# Choosing the right tank for NPT



## Koda (Jul 31, 2012)

So tomorrow is my birthday and I'm thinking my gift to myself will be to start a small NPT. It will be hard. I haven't had any success with regular planted tanks (everything but the anubias, java ferns, java moss, and marimos had melted/died), but I really want to try it.

I'm mostly worried about getting the wrong light, but I'll need to start with getting the tank itself, and want help picking the right one. I want it to be an upgrade for my new little fishy, Chimmer, who is now in a 2.5 gallon tank, but the only surface left in my room for his tank to sit on is a side table so it can't get much bigger than 5 gallons.
I love the look of the fluval spec 5, marineland crescent 5, and fluval edge 6 (in that order). These all come with lights in their kits. Are any of them acceptable for a NPT, or will they need to be replaced with something else? If they do, which ones are the easiest to remove and replace? And what should I replace them with?
Any suggestions for other tanks that have a similar style to any of these? (I love seamless or rounded edges)


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## Crowntails (Feb 12, 2013)

Go with the Fluval Spec V. It's light works well enough for low-light plants and I know plenty who use the stock light that comes with the tank.


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## xShainax (Feb 11, 2012)

Happy early B-day. ^_^


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## Koda (Jul 31, 2012)

I was thinking of getting Hygrophila, green Cabomba, wisteria, dwarf Sagittaria, any variety of Vallisneria, and frogbit. Is the spec's light good for all of those?
Otherwise, I was beginning to lean toward the marineland with a different clamp on light.
And thanks xShainax


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## Stone (Jan 6, 2013)

The valls will most likely melt away and may or may not come back mine is finally starting to grow back after it all melted away I really like the cabomba really easy to grow. wistera is fairly easy, water sprite is pretty easy it is just very delicate, I was growing all these with rather low light but yeah I have upgraded


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## Koda (Jul 31, 2012)

I may remove the valls from my list then. Although, I would like a plant with that long thin look in the tank somewhere :/
By "Hygrophila" I meant corymbosa or siamensis. I forgot wisteria was one too. I do still want the wisteria as well, but I just thought I needed to clarify that. 
And thanks, my dad just bought me the spec V so I'll be working on setting it up soon. (He was down to getting me capitals tickets or the tank, but the tank was on sale and I had already been to a lot of games this season so....  )
So I got the tank and the substrate....time to order plants  yay


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## bettafishfins (Apr 19, 2013)

Happy Birthday!


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## Stone (Jan 6, 2013)

there are a few kinds of anacharis I think thats the spelling they are fairly easy


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## Koda (Jul 31, 2012)

Thanks bettafishfins 

Anacharis isn't really one of my favorites. They make me think of jelly-fish for some reason >.<


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## Esahc (Mar 27, 2013)

If you haven't bought it yet, I've got the marineland crescent 5(not a NPT though), and replaced the stock light with a cheap desk lamp with a daylight CFL bulb that seems to work okay. The only thing is it's a bit short for the long flowy plants. It might just be me, but I'd had some Egeria Densia in there, and they ended up growing sideways and putting roots out all over the place, so I had to pull them out. the Wendtii, luwigia, water wisteria and water sprite are all doing well though. 

It is a really pretty tank, though, and the shape makes it look a lot deeper than it really is. Definitely make sure your heater and all will fit on that tiny back wall though. I accidentally got one too big and it's kinda awkwardly taking up a lot more space than it should.


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## Koda (Jul 31, 2012)

Actually I did end up getting the spec V, but thanks for the tip. I think that makes me more glad I got the spec instead. I hadn't thought of how it's shape and detentions would make it hard to outfit with the proper gear. Also, the long and narrow look of the spec is really growing on me. I haven't even got it completely set up yet and I can't stop looking at it. >.<

So far I've just got the sand/dirt and driftwood in it and some of the few plants I could identify from my local aquarium store (with more coming in the mail). It's making me glad I decided to start this project. 

I've already spotted a snail or two from the plants I just got. They're not ramshorn but probably just pond snails. Will those do the trick? Or should I try and get some rams too?


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