10 gallon heavily planted, need ideas...

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Intelekt

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Mar 12, 2008
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San Antonio
So I have an extra 10 gallon sitting in the apartment and I want to get some serious plants growing, Maybe move my 7 neon tetras down to the 10. I am wondering how to really get a good planted tank going, one that is extremely dense eventually.

I guess the idea is that if there are enough plants growing I can start pulling them out of the 10 and moving them into my other 2 tanks, and also hook friends up with extras.

do the planted tanks work like that? consistantly reproduce or grow more?

again im a plant noob, the only live plants i have are 3 water onions? i dont even know, it was a set of bulbs that top fin sells and they are growing in gravel with no nutrients, not sure how smart it is to keep em in there.

any help is appreciated, just want some real natural plants for all my tanks, i have outgrown the plastic stuff very quickly... it looks cheesy to me.
 

mellowvision

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May 17, 2007
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some plants will do what you want. my advice is to keep it low light, low tech, and grow something like sag or java fern that won't need much light. also, the tetras would probably be fine, but you might consider stocking it with something that likes algae instead, may make things simpler... for instance, my cherry barbs arent algae eaters specifically, but love nibbling algae all day long, in addition to their nightly meal.
 

Yadokari

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Feb 10, 2008
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Want something that grows freakishly fast? Get hornwort, they don't look bad either. They grow incredibly fast with ferts and lights. You'll see changes in growth within a single day.
 

Preposterous

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Sep 14, 2007
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Good instructions are easy to find but you have to decide how much money you want to put into it. I only have a single 54 gal tank which is planted and I want it to be slow growing and stable with minimal maintenance. The right substrate, DIY CO2, adding nutrients, decent lighting can be done pretty economically. But if you really want a "serious" growing tank you will need to either invest a lot of attention or cash. Even for a 10 gallon. The cash part actually won't guarantee that it won't need attention later, but can guarantee productivity of plants growing faster than you can trim them. Or..achieving a natural and healthy biotope with complimentary fish, plants, inverts, micro organisms can be fascinating and quite rewarding but will make demands upon you. More than your larger tanks.
 

Intelekt

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Mar 12, 2008
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San Antonio
i am not all that entirely worried about the money part, i havent spent much in light of what i have, my 55 gallon was practicallly free, i got it from someone who wanted it out of their apartment.

the maintenence part i also have no issue with, my 2 current tanks really arent too much at all, the upkeep is quick and simple as long as i do it weekly. i am looking for something to kind of give attention on a daily basis, i think plants are the way to go.

theres a substrate called eco-earth which seems to be a popular one here in texas, i would prefer something black or very close to white, is sand too loose for multiple plants? i think ive seen a black substrate that would work, the nutrients are something i also know nothing about.

i think i am going to start working on this tank this weekend so i will post pics as i work.
 

tanker

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Sep 1, 2003
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Your substrate will depend a lot on your plants. I have no experience with ECO-Earth so cannot comment on it. If you are looking for LOTS of plants and growth, you will need lots of lights, CO2, and ferts. Most stem plants feed from the water so the gravel is not tooo important. Leaf plants do need to feed from roots.

Get some val, stem plants, CO2, up-grade light and you will soon have a jungle.

PS--with a 10gal all you need is a DIY CO2 supply, or you can always buy the Hagen or get a small CO2 tank.
 

Intelekt

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Mar 12, 2008
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San Antonio
ok well i will put more of a list together once i have finished painting the tank, as far as the co2 goes, what is a reasonable price for a c02 setup?

ill have more info on all this within a few days.
 

James From Cali

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Feb 12, 2007
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If you go the low light/low tech route there are many options. You have Hygrophila, rotala, ludwigia, ferns+mosses, Cryptocorynes, Swords, Aponogetons, Grasses, and others. Going this route the plants wont grow tremedaesly fast but with CO2 and a good substrate it would sustain and be healthy. Have about 10 Neon Tetras in the tank with a group of Amano Shrimp and you would be fine as far as algae goes. In this type of setup DIY CO2 is a good idea and works great IME. Not sure how much a pressurized would be.

Your substrate will depend a lot on your plants. I have no experience with ECO-Earth so cannot comment on it. If you are looking for LOTS of plants and growth, you will need lots of lights, CO2, and ferts. Most stem plants feed from the water so the gravel is not tooo important. Leaf plants do need to feed from roots.
Get some val, stem plants, CO2, up-grade light and you will soon have a jungle.
PS--with a 10gal all you need is a DIY CO2 supply, or you can always buy the Hagen or get a small CO2 tank.
Personally those hagen co2 units are fancy DIY systems and are a waste of money. I agree for alot of growth that lots of light is required but for something simple and still as effective you can go with lower light and still have a broad ammount of plants to choose from.
 

tanker

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