10 gallon redo!!!

[allaboutfish]

ok so my 10 gallon tank is about to go through a huge transition. first of all im selling my gardneri biassa killifish and going with;
3-sparkling gouramis
6-green neon tetras(or some kind of micro-rasbora)
3-4-zebra ottos
im also changing the tank from lightly planted to heavily planted and switching from a sponge filter(took up to much room and would be better in my shrimp tank) to a HOB. ill have the following plants;
crypts(dont know what kind)
rotala
banana plant(might move to shrimp tank)
cabomba(i think)(might move to shrimp tank)
ludwigia repens
stargrass
pygmy chain sword OR dwarf hairgrass
so the first question is should i do dwarf hairgrass or pygmy chain sword if i want a carpet using just macro and micro ferts and root tabs(i might do Co2 later on). also which lights would be better(ill have two) http://www.walmart.com/ip/Lights-of-...-1-ct/10448675 OR http://www.walmart.com/ip/GE-Energy-...W-2pk/17163592
the tank looks really bad bc i pulled out a hunk of java moss. ill be scattering the rocks around the tank or maybe doing something else with the rocks, or maybe ill remove the rocks and add some driftwood, i havent decided yet, but here it is

and then it changed to this

and then this

and now this

and im looking to rescape the tank. the final stock for plants will be
rotala rotundifolia
rotala mini butterfly
cabomba carolina
java fern
pygmy chain sword
flame moss
peacock moss
frogbit
hydrocotyle sibthorpioides
i will be adding a small piece of DW and making a peacock moss carpet, and the flame moss will go on the driftwood. so i need your help on how to rescape it. thanks!!!(oh and ignore the attached pic, i dont know how to delete it)

[allaboutfish]

anyone?

[Elliot]

What do you want your tank to look like? Iwagumi or jungle like? I went with a jungle like setup with my 10 gal, but I had to use small plants, decor and fish to make it look good. I would take out those rocks and replace them with ones about 1/2 to 1/4 the size and get some nice driftwood. Posting some pics once your done with the changes will help us give you better advice. I hope you like your hand wet, because we can be undeceive at times

[Elliot]

Keep your killifish. They can be beautiful in a planted tank! If anything get more of them.

[allaboutfish]

the males been nipping the female, and if i wanted to keep them id need to seperate them or get serious and really breed them with spawning mops and such. i really need to draw it out to be able to show how i plan on having it. i plan on a forest of rotala on the left where the sponge filter is, and then a backwards L shape of river rocks with lots of pygmy chan sword in between the rocks.

[cableguy69846]

Glad I found your thread.

Ok. The lights. I use both of those light bulbs and love them both. They work great. I use the first type in a dual incandescent hood on two of my 10 gallon tanks and they have grown jungles very well. The second I use in these with good results. I have been using one of the second bulbs in a clamp light meant for reptiles on my 2 gallon for a while now. The dome reflector will give you high light for sure though. So the real question is do you want low, medium, or high light. If you want low or medium, go with the first, if you want high, go with the second in a dome lamp. As for a filter, I recommend an AquaClear 20 or 30. I run 2 AC20s on my 10 gallon with nothing but the sponges and ceramic rings, and they are awesome. If you have any more questions, feel free to ask me.

Subscribed.

[allaboutfish]

ive decided to go walstad style with this tank. hopefully i can get the mircacle grow organic potting mix soon. ive bought the wrong kind twice and have a bage i dont know what to do with haha. could i do high light with just the dirt planted and dosing liquid Co2 booster, macros and micros, and maybe DIY Co2? also what if the lights (for the second option) fell into the tank? i actually have the second bulbs and the first bulbs and i was going to put them in my incandescent hood but they didnt fit. oh and the stock will be as follows;
fish-
3-everglades pygmy sunfish(might be gilberti)
3-endlers
RCS
1-CPO or 3-dwarf crays(forget the name)

plants-
silver cabomba(did well at first and then when i trimmed they seemed to stop growing bc they had to grow the little "bristles back)
rotala r(doing really well)
rotala macranda japanese red(not doing very well, hopefully it will do better once i fix the algae problem and get the dirt down)
pygmy chain sword(doing pretty good)
maybe rotala indica but it really only does good in my 5 gallon
java moss(maybe i javent figured out a way to incorporate it into my tank, i was thinking of floating it)
najas

