gallon-low-tech-rock-scape.html 

I actually am not a fan of my tanks having crazy flow. This is about perfect for the tank, IMO. I wouldn't use it (again) on something larger. I don't think it lacks for something this size. It has been extremely reliable too. I don't use the spray bar though, I lost it and had glass outflow which I use. I broke the inflow but don't feel like replacing it. I don't know how much I would like or dislike with the stock spray bar but how I have it...I love it.


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## PantherAsh (Aug 18, 2011)

talontsiawd said:


> Sooo, unfortunately Liby died. I am not sure what happened, my girlfriend had been working a lot and I had been sick so I wasn't over there for a week. I tested the water and everything seemed fine, don't know what happened.
> 
> I also had to tear out all the plants in the back to find the body. I didn't take pictures but it will have to "grow into itself again". I am thinking it will look back to normal in about 2 weeks. The good thing is I made more room for new plants.
> 
> ...


just joined, new to planted tanks, but not new to frogs so thought I'd chime in. How and what were you feeding the frog? It looks skinny from the pictures. Mine need to have a "plate" in their tank, I just use a small flower pot saucer to put the food in. That way they always know where to go for food since their vision isn't very good. I use sand now, but when they were on gravel there would be no chance for them to get the food as it would just fall through. They're awesome little frogs, although it can be a pain when it comes to finding a good way to feed them, but once you do you're all set. They also do best with at least one other as they're social


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

PantherAsh said:


> just joined, new to planted tanks, but not new to frogs so thought I'd chime in. How and what were you feeding the frog? It looks skinny from the pictures. Mine need to have a "plate" in their tank, I just use a small flower pot saucer to put the food in. That way they always know where to go for food since their vision isn't very good. I use sand now, but when they were on gravel there would be no chance for them to get the food as it would just fall through. They're awesome little frogs, although it can be a pain when it comes to finding a good way to feed them, but once you do you're all set.


That's good to know. She actually got pretty fat. I realized I had to over feed to get her to eat, which wasn't a bad thing as the substrate is inert and the decaying food helped the plants. Over time, I started feeding less.

I fed frozen blood worms most of the time along with freeze dried worms. I also would put normal fish pellets in but it wouldn't eat much of that. 

Anyway, she didn't seem to have trouble eating, I wasn't around this tank for awhile (it's not at my house). That was only for about a week.

The thing I think may have been the issue is the tank isn't heated. I read that was fine. I have also had unheated tanks before. However, I don't have AC, my girlfriend does. The place gets really hot during the day and we blast the AC when someone gets home. It's only like 400 square ft so the temp dropped quick. I think the temperature fluctuation may have been the cause. 

If I get another frog, I will take that into account. I also bought a heater for the tank. I don't know what the stocking is yet, we plan to figure it out this weekend.


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## PantherAsh (Aug 18, 2011)

hmm yeah sounds like the feeding was fine. Who knows I guess...sometimes things just happen. I would keep a thermometer in there (if the heater doesn't have it) so you really know what the temp is and can adjust accordingly. I only use a heater in the winter, just a really simple one, does the trick with my thermometer so I just keep an eye on it. I'm a frog enthusiast so I'd try again with a pair of them! But that's just me haha good luck with whatever you choose!


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

PantherAsh said:


> hmm yeah sounds like the feeding was fine. Who knows I guess...sometimes things just happen. I would keep a thermometer in there (if the heater doesn't have it) so you really know what the temp is and can adjust accordingly. I only use a heater in the winter, just a really simple one, does the trick with my thermometer so I just keep an eye on it. I'm a frog enthusiast so I'd try again with a pair of them! But that's just me haha good luck with whatever you choose!


We tried a pair and the male was super aggressive. He didn't last that long, I think it's just the fact we bought it at petsmart. I really did like the frog's quirky behavior but they get really hard to see in a tank this densely planted. I am the type to look at a tank for a long time, my girlfriend just likes to glance at it. I don't know how many times she freak out, thinking the frog was dead too.

