My First Planted Tank - please advise

DirkW

DirkW

7 Kids, 4 Tanks, 2 Birds
Oct 28, 2005
144
0
0
Southeastern Virginia
My next project is a 10G planted tank for a permanent breeder setup for Clown Killies (Pseudepiplatys annulatus). Since they are surface dwellers that prefer shallow water, I plan to only keep about 5-6G water in the tank. This will be my first planted tank, and I'm going to keep it in my office. I would like to keep things relatively simple and low maintenance, if possible. I plan on building my own hood with medium-high lighting on timers. My questions are:
1) how exactly should I build my substrate?
2) what sort of plants should I use?
3) how much lighting do I need?
 
1) ecocomplete, or flourite
2) what do you want?
3) wpg depends on type of plants
 
Fine grain gravel 3m will work for your purposes. or Flourite or Eco.

I suggest for anubias, java ferns, and several types of crypts for a low/medium light setup. I usually suggest checking out www.aquaticplantcentral.com for their plant guide, which tells you what are easy plants to grow and their requirements.

Strive for at 2.0 watts of light at least.

-John N.
 
budrecki said:
2) what do you want?
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In order to breed these fish, I need fine-leaf plants, such as Java moss. I wanted something a little more original than just a tank full of Java moss. Besides, Java moss is relatively expensive in this area.

A single layer of a gravel-type substrate sounds great to me.

John N. said:
Strive for at 2.0 watts of light at least.
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Is that 2W/gallon? These fish develop better colors under bright light. Is 40-60W too much for 6 gallons of water in a 10G tank?
 
John N. said:
Hornwort, cambodia are great fine leaf plants. Great beginner type plants too.
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Thanks, John. Can you give me the scientific name or a fuller common name of cambodia?

I'm hoping to avoid CO2 if possible (other than using something like Flourish Excel), and so far it looks like Java Moss and Hornwort are my best bet.
 
Last edited:
I think he meant cabomba. Usually quite common in LFS but some species are quite light demanding. From the top of my head, I think the carolina species is the easiest.
 
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