# turning 10g into a planted tank



## 0123 (May 18, 2004)

ok i have a 10g with the like 15w ( i think) fixture from wal-mart

right now it has a very thin layer of play sand. about 2 dozen baby cichlids (rusties) and dont remember what kind of filter

but i was wanting to turn this into a HEAVILY planted tank around/after christmas and was wondering what i would need like lighting basically... i might buy some kind of substrate for plants since ill need very little (would flourite be fine? i think i can buy enough in one of those boxes that is sold at petsmart for a fairly cheap price around $10-15 i think)

but id like to buy what i can at petsmart as i have gift cards for there

and what type of plants would look nice? fish (like 3 corries, like 2 small algea eater (suggestions?) and maybe a some neons or something like this?)

and if this tank goes well for a while i plan to move up to a bigger planted tank (i want to start small incase i mess up not a huge loss) ive done plants in a tank but not like really heavily...

thx (id like to NOT use c02 also)


----------



## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

neons are awesome with plants, im getting a 125, planting it, and throwing in 100 neons. yeah, that flourite stuff is good, id also get some leaf zone. the light is 17 watts btw, i got one. i like my 10 gallon cause the light is bright and good for growing out baby plants. they seeem just to grow really fast in my 10g..


----------



## 0123 (May 18, 2004)

i checked and mines 19 watts

so do you think i dont need to buy a new light ? if so would i just need flourite... i have some kind of liquid fertilizer? and whats leaf zone isnt it a brand? (possibly makes flourite and sells it in boxes? i think thats what this brand was i saw at petsmart)

ive always wanted to do a heavily planted tank but wasnt wanting to spend a ton of money just incase i mess up lol but i figure ill move out the babies and turn it into a plant tank... even with buying a light it shouldnt be even close to what it would cost on a bigger tank

if i dont need to get a light i think im just going to get flourite and then buy plants offline

any1 got any idea as to what plants/fish to put in? (like would 3 corries 2-3 ottos and like 4 neons work or would i need more/less?) and i have no clue on plants... i had a cory in my 15g when i had some plants in it and he seemed to move the sand around a little and uproot smaller plants like (i think it was microsword) but ya... i duno i think im going to get some really small corries if that matters

thx


----------



## 0123 (May 18, 2004)

oh and any sites that are recomended to buy lots of plants from for a cheap price?

theres no good stores really to buy plants from here their either crappy or way overpriced or "not for sale, display tank only" haha

thx


----------



## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

www.aquaticplantdepot.com is cheapest and best.

you wont need a new light. but since yoiu dont want to do the co2 thing, id get some of this http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/produc...id1=3349;pcid2= it basically serves as a "liquid" carbon source

and btw, the africans will tear up plants...


----------



## 0123 (May 18, 2004)

oh i also have a slight brown algea problem (i do in all my tanks and their only on around 7 hours a day (besides 2 on a shoplight with a timer that are on 12 but im lowering it to like 8 also because one of them has VERY bad algea (green/black string algea and brown algea)

will this effect anything (the 10 just has brown algea and there is very little if any direct sunlgith on my tanks as i have miniblinds/curtians closed at almost all times)


----------



## 0123 (May 18, 2004)

123 said:


> but i figure ill move out the babies and turn it into a plant tank...
> 
> 
> 
> ...


----------



## 0123 (May 18, 2004)

ok so i was checking out that site you gave me illnino and liked the Asian Plant Assortment
does this look ok for my setup and the price? (it comes with 6 snails do i need these or can i keep them with all the other fish listed? would these work as algea eaters or what do they do if algea eaters i could get rid of the ottos/plecos maybe?)

thx very much


----------



## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

yeah, leaf-zone is good, thats what i use, i just have heard that flourish is better...

i dont know about the algae part

also, neons are fairly sensative fish, so be sure to slowly acclimate them to your tank(slowly add water from your tank to their bag)

bulb should be ok, as long as it isnt really old.

good plants are whysteria, amazon swords, java fern, moneywort, hornwort, ect. just dont get anything that says its care is hard.

i wouldnt get that, the vals are sensative plants, i ordered some, and most of them were dead a few days later, they need lots and lots of light

the snails are a no no, they will tear the plants up like crazy. a pleco will be ok for the algae problem, but will get huge. some member here said that he has brown algae also, and a chinese algae eater really did the trick. the snails will also reproduce in very large ammounts and scare you


----------



## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

also, anubias are really hardy, but a little expensive.

http://www.aquaticplantdepot.com/lowliplta.html this seems good, the price is a little high, because shipping is already included in the price, which is $10...


