my first tank, 10g low tech planted (pics) **Updated 5/4/08**

[ctk]

Hey guys, I recently decided to set up my first tank, as a low tech planted tank. After much lurking and research, I picked up a 10 gal tank. I just got it all set up today, and am looking for advice/constructive criticism.

Here's what i have right now:
All-glass 10 gal
hood with 2x 9w "daylight" cfls
whisper 10 filter
Eco-Complete substrate
Flourish excel and comp
Misc unknown plants

For plants I didn't have too many options, just went to the lfs and asked for good low-light plants. Do these plants look like they'll do well?

Is 2 9w cfls enough for a low tech 10gal?

I was thinking of dosing minimal amounts of the excel and comp once a week, but really don't know.

I really only put the filter to clear up the water, but it came out crystal clear from the beginning. Should I lose the filter now? I don't think my betta will enjoy the current when he goes in.

When can he go in? I tested the water after setting it up, and its showing no ammonia...

Thanks in advance for any help, I'm a total noob, and have soo many questions, lol. ps my aquascaping is horrible, I know!

[Saraja87]

Red plants generally like more light and low nitrates to keep them colorful. I think they also tend to be harder to grow, but the plant on the left, ludwigia I think, should do well.

[James From Cali]

Your plants look like A. reineckii, L. repens, H. difformis, and a bacopa sp.. It might be B. caroliniana.

The betta can go in whenever as long as the plant growth is good. He shouldnt add much to cause a spike in parameters. I run 2x 10 watt bulbs on my low tech 10g. Excel would be a good idea to dose, not sure about comp because I never used it. The A. reneckii might not live. From my understanding it is a med-high light plant. Check out the List Of Low Light Plants at the top of the low tech forum. I also suggest checking out the S&S(Swap&Shop) after taking a look at the list and get some more plants. I would keep the filter on the tank. If the betta is the only thing in the tank then he has lots of places to hide from the current. Get some nice looking rocks and driftwood for the tank aswell.

[ctk]

I do need to find some driftwood... perhaps I will ask around on the local boards for some good low light plants. the guy at the lfs said the same thing about red plants, but mentioned the red ones on the right had been growing fine in a tank with hardly any light at all, so i dunno.. hopefully most of them will survive, we'll have to see.

virgil (my betta) is flaring like crazy right now looking around at his new home while the water temps match up.

I'm also going to look into a black background..

[James From Cali]

Make sure you add a little tank water to his bag so he gets use to the parameters. The ludwigia, bacopa, and hygro will be fine in lower light.

[ctk]

so far things seem to be going good. showing a bit of ammonia, possible from decaying plant matter.

I am seeing lots of new growth, from all the plants, but at the same time, lots of the old leaves are falling off. I'm guessing this is a good sign, but I'm worried about the decaying leaves on the substrate that I cannot get to.

would an apple/mystery snail clean this stuff up for me?

although the plants are showing lots of growth, the stems also seem "floppier" or not as stiff. some of the tops have broken off as well. should I be worried about this?

really the only plants doing this are the tall green plants on the left. the wysteria in the back right is getting huge, how do I go about trimming it to plant parts elsewhere?

[ctk]

some pics... you can see the plants in the back left don't look so hot, but lots of new growth, but seems more bushy...




still need some sort of hardscape, lol

[Carissa]

Personally I would suck out the dead leaves with a 25% water change. Too much decaying matter can cause serious bga problems.

[ctk]

well, did some re-scaping, got some malaysian driftwood from the lfs ($6.99), some lava rocks from the front yard, and a black background... looks pretty good for a rookie I think. Hopefully I can keep my hands out of the tank for a while now, I've heard stirring up the substrate too much can be a bad thing?

anyways, pics:

[Karackle]

Lookin good! Those reds are incredibly bright, it looks amazing!