10g Planted

[JoBroCo]

I want to start a 10g Planted tank and would love some help.

1. What would Y'all say if the best substrate to use (I have some left over Super Naturals sand left over from my 20g That Ill use if I don't need anything specific)

2. What are some beginner friendly plants yall would recommend.

3. What would be some interesting stocking ideas.

I know these are some very vague questions so Ill try my best to be more specific in my replies.

 

[Sprinkle]

1). Any susbtrate u want
2). Java fern, hornwort, java moss, moss balls, anubias and cabomba and maybe pearlgrass and water sprite & wisteria. I probably missed some bc i no remember lols
3). Betta or guppies. Am gonna order my sparkling gouramies to start with them after losing my 5 betta. I would really recommend them, they r perfect nano fish and when they make noises, they can b heard across the room.

before putting in any live stock in, u may want 2 do the nitrogen cycle.
Other more experienced members will explain.
T TwoTankAmin is great, he can help as well

 

[FreshyFresh]

Nice! My 10gal was one of my favorite planted tanks. Try not to do what I did though, by plunking a big'ol amazon sword right in the middle. It was a pathetic little petsmart plant when it started. I also had wisteria, java fern, anubia and maybe some water sprite in this tank. I had CaribSea FloraMax substrate, but like said, you can use anything. I prefer the smallest grained gravel you can find.

 

[NoodleCats]

Play sand is a fine substrate, gravel, aquarium planted substrates... whatever you prefer! Each has pros and cons and can affect what you plan to stock the tank with.

If you are looking for bottom dwellers like pygmy species of corydoras (pygmaeus, habrosus, or hastatus) then you will need a sand substrate.

If not, anything you want is fine.

There are many nano fish, but it also depends on your water hardness. If your water is over 215ppm GH, I do not recommend sparkling gourami, but if its below they will thrive. Higher GH has a higher chance of them dying from various issues--columnaris has proven to be more prevalent in softwater fish when kept in hard water. And sparklers are already sensitive to water quality.

This goes for any soft water fish kept in hard water, a good source to check fish GH requirements is www.seriouslyfish.com just search the species you are interested in and it will tell you the GH range either in DH or ppm. You can convert the two with water hardness converter sites too to figure out what DH=ppm.

GH refers to your hardness, not pH btw. You can either use a liquid test to test your GH or can look for it on your water provider's water quality report, often listed under "total hardness"

Opposite issue is keeping hardwater fish in soft water, they become mineral deficient and often are prone to succumbing to fungal infections easier, and do not thrive. Common issues are shimmies seen in livebearers as well.
Guppies can handle as low as 145ppm GH, the least killifish a bit lower, but most need 250ppm and higher.


If your water is over 250ppm, you can look into endler guppies who need hard water. Perhaps some of the nano rainbows...

If under 215, sparkling gouramis, pygmy cories. Ember tetras. Microdevario kubotai...

If under 170ppm maybe look into some of the microrasboras or boraras like chili rasboras...

A regular domestic betta can handle up to 300ppm GH, so they would be good for either hard or soft, but many of the domestics are weaker genetically nowadays too, so you may have mixed success with them staying healthy unfortunately.


Plant suggestions, crypts do nice, there's many small species you can use for a 10g (parva can be used as a carpet even!).
Hydrocotyle tripartita is nice for small tanks.
Java fern, anubias, mosses... all easy low light low tech plants.
I would steer clear of most swords outside of chain swords due to the sheer potential size of them. Ive had some echinodorus bleheri reach 24" tall.


An interesting source backing up my info if anyone wants to learn more

Fish Reared in Hard Water are More Susceptible to Columnaris Disease : USDA ARS

 

[Sprinkle]

Sparkling gouramies can b kept in hardwater, mine will be captive bread.

