Is This Ok.....

[Azaezl]

Hi,

I have a 5 gal hex that up until recently housed a betta, he died so it's now empty. The planted tanks on here have really inspired me to give it a go, esp. george farmers nano I originally had 2 amazon sword plants & a fake vallisneria. So today I went out and got a siamensis and siamenis B and a moss ball, here's how it all looks;

Couple of questions...

Should I have a fish in there, or will they thrive without?

The light is only 6watts (not 10 like I originally thought) so I don't think I need C02 but I'm assuming I need to add fertillizer or something similar, can anyone recommend one?

Also my largest tank (juwel 240) has a spongey type 3d background and I've been thinking would it be possible to create a carpet type effect with some riccia / java moss? What I was thinking was getting some and using a needle and thread, weaving it on(if that makes sense?) and letting it spread until the whole thing was covered, does this sound like a good idea / even possible?

Any tips, advice or plant sugestions are more than welcome

 

[cheesy feet]

Hi,

I have a 5 gal hex that up until recently housed a betta, he died so it's now empty. The planted tanks on here have really inspired me to give it a go, esp. george farmers nano I originally had 2 amazon sword plants & a fake vallisneria. So today I went out and got a siamensis and siamenis B and a moss ball, here's how it all looks;

Couple of questions...

Should I have a fish in there, or will they thrive without?
Do you mean the plants?They will thrive without fish.But amano/cherry shrimp & ottos can help control algae.

The light is only 6watts (not 10 like I originally thought) so I don't think I need C02 but I'm assuming I need to add fertillizer or something similar, can anyone recommend one?
I don't really know much about ferts,but seachem excel is supposed to be good for adding co2 ,it can also kill algae & it has other trace elements.

Also my largest tank (juwel 240) has a spongey type 3d background and I've been thinking would it be possible to create a carpet type effect with some riccia / java moss? What I was thinking was getting some and using a needle and thread, weaving it on(if that makes sense?) and letting it spread until the whole thing was covered, does this sound like a good idea / even possible?

I think it would be very hard to do it with riccia(as you need to rip it out every once in a while).But with java moss,or even other mosses(willow,christmas,flame,weaping etc),you would get a good effect over time.You would need alot of it to get it started quickly though.

Any tips, advice or plant sugestions are more than welcome

I'm not really keen on the big sword plants,maybe some smaller alternatives?

 

[Underwurlde]

You don't have to have fish in there, but fish waste can provide useful to plants.

Ferts, for trace I'd go with Seachem Flourish or Tropica Master Grow. For NPK, I'd PMDD the rest.

Simple.

Andy

 

[PaperArrow]

Super moss ball btw,
Fish are not essential to keeping a healthy planted tank, their waste will be of a benefit, but as above missing nutrients can be substituted by dosing ferts,

But i would add, if you plan to do both (ferts and fish) as this is your first planted, i would spend a few weeks getting used to dosing the ferts and monitoring the water stats, as this alone can be challenging in a smaller tank. When you feel confident with your fert routine and stats then think about the livestock.

Good luck +
Happy Easter

 

[Azaezl]

I'm not really keen on the big sword plants,maybe some smaller alternatives?

Is that just you personal preference or do you think they won't grow well, etc?

You don't have to have fish in there, but fish waste can provide useful to plants.

Ferts, for trace I'd go with Seachem Flourish or Tropica Master Grow. For NPK, I'd PMDD the rest.

Simple.

I'll leave the fish for now then You lost me at the abbreviation(but I'm sure somewhere on the board it I can find what you mean) So simple to you.... to me LOL

Super moss ball btw,
Fish are not essential to keeping a healthy planted tank, their waste will be of a benefit, but as above missing nutrients can be substituted by dosing ferts,

But i would add, if you plan to do both (ferts and fish) as this is your first planted, i would spend a few weeks getting used to dosing the ferts and monitoring the water stats, as this alone can be challenging in a smaller tank. When you feel confident with your fert routine and stats then think about the livestock.

I love moss balls! I saw some on ebay a few months back and knew I had to get some, they look like little furry animals, kinda like a green hamster curled up LOL

As I just said I'm gonna go without fish, maybe permananetly, I'm hoping to grow the plants well enough to transfer the new growth over to my other tnaks and therefore saving money in the longrun. I've already taken a few smaller bits off one of the siamensis and put it in one of my other tanks.

Thanks for all your replies and sorry for the slow reply, I tend to come on here read loads of posts and then only get an hour here or there to do all my posting.

Oh also is sand ok as a substrate? I took the black gravel I had in there out but if it's gonna be easier to grow the plants in gravel then I'll change back.

Oh and the moss ball, does anyone know how you end up with more? I mean do you just rip it in half, let it grow again, rip those 2 balls in half, let them grow etc etc...as it is quite a big ball(I made sure she grabbed the largest) so half of it would be plenty in the lil hex.

Thanks in advance