2.5 G Planted Tank Nano Pre Planning Stages

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Viettxboii

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i really liked the look of lj's 2.5 g -found here-> http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=164428,
I actually went out and bought myself a 2.5g one like that from petsmart, so im wondering...
im planning no co2,no ferts, (unsure about lights yet, but wondering if normal white fluorescent lamps woudl work i have one similar to yours) or if not ill jsut beg myself an old incandescent lamp from someone.. lol
So since your layouts look pretty nice what would you reccomend i do with my tank if it had exact same lighting, and custom filtration(working on it, DIY skimmerless HOB over flow box, where the water will stay in there, basically a sump in the skimmer box with a micron bag, still unbuilt) will provide 38gph filtration as the pump being used is one form an eltie stingray 5, and also this will be for my ct betta)
I want 1 or 2 pieces of driftwood, and as plant choice probabl java moss and java fern, but i have no clue where to locate java moss in my area right now, but i want the tank to have a mossy jungley look for hte back ground and some java fern on the sides, am wondering if this is a good idea. PLantwise also for the intake the strainer im using is something i took from my whisper3i internal , so there is and airline connector, so if i were to inject DIY co2 this would work alright right? where the bubble would be taken into the filter box where hopefully it will stay, or pass thru and get to the impeller where it will be turned ot smaller bubbles or a mist and pumped right back into the tank.
 
i really liked the look of lj's 2.5 g -found here-> http://www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=164428,
I actually went out and bought myself a 2.5g one like that from petsmart, so im wondering...
im planning no co2,no ferts, (unsure about lights yet, but wondering if normal white fluorescent lamps woudl work i have one similar to yours) or if not ill jsut beg myself an old incandescent lamp from someone.. lol
So since your layouts look pretty nice what would you reccomend i do with my tank if it had exact same lighting, and custom filtration(working on it, DIY skimmerless HOB over flow box, where the water will stay in there, basically a sump in the skimmer box with a micron bag, still unbuilt) will provide 38gph filtration as the pump being used is one form an eltie stingray 5, and also this will be for my ct betta)
I want 1 or 2 pieces of driftwood, and as plant choice probabl java moss and java fern, but i have no clue where to locate java moss in my area right now, but i want the tank to have a mossy jungley look for hte back ground and some java fern on the sides, am wondering if this is a good idea. PLantwise also for the intake the strainer im using is something i took from my whisper3i internal , so there is and airline connector, so if i were to inject DIY co2 this would work alright right? where the bubble would be taken into the filter box where hopefully it will stay, or pass thru and get to the impeller where it will be turned ot smaller bubbles or a mist and pumped right back into the tank.

I'm flattered, thank you very much. Do you live near an Office Max or an Office Depot? The light is a 13W U-shaped Compact Fluorescent rated at a full-daylight spectrum. Probably not the best for growing plants, but the job gets done in my tank. I don't recommend incadescent bulbs (too much heat), and the screw-in CFs really won't give you the light spread that you'll need, the coverage is pretty uneven. PetsMart has some good Mopani, over in the reptile section. You couldn't find the little nano filters by RedSea? As far as the CO2 question is concerned, I wouldn't know. I've never tried to connect it that way before.

llj
 
hmm as a 14 year old ... i have no other means of transportation other than bus, (or here in alberta perhaps a car as we can get our learners licnece here at that age, but i have dont have mine yet, but we need a fulyl licenced driver in teh passenger seat) and redsea nano fitlers as far as i know are only at a few lfs (the good lfs) on the other side of the city, hm whats mopani i have no idea lol haha
I have a 13w U-shaped conpact Fluorescent lamp right now.
Also any plant reccomendations?
 
hmm as a 14 year old ... i have no other means of transportation other than bus, (or here in alberta perhaps a car as we can get our learners licnece here at that age, but i have dont have mine yet, but we need a fulyl licenced driver in teh passenger seat) and redsea nano fitlers as far as i know are only at a few lfs (the good lfs) on the other side of the city, hm whats mopani i have no idea lol haha
I have a 13w U-shaped conpact Fluorescent lamp right now.
Also any plant reccomendations?