 

[JoBroCo]

1). Any susbtrate u want
2). Java fern, hornwort, java moss, moss balls, anubias and cabomba and maybe pearlgrass and water sprite & wisteria. I probably missed some bc i no remember lols
3). Betta or guppies. Am gonna order my sparkling gouramies to start with them after losing my 5 betta. I would really recommend them, they r perfect nano fish and when they make noises, they can b heard across the room.

before putting in any live stock in, u may want 2 do the nitrogen cycle.
Other more experienced members will explain.
T TwoTankAmin is great, he can help as well

Luckily This would be my third tank. I currently have a 55g community tank thats been running for about 3 months and I have a 20g with as of right now a single male betta. While none of them are planted If I have success and enjoy the 10g planted Ill slowly convert my other tanks into planted tanks as well.

 

[JoBroCo]

Play sand is a fine substrate, gravel, aquarium planted substrates... whatever you prefer! Each has pros and cons and can affect what you plan to stock the tank with.

If you are looking for bottom dwellers like pygmy species of corydoras (pygmaeus, habrosus, or hastatus) then you will need a sand substrate.

If not, anything you want is fine.

There are many nano fish, but it also depends on your water hardness. If your water is over 215ppm GH, I do not recommend sparkling gourami, but if its below they will thrive. Higher GH has a higher chance of them dying from various issues--columnaris has proven to be more prevalent in softwater fish when kept in hard water. And sparklers are already sensitive to water quality.

This goes for any soft water fish kept in hard water, a good source to check fish GH requirements is www.seriouslyfish.com just search the species you are interested in and it will tell you the GH range either in DH or ppm. You can convert the two with water hardness converter sites too to figure out what DH=ppm.

GH refers to your hardness, not pH btw. You can either use a liquid test to test your GH or can look for it on your water provider's water quality report, often listed under "total hardness"

Opposite issue is keeping hardwater fish in soft water, they become mineral deficient and often are prone to succumbing to fungal infections easier, and do not thrive. Common issues are shimmies seen in livebearers as well.
Guppies can handle as low as 145ppm GH, the least killifish a bit lower, but most need 250ppm and higher.


If your water is over 250ppm, you can look into endler guppies who need hard water. Perhaps some of the nano rainbows...

If under 215, sparkling gouramis, pygmy cories. Ember tetras. Microdevario kubotai...

If under 170ppm maybe look into some of the microrasboras or boraras like chili rasboras...

A regular domestic betta can handle up to 300ppm GH, so they would be good for either hard or soft, but many of the domestics are weaker genetically nowadays too, so you may have mixed success with them staying healthy unfortunately.


Plant suggestions, crypts do nice, there's many small species you can use for a 10g (parva can be used as a carpet even!).
Hydrocotyle tripartita is nice for small tanks.
Java fern, anubias, mosses... all easy low light low tech plants.
I would steer clear of most swords outside of chain swords due to the sheer potential size of them. Ive had some echinodorus bleheri reach 24" tall.


An interesting source backing up my info if anyone wants to learn more

Fish Reared in Hard Water are More Susceptible to Columnaris Disease : USDA ARS

For the sand substrate Would Super naturals be alright. The main reason why im asking is people say that some sand isn't good for plants because they compact easily which prevents water or nutrients getting to the roots.

 

[FreshyFresh]

For the sand substrate Would Super naturals be alright. The main reason why im asking is people say that some sand isn't good for plants because they compact easily which prevents water or nutrients getting to the roots.

Unless your plan is to fill the tank half way up with sand, compaction, gas pockets, etc. is not going to be a problem. What type of filtration do you plan on running on this tank? If it's a hang-on-back style filter, sand will wipe out their impellers quickly. In my experience, even if you've got a sponge over the intake.

 

[JoBroCo]

Unless your plan is to fill the tank half way up with sand, compaction, gas pockets, etc. is not going to be a problem. What type of filtration do you plan on running on this tank? If it's a hang-on-back style filter, sand will wipe out their impellers quickly. In my experience, even if you've got a sponge over the intake.

Its a HOB specifically a marineland penguin 75. If the sand is a no go I was thinking on getting eco-complete. But I have left over Super Natural from my 20g so It just sitting around.

 

[NoodleCats]

You could go for black diamond blasting sand. Its coarser. Like borderline fine gravel--coarse sand. It shouldn't be a problem for the filter. And about 2" of substrate is all that's needed.

I use play sand, it can compact, but gentle stirring with a chopstick every few weeks helps, as do assassin snails or Malaysian trumpet snails