[allaboutfish]

oh and maybe 2 nerite snails if my LFS has them

[cableguy69846]

Originally Posted by allaboutfish

ive decided to go walstad style with this tank. hopefully i can get the mircacle grow organic potting mix soon. ive bought the wrong kind twice and have a bage i dont know what to do with haha. could i do high light with just the dirt planted and dosing liquid Co2 booster, macros and micros, and maybe DIY Co2? also what if the lights (for the second option) fell into the tank? i actually have the second bulbs and the first bulbs and i was going to put them in my incandescent hood but they didnt fit. oh and the stock will be as follows;
fish-
3-everglades pygmy sunfish(might be gilberti)
3-endlers
RCS
1-CPO or 3-dwarf crays(forget the name)

plants-
silver cabomba(did well at first and then when i trimmed they seemed to stop growing bc they had to grow the little "bristles back)
rotala r(doing really well)
rotala macranda japanese red(not doing very well, hopefully it will do better once i fix the algae problem and get the dirt down)
pygmy chain sword(doing pretty good)
maybe rotala indica but it really only does good in my 5 gallon
java moss(maybe i javent figured out a way to incorporate it into my tank, i was thinking of floating it)
najas

To keep the lamps from ending up in the tank, just use glass tops. Keeps humidity in the tank and unwanted things out, in my case, fuzzy little paws. Lol. If you go dirt, be ready for a month long cycle if you use Miracle Gro Organic Garden Soil (green bag) and maybe a little less if you use Miracle Gro Organic Potting Mix (brown/orange bag). You can easily run high light and DIY CO2 with either of these. 2 of my tanks have the Miracle Gro Organic Garden Soil in pots, one with medium light (Shrimptopia) and one with high light (20 gallon farm tank) and they grow plants like crazy. I have an algae issue in the 20 gallon, but have not added the yeast CO2 reactor yet, and that is the issue. I dose both tanks with Macros and Micros, and they are working great. Java moss does better tied to something. It helps keep it contained. It will grow floating, but it will spread out and grow all over, not stay in a nice little clump. You can always do a moss wall for it using plastic canvas, fishing line, and some suction cups (see my thread in my sig) and it will grow like that too.

What soil mix did you get?

[cableguy69846]

Originally Posted by allaboutfish

oh and maybe 2 nerite snails if my LFS has them

If you are going with soil, look into some Malaysian Trumpet Snails. They will burrow and oxygenate the dirt so you don't get any anaerobic areas which could build up toxic gas and nuke your tank if released. For a good example of a high light and CO2 dirt tank, look at this thread. This is a good example of "Hi tech meets dirt" and an amazing tank too. A long read, but well worth it. Hope all this helps.

One more thing. Wkndracer is a member on here and he is the Dirt Guru. He can answer most any question when it comes to "getting dirty." Good luck, and don't hesitate to ask more questions.

[allaboutfish]

i hate MTS in all of my tanks since i dont like gravel. if the tank already has a cycled filter would the miracle grow effect my cycle bc i was going to buy the sunfish tomorrow. i have miracle grow organic choice plant food.

[allaboutfish]

this will be my dirt tank
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/ta...llon-redo.html

[cableguy69846]

Originally Posted by allaboutfish

i hate MTS in all of my tanks since i dont like gravel. if the tank already has a cycled filter would the miracle grow effect my cycle bc i was going to buy the sunfish tomorrow. i have miracle grow organic choice plant food.

Yah. Don't use the plant food one. Possible to nuke the tank. Get the orange/brown bag. And sift it to get all the bigger chunks out. If you have a mature filter, than the cycle induced by the dirt should not be a big problem, but it will spike. No way around it. And good on the MTS then.

[allaboutfish]

ok cool. hopefully ill get the dirt tomorrow, and then set it up tomorrow, and start testing atleast 2 times a day. the sunfish will have to stay in another tank until everythings stable.

[cableguy69846]

Originally Posted by allaboutfish

ok cool. hopefully ill get the dirt tomorrow, and then set it up tomorrow, and start testing atleast 2 times a day. the sunfish will have to stay in another tank until everythings stable.

You won't need to test twice a day, but every day for a while is a must. At least the first week. Then you can taper off and test a little less as time goes on.