# Lighting/plants/snails for 5 gallon tank



## GoldieCrazie (Oct 2, 2010)

The hood that came with my five gallon tank has a clear flourescent bulb I am guessing it is 15 watts and it has a reflector. Will this light work for growing plants? If not any recommendations?

These are the plants I am pondering over 

Rotala Indica (Rotala roundifolia)

Tiger Lotus, Red (Nymphaea zenkeri)

Subulata, Dwarf (Sagittaria subulata) 10 Plants per order

Heteranthera Stargrass (Heteranthera zosterfolia)

Bacopa australis (Bacopa australis)

Dwarf Baby Tears (Hemianthus callitrichoides)(potted)

My PH seems to be 8+ and my water is quite alkaline; will these plants work? Also, the website I am considering ordering from wants $15.52 for 2nd day air shipping. Is this reasonable for plants?

So far the only snails I have tried are nerite snails that my lfs special ordered for me and they died one right away and the other lived for a few weeks.
What snails should I try?

Thank you guys for your input!


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## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

When you say that the light for your 5 gallon tank has a 'clear fluorescent bulb' it makes me wonder if it could be incandescent rather than fluorescent. Is the glass of the bulb transparent, or is it coated with white stuff on the inside so that you can't see through it? If it is incandescent it would have a tungsten filament and probably would be only good for low light plants such as _Anubias, Cryptocoryne, Microsorum_ and some of the aquatic mosses. See the PlantFinder for a more comprehensive list of low light plants. 
If it is a fluorescent bulb, it still may be a rather weak source of light. Manufacturers usually put in a weak fluorescent bulb so that you are less likely to get green water. They do not think in terms of people wanting to grow plants. However, with a fluorescent bulb, you may be able to increase the size of your plant list.


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## vicky (Feb 18, 2010)

How about a pic of the light so we are sure what it is? Is there room for a spiral compact fluorescent?

As for the plants, I would peruse the For Sale or Trade forum.

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/sale-trade/

You might not get exactly the list you are looking for, but you might find a very nice assortment for a very reasonable price.

As for the snails, many are trying to get rid of them. They often hitchhike in on your plants. I like MTS (Malaysian Trumpet Snails) to work the soil. I haven't tried any others on purpose.


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## GoldieCrazie (Oct 2, 2010)

Here are the pictures of the hood and bulb. The gold part of the bulb says 120v 15w china. A spiral will not fit in the hood. Honestly, I would really like to not use a hood and hang lighting from my ceiling over the tank.

I will check out the sale and trade forum, Thank you!


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## vicky (Feb 18, 2010)

Excellent idea to remove the hood and hang a fixture. Makes it easier for plants to grow above the water and get the aerial advantage - easier access to CO2. Plus I love the look. I am fond of compact fluorescents - the spiral bulbs - as they are very cost effective - read cheap. And they come in different wattages and color temperatures so you can fine tune that in addition to being able to easily raise or lower the fixture to control growth and algae. You should end up with a very attractive tank, can't wait to see pics.


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## GoldieCrazie (Oct 2, 2010)

Great! I am going to make a trip to home depot tomorrow and get lighting supplies, when my plants arrive I will post pictures of it all planted.


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## Jark (Feb 6, 2010)

For my 5.5 I use just a cheep aluminum shop clamp light and a 11wt spiral florescent bulb 6000K Daylight. It isn't the most elegant setup but it is cheep and sufficient. If you want something to look a little nicer just get a nice desk lamp or a hanging cone fixture and aim it down on the tank. A 11-15 wt daylight spiral bulb should be perfect.


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## GoldieCrazie (Oct 2, 2010)

Thank you for all your guys' input. I have decided to hang (from the ceiling) a shop light with a 14 watt daylight bulb over the tank. I am also going to switch my goldie tank over to this type of lighting, I love looking into my tank from the top and hoods just get in the way! lol Also I figure it is being proactive for when my amazons start creeping their way out. 

I found some great plants in the sale/trade forum for my 5 gal and goldie tank, I also ordered more plants online. I have the dirt in the tank drying out. One question about the dirt; can I go with half an inch of dirt and half an inch of gravel? When I marked my lines at one inch each it took up lots of space!

