# my 2.5 gallon tank project.



## megaredize (May 21, 2012)

I have a 2.5 gallon tank that my female betta is in. The story of how and why i got her is here http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=274682

Anyways I want to plant the tank. I have a lamp over the tank right now which is a LED bulb. not sure the actual wattage but the out put is as bright as a 25 watt bulb. I only have two anubias right now tied to a rock but they are two anubias that have been in a bucket for a long time so there is some leaves i have to chop off and algae i have to scrub off. i also have 1 marimo ball and 4 really small marimos. 

I bought flourite substrate for it. Im waiting to buy more plants to put it in. My LFS usually has easy to medium plants so im hoping my light will be good enough. Got to wait till next week for their plant shipment to come in. 

I also bought the Azoo palm filter online so i will have that on the tank it is super small and perfect for tanks under 5 gallons. It only filters 15 GPH and has an adjustable flow. i have seen a bunch of videos on Youtube of people using this filter in a 2.5 gallon tank with a betta.

Here is my tank so far


and my Cutey


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## babystarz (Aug 3, 2012)

Very cool, sounds like you'll have a pretty tank once everything is put together! Your anubias are impressive.


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## gorillakev (Feb 21, 2013)

Wow I thought the tank was not filled with water until I seen the second pic. Water is very clear, nicely done


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## Niece (Feb 27, 2012)

Very cute tank.
Can I ask where you got it, and if they carry 3 or 3.5 gallons? :]


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## cowboy (Apr 14, 2013)

Can you tell me what heater that is?


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## megaredize (May 21, 2012)

@babystarz ty we have had them for awhile so even when they have not been in the best locations they have still grown. I had one flower for me a few months ago it was neat.

@gorillakev I cleaned the front of the glass with a half water half vinegar solution because the tank was still kinda of dirty from being in storage. I still need to scrub the inside

@Niece I got the tank at petsmart I think the next size up is 5 gallons if you want a tank like this. I dont think they make plain tanks in 3 or 3.5. Although they should

@cowboy it is the Hydor Theo 25 watt adjustable heater


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## cowboy (Apr 14, 2013)

I for some reason thought the hydor was a lot longer than what your picture looks like. That just may fit in my 2 gallon good. It's roughly 10" tall but minus the base and it's maybe 8? Thanks. Looks good

Hmm just checked the specs. It sure doesn't look like 10" in your tank


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## megaredize (May 21, 2012)

where i got it it says the 25 watt and 50 watt are only 7 inches long. then the 100 watt one is bigger


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## Niece (Feb 27, 2012)

megaredize said:


> @babystarz ty we have had them for awhile so even when they have not been in the best locations they have still grown. I had one flower for me a few months ago it was neat.
> 
> @gorillakev I cleaned the front of the glass with a half water half vinegar solution because the tank was still kinda of dirty from being in storage. I still need to scrub the inside
> 
> ...


 
Thanks! :]


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## Lisa1010 (Aug 29, 2012)

I have the same tank and actually the same plant you have but much smaller as well as a moss ball. I was trying to put other plants in the tank but every time I have added a new plant, that plant dies after about a week or two. I have small white gravel in the bottom of the tank and 1 female betta in the tank. I do a 100% cleaning and water change where I take everything out of the tank and rinse in hot water then put everything back in the tank and add the betta back after a short time. I have had my betta for a year and she is still alive so I don't know what I am doing wrong.

I will be watching this thread to see how you progress with plants. Do you use fertilizers or plant food? Any help you could give me would be greatly appreciated!

Lisa


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## megaredize (May 21, 2012)

100% water changes is not necessary with small tanks even without filters when you have live plants. I just do 2 large like 80% water changes a week. I never remove the fish or decor. Some of the crud that gets down into the gravel your plants actually like. you can use a small siphon to keep the gravel clean instead of rinsing it. that is the only thing i could think of that might be killing off the plants. anubias are hardy and dont like to be planted so it doesnt matter what you do to those. also some plants require the right substrate. i dont like the idea of dirt and then capping the dirt that is why i bought the flourite gravel.it actually contains fertilizers in it that plants need. I havent used any ferts yet although i do have flourish, and excel im waiting to get the substrate in and filter in and more plants before i do all that.


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## megaredize (May 21, 2012)

Changed the tank around. Firstly I lost my little female Cutey . she didnt show signs of illness or anything.

I went to my LFS today and bought a male HM today. He is metallic. pretty sure a dragon scale. very nice. especially since i couldnt really tell what he was when i picked him because of the blue water!

Found a piece of driftwood I have used before so i boiled it for 15-20 mins just to make sure it was clean again. i stuck my anubias in a couple of hole and i took out my ceramic betta log. Not sure if i will keep the whole driftwood when i put the substrate in and actually plant it or maybe cut the wood in half and use part.

Here is a pic of the tank now


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## megaredize (May 21, 2012)

*Got my Palm Filter today!*

I got my filter today. It is the Azoo palm filter. It only filters 16 Gallons per hour and has an adjustable flow. It is so small but awesome since it is like any other HOB filter just small and good for nano tanks. It comes with a sponge, a black bio sponge I believe and surprisingly enough comes with a prefilter sponge for the intake. But I don't need that. 

I did not use the sponges that come with the filter instead I cut pieces from a sponge that I buy and I also have filter floss so I cut some of that too. I also have seachem Matrix in a filter bag stuffed at the back. It didnt fit much of the stones but I got as much as i could put in. Also put in a bunch of nutrafin cycle and I'll keep using that to help. 

I have it at the lowest flow and I dont think it is going to bother my betta who I have named Eks (pronounced X) 

I still didn't put my flourite substrate in yet. Waiting till I get plants which will hopefully be Friday. 

Here is a couple of pics of the filter if you are interested. Right now at Dr. Foster and Smith this Azoo palm filter is only 6.99


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## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

He's a gorgeous Betta. I love the metallic ones.


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## megaredize (May 21, 2012)

Thanks. i really like dragon scales and i have never seen a black metallic betta like him before at my LFS


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## WZ9V (Oct 3, 2013)

If your looking for a 3 gallon, Deep Blue a professional makes one.


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## megaredize (May 21, 2012)

Haven't posted in awhile. I finally got around to putting the flourite in the tank and added a couple new plants. one is a sword. I think the other is a crypt not sure and some kind of hair grass. i plan on trimming the hair grass just not yet. im going to let it set it's roots down first. Took the drift wood out. I figured it was too big for this small tank with the added plants. Here are some pics. the water is still a bit cloudy but i rinsed rinsed and rinsed the heck out of that flourite. it was SO dirty.


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## kyle89 (Mar 1, 2013)

looks good. i would try to get a small piece of drifwood or a rock for the back corner by the heater to make it more natural looking. it looks really great! i have the same hydor heater but it looks different


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## kyle89 (Mar 1, 2013)

This is what my two hydors look like but in 25watt and 50watt


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## Bombalurina (Oct 10, 2011)

May I make an asthetic suggestion?  I think a plain black background would make this set-up look amazing. It would make the betta's colours pop, and make the plants look more vivid. It would also remove the visual distraction of seeing through the tank to the other side.


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