Anyway, she wants something more colorful and active so it's going to be fish.


For the nano fish guru's, right now I am thinking about some sort of endler variation. I don't like "regular endlers" personally and the place I am going to likely go is here- http://www.albanyaquarium.com/fish/index.php They don't have what I want listed but I believe they are "tiger endlers". 

If anyone see's something else on the site that would be good, let me know. The smaller the better. Colorful is important as is something that doesn't like one level of the tank (especially the bottom or top).


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## YSS (Mar 5, 2005)

Pretty sweet. A good candidate for a tank for my office.


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## mscichlid (Jul 14, 2008)

I like how the lily is low to the substrate. Do you cut it back to the substrate? How often do you have to trim it?


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

mscichlid said:


> I like how the lily is low to the substrate. Do you cut it back to the substrate? How often do you have to trim it?


Not all that often. I usually have to trim something else before that so it isn't something problematic. If you let it grow though, it will get big, both in size, and the leaf size grows tremendously. This thing can get leaves about 2.5 in under the current light (and bigger than that when I had one in my 29 gallon). I can keep the leaves under about 1in by trimming.

This is how someone explained it to me. If you let it grow, it will grow to the top and loose the bottom leaves. If you trim it to the height you like, the lotus will "think" it's hitting the top of the water and not try to grow higher for awhile. So, if you trim it low, it doesn't try to go much higher than the highest leave, and then starts growing up from there. I probably trim it once a month, it stays small but also doesn't try to gain height. It could easily take over a 90 gallon if you let it, over a long period of time, but is also easily manageable.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

Update:

First, I had to do a small, unintentional rescape. This was because I had to find the body of the frog. I went to buy new fish but did not find anything interesting. I bought a few new plants for my 29 gallon and I put 2 new stems in. Hopefully this will add more color.

I have a single guppy in there right now, just to see what it looks like, I actually like it. I was thinking about endlers, or a more exotic guppy but the simple color is appealing to me.

Anyway, new pics....


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## shoteh (Nov 13, 2007)

Haven't seen frogs in planted tanks since I took my last one out 2 years ago. Kind of miss the activity of the frogs. Let me know if you are interested in any Top Bar Snake Chest endlers. They are still rare and limited to certain endler keepers only. I have registered to keep the line but need to split some tanks.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

shoteh said:


> Haven't seen frogs in planted tanks since I took my last one out 2 years ago. Kind of miss the activity of the frogs. Let me know if you are interested in any Top Bar Snake Chest endlers. They are still rare and limited to certain endler keepers only. I have registered to keep the line but need to split some tanks.


Thanks for the offer, PM me about the details. Ironically, I am really starting to love fancy guppies. I never kept them until a month ago as I always thought they were too "regular". I put 2 more in, one is a "Tequila Sunrise", the other are both all yellow. They have this goofy gracefulness I love. Between the bright yellow and the personality, they brought so much new life to this tank.


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## elbandito78 (Apr 23, 2011)

talontsiawd said:


> That's good to know. She actually got pretty fat. I realized I had to over feed to get her to eat, which wasn't a bad thing as the substrate is inert and the decaying food helped the plants. Over time, I started feeding less.
> 
> I fed frozen blood worms most of the time along with freeze dried worms. I also would put normal fish pellets in but it wouldn't eat much of that.
> 
> ...


I was wondering if it could have been a temp issue too. I noticed that it's pretty close to the stove. Wonder if that could cause the temp to swing. I know my kitchen can really heat up when I cook, especially if I use the stove and the oven together. Lol.


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## elbandito78 (Apr 23, 2011)

Btw, I really like your set up.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

elbandito78 said:


> I was wondering if it could have been a temp issue too. I noticed that it's pretty close to the stove. Wonder if that could cause the temp to swing. I know my kitchen can really heat up when I cook, especially if I use the stove and the oven together. Lol.
> 
> Btw, I really like your set up.


We never had an issue with the stove. It was once we got a heatwave. I can't even narrow it down, I didn't have a thermometer on the tank, just one I would put in to check every now and then. I also wasn't around for a week (at the GF's place). I just have to speculate but now I have a heater and thermometer.


