New 10G tank planted and running
- Thread starter oscaremmy
- Start date
WHOA!
I was thinking of getting a 10 G tank! But you definitely inspired me to use live plants if i get a 10 G seeing as it makes the aquarium so beautiful!
So the plants would basically eliminate the dangers of ammonia in the tank?
I was thinking of getting a 10 G tank! But you definitely inspired me to use live plants if i get a 10 G seeing as it makes the aquarium so beautiful!
So the plants would basically eliminate the dangers of ammonia in the tank?
Check out this article - it explains it better than I could!
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_newtank.htm
Good luck with planting (the plants costs me more than the fish, but it's fun to do this type of 'gardening' and so far it looks good - Costs will come down...I am already starting to take cuttings of my first tank's plants for use in the second tank I have just started (no pics as yet, will post some this week-end when I am back home).
Thanks...I am sure you are totally right!
It's fun, though, if you like that kind of thing, but it's not for everyone, that's for sure, just like 'real' gardening isn't everybody's cup of tea.
Just like any skill, there will be many failures on the way to learning how to be consistently successful, but you can only learn so much from websites and books...in the end, you just have to get your hands wet and start doing it! :grinyes:
wonderful looking tank. im just learning this hobby as you can see by some of my post. i have no degrees in anything on this site. some redneck degrees tho lol. but i like to learn. and im learning slooowy. stop at lfs weekly, which has to stop because its not good for my fish. have changed stock to many times spent lots of money and time because i jumped in without knowing and buying a used tank with fish included. tried some plants ealier made a mess. after seeing some of the tanks on this site and the advice given going to try again but right this time. instead of 1 of these 1of those 2 of those crap they all died and made a mess in my tank.
Hi tnoutlaw36 - well, when I started out years ago, I found it tough at times, too - every fish death was a major tragedy for an animal-loving kid...still not much better (I couldn't eat for days when my last dog died)! I think that its just about having plenty of plants in a reasonably fertile substrate and treating the plants the way they want to be treated - enough light, enough food - and preferably some additional C02 if you can run to it - if not, plants can still thrive without adding it, just not quite so spectacularly.
Remembering to feed the plants is key - running the tank long enough to get the plants properly started is helpful, although I have to say, I quickly added the zebra danios and 2 corys to my tank in this thread and even have just a plain old UG filter, but everyone is doing great. I have plenty of gravel depth (about 3-4 inches), which is important if using UG with live rooted plants. I often leave the lamp on for way too long, but there is so far not a trace of algae, maybe because the plants are consuming all of the liquid nutrients (both plant fertilizer and fish waste) and I don't overfeed the fish.
Today I finished setting up another 10G (in the kitchen), which I have approached differently. Again there is no direct sunlight falling on this tank.
This one I used a mixture of pool filter sand mixed with a lot of sphagnum peat for the substrate, which was soaked for several days to waterlog the peat, then I covered this with a layer of clean filter sand (you can buy this from a pools/spas or DIY center - quite cheap for a 50 pound bag and inert/clean - with no dust to speak of and as it is quartz, adds no hardness to the water). I mixed in 10ml of liquid ferts (API Leaf Zone) to the sand-peat mixture before adding the clean sand then started planting.
Filtration is a hang-on-back and apart from the heater, that's all there is in the tank, plus about $30.00 in plants. I have just started it up, so it looks very murky due to peat particles. I want to put maybe 6-8 serpae tetras and 2 to 4 corys in this one, because I think these species should like the chemical impact of the peat (on pH). I plan to let the plants/water settle for a week or two before adding fish. There are a few pond snails in here (see image - this one is about 1/4-inch long), so there will be some bioload. I also rinsed the new filter sponge, carbon and bio-colony material in water drawn from my first tank.
Lighting is 2 x 13w compact flourescent tubes set into a standard incendescent 10g hood. This is going to make the tank appear very brightly lit - if the water ever clears! Faster growing and broad-leaved plants will create areas of shade, so I will have to make sure the lower plants get enough light.
Filter is an Aqua Clear 20, plants are 1 Amazon Sword, several Cryptocoryne wendtii, 2 java ferns (which I intend to tie to a rock), 1 bunch of Ludwigia, Narrow Leaf (Ludwigia palustris), bunch of Hygrophilla difformis (wisteria), a bunch of rotala rotundifolia, 1 bunch of Telanthera Rosefolia (Alternanthera reineckii). I also have some of the hornwort in there from my first tank.
I know I will do some tweaking of layout as plants grow (or not), but the photos are just part of the time-series record of the success or failure of this aquarium setup. I will add CO2 within the next few days (I know, should have done it already...)
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irishspy
There is a stargate in my aquarium.
This is an interesting thread. We have very similar set-ups. I'd recommend getting rid of those pond snails: they breed fast and eat live plants. If you want snails, there are others that are much better with plants, such as Malaysian Trumpet Snails.
How quiet is your AC 20? I have one on my 10g, and it's noisier than I would like. My guess is that impeller vibration is causing the lid to rattle. Fiddling with the impeller so far hasn't worked. Has yours been noisy at all?
How quiet is your AC 20? I have one on my 10g, and it's noisier than I would like. My guess is that impeller vibration is causing the lid to rattle. Fiddling with the impeller so far hasn't worked. Has yours been noisy at all?
This is an interesting thread. We have very similar set-ups. I'd recommend getting rid of those pond snails: they breed fast and eat live plants. If you want snails, there are others that are much better with plants, such as Malaysian Trumpet Snails.
How quiet is your AC 20? I have one on my 10g, and it's noisier than I would like. My guess is that impeller vibration is causing the lid to rattle. Fiddling with the impeller so far hasn't worked. Has yours been noisy at all?
I have an Aquaclear 30 going on my 16 gallon bowfront in my bedroom and it is virtually silent. You may have a damaged impeller which is easily replaced and it should solve your problem. Also if the impeller is not properly placed it can cause the filter to run with a lot of noise.
Marinemom
irishspy
There is a stargate in my aquarium.
Argh. The filter is due for a cleaning next week. I'll play with it some more then. If not, maybe getting a replacement part is in order.
My apologies for the thread hijack.
:topic:
