tkfury

I picked up a 5g awhile back but since I upgraded my "I don't have her yet but one day I will" betta to a 10g I've kinda just let it sit in my room. I'm not exactly sure what I want to do with this tank, maybe just a few otos but anyways - thats not the problem.

This is the tank:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...65&pcatid=7365

It comes with an incandescent light and while I do like the lighting I don't want to have to worry about it messing around with my water temp, plus I feel safer with fluorescent anyways. I can't say I understand much about lighting other than wpg so I'm a little puzzled on which bulb to get.

Coralife 50/50 or Coralife Colormax:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produc...tid=9870&rel=1

I'm sticking with fake plants but I want to be sure the lighting is going to be good for whatever I put in there.

Edit: eep, thought I was posting in the light section Not sure if I can fix that or not, sorry!

Isabella

I'm moving this thread to "Lighting" section for you.

I don't see anything wrong with the lightbulbs you've selected for your 5 gallon tank. A 10W fluorescent lightbulb is fine for a 5 gallon tank. Since your tank will be freshwater, I'd choose the 6,700K full spectrum one (the Coralife Colormax one)

Will you have any live plants in this tank? You know ... there are a few plants that would be OK even in a 5 gallon tank such as Anubias, Java Fern, Java Moss (this one would look very cool in your 5 gallon tank), Hornwort and Watersprite. I'm sure they'd be fine under your 10W lighting in your 5 gallon tank. They don't even need nutrient-rich substrates.

The 6,700K lightbulb would be better for plants than the 50/50 one, because the 50/50 one is 50% ACTINIC (blue). And the actinic part of the lightbulb can cause excessive algal problems in freshwater and planted tanks.

tkfury

Thank you ^_^

I wasn't really thinking about live plants, I've kind of given up on them for now anyways but by the time I'm ready to set this one up completely, for all I know I'll beable to get my hands on some decent plants.

Looking through the catalog I noticed they had the same aquarium and they even said for better coloration to replace it with one of the bulbs - figured I got it easy until I noticed they had two listed. So just wanted to just be 100% sure.

Thank you very much! I actually picked up a few fake Watersprite and Hornwort plants the other day for the tank so if I can find a palce that has them around here those are two I would really like to try.

Isabella

You're welcome

Plants like Java Moss, Anubias, and Java Fern basically require no maintenance (except, of course, trimming off decaying leaves, as with any plant). They are simply tied to aquarium decor, and that's it. And they're healthier for your tank than fake plants. But, of course, it's all up to you Anyway, I don't think one small Anubia would hurt And Java Moss can look beautiful in such a small tank, serving as a "carpeting" plant. Just weigh it down on the gravel and it will grow and spread over the floor. I am sure your fish would like that.

But like I said, I totally understand if you don't want live plants. Another good thing about these undemading plants is that if they start doing poorly, you can remove them from your tank anytime, without a problem - since they don't root in gravel.

tkfury

I was thinking about having a dwarf puffer but the more I read about them the more I figured it best to wait til after the move and after I've gained a bit more experinace with the whole fishkeeping thing. While trying to plan out all I would need for the tank I actually had java moss, java fern and anubias on my list.

I think I'm going to hold out on the tank til I can find at least some of the java moss. I like the idea of having it covering the gravel and havign it cover some of the "problem" areas of the wood I have would make it a little safer for a betta (just little spots were I think a betta would like to stress me out by getting his fins caught). I demand a place that'll sell nice plants for a reasonable price to move to my area!