That said, I didn't get pics but I am loving the new guppies. I am going all "Tequila Sunrise" on this tank. I think I can do 5. I am starting with 3 and checking parameters.


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## FriendsNotFood (Sep 21, 2010)

What's the other red plant to the right of the wood?


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

FriendsNotFood said:


> What's the other red plant to the right of the wood?


Ludwigia glandulosa.


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## sugarbyte (Apr 3, 2011)

What a stunning tank!
Are you using dirt? Im wondering how your plants are doing so well!..and with that light, how are you avoiding algae? What is your secret?


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## bl4nket (Jul 18, 2011)

you have a marvelous looking tank. Very nice aquascape.


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## moonshinetheslacker (Sep 13, 2010)

I know you already have the guppies, but have you thought about kuhli loaches? There are three types that I've seen. There's Albino, all black, and a striped version. I personally have 5 of the striped kind. As long as you have 6 or more, they are very active, even during the day. They look like little eels, but they are scavengers. Read "scavengers, NOT bottom feeders" They swim all over the tank, and act pretty funny. I'm not really sure if you would be overstocking with 6. You wouldn't have to worry about overstocking, except for bio load. They all like to wiggle up next to eachother, and they are very social together. My 10 gallon was a guppy-kuhli tank for a while.

Another "rare" fish would be a dwarf puffer. There are several types of freshwater dwarf puffers, and they are pretty neat fish to keep. They recognize you, and their food. They beg, and they'll watch you as you walk around the kitchen.

I'm sure you are probably already set with your "tequila sunrise" guppies, but I figured I'd throw in my two cents.

Also, guppies get along great with shrimps... Just sayin...

BTW, your tank looks great. I'm diggin it.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

sugarbyte said:


> What a stunning tank!
> Are you using dirt? Im wondering how your plants are doing so well!..and with that light, how are you avoiding algae? What is your secret?


I am actually using Petco gravel (or Petsmart). It's an older tank so there is quite a bit of old food and what not. It's suprising how much roots some of my stems have. My tiger lotus has roots about 5x5in, crazy.

I really don't have algae, just a little on the glass. So, I don't really know how I deal with it lol. 

Remember that I have a screen on top, since I had a frog. That cuts down the lights. I may go open top with my guppies. I have had mixed experiences in the short time I have kept them. Some jump, some don't. I only have had jumpers when cycling though. I may or may not change, I like the look of open top but since everything is working, I am hesitant to change.


One thing bad happened though. I don't use excel much so when I do, sometimes I over do it, especially as I have never had a tank this small. I have some melting going on with both my lotus (not bad), and the green plant on the right back corner (common but I don't know the name). I really don't like the plant much though, it doesn't respond well to trimming so I may replace it if it doesn't grow back well. I pretty much melted it all as it is right where I does the excel in.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

moonshinetheslacker said:


> I know you already have the guppies, but have you thought about kuhli loaches? There are three types that I've seen. There's Albino, all black, and a striped version. I personally have 5 of the striped kind. As long as you have 6 or more, they are very active, even during the day. They look like little eels, but they are scavengers. Read "scavengers, NOT bottom feeders" They swim all over the tank, and act pretty funny. I'm not really sure if you would be overstocking with 6. You wouldn't have to worry about overstocking, except for bio load. They all like to wiggle up next to eachother, and they are very social together. My 10 gallon was a guppy-kuhli tank for a while.
> 
> Another "rare" fish would be a dwarf puffer. There are several types of freshwater dwarf puffers, and they are pretty neat fish to keep. They recognize you, and their food. They beg, and they'll watch you as you walk around the kitchen.
> 
> ...


Thanks. I have to say, I love these guppies. I have done rare fish (nothing extremely rare) and just never kept this species until recently. Guppies are really cool. They add a bunch of life to this tank. For $1.25, I could not be happier. I really have found that most my favorite fish are really common species that get looked over for the next trend. I love Cherry Barbs, Gold Barbs, regular RCS, and now guppies.


