5 And 20 Gallon Planted

5 gallon planted (no fish), just a little overgrown



20 gallon - have been suffering from bga so the tank is a little bare at the moment as I've removed a lot of plants affected by algae, but they are starting to grow again.



and after a million photos of fish taken, I have this good one of one of my botia striata

OMG that 5g planted tank is awesome, i love your others too.

thats a 5 gallon???!!!!! it looks like a 50!!!!lol nice job on creating such a nice decor!

They are lovely tanks Sam - that 5 Gallon is awesome ! Do you plan to have any fish in there though Can you also remind me how many wpg you have on there and am I right in thinking you are using the Hagen Nutrafin CO2 on there ?

Oh and that Botia pic is fab !

thats a 5 gallon???!!!!! it looks like a 50!!!!lol nice job on creating such a nice decor!

Click to expand...

thanks My aim was to always make it look bigger than it is, although the thermometer and heater are a big giveaway! Also there are some larger plants in there that need to come out, but I need the smaller plants to establish first.

I have a 24W tube (interpet compact t5). With no CO2 OK, well I have CO2 but I haven't changed it in a month and I think about 1 bubble every 10 minutes comes out I know I know I'm naughty. I'm playing I guess...how lazy can I be before I get another algae outbreak?!

I was going to change the bulb, but it seems to be doing OK at the moment. If it aint broke then it dont need fixing. famous last words

Actually I posted a pic a while back of the surface, a lot is covered by lily type things and the cardamine lyrata, I was going to cut it all back but I changed my mind as this maybe whats preventing an algae outbreak?

Fish...hmmm I really want a dwarf puffer. Original plan was a fancy Betta but erised changed my mind to a puffer. The thing thats putting me off is I've become somewhat lazy the last month...I don't know if its all the bga business getting me down, but i dont have the passion for my tanks like i did before. I'm not sure now is the right time to get a fish and then have to do strict water changing etc on a second tank.

Secondly, I'm a bit worried about getting a puffer. I've talked with a few of my LFS. One told me that it'll be likely that I'll be sold a dwarf puffer that isnt a dwarf puffer and the other said I could order them in but he cant reserve me one. Seems bloody rediculus to me. I dunno about other people but I work on a friday so cant pick it up till saturday and he said they might be gone by then.

enough rambling.

ncstater1919 said:

thats a 5 gallon???!!!!! it looks like a 50!!!!lol nice job on creating such a nice decor!

Click to expand...

I was thinking that too!

Wonderful tank. That's the longest 5gal I've ever seen.

wow houndour i love that moss u got on the rocks in ur Botia striata pic!

Can you please tell me if that if Java moss? I have never seen java moss so green and well behaved (not growing so messily) before.

nice green look btw for the 5g

5G looks great, good turnaround mate. so does the big one, it'll grow out soon enough.

Jer- yep, thats java moss.

oooh my post got revived from the dead...

You guys are having me doubt myself that it's 5 gallons now It's 16 inches x 8 x 8. I think its just over 5 US gallons.

Can you please tell me if that if Java moss? I have never seen java moss so green and well behaved (not growing so messily) before. biggrin.gif

Click to expand...

Thats the biggest compliment I've ever had. I've had such a nightmare with this stuff, all I can say is have patience!

I was given a tiny bit by my LFH for free...I stuck it to my wood but initially it just grew as a blob of mess and didn't take hold. Then I got black brush algae and bga and my moss was covered I took most of it out but some clung to the wood. Then when it grew back it grew more outwards and more and more was clinging to the wood. Then I when I used medication on the bga it also killed off the BBA and voila, I have nice green java moss Maybe it helps to remove some of the loose bits so the stuff underneath gets some light? I dunno.

5G looks great, good turnaround mate. so does the big one, it'll grow out soon enough.

Click to expand...

In the 9 days since I posted that picture it's grown loads My seagrass has tripled in growth and it bright green now

I'm just starting to see some signed of green hair algae *sigh* it's never ending.

My glosso and hermanthius (baby tears) aren't doing well at all.

houndour said:

You guys are having me doubt myself that it's 5 gallons now It's 16 inches x 8 x 8. I think its just over 5 US gallons.

Click to expand...

You know I actually think it's 4.5 US gallons - unless I've got it wrong
I have a 24" x 8 x 8 and that's about 6.5 US gallons I think.

bloozoo2 said:

houndour said:

You guys are having me doubt myself that it's 5 gallons now It's 16 inches x 8 x 8. I think its just over 5 US gallons.

Click to expand...

You know I actually think it's 4.5 US gallons - unless I've got it wrong
I have a 24" x 8 x 8 and that's about 6.5 US gallons I think.

Click to expand...

oh, maybe its 18 inches then. Actually 18 would make more sense. 16 is an odd length. It's small though. Must get it cycled for a fish.

Dont know how i missed this post first time round

tut tut !

I have a 24W tube (interpet compact t5). With no CO2 OK, well I have CO2 but I haven't changed it in a month and I think about 1 bubble every 10 minutes comes out I know I know I'm naughty. I'm playing I guess...how lazy can I be before I get another algae outbreak?!

Click to expand...

lol.....i wonder why

I'm just starting to see some signed of green hair algae *sigh* it's never ending

Click to expand...

Sam you know all this stuff sorry for laughing.......

I like the 20 gallon any chance of an updated pic?

The 5 or 6 or 10 gallon looks great as well

Well the hair algae is in the 20 gallon! I've got constant CO2, I've been keeping up with dosing, water changes etc. It's not my fault

The 5 gallon is still doing marvelously well considering 5 wpg and not enough attention I want to start dosing but I'm scared if I dose anything it'll cause an algae outbreak. It's doing so well at the moment

If I get time tonight I shall post a new pic of the 20. I think it's improved - it's filled out a bit.

20 gallon as of tonight.



Actually comparing the 2 pictures, it seems my baby tears has been growing. Also my ludwgia (the red species) is more red. I keep my lily well trimmed now. It's too big for the tank but I love it too much to bin it.

Anyone know what the plant infront of the wood it?? Is that lily thing that keeps growing part of it? I keep cutting it off and a day later a new one shoots up!



And the 5 gallon

Not much changed. I got rid of what I assume to be a saggitaria of some sort...left a couple in and already have more runners.

I tried to get some pictures of my cardinals like jimbooo but they all came out blurry Got another botia one though (botia are well behaved and pose for photos and he was hungry!)