# [Wet Thumb Forum]-This is my 5gal tank info. and pic



## 10GALAQUATIC (Apr 18, 2005)

I really like a small El natural tank (no more than 10 gal). This is a new tank that I just setup yesterday.

Tank: 5gal. Hex. PH 7.2, KH 120-180, GH 150, Temp 75F with heater.

Plants: Cryptocoryne balansae,Cryptocoryne wendtii red, Microsorium pteropus "Windelov", Vesicularia dubyana "Java moss", Rotala rotundifolia, Echinodorus tenellus "pigmy chain swords", Cabomba Caroliniana, Alternanthera reineckii, Nymphaea lotus.

Substrate: 1inc gravel and 1inc Expert gardener brand poting soil it has sphagnum peat moss, composted forest, lime, horticultural perlite.

Lighting: GE 13w soft white(use clamp on lamp and none tank cover for I'll add floating plant in the future). 10hr/day

Water Circulation:Whisper In-tank Filter 10i (it has activated carbon cartridge which I removed it already). I add a bag of mussel grid instade.

Creature: 5 Otocinclus sp. and 10 cherry red shrimps.

Any suggestion that I can do to improve this tank would be helpful.


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## flagg (Nov 29, 2004)

10G- You tank sounds nice! I'm still trying to get some balansae for my 30g, as I really like the way it looks... Ayway...

Why are you thinking of adding cuttle bone to the filter? Do you have soft water? Also, you might want to add some more fast growing plants and some floating plants too. As to hard water nutrients, I think I've read that lime (which your soil contains) can also provide some of the hardwater nutrients... but I may be wrong... I'd also leave the light on for 10 - 12 hours a day... unless it's by a window and gets lots of outside light.

-ricardo


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## 10GALAQUATIC (Apr 18, 2005)

I want to add the cuttle bone in to the filter because I didn't add the oyster grid at the first time. Right now my water is 7.2 Ph. I read that most of the plants do well in slightly hard water (I'm not sure that ph7.2 is enough). Is it ok to add the cuttle bone in?


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## Paul Higashikawa (Mar 18, 2004)

Eh...you must have heard it wrong or misunderstood. Most plants, if anything, prefer soft water. Some from Africa do withstand water with higher pH. Now, this will also get into all that hardness stuff. Most if not all plants prefer soft water, as in terms of lower KH and GH. In Houston, our water is quite hard. KH reading varies greatly. However, the higher it gets the harder it seems to be for plants to survive.

All in all, you don't need to add cuttle bones.


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## Miss Fishy (May 13, 2006)

10GALAQUATIC, your pH of 7.2 does not indicate how hard or soft your water is. pH and hardness are different things. You need to get a general hardness test kit to find out the hardness of your tank's water. 

Paul, perhaps other things in Houston water are the problem for plants (e.g. metals, high pH). As I understand it, GH is simply a measure of calcium and magnesium. Since these nutrients are required in large quantities by plants and are also pretty harmless, I don't see why they alone would adversely affect the plants. 

From Alex.


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## Paul Higashikawa (Mar 18, 2004)

I think the problem is the KH, which can vary a great deal from area to area in my city. We have no problem growing most kinds of plants, with the exception of a few such as Tonina spp. According to my friends, this is one(of many?!)reasons why some plants don't fare as well. So the simple fact that this is happening is just mind-boggling. Now, if we were to not be able to grow any plants at all then I could perhaps understand the metal present in the water part or high pH. However, high pH can be countered by CO2 injection due to the release of H ions from break down of carbonate(or is it bicarbonate?). But my issue is this is just a particular group of plants that are having difficulty settling down. That's why it is a strange phenomenon.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

> Originally posted by 10GALAQUATIC:
> I really like a small El natural tank (no more than 10 gal). This is a new tank that I just setup yesterday.
> 
> Plants: balansae,wendtii red, Java Lace Fern, Java moss, Red Temple, Micro tenellus-pigmy chain swords.
> ...


Dear Galactica,

Your tank may be fine the way you set it up. However, I've advised hobbyists to call up their water departments when they first set up their tanks. Hobbyists need to know whether the water contains chloramine and whether it is hard or soft. If you are paying taxes, then these "water treatment people" (who are being funded by taxpayer money) should be more than happy to answer your questions or point to where you can get that information. I've found them to be most helpful. Here's Greeley's website with their phone numbers.

Greeley CO Water Department

If Greeley water is hard, your tank with that nice neutral pH should be fine for most ordinary aquarium plants. If its soft, then your soil, which supposedly contains some lime, may release enough calcium, magnesium, etc for the plants without the cuttle bone. However, you're operating blind here. pH tells you nothing about whether the water has enough calcium or magesium for plants.

Of course, you can do like many folks. Set up the tank blind and then if the plants don't grow, worry about hardness.


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## 10GALAQUATIC (Apr 18, 2005)

Thank you all for your suggestions, And Diana for the useful link


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## 10GALAQUATIC (Apr 18, 2005)

this is the tank that I'm talking about


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## 10GALAQUATIC (Apr 18, 2005)

The light (Philips 50w Agro-Lite 10hr/day)


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## Miss Fishy (May 13, 2006)

I think your tank will look lovely when it grows in a bit. Nice driftwood! What fish, if any, are you going to keep in it?

From Alex.


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