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## xjasminex (Jul 26, 2011)

Hi, i was wondering what light fixture you have on top, looks like its some kind of light strip on top of a grate of some kind, i have a five gallon to and i havent found and light strips made for the small length. 
Thanks!


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

xjasminex said:


> Hi, i was wondering what light fixture you have on top, looks like its some kind of light strip on top of a grate of some kind, i have a five gallon to and i havent found and light strips made for the small length.
> Thanks!


It was DIY. I bought a Marina 10 gallon way back but found out the top was rimless. So, I took the hood apart and took out the actual lighting from the plastic. I then took my old stock light housing from my 29 gallon, cut it down to size and the plastic welded it back together. It was originally for my 10 gallon but happened to fit my 5 gallon perfectly about a year after I tore my other tank down.


It wouldn't be a hard DIY. You just need to make a light fixture with 2 incandescent sockets. You could either find a 10 gallon hook and use that (and may not have to do any wiring), or get the parts from home depot or similar. Then make a housing for it out of wood or plastic, whatever you want.

But yeah, it was just repurposing things I had.

And the mesh top is a "critter cage" top you can get at Petco. I needed it as I had a Dwarf African Frog and they have a tendency to jump out.


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## xjasminex (Jul 26, 2011)

Oh great, thanks!

That should help me in the future when i decided to change my light!


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

xjasminex said:


> Oh great, thanks!
> 
> That should help me in the future when i decided to change my light!


Check the DIY section, may people have done similar, just had everything I needed so I didn't have to do much more than unscrew some things.

Not that I have really looked but I haven't seen a great florescent light for these tanks. I do see bulbs at the hardware store that are the right size. Maybe there is something out there. I only seem them in T5. I think 1 T5 would be doable with enough plant mass, without CO2, but I am not going to say that is certain. 

I like the screw ins because you can change your light tremendously. I have bulbs ranging from 7 watts to 26 watts so I could go very low to extremely high light without changing the fixture and the bulbs are cheap, often cheaper on sale.


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## xjasminex (Jul 26, 2011)

Very true, id eventually like to go rimless, though i have a betta and i want the top covered, im thinking of getting a plate of glass the same EXACT size of the top of my tank then using a screw in CF bulb in a modified desk lamp.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

xjasminex said:


> Very true, id eventually like to go rimless, though i have a betta and i want the top covered, im thinking of getting a plate of glass the same EXACT size of the top of my tank then using a screw in CF bulb in a modified desk lamp.


This tank actually started out with just a desk lamp. I used a 26 watt bulb and supposedly they put more light out if they are upright, rather than horizontal to the tank. Everything grew well. The main reason I ditched that was it was a pain with both the top, and moving the light to really see what you were doing. I just happened to have this from another tank so I switched. If it was open top, I may be able to get the same results I have now out of one bulb. The screen does mask light.


My experience with bettas has been weird. I have had 2 jump out of tanks with a generic 10 gallon hood and I don't even get how they found where to jump, much less fit through the tiny gaps. I have also had them in open tops (but much bigger than a 10 gallon), never jumped. I know the size of the tank probably made a difference but it's ironic that I have had much better luck with an open top with betta's.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

Non picture update....

My GF was out of town for a few weeks. I had luckily removed all livestock after accidentally over feeding (I mistakenly poured in WAY too much food). The tank was cycling so I didn't want to harm anything. Because there was no livestock, I did not check up on the tank a frequently as I should have. We I returned, I found many of the plants had melted. I also looked at the temp and found out that the tank was at over 95 degrees. Basically the heater was sticking on.

Between the two, the plants really suffered, not sure what the cause was. There was also no food being added at the time due to no livestock. That could be another cause. Anyway, it really disrupted the tank. Therefore, I decided to just redo the tank.

It is not much to see but I made a major change. I decided to use soil for the first time. I just used regular potting soil, did not mineralize it or anything. I only used a very small amount, about 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch. 

