# 5 gallon Nano Planted



## Damaba (Aug 28, 2016)

Some scape Ideas


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## DaveKS (Apr 2, 2019)

Like the etching idea, looks classy.


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## Streetwise (May 24, 2019)

Is that a flex mount for a Fluval Plant Nano?

I have a strange Italian and/or German tank with some Fluval branding that seems like a cousin to your tank:

https://www.askollaquarium.com/en-us/aquarium-and-accessories/fresh-water-aquariums-stand/pure-l-led

It was on sale at a LFS, and I have never seen it in person before or after.


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## Damaba (Aug 28, 2016)

This is just a cheep American tank. https://www.petsmart.com/fish/tanks...n-engageandtrade-5-gallon-aquarium-54158.html


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## Streetwise (May 24, 2019)

Nothing wrong with that. Top Fin makes my all-time favorite internal foam powerhead filters. I think they keep improving.

Is the Fluval Plant Nano your personal addition or integral to that tank?

Cheers


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## Damaba (Aug 28, 2016)

I really enjoyed the uniqueness and the style of this aquarium design. Everything included in the list is in addition to what comes in the box. There are some mildly bright viewing lights that are included in the hood but I removed those because I didn't believe they would grow plants.


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## Damaba (Aug 28, 2016)

I plan on starting the tank this weekend so please look forward to that. I'm going try and not over think this scape and just go for some of the plants I enjoy.


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## knm<>< (Mar 18, 2010)

Neat tank, one I haven’t seen before. I Look forward to seeing what you do with it.


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## Damaba (Aug 28, 2016)

I set up the sand and aqua soil this morning, messed up the capping so now I have a mix of sand and aqua soil  Hopefully thats not a huge issue. 
I'm really enjoying the Fluvial Light. I'm very sensitive to the light intensity when viewing the aquarium and displaying its general ambiance, this light really gives you full control of the color temperature and intensity.


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## Damaba (Aug 28, 2016)

So far I'm happy with my selection of plants. Not as exotic as I was hoping for but these were available and within my budget. 

From left to right
Moneywort
Golden loydela
Golden nessea
Forgournd - Hydrocotyle Tripartita Japan


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## Damaba (Aug 28, 2016)

*1 Week Update*










I'm running CO2 with Max light for 5 hours a day, then 3 hours in the evening at 20% capacity for viewing. I've done 2 water changes of 25 % and every few days I've sprinkled in a pinch of fish food to help cycle.

I did treat my plants will alum for about 3 hours before adding them into the tank. Saturday I noticed a few bladersnails but I'm not to concerned with them at the moment.


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## Damaba (Aug 28, 2016)

*2nd Week*










Starting to see some algae, specifically some hair and diatoms. Also I believe that I have removed all the small bladder snails. I haven't seen any in the tank for about 4 days now. I haven't been testing for my cycle but I've been feeding the tank with a fish food about every other day. 

I'd like to get a clean up crew in there and I've heard that Amano shrimp are great. Would 1 Amano ship work well in this tank? Also any other suggestions for a clean up crew?

Any suggestions on what i could stock this tank with? A few guppies or 1 honey guroami?


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

Damaba said:


> Starting to see some algae, specifically some hair and diatoms. Also I believe that I have removed all the small bladder snails. I haven't seen any in the tank for about 4 days now. I haven't been testing for my cycle but I've been feeding the tank with a fish food about every other day.
> 
> I'd like to get a clean up crew in there and I've heard that Amano shrimp are great. Would 1 Amano ship work well in this tank? Also any other suggestions for a clean up crew?
> 
> Any suggestions on what i could stock this tank with? A few guppies or 1 honey guroami?


Endlers would do fine in a tank this size. 1 betta of course is always an option. 

For a cleanup crew certainly amano's are a great option. 1 big amano or a few smaller ones depending on what is available at your local fish store. If you have shrimp friendly fish then you could go with a colony of cherry shrimp (or orange neos or yellow, or blue etc..) They are not great at cleanup in small numbers but as the colony grows they become better as a whole. 

And snails are great at cleanup. I know you just got done removing snails from your tank but /shrug they are actually quite good at cleanup. Nerite snails won't reproduce but will leave little white eggs everywhere. Ramshorn snails will reproduce quite rapidly but look pretty spiffy, come in a variety of colors. Plus as your algae gets under control the babies will not live long.


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## Damaba (Aug 28, 2016)

*3rd week*










Timed some of the plants and moved more moneywort onto the right side. Alage is in full bloom. I've done serval water changes toned down my light some.


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## Damaba (Aug 28, 2016)

4th week 
Still trying to find the balance in my tank. The plants are doing fine but struggling with hair algae. I've done 60% water change and rinsed my filter in the discarded water. I also tried back the foreground plants. I've also reduced by light down to 70 % strength.

Nitrate = 0
Nitrite = 0
Ph = 6.5
KH =40
Ch = 30-60


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## tfnano (Dec 16, 2019)

I'm kind of new to this but is there a chance you might slow the growth of algae by turning the C02 down or even off for a bit? Looks good btw. I just started a nano with the same tank/light setup.


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

Damaba said:


> ...
> 
> *Nitrate = 0*
> Nitrite = 0
> ...


Your nitrates should never be zero. Your giving the plants light and co2, but no food.


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## Damaba (Aug 28, 2016)

Noted. I am giving a small pinch of food about every other day. Once I’m back from Christmas vacation I’ll be adding some fish. That should help with the nitrates.



Asteroid said:


> Damaba said:
> 
> 
> > ...
> ...


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## fishydaze (May 1, 2009)

would suggest more plants, if it's under planted leaves room for the algae to grab any extra resources. Also, I suggest another dose of start-up bacteria...what type of filter media are you using?


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## Damaba (Aug 28, 2016)

What I arrived home to after not touching the tank for 2 weeks

Bump:








Did a 80 % water change and removed the foreground plants for aseptic reason. I got most of the algae off and added a Co2 checker. I've also turned my light down about another 15%

Bump:


fishydaze said:


> would suggest more plants, if it's under planted leaves room for the algae to grab any extra resources. Also, I suggest another dose of start-up bacteria...what type of filter media are you using?


I'm using filter floss which has a small amount of carbon. Also I have a bag of ceramic media to help aid in biological filtration.


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## fishydaze (May 1, 2009)

Removed foreground for aesthetic reasons? (Just checking, because aseptic reasons sounds serious!)


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## Damaba (Aug 28, 2016)

fishydaze said:


> Removed foreground for aesthetic reasons? (Just checking, because aseptic reasons sounds serious!)


Aesthetic* 

Don’t know if that was the right decision but I felt like those plants were over growing everything.


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## mertgezer (Jan 8, 2020)

Algae bloom is normal, you need to have "fast growing" stem plants in order to stop algae, you can also consider to put some floating plants in order to shade your illumination a little bit, i think this fluval led is overkill for that tank.


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## Damaba (Aug 28, 2016)

I've decided to restart the aquarium due to the sand and soil mixing. I'll be applying the experience I've gained in these first 2 months to my new scape which is designed to slightly overgrown. Now the substrate is generic black aquarium gravel, I will be adding root tabes to feed the corksrew val.


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