Help With Setting Up 5.5 Gallon Cardinal Tetra Tank

[Cardinal Tetra]

Hello everyone, this is my first post. I'm not new to the hobby but I'm not exactly an expert either. I just went out this week and purchased a 5.5 tank, an Aqueon glass tank with and a Aqueon 16" deluxe fluorescent hood, and a Tetra Whisper PF10. Everything cost me about 80 dollars, expensive I know but I've always wanted a little 5.5 gallon, I've seen some really awesome setups on then net. I'm not sure of what heater to purchase though. I was hoping someone here could give me a good heater suggestion?

I plan to keep 5 cardinal tetras in here after the cycle is done in May, I'm going for a planted south American setup. And maybe a cory dora cat fish to clean up the bottom. What plants would you suggest for me? I'm currently usingv just black sand and would also like to know what I could use for nutrients in there? I will be changing the water weekly to keep the nitrate down. Thanks for the advice.

 

[BettaBoysGirl]

Hello everyone, this is my first post. I'm not new to the hobby but I'm not exactly an expert either. I just went out this week and purchased a 5.5 tank, an Aqueon glass tank with and a Aqueon 16" deluxe fluorescent hood, and a Tetra Whisper PF10. Everything cost me about 80 dollars, expensive I know but I've always wanted a little 5.5 gallon, I've seen some really awesome setups on then net. I'm not sure of what heater to purchase though. I was hoping someone here could give me a good heater suggestion?

I plan to keep 5 cardinal tetras in here after the cycle is done in May, I'm going for a planted south American setup. And maybe a cory dora cat fish to clean up the bottom. What plants would you suggest for me? I'm currently usingv just black sand and would also like to know what I could use for nutrients in there? I will be changing the water weekly to keep the nitrate down. Thanks for the advice.

Hey, Congrats on the new tank! I hope it turns out awesome! I use a Hydor Theo heaters in my 4 and 5 gallon aquariums. They work great for me. They are adjustable too. As for plants... Hmm... Im no expert on them. In mine, I have a Anubias Nana, the rest are fake... Maybe trying an amazon sword. Heres how mine turned out! (The Square one has a lot more plants now)

 

[Cardinal Tetra]

Those are nice tanks for sure. Thanks for the suggestions. Does anyone know what I can use for nutrients for the plants, or do I not need any if using these types? Thanks!

 

[OldMan47]

Once you start growing plants, you are no longer just in the fish keeping hobby. At that point you are also entering the plant growing hobby. Both can be very rewarding but are not the same thing. Fish produce nitrates as waste, after processing by bacteria. Plants think that ammonia and nitrates are food and they will use all that they can of it. If you get some low light plants, you should do fine with a typical aquarium lighting fixture. That would include Anubias nana, Java ferns, Java moss and many of the smaller Cryptocorynes. As far as nutrients, if you do not try to grow your plants completely out of control with fancy light fixtures, the plants will get all of the nutrients that they need from atmospheric CO2, fish food and fish wastes and the trace minerals will usually show up in the water from water changes. That is what I have been using to grow these plants for over a year now. The tank is packed with fish and gets fed generously, some would say excessively. I recently measured the nitrates before a water change, the first in 3 months, and found 10 ppm of nitrates.

Blooming Anubias nana in my endler tank, no artificial fertilizers.

Cryptocorynes, the big leaves, java fern, the smaller plant on the left, anacharis, the stem plant, all under a total cover of duckweed which is floating. This tank also gets no added fertilizers or CO2.