Oh, my betta (Finneus) is in an old costco animal cookie container with some hornwort while his home is being remodeled. 

Can I keep a frog in this little tank with Finneus? Should I start another thread about this?


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## Axelrodi202 (Jun 7, 2009)

A frog would be a bit iffy, depending on both animal's individual temperaments. Especially in such a small tank. And for small tanks, I usually just use a CFL desk lamp for light.


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## Angie (Dec 4, 2005)

I love my trumpet snails and have a ton of them. I didn't have to buy them either. I do thin them out from time to time but they are great little creatures. 
As far as plants go what works for one person in their NPT might not work for another. So I just bought low light easy plants I liked. Kept up with what worked and what didn't. And from time to time I try something new. Some plants might work in one of my plants but melt/die right off in a different one. 
So just jump in and see what works for you.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Just a note about the spiral compact fluorescent bulbs--they work very well, and the color looks good if you can find the 6500K type. (Walmart sells them.) Tests with a light meter show that SCF bulbs give more useful light if they are mounted vertically (socket up) than if they are horizontal (socket on one side). The shop lights hold the bulbs vertically (good!) but some desk lamps do not.


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## vicky (Feb 18, 2010)

Yea Costco! I would wait a bit for the frogs. In my experience they need a very well cycled, mature tank. I would start with at least two, as I hear they prefer company, but the cookie jar just isn't big enough for two plus a Betta. I don't know how anyone manages to keep them alive in the tiny boxes they sell them in in gift shops, but it probably involves nearly or slowly starving them to death. If you haven't had them before you will want to read up on them as they commonly get a fungus that will kill them without proper intensive treatment. Yet, they are such a delight to watch. I had three in my 7 gallon with two ottos, and it seemed perfect. I now have a few baby plecos in there as well as a small pair of yo yo loaches for snail control, but I have to watch the tank like a hawk and am back to water changes and lots of floaters. I am dry starting a new 55 gallon to absorb all of the pleco babies from anything in the house that holds water, and will move the loaches to a different snail infested tank. Yet, if I upgraded the 7 gallon to a fifteen gallon, I could leave the loaches and maybe even add another frog. It's a slippery slope, I tell ya.


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## GoldieCrazie (Oct 2, 2010)

I received an email today saying my plants will be shipped on Wed. and will be here Fri.  Hopefully, I can post pictures of how it turns out Friday night. 

I won't add any frogs in their with Finneus, it sounds like it would be too tight of a fit for a 5 gallon. I will just put a large snail in their with him. 
I would really like to get some trumpet snails, but my lfs doesn't stock them. They only stock a large snail....I don't remember what they are called....

Finneus is not liking being in the cosco jar, he looks depressed, and I haven't seen him eat yet. He usually wiggles around all excited at feeding time and quickly eats his bloodworms. I put his heater (unplugged) in there (he has an odd attachment to his heater LOL), and a large bundle of hornwort (another one of his favorite things). 
Any ideas of what I can do for him to help him through this week?


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## GoldieCrazie (Oct 2, 2010)

I planted my 5 gallon today! I am really happy with the way it turned out. After several trips to Home Depot trying out different lamps, I found a compact 10 watt flourescent daylight bulb that fits my hood; its a good thing too because while I was planting the tank, I decided to leave the tank in my kitchen. Even my husband likes having it there! 
Finneus (my betta) is not acting himself, his fins are blown, he lays on his side a lot and tries to wedge himself underneath things. I was hoping getting him back into a real tank would perk him up, hes been in since about 2:30 this afternoon with no improvement. I shouldn't have torn his tank down so early, I could have aired out the dirt in a different container and left him in his tank until the plants arrived.:der:

Here are plants in the tank:
Red tiger lotus bulb - I put it half way into the gravel, though I have no idea if I planted it upside down or not!
Anacharis
dwarf baby tears
heterranthera stargrass
ludwigia repens
rotala idica
dwarf subulata

I attached a couple pictures. 
Thank you everyone for all your input!


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