My other change is that I am going to try to make this more "dutch" than "jungle". That is a challenge due to tank size so it will probably get a little "loose" and "jungly" but I am being more organized in my layout. I plan to go slow and pay attention to growth as one fast growing plant easily takes over the tank due to its size. I want to keep those plants to a minimum.

I will get pics up when I can, but not much to see as of yet.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

I don't really plan to keep updating but I thought it would be cool to throw out an update. The glass heart is what my GF wanted (it's her tank though she hasn't ever got her hands wet really). I just added the Glosso about a week ago so that will need some time.


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## Stradevarius (Feb 27, 2012)

talontsiawd said:


> It was DIY. I bought a Marina 10 gallon way back but found out the top was rimless. So, I took the hood apart and took out the actual lighting from the plastic. I then took my old stock light housing from my 29 gallon, cut it down to size and the plastic welded it back together. It was originally for my 10 gallon but happened to fit my 5 gallon perfectly about a year after I tore my other tank down.
> 
> 
> It wouldn't be a hard DIY. You just need to make a light fixture with 2 incandescent sockets. You could either find a 10 gallon hook and use that (and may not have to do any wiring), or get the parts from home depot or similar. Then make a housing for it out of wood or plastic, whatever you want.
> ...


I'm starting a five gallon nano similar to this tank and like the idea of the mesh top (It's for a betta). My biggest question though is your light fixture. Looking online, everything lighting wise for a 5 gallon with a top seems to be non-existent (most are rimless with light stands) and I would very much like to use incandescent bulbs for my tank and not a strip. Could you take a few photos of the outside and inside of the fixture so I can get an idea of what I need to do to attempt that DIY? Thanks!

Stradevarius


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

Stradevarius said:


> I'm starting a five gallon nano similar to this tank and like the idea of the mesh top (It's for a betta). My biggest question though is your light fixture. Looking online, everything lighting wise for a 5 gallon with a top seems to be non-existent (most are rimless with light stands) and I would very much like to use incandescent bulbs for my tank and not a strip. Could you take a few photos of the outside and inside of the fixture so I can get an idea of what I need to do to attempt that DIY? Thanks!
> 
> Stradevarius


Here are some pics. Sorry for the delay.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

Also, I took a new pic. For some reason, I just can't get it to look right. Looks better in person, only have a point and shoot camera.


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## FisheriesOmen (Jan 14, 2012)

You take a lot better pics than I do....


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

Here is a little update. I had to use and editor to sharpen it as my lens is scratched an my camera does not focus well.

If you haven't caught it, this is my girlfriends tank. We don't live together (yet) and I haven't been by as much as normal and because of some life changes, the little maintenance I do has been neglected. I usually dose excel 3x per week (not usually every other day though) but it's been about 2 weeks since the last dose. I usually do a water change every 2 weeks but it's been about a month. It still hasn't recovered from my last trim fully which was 2 weeks ago. 

I can't really complain but some of the plants have a bit of a yellow tinge to them. The stargrass isn't doing well right now but it's one of the plants that should be easy but often suffers only to come back really strong for me. I don't know why that plant is challenging to me. That said, I don't believe I have cleaned the inside of the glass in over 2 months, only the outside. Hopefully it turns around pretty quick.

Lastly, I think it's time to replace my bulbs. These are atleast 1.5 years old at this point. I still am getting good color for the most part but it could be better and growth seems to have slowed down.

Best pic I could get off my camera:


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## GMYukonon24s (May 3, 2009)

That's a beautiful tank and nice pics.


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

GMYukonon24s said:


> That's a beautiful tank and nice pics.


Thank you. The pics in the last 2 updates are doctored, as said. I don't like doctoring photos as I have purchased plants because of brilliant pinks and purples, only to find later that the plants were really just red and the photos were doctored. I will say the color is accurate to my tank though.

I appreciate the words. This tank is really fun/easy but has a lot of presence for its size in the house. We have another 20 long but even at it's best, it hasn't had nearly as much interest from friends/visitors.


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