New/old 4.4 Gallon Tank

[magicd]

Hey guys,

I have just taken out my 4.4 UK gallon tank. The size of the tank WxLxD is 22x39x25. As you can see it is very small. I am now thinking to turn it into a planted tank. Is it possible with this tank, please look on for some of my questions . (I may also add some shrimp later on)

First, it will use a undergravel filter which will blow air from a air pump and then shoot it out of the bigger tube leading to the top. Is this enough oxygen for the plants? or do i need to get a air bubble thing?

Secondly, of course i will be using gravel for the tank. How high should it been for the plants?

Thirdly, the lighting wont have to be so bright since it is only a small tank right? so can i just get the lowest watt light i can find?

If you can answer my questions that would be great.
Thanks,
magicd

 

[fozziebear]

you've got it all pretty much the wrong way round, plants need carbon dioxide not oxygen, if theres too much oxygen then the plants wont photosynthesize properly, also undergravel filters arent ideal for growing plants, they make it very hard, you'd be better off going with a small internal filter or a hang on the back filter, and the lighting issue, the smaller the tank the more lighting you need, the larger the tank the less to an extent, id advise you to read the pinned articles at the top of this forum on lighting in the planted tank, carbon dioxide in the planted tank and easy to care for plants, do some reading and it will answer your questiosn for you.

 

[magicd]

you've got it all pretty much the wrong way round, plants need carbon dioxide not oxygen, if theres too much oxygen then the plants wont photosynthesize properly, also undergravel filters arent ideal for growing plants, they make it very hard, you'd be better off going with a small internal filter or a hang on the back filter, and the lighting issue, the smaller the tank the more lighting you need, the larger the tank the less to an extent, id advise you to read the pinned articles at the top of this forum on lighting in the planted tank, carbon dioxide in the planted tank and easy to care for plants, do some reading and it will answer your questiosn for you.

Wow...thanks. Yeh i did read some of the articles at the top. I got confused . But thanks for your reply it was helpful!

 

[lljdma06]

you've got it all pretty much the wrong way round, plants need carbon dioxide not oxygen, if theres too much oxygen then the plants wont photosynthesize properly, also undergravel filters arent ideal for growing plants, they make it very hard, you'd be better off going with a small internal filter or a hang on the back filter, and the lighting issue, the smaller the tank the more lighting you need, the larger the tank the less to an extent, id advise you to read the pinned articles at the top of this forum on lighting in the planted tank, carbon dioxide in the planted tank and easy to care for plants, do some reading and it will answer your questiosn for you.

Actually plants stop photosynthesizing at night, which uses Carbon dioxide, and respire using Oxygen, like animals do, at night. This creates a rise in CO2 levels, producing carbonic acid, and can cause the pH to drop. So, in essence, they need Oxygen too, just in a different way. Just a little science factoid. Though, I'm greatly simplifying the process.

I also advise reading the pinned articles, and installing a HOB filter as your primary source of filtration. I run a 2.5g planted with two HOBs running and they take up much less room than an internal filter.

llj