If you can't build your filter, that nano filter is also sold online, probably in BigAls. Mopani is a type of bogwood from Africa. It is pretty heavy and sinks pretty fast in the aquarium. It does, however, leech tannins, which can make the water look like weak tea, though it lessens with time. Now, I like this look, but others here do not. I pretty much just soak it for a day to weigh it down and then chuck it in, but others will soak it for weeks to leech out the tannins. In my signature, there is a link to a list of plants that are pretty simple to grow and may do well with your setup. I am not a layout expert, but my 2.5g has gone through many stages, and I found, perhaps because of the type of light I'm using, which isn't ideal, that a natural, densly planted, jungle layout has been the best layout for avoiding algae. This has just been my experience, though. You may also want to consider dosing ferts, as I don't think a single betta is going to produce enough waste to feed that many plants. Traditional stocking rules can be bent quite a bit with densly planted tanks.

llj
 
Alright,as a clean up crew , and since im probably running RUGF and a hang on back sump(contained in a skimmerless overflow box), i may have 1 mystery snail(this is hte kind that doesnt munch on plants right?) and several ghost shrimp, and ghost shrimp are being added 1st,only after it will be densely planted i will add the snail.
Plantwise i want to get something i can attain easily locally, and BigAls is too far for me (35th ave...thats only...about 130 blocks?+w.e street its on, plus i have to cross the river valley...)
So my only source of plants would be petsmart right now, and they dont carry java moss, as for ferts... well ill buy some if i get the money..
 
Alright i got my lighting and filtration done on this tank.
Filtration is a 1 gal sump that sits behidn the tank, its roughly the same hieght as the tank so water will not overflow into the sump.
Lighting is a 6500k 15 watt screw in CPL over the tank, where i have the canopy jutting out slightly to make room for hte input and output hoses, however one hose is facing down into teh substrat pushing out all thewaste. but th waste is accumulating at the surface though.. all this white stuff at the surface, because of this im opting to replace this sump for a aquaclear 20 i ahve sitting there, and ill reduce the flow... should i do this?
Will go driftwood shoppingin a few days... not sure when to put plants in however..
Im going to have a moss carpet at hte front and on the driftwood, then some plants around the driftwood and behind it, also i need to get a background
im either going light green or black.
PLant suggestiosn for the back? Java fern is probably one.
So 15 watts over a 2.5 gallon makes abouth 6wpg right?
 
Anubias's are great little plants, tolerable of even the lowest light, many other mosses such as taiwan,christmas and flame moss etc are tolerable of low light aswell.Good fast growers are rotala rotundifolia and hygrophilia polysperma rosanverg.There are also many other plants listed in lj's link which would be great for your tank.15 watts over 2.5 gal is 6 wpg.But for such a small tank the rules do not apply so I think that is about low/med for that size tank?
 
i consider mine a low light plant low to midlow(if that exists..)
I see i want to make a up specific list, so Anubias, Java Moss, and Java Fern are on the list.. i wat a good mossy look to this tank though however so lots of java moss and probably 1 java fern im goign to grow and 1 anubias..
anything about my filter guys?
 
Anubias's are great little plants, tolerable of even the lowest light, many other mosses such as taiwan,christmas and flame moss etc are tolerable of low light aswell.Good fast growers are rotala rotundifolia and hygrophilia polysperma rosanverg.There are also many other plants listed in lj's link which would be great for your tank.15 watts over 2.5 gal is 6 wpg.But for such a small tank the rules do not apply so I think that is about low/med for that size tank?

You have slightly more light than I do. Mine is very much a low-light tank You may get better growth in yours. R. rotundifolia grew, but didn't thrive in my tank. Bacopa caroliniana, however, is thriving. It's kind of trial and error. Anubias, crypts, mosses, java fern, are pretty much sure bets. Even HM did alright when I had more waste production (the tank house livebearer fry for a while, they produce a lot of waste). It would probably be alright now that I have more fish in the tank. It didn't fare so well when the tank housed a single betta.

llj
 
yah i want to add something ot up hte bioload a bit to help out the plants... what should i stick in there?
100_1097.jpg

as of now my tank looks very empty..
 

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