Comment by Taylor Clopton on March 5, 2013 at 10:26pm

with a tank that small the light on it should do the trick.. STICK with ferns mosses, not java moss. and as long as its organic use what ya got and as much as you think looks good!!!! hope that helps

Comment by Ray Leslie on March 6, 2013 at 1:52am

I'm actually in the same boat as you, I just started my first dirted tank, but it seems like ur on a budget, so diy CO2 sounds good, I did it for myself.  Recipes and how to do it are all online, so i wont bore you.  That said, there are so many ways to diffuse CO2 and that is not clear from the internet.  The key to remember is that DIY CO2 does not generally generate enough pressure to diffuse via glass, ceramic, or air stone diffusors.  I've tried them all with my DIY, and the best by far has been the hagen bubble ladder (google it).  It works great at low pressures which is perfect for DIY. They run about $15, put it in nice and strait, set it up with DIY CO2.  You'll likely notice at first that the bubbles don't climb the ladder and bunch up at the bottom.  Give it a day or two for the biofilm to coat the ladder, which will reduce the friction for the bubbles and they'll make it up!

Hope this helps.

Comment by Ray Leslie on March 6, 2013 at 1:55am

Regarding livestock, wait till the water has cycled and ammonia, nitrates, nitrites are safe, then add.  It's always best to have a light fish load, i.e. tiny fish and less of them.  amano shrimp are good too

Comment by Ray Leslie on March 6, 2013 at 2:12am

READ THIS!!!

Okay, I just took a look at your pictures, (which i should have done before) .  I think your tank might be  a bit too small for a bubble ladder.  My worry is that so much CO2 in a small tank might gas the fish and kill them.  Maybe upgrade to a 10  or 15 gal?  They're really not that expensive and that way you can do the CO2

Comment by Kavin K on March 6, 2013 at 6:11pm

Lol co2 isn't a must I want a nano and that's it

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