Live plants in a new 10 gallon....

[TigerCrane]

Hi there I plan to setup a new 10 gallon soon and wanted to have live plants in it. I am going to get a pair of german blue rams for the fish. Basically my quesions are...

1. What are the proper steps to take for starting a planted tank?

2. What are the materials/equipment I need?

3. When should the live plants be added in the process compared to the fish?

4. What are good beginner plants that would would work in a 10 gallon and that can also be found in the Ram's natural habitat?

Thanks in advance !

[djlen]

Set your tank up as, basically a plant tank. With as many plants as you can get in there. Let the plants establish themselves before you add the Rams. A couple of weeks should do it nicely for you.
For a 10 you only need 15 - 20 watts of fluorescent light.
Assuming that you know about filters, heaters, thermometers etc., I'm not sure what you mean by equipment.
For the substrate(gravel), many of the folks here use Flourite, made by SeaChem, for plants. It looks good and the plants love it. It's a little expensive, but you only need one 15# bag for your 10.
Some nice plants that I recommend for beginners are Anubias, Rotalas, Ludwegias, Java Ferns(which grow on rocks or driftwood) and Cryptocornes. The Anubias also will attach themselves to wood or rocks. Get yourself some water sprite or Salvinia for floating plants. They will help to keep your tank from developing algae.
Len

[superjohnny]

I'm kind of in the same boat as you TC. I recently bought an Eclipse System 6 (6 gallon) for a planted tank I'm going to take to work. It has suitable built-in filtration and an 8w flourescent light (this is ~1watt per gallon which is considered low light). I bought the tank and onyx sand for substrate and let it sit for about two weeks. Added a piece of driftwood and let that sit for about two weeks. Last weekend I attached two large Java ferns to my driftwood, some java moss also to the wood and a medium anubis nana.

The java ferns had a bunch of clippings ready to be trimmed so I planted them in the substrate, forward in the tank. I put the tank on a timer so it gets light about 12 hours a day (8am - 8pm). I'm going to let this sit for a week or two to let the plants settle in, then I'm going to add a few cardinal tetras, maybe a groumie, a few platties or some shrimp. So far it looks really nice... I am very pleased.

Just my experience so far. This is a hobby so you should give yourself some room to experiment with different things. Find plants that look good together and most importantly... that you like.

Good luck :)

[TigerCrane]

edit: see post 5

[TigerCrane]

edit: answered my own question

[TigerCrane]

Thanks guys.

Do I have to cycle my tank before I can put plants in, or do the plants help in the cycling process?

Also, is flourite better than the onyx sand for my application? I read that the onyx slightly buffers your water and I know the rams like soft acidic water. I would prefer the onyx but will get whatever makes the fish better off.

last question is.... what type of filter media should I put in my filters? I heard carbon is bad for planted tanks, is that true? I have a penguin mini and a aquaclear mini.

[superjohnny]

Flourite also makes a great substrate. I am using the "default" filter media in my Eclipse... that includes active carbon & a bio-wheel. I haven't heard that carbon is bad for plants. I think carbon just reduces amonia & nitrates (please correct me if I'm wrong).

It's cool to see someone really plan out their tank before they go for it. I think you will really be happy with the end result since you put in so much work planning.

[djlen]

The plants will cycle your tank for you. Just go lightly with the fish for a few weeks. And if the rams are the only fish to go in they'll be fine as long as you have a good amount of plants. That's the key.
Carbon is only needed in the tank to clear medications out of the water after using it. If you have enough of them, the plants will "eat" the ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. In fact you'll eventually probably be dosing nitrates(small amounts) to feed the plants. Go with sponge filter media only.
Onyx and Flourite are both great choices for planted tanks. I would lean to-wards Onyx if your tank needs additional buffering and you prefer that substrate. I like Flourite and didn't need the extra buffering.
Len

[TigerCrane]

Thanks a lot for your replies ! I feel I am getting closer to actually starting this tank up, I can't wait. I am gonna follow your initial advice len, and not put the fish in for about 3-4 weeks after the plants have been in. Also, I think I am just gonna go with the flourite, it seems to have a more natural look. Well, thanks again, if I have anymore questions I will be sure to post.

[djlen]

You don't need to wait 3-4 weeks. The tank will need ammonia supplied by the fish to kick things off. Put in your plants, wait a week for the plants to get some what established and add your rams. They will supply the plants with what they need and the plants will take care of the fish as well.
Len

[TomFromStLouis]

FWIW Tigercrane, I am into about week 6 or 7 of a new planted tank. I put in maybe 60% of the plants in week one and the rest early in week two (only because they shipped that way), and added fish each week thereafter. If you only are going to have the two, then you should be fine putting them in after the plants establish themselves a bit.


I have had problems with algae because I am working with 3wpg. You may want to consider an algae eating scavenger, or just let snails take care of it. Good luck!

[TigerCrane]

What would be a good algae eating scavanger to use for this type of tank? Otto? Chinese algae eater? Cory? Amano Shrimp? I think I remember reading somewhere(I think my Aquarium Plants Manual book) that certain plants are better to start off with because they establish themselves more quickly and the battle with the algae is normally won by the plants if you use these plants instead of just throwing in all the ones you want in the tank at the start. I will probably do a combination of both(good starter plants and scavenger).

[superjohnny]

Did i miss where you said how much light you are using? Unless you use more than 2watts/gallon you shouldn't really need to worry too much about algae eaters.

I'm using Onyx sand because of a rather low kh of my tap water. Little did I know I'd be looking for ways to lower the ph now. lol The onyx really does buffer... my PH is around 7.4 now! DoH! So I guess I'll be adding CO2 to my 6 gallon. hehehehe that's funny

[TigerCrane]

Johnny I don't think I did mention what type of lighting I am going to use. I plan on using the 2 x 13watt Deluxe Bright Kit(retro-fit) from www.ahsupply.com for a total of 26 watts so it is close to 3 watts per gallon. So does anyone know which algae eaters would be best for my application? I still havent bought any of the supplies or setup the tank yet as I am still doing a little bit of research.

[TigerCrane]

So does anyone know which algae eaters would be best for my application? I still havent bought any of the supplies or setup the tank yet as I am still doing a little bit of research.

[TomFromStLouis]

i don't know much about Rams, but a ten gallon ought to only ned some snails. One or two small ones will soon become dozens, or you could actually BUY a bigger one - that might be more interesting to look at. Amano shrimp are fun to watch. SAEs want to be in groups and want to grow too alrge for your situation.

[ChilDawg]

If you want to go with a fish, I'd go with the Otos for that tank, but only after the tank has had some time to mature and the Otos have some algae available to them (but their favorites, the diatoms, won't be in a properly-lighted tank).