----------



## 0123 (May 18, 2004)

illnino said:


> the snails are a no no, they will tear the plants up like crazy. a pleco will be ok for the algae problem, but will get huge. some member here said that he has brown algae also, and a chinese algae eater really did the trick. the snails will also reproduce in very large ammounts and scare you
> [snapback]805621[/snapback]​


i can always buy a small bristlenose pleco their only like 2-3$ and good algea eaters

also from everything ive read on plant sites and all chinese algea eaters get lazy and more agressive once they get bigger and that SAE (i think this is siamese algea eater maybe?) are a better choice

but again thats just what ive read

and i always read how ottos are great algea eaters and i think they stay small... something i see alot at the pet stores so i think ill pic up a few of them

i wish i had a pet store that had a decent plant selection lol ill have to check out this pet store they have a 125 that i think theyve filled back up with plants finally and their a good pet store i think always something interesting there (but too expensive) ill probly just buy online so that site is a good one to order from and all? good plants and trustworthy?

and i didnt mean those tiny snails like in the assortments come with snails like that one you listed comes with "2 marble snails" but still no good?

thx


----------



## Gumby (Aug 13, 2004)

Actually you're not going to be able to get away with a whole lot of plants under a single bulb. Some Anubias, Hygrophilia, Crypts, Anarcharis, Java Fern/Moss and perhaps a compacta sword and some Wistera would live.

If you're looking for a heavily planted tank, I would put in some flourite or some other finer gravel. I would also retrofit a powercompact light into your existing fixture, then you'll be able to keep any plant you want.

The more light you have, the more alage you will have. Avoid plecos, they're big, messy, and don't eat a ton of alage once they get bigger. If your fish won't eat them for for 3-4 Otocinclus. Not only wil Otos not destroy you plants and set up, but they eat UNGODLY amounts of alage. Another benefit of otos, they don't get longer than 2 inches so they can eat the alage off some of the finer leaved plants.

I'm not sure how big your chichlids are, but generaly chichlids and plants don't mix, chichlids love to rearrange their tanks, so you'll have uprooted plants everywhere.

Lastly, do NOT do CO2 in this tank. In a small tank, if your kH isn't very high, the carbonic acid produced from the CO2/water mixing will drop your pH a few points over night. I tried doing CO2 on a 20 long planted tank without buffering the hell out of my KH... pH went from 7 to 4 over night. Killed my brand new red tail sternella pleco. Bad news!

Edit: here's the type of retrofit kit I was talking about:
http://www.tropicalfishstore.com/TenecorLights.htm they don't have the 18 or 20 inch kit you'd need but I'm sure you could find one somewhere


----------



## 0123 (May 18, 2004)

ok also i think i have chagned my mind and will do a 20g long as planted.... besides im having trouble finding that small of a light for a 10

also whats the difference between 2 bulbs and 1? all the compact flourescent lights i find are like 65w each bulb.... so thats like 6+w per gal if i get a twin tube for a 20 long

im probly going to go with www.thatfishplace.com www.drfostersmith.com or bigals on my lights if i get one so if anyone has any suggestions as to which one of the lights the cell would be best for the cheapest possible price id appreciate it!

thx


----------



## SpAzZy (Mar 30, 2004)

i decided to try a planted 10g also. i currently have flourite in my 30g and ecocomplete in my 10g. i think the ecocomplete is the best substrate i've ever used, but it is really really expensive. the flourite is pretty nice also, but doesn't look as natural as the ecocomplete. it looks like natural soil and gives your tank an earthly looking substrate.

as for lighting, i was planning on buying a 20" powercompact strip, 40w by Current USA. The satellite model. it is $52 on bigalsonline and will be 4w/g in my 10g. i have run an experiment by buying a new bulb for my flourescent strip light, a philips plant and aquarium bulb, that is 15w. (10g's come with 15w stirps.. event hough the strip may say 18w.. the bulbs are only 15w..) until i can get the fixture, i'm goignt o try to use another 20" strip with another 15w plant growth bulb and see if it will work ok. i have anacharis in my tank and it only does well at the top of the tank in shallow water. near the bottom, it is rotting and isn't getting enough light. definitly go for the powercompacts, just remember to buy new bulbs for it. if you are looking for fish to keep.. i keep dwarf puffers in my tank along with two oto's.


----------

