Suggestions for Newbie's 10g Tank

[tomm10]

Forgive me for starting a beginner's question in the plant forum but since the questions are entirely about plants I figured you were the right folks to ask.

I am in the first week of cycling a new 10g tank. There are now four Zebra Danios in there and a small bunch of anacharis tied off to tree root type decoration.

The water has a ph of about 7.2 and tests for a general hardness of 4 on my test kit. I have an incandescent hood with two flourescent 10W bulbs in it. I plan to add a few cories to this tank once cycled but that's really it.

I'm interested in somewhat broad leaved plants, background plants like the anacharis (I understand now that my tank is likely underlit for this plant), and some smaller foreground plants like short grasses or moss. I'm not really interested in taller grasses.

I would also like to know what your thoughts are on the right time to introduce plants. Please don't say before you cycle as that won't help

I look foreword to reading your responses, this forum is amazing!

Thanks,

Tom

 

[MrGoodbytes]

Since you have 2WPG, you can grow a decent number of plants, and you micht want to think about adding DIY CO2.
Rotala rotundifolia/indica, Hygrophila polysperma, Echinodorus tenellus (nice, short grassy), Luwigia repens, Cardamine lyrata (can get kind of annoying), most Cyrptocorynes, Java fern, Java Moss, and Limnophila sp would all do well in you aquarium. Since you have a 10 gallon, don't jam all these in there together, you will have a jungle if you do.
If you want pictures of these, check out www.tropica.com.
It is best to add plants at the start of the setup, but since you are already cycling, I would suggest doing it now.
Read the sticky on how to balance nutrients, it will probably come in handy.

Graeme