can I plant this tank?

[kimmers318]

I was given an eclipse II which is a cute little 2 gallon aquarium, which although not good for much might be perfect for the shrimp I brought home last weekend! It says it has a 7 watt incadescent bulb, which my limited plant knowledge says should work for a (easy) planted aquarium.
What do you plant gurus think?
I would prefer a sand bottom, and can't stand flourite, plus not sure how plant substrate would or would not affect my shrimp. I do know at least with the cherry shrimp dosing with iodine is NOT recommended. If some amount of plant substrate is recommended I will use the mix of gravel and flourite I have in another tank, which will kill 2 birds with one stone and clone the new tankthumbs2: .
Do you think a planted aquarium with this light will work? And since it will be a new aquarium will my plants suffer from not having enough nutrients to get by? Shrimp are fairly sensitive and it says I should keep nitrates down under 5, which I know the plants will help with, but will they thrive with that low of waste to get by on? If not, is there some type of fert I can use with shrimp that can keep plants healthy? Remember,I have a brown thumb so start me out easy here!

[Abbeys_Mom]

I have a half gallon tank that has Java Fern in it and is doing fine. If you are just keeping shrimp, you will probably have to fertilize. If you think it is too small for a planted tank, look at these :)
http://www.aquahobby.com/tanks/e_tank0603.php

[Chrona]

Java fern and java moss will keep nitrates down in the water column, and they require little light, so they would be perfect. Furthermore, since they don't need a rich substrate (as they feed primarily from the water), a sandy substrate would be perfect. I would see if you can get a replacement CF bulb for that incandescent though. It'll only be a few bucks, you'll have more lighting, and less algae problems. Plus, I've always thought fluorescents looked better than incandescents :)

Also, I'm not sure, but I think iodine is required for all shrimp, as they need it for proper molting. Again, I could be wrong.

Abbey's mom is right, until you get them to start breeding and have more shrimp in the tank, the miniscule amount of waste they put out will probably not be enough to sustain the plants. I doubt nitrates will be that much of a problem though, as many people have shrimp tanks with 5-10 ppm nitrate levels (ideal for good plant growth) and they all breed fine.

[kimmers318]

Okay....what is a CF light?? Compact Flourescent? I will have to try to find one, the light in this baby is tiny looks like a night light bulb, but claims to be 7 watt, and I don't see anywhere where the bulb has to be incandescent like the one that came with the tank, just that it has to be 7 watts or less.
As for the iodine dosing, the research I have done is pretty vague, other than the one article on breeding the cherry shrimp and it claims that no iodine dosing is necessary if you feed a good diet.
Anything other than java fern and moss that might like what this tank is probably going to end up being?

[Chrona]

Okay....what is a CF light?? Compact Flourescent? I will have to try to find one, the light in this baby is tiny looks like a night light bulb, but claims to be 7 watt, and I don't see anywhere where the bulb has to be incandescent like the one that came with the tank, just that it has to be 7 watts or less.
As for the iodine dosing, the research I have done is pretty vague, other than the one article on breeding the cherry shrimp and it claims that no iodine dosing is necessary if you feed a good diet.
Anything other than java fern and moss that might like what this tank is probably going to end up being?

Yeah, CF is compact fluorescent and nevermind about the bulb then. I thought the bulb was one of those normal size screw in variety. You may be able to get anubias to survive on that light too, but really, 7 watts of incandescent lighting is equivalent to a little less than 2 watts of flourescent lighting (which is what the watt/gallon rule is based on), so growing plants is going to be tough, since the rule kinda breaks down for small tanks (because plants have a certain minimum light threshold). Better yet, position the tank so it gets some direct sunlight a few hours each day. The shrimp can take care of the algae in any case.

[Lady Hobbs]

Why not even try a couple plant plugs and just bury them in the sand?

[Abbeys_Mom]

Here's a good article on planting a 2 1/2g tank.
http://www.aquariumfish.com/aquariumfish/detail.aspx?aid=480&cid=58&search=

[kimmers318]

Oh my, there is sooooo much to learn! I am not surprised though to find out that 7 watts incandescent is NOT what I was hoping for as for the 2 watts per gallon for plants!!!! Oh woe is me!
To start, does anyone know if there is a small mini light that I could replace this with? Either way, this "free" tank will probably still become the new shrimp home so that I can open up the 10 gal to (hopefully) breed crayfish for my puffers, so whether I go with fake or real plants is up to what you guys can help me do. If it was left up to me, I would probably do like I did in the beginning....buy a bunch of plants and watch them die and pollute the water! I have a brown thumb and am relying on you guys to set me on the right path...if planted is not an option for this tank, I am okay with that and will wait for the right timing to buy the right tank/lights etc to try in the future.

[Chrona]

Can you post a pic of the existing bulb with something as reference? Or a measurement of the base diameter/bulb dimensions? It is unfortunate that it's an Eclipse (closed top right?) or I would have suggested a compact flourescent reading lamp for light.

[Lady Hobbs]

I've seen some mini clip on lights you can use on small tanks. Clips right to the frame.

[cocoa_pleco]

my first 2.5g has java fern and a small incandescent light with ghost shrimp, and the plants fine. My other one is a waterhome 2, which is a 2g, and i never bought the light for it, but it has java fern and java moss and betta and both are good. java fern is a low to no light plant.

[kimmers318]

The light is your typical night light bulb. I will look around to see if I can find a CF light that small, but I doubt it, if it is possible it will probably be at Lowes or Home Depot.
For clipping on a light it might not be the best tank, but the completely closed lid makes it great for shrimp which have been known to escape open tanks and of course then they die.
We are already talking about taking another trip to Pittsburgh before All Oddball Aquatics closes so I will be able to run into Elmers Aquarium and get some plants, they have a great selection of them. The stores around here either don't label well or at all, and the better stores farther away lean towards higher end plants for people with seriously planted tanks.