5.5 Gallon Nano: Black Oasis

[Bmonarch]

Hey Everyone!

This is my first attempt at making a truly planted tank with all the special stuff. CO2, High Lighting, Fertilizers (Trying, anyways).

I'm really enjoying the black Flourite sand that I decided to go with on this tank, which is really high in the tank. I don't know why, but I've always loved the look of thick levels of substrate on tanks. The rocks are my personal favorite in this tank though.

Plants:
1 Anubias Nana
1 Rotala (Not sure what kind)
1 bunch of Micro Swords
1 Corkscrew Sword? (Maybe, forgot the scientific name)
1 Not sure what the stuff is in the front of the tank. Some sort of foreground cover though.

Fish:
2 White Cloud Mountain Minnows
3 "Gold" White Cloud Mountain Minnows
1 Red Glo Fish (Zebra Danio) (I had to rescue this guy from a friends tank, after his other two Glo Fish were eaten by his new African Cichlids)

It's got a 27 Watt desk lamp over it from Wal Mart. I'm running a Hagen Elite Filter with DIY CO2 coming into it. I'm also running a massive Tetra Water Wonders 10 Gallon Filter in the back of the tank. This guy is only temporary as it takes up every space in the tank practically. I've got an Eheim 2213 coming in the mail, along with some Glosso (Which will most likely replace whatever that ground cover plant is in the front of my tank), and the future sole inhabitants of this tank, some Red Cherry Shrimp. Thanks Niptek, looking forward to those!

Please comment and let me know of anything I might be doing wrong, or that you think I should do in the future!

Hope you like it.

Front tank shot:

Shot showing the light and DIY CO2 Bottle:

Good shot of that unknown ground cover plant in the front left of the tank and the rocks:

And an over the tank shot:

[isu712]

Nice tank. I'd guess that foreground cover in the front is Marsilea quadrifolia. It could be Marsilea minuta, but it looks too big for that. When I had some in my tank it took a little while for it to start to spread, but once it did it spread at a decent rate.

[danepatrick]

i second the Marsilea quadrifolia. it'll stay low, single-leaved in higher light, but will reach up an inch or so taller and gain up to four leaves in lower lighting. great little plant.

[Bmonarch]

Actually that does sound familiar for sure. Do any of you have suggestions as to what I could be dosing? I don't have any fertilizer, and am unsure of how to get it. Dry Fertilizers are usually the way to go, aren't they? What should I be dosing, and when? Were do I get it all?

(Sorry for all the questions. :P)

[isu712]

I've got a 5.5 that I dose with a solution I make from dry ferts. I add 1 tsp K2SO4, 1 tsp KNO3 and 1/4 tsp KH2PO4 to 1 L of water. Start by adding 10 mL of this solution. Test NO3 and PO4 every couple of days for a couple weeks to see where your levels are and modify the amount of the solution you put in the tank accordingly.

I got my ferts from rexgrigg.com

[Bmonarch]

Hey Everyone!

Got my new Eheim 2213 Filter all set up today, as well as my DIY CO2 Injection running. I've got my Dry Fertilizers coming in the mail, and I think I'm going to dose with the PPS method.

(Think there's any better way for me to hide that nasty sponge? So unattractive.)

I added some Red Cherry Shrimp to my tank, and they are a blast! I'm really enjoying watching them run all over the place! (Hoping I have some Females and Males so that they breed!)

Also, I removed the 3 Gold White Cloud Minnows, added a bit of Blyxa Japonica to the right side that I got off the SnS.

Anyways, wanted you guys to see it, and had some questions about some stuff too.

FTS:


Right Side:


Front Shot Closeup:


Left Side:


Total Shot:


Alright, so here's my question, with all the surface agitation, is that going to be too much agitation to get rid of the CO2 being diffused in, or is it going to stay in the tank? I'm just unsure if the movement on top of the tank is enough to ruin the CO2.



Oh, and another question: Do you guys think I should remove that nasty Foreground cover plants in the front, or juts keep letting them try and grow? Pretty much it's Glosso, but it's obviously having some problems, and my MM is doing well, so...

What do you guys think?

[nismo tetra]

Give it time. It looks as if you have moved it around from the first pics you posted. Just let it settle in and do its thing.

Also what kind of bulb do you have in the desk light? You might want to put some sort of reflector around it to aim it more into the tank.

[Bmonarch]

Yeah, I did move them around, or mo so, I split it up and spread it around so that they'd be doing the whole stem approach. Been doing much better since then, but I'll leave them be for now.

The Bulb is a 27W light from Wal Mart. I've seen it on this site a lot, so when I was looking for a lamp at Wal Mart and saw that one, I just grabbed it. It's Fluorescent though, for sure. I'll look into a reflector I could build for it, because you're right, it really only hits the center of the tank. (Which is why I also have that 13 Watt Spiral Light on it from my lamp behind my desk.)

[ZooTycoonMaster]

How do you like the Hagen Mini Elite Filter as a CO2 diffuser?

[Bmonarch]

How do you like the Hagen Mini Elite Filter as a CO2 diffuser?

The Mini Elite is awesome! Works great, spits out all kinds of tiny little bubbles!

Got a quick question! I'm trying to open up my Eheim Canister so that I can add the Carbon Pad. (Finally got it in the mail.)

How do I open it, like how would I open it for regular maintenance? I don't see how I can detach the pipes and not have water going everywhere? Help me?