Jakes Nano Cube

[jakeroberts]

hi all in about a month i will have enough money to buy all of the equipment but for now i will tell you about what i have planned and the equipment i think i need, ok here goes

tank: 5g cube
filteration:aquaone 100 lph
heater: 25 watt aquaone
light:n/a ( have not chosen yet)
ferts: searchem flourish
Co2:diy co2 1.25 litre bottle
substrate: play sand ( unsure yet, might end up going gravel what ever is best for the plants)
Plants: Riccia,rotalia (any ideas for plants as i just can't think of any)
Fish: n/a (unsure yet suggestions welcome)

now onto the questions

1) with the ligh how many watts would be suitable for my size tank?

2)what substrate would be best for plant growth

what i was going to do was cover the ground 2/4 of the way to the back of tank with riccia then that would leave me with enough room for the rotalia as the background but i am unsure of what to use as the middle

would this light be any good for my tank 11 watt light

suggestions and criticisum

regards jake roberts

 

[nry]

Based on experience with a 5-gallon, if you want decent plant growth then you would be better off trying to get a light around 20-25watts or higher. 11watts over 5-gallons seems a lot (2wpg) but smaller tanks need more light than larger ones. I had 24watts over my 5-gallon and it was about perfect for most things. The Interpet Power Compact T5's would be the cheapest option and the length of the tube for a 24watt is perfect at 12".

 

[jakeroberts]

thanks apart from that have i got all the equipment i need also do u have any more ideas for plants and fish

 

[jakeroberts]

in a 5 gallon how many neon tetras could u have or how many harqueline tetras as i like both of those fish

 

[nry]

Personally I think smaller fish still would be better, they'd also help with the scale of the tank, making it look bigger. Neon's are 'small' but harlequins can geta bit bigger - I would 'personally' stick to smaller fish, those that don't get much beyond 1.5 to 2cm, things like the microrasbora's, pygmy corydoras etc, all of which stay small and would not feel as cramped in a 5-gallon, also consider ~3 otocinclus to keep the algae down and maybe 3-4 amano shrimp too. That is my opinion though!

 

[jakeroberts]

sorry for being dumb but what is otocinclus

 

[nry]

www.google.co.uk

http/www.google.co.uk/search?hl=en&q...earch&meta=

(it's a fish that likes to eat some algae's)

 

[jakeroberts]

thanks for that i have just searched and appearntly i can't get microrasboras in australia so what other fish would you recomandalso do you know any plants that i could use as a middle plant that isnt to low that it will be below the forground plant but not to high that it will be above the background plant i was thinking a type of hair grass but im not sure if it would look any good

 

[jakeroberts]

anyone?

 

[Ark]

hi i would go with some sort of small rainbow fish from the pseudomugil family for ur fish and also a good midground plant is eusteralis stellata i grew it fine in my 8g at 2wpg

 

[jakeroberts]

thanks for that how many of the small rainbow fish would you reccomand

 

[Ark]

well in ur tank i wouldnt put more then 5 and go for 4 males and 1 female i went with 4 males and 1 female in my 8g and they bredlook at this site and u can see the many different types http/www.aqua-fish.net/index.php?cur_lan...&section=52

 

[jakeroberts]

Would threadfin rainbow's be any good in my tank

 

[Ark]

no as they get to 2 inches 5cm much too big for your tank try these fishes

pseudumugil furcata
pseudomugil signifer
pseudomugil connieae
pseudomugil mellis
pseudomugil gertrudae
etc

 

[jakeroberts]

thanks for that i was thinking of getting a group of harquelin rasboras instead of the rainbow what do u think