Plant newb & 5g hex.

[Danzig]

Hello, i bought one of those acrylic regent 5g hex's from walmart. It has the bio wheel filter up top, i replaced the light with a 13w compact flourescent and will be adding a 50w heater.
My plan is to have either a male CT Betta or Dwarf Puffer along with an Oto ( since i cant find ghost shrimp) in there.
This is my 4th tank and figure ide like to try a planted one.
Which types of plants would be ok for a tank of this size with no added CO2?.
I also have a concern about plant fertilizer & fish safety. Are most fertilizers for aquatic plants safe for the fish as well?.
Any advice / feedback appreciated.

[WaterPond]

well... welcome to the planted tank world. 13w is really low light for a 5gal, so you will want to stick with:

Java fern: http://www.fantasyreef.com/database/index.php?p=getitem&db_id=8&item_id=54

Java moss: http://www.fantasyreef.com/database/index.php?p=getitem&db_id=8&item_id=16

anubias nana: http://www.fantasyreef.com/database/index.php?p=getitem&db_id=8&item_id=2

asian ambulia: http://www.fantasyreef.com/database/index.php?p=getitem&db_id=8&item_id=73

And pretty much any Crytocoryne species you can find. They will be labelled as crypt _______(whatever the variation happens to be.)

hope that helps.

[Danzig]

That helps a ton, thank you for the links and your advice.

[thegrandpoohbah]

Any aquarium plant fertilizer should be safe for fish. Be careful with ones that contain copper though if you plan on keeping invertebrates (snails, shrimp, etc).

Like WaterPond said, you really are limited to small, low-light requiring plants with your current set-up. That doesn't mean that you can't have a nice planted tank though. Find a small piece of driftwood and get creative with the aquascaping and it could look really good.

One other thing I would do is get rid of the 50W heater and find a 25W. In such a small tank it would be easy to heat the water too quickly and cook all your fish.

[Danzig]

Ty, ive been looking for a 25w but to no avail. i dont think anywhere in this whole town sells 25w except one lfs that sells the stealth one for $50 and im not paying that.
might just wait until i place my next order to pets&ponds to order one.
Thanks for the fertilizer info, ill be sure to watch the copper content.

[WaterPond]

I use a 50w in my 5gallon planted... no problems at all. In fact, it hold a steady temperature of 74F

[CACAdmin]

Just don't do what I did with my 5g Hex tank. I bought one of those tiny immersible heaters (can't remember the wattage) but it has no thermostat on it. It was supposed to increase the temps in small (2-5g) tanks by up to 2 degrees above the room temp. Well, it worked fine for a while until the day it fried my fish.:swoon:

Now I don't use a heater at all. The 10 watt CF light in it tend to keep the tank plenty warm enough for my platys and snails(around 78). I do however keep the light on about 12-14 hours a day. (My room temp hovers around 72).

Hope this helps.