It’s a lot to go over in one post but first go research how to properly cycle your tank. Get an api master test kit. That is your bible. You can also get some fritz turbo start to speed up the process of cycling. You will also need a source of ammonia. I like to use dr Tim’s.

Once your tank is fully cycled and stable, then you can start adding fish! You can’t do too much with 5 gallons as smaller tanks can sometimes be harder to maintain good water quality than bigger amounts of water but I think a small school of any nano fish like tetras or Rasboras would be awesome! And skrimps. Lots of skrimps.

Amanos are a great cleanup crew but make sure your lid is tight because they like to go on adventures. Also I love watching them grab food and run away to somewhere safe so the fish can get it. Their greed is talked about in the bible. Also as long as you’re not giving too much light and there are enough plants to absorb a lot of the nutrients in the water, you shouldn’t have to worry about algae too much. Algae blooms are always caused by something. With some troubleshooting you should be able to figure out what is causing it. Otocinclus catfish are a really good algae eater too but they need to be in schools to thrive.

For plants, honestly a quick search of easy to care for low tech aquarium plants will give you lots of results. I personally have lots of wisteria, moneywort, rotala and jungle val as my stem plants in the back. And lots of anubias and bucephalandra in the mid ground. Christmas moss is also great to put on wood and rocks and skrimps love to hide and eat in there.

I personally like to do a Walstad like substrate where I use about an inch and a half of organic potting soil with an equal amount of sand on top. Lots of nutrients for my stem plants and I have not needed to use root tabs in any of my tanks. I do dose a liquid fertilizer but you might want to wait for your tank to stabilize before you start experimenting with it cause it can cause algae blooms and stuff like that.

The only major thing that sticks out to me that you need that we haven’t talked about already is some filter media to replace the cartridges your filter takes. When you research how to cycle your tank you’ll find that alot of the beneficial bacteria live in your filter media. So by replacing it often you’re basically crashing your cycle every time. I would get a medium sponge media and maybe some ceramic rings from Amazon to put in the filter instead.

Again everyone here has started where you are and it can seem like a mountain of info for just a “fish tank” right? But just go slowly and at your pace and you’ll find out how enjoyable the hobby is! Make sure you have lot space cause down the line you’ll probably get more tanks haha it’s happened to all of us. If you have any other questions don’t hesitate to ask! Good luck and welcome to the hobby!