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My first tank! 5 gallon (56k warning)

12K views 134 replies 9 participants last post by  CluelessAquarist 
#1 ·
Hey everybody. I'm almost ready to actually start my tank, so I figured I'd start my journal to document the pre-tank stuff. Partly just for myself and partly for others. So I finally got my 6500k cfl bulbs. They are 13w but are a "60w replacement" I really hope they are strong enough. I also just bought Mircacle Grow Organic Potting Soil for a sweet deal! Super excited to start my hardscape process!
 
#42 ·
I have 3 azoo palms. two on a 5 gallon and one on a 2 gallon. I've been happy with them.

First the good:
They are quiet(ish). I found after a week or two they get quieter.
They are cheap.
The flow is adjustable.

The bad.
The media container is a bit odd. The foam they give you is for near the discharge. It should be closer to the pump. I fixed this buy buying some of this from amazon I also got the carbon variety too. Beyond that you can put a bit of biomax behind the pad.
The tops can rattle a bit. I find as the filter matures there's enough crap in the seam where the two halves meet that it stops. Using some rubber bands might help.
Not self priming. In the event of a power outage it might not restart.

Note they do make bigger versions of the Azoo Palm Mignons. So if you need more filter it is out there.

Finally use the foam pre filter. It really grabs a lot of gunk and keeps tails happy.

I ran one filter in a 5 gallon guppy tank for a few weeks and had not issues with keeping up with the cycle. Tank has 5 well fed guppies and 2 snails. So a decent amount of ammonia. I got the second to roll carbon and filter floss (tannins).
 
#44 ·
I use pool filter sand on my 46. Easy to work with, and needed little to no rinsing. I do get some brown streaky algae on my glass but I keep a magic eraser around and only ... ONLY use it on that tank. This way I don't xfer snail eggs, algae or disease to another tank.

Here it is a couple months ago before I moved. It looks similar now, except I had a lot of melt when I moved due to new water. It's slowly making a comeback. I use osmocote plus tabs and seachem tabs for the root feeders.

 
#45 · (Edited)
Octantis- Thanks for the info that was exactly what I needed! Glad to hear it's a good filter, because the price is a major player for me right now. As much as I'd like a canister filter I'm not sure I can afford one right now. Also I've heard of diatoms and how silica causes them but I don't have much of an understanding about it. After I finish this post I'll read a few threads on it, thanks for the heads up. :) EDIT: Also at your mentioning of a cut-to-fit filter pad, I found a brand that looks pretty nice earlier today, if you ever want to check them out Google "Pinky Filters". If I end up needing filter material I'll probably buy that kind.

Aguilar3- I wasn't asking about a new filter due to lack of filtration, but because of the spraybar. The focused flow of water coming out of my Whisper filter I am using right now blows my sand around, thus exposing my dirt. After some thought I figure that blasting sand or pool sand will be heavy enough to not need a spray bar type distribution. The Azoo is attractive to me because the HOB feature allows more space in the actual tank (the one I'm using right now sits IN the tank... really ugly) plus the price & performance.

Aurie- That tank is beautiful :) with this 5g I really want it to have a slight "overgrown" look. I want it to be aesthetically pleasing but not look like someone trims it or anything like that. I'm planning on adding more slope to my tank when I swap my sand for PFS.

ANYONE- Can someone please answer my question concerning how people get such deep slopes despite everyone saying "Don't have deep substrate or you'll have anaerobic soil (MGOPS) / toxic gases (sand)" etc? Thank you!
And thank you all for your continuing help :) I really appreciate it, especially as it's all volunteer and none of you really ever had to help me, you chose to. You guys are great.
 
#46 ·
To be perfectly honest, I had a 5.5 walstad tank and I failed horribly at it. I had a pool filter sand cap and not a lot of soil but every plant I put in there needed to be uprooted and I got nothing but soil blown around my tank (like what you're experiencing now) and when I finally got mad enough and redid the tank I had very stinky anaerobic soil. I poked it and added trumpet snails .. Nothing seemed to help. I did about half inch of soil and about 1 inch of sand.

I have since gone to straight sand or eco complete and have been perfectly happy since. I don't dose anything except for the occasional fert here or there and my root tabs. My tank pictured above has no soil in it what so ever.
 
#47 ·
I've read for hours on here and many people say the same as you do, and many swear by dirt and have amazing tanks with it. I really hope I'm one of those lucky people where things just seem to work for me :) But I'm trying dirt first because it's cheap. I really don't have much to spend, I'm a full time college student and am on the job search trying to find a part time job so I can buy food and gas, and then aquarium stuff :) I'm surprised that my plants are still alive- not that I didn't follow instructions- but just the fact that my luck usually isn't great
 
#49 ·
When using dirt, you usually just "plant it and forget it". I'm sure some have been able to uproot with minimal issues but I think one would have to have a fairly deep sand/gravel cap to get away with it. Usually on the much bigger tanks. I set up my planted dirt vase 10 months ago and haven't touched it since.
 
#50 · (Edited)
Another update!!!! I picked up some "Compacta" aka Hygrophyla corymbosa "stricta" And I freakin' love how this plant looks. I knew immediately where I wanted to stick these, right so they are emerging from the rock group.


I picked up 5 neon tetras, who seem to be doing well. I'd like to add more, but I'm unsure how many can be in a 5 gallon tank. Here's a FTS, please excuse the floating Narrow Java- I still don't have driftwood to tie it onto.

Really happy with the new plants and fish. I'm having some serious browning on the leaves of my Java Fern, it's really bumming me out. I've got new growth in the form of little leaves on the fern, but the browning bothers me nonetheless. I'm unsure of what to do about the fern. Also, one looks much more green than the other to me. Anyways, I'll keep on swimming :D

Edit: I just read that compacta flowers if it raches the waters surface.. This is DEFINITELY my favorite plant now...
 
#59 ·
Well 3 of 5 neon tetras have died. I heard they were sensitive but wow. I have 2 left and I know they aren't happy in a group of 2 so I need to decide.. Buy more to have a correct sized group, and hope they live, or choose a new type of fish to stock it with


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