Newly started tank, need equipment advice.

[raunch]

Work in progress! lol

So I have a basic 10 gallon with a light strip.

Bottom is going to be mostly driftwood with java ferns growing all over. And I have a little duckweed that will slightly cover the top. Going for a pond type look.

Inhabitants: cherry shrimp
Substrate: black/white sand
Plants so far: wisteria(sp), java fern, duck weed, and some pothos cuttings.
Filter: Just using a sponge filter until I can get a zoo med 501 canister filter.
Lighting: 2 13-watt 5000k cfls.

It has only been like 5 days since I started using the light bulbs but do you think I'll have to upgrade to different bulbs? I couldn't find 6500k bulbs anywhere that were under 25w max (that's what it says on the hood, which I assume means 25w per bulb)

Does anyone think diy co2 would profit my tank? I haven't had much luck with growing aquarium plants. The java ferns stay alive but don't really grow, nothing really is perky and bright green. Wisteria is not bright green kinda just a lame green and they stay alive but look wilty. Java ferns have black spots on about half the leaves and new growth is transparent at the tips.

Any advice to get some lush healthy looking plants would be appreciated. I just want some good growth! lol Sorry for the crappy pictures and the dirty glass haha.

Thanks!

[DishyFishy]

I would say DIY co2 would definitely not hurt anything, so go for it! However, you may need to start dosing some Flourish occasionally. As for the lights, what about 86'ing the lid and buying a desk lamp from Wal-Mart or somewhere and throwing a 25watt bulb in there? If you seriously need a lid you can buy a clear flat one at PetSmart.

[msawdey]

Originally Posted by DishyFishy

I would say DIY co2 would definitely not hurt anything, so go for it! However, you may need to start dosing some Flourish occasionally. As for the lights, what about 86'ing the lid and buying a desk lamp from Wal-Mart or somewhere and throwing a 25watt bulb in there? If you seriously need a lid you can buy a clear flat one at PetSmart.

I agree with the desk lamp with a CFL... this is what i have used on my 10 gallon gold ram breeder. I dose with excel and occasionally put root tabs into the eco complete

CO2 would also be great for the tank, but unless you have a larger tank that your using CO2 on also, my view has always been go as simple as possible on small tanks

[raunch]

Thanks for the comments, more are welcome!

Well, I have a 25 watt cfl in a desk lamp so maybe i should switch back to that lol. I used it for a little while but I didn't see great results and also i can't stand to look at the aquarium when i am blinded by a desk lamp lol. I'll give it a shot though. I have excel but how often do I dose? I have no idea so maybe that's why it doesn't help cause I use it enough.

As for the co2, I think I'll try it out just to see if it helps out. My plants just look very malnourished and i'm sure the lights i had in the past didn't help (t8). All these plants are from an old unsuccessful planted tank lol.
Also any such thing as too much co2? I don't wanna kill my shrimp haha.

Would adding a substrate like eco-complete even help plants that aren't planted in the substrate? I will fork the money over for the good stuff if it will actually yield results. Any recommendations would be awesome.

And what would be a generic photo period for this set up and these low lights plants?

I'm just trying to figure out what I'm doing wrong so any information about that stuff would be so great.

[DishyFishy]

Here's a good chart on plant deficiencies to help you see what you're missing.
http://www.aquatic-eden.com/2009/06/...y-diagram.html

So depending on this you may want/need to start dosing something like Flourish. You can kill your fish if you overdose CO2, but this is mostly for pressurized systems; if you use DIY CO2 there is pretty much no chance of gassing your fish. As for the desk lamp, I got one that you can adjust the height on, think it was at Staples. That way it's low enough to not shine in my face.

CO2 won't harm your shrimp, I just hear they probably won't breed with it. As for the Excel just follow the directions but be careful if you decide to add more, overdosing Excel can be bad.

[raunch]

Cool thanks for the chart, I looked at it but my leaves don't sound like any of those. They're just wilty and thin looking. I received some wisteria from the ladies tank who I got my cherry shrimp from and then compared it with mine and her's is lush green with white roots and thick stems. Mine is like limp and miniature.

As for my java ferns they looks super healthy minus not growing and developing black spots all over on about half the leaves. I don't have them attached to anything just free floating. I doubt that has anything to do with it though.

I guess it's just more trial and error.. lol. I have no idea why other people's tanks have righteous growth but mine are just fighting to stay alive.

[madness]

My first foray into having java fern really confused me.

I did not get growth and they acted like they wanted to wilt and die off.

Turns out that java fern does not respond well to tank changes. Pretty easy to grow once established but don't expect quick results. I ended up cutting off old leaves and new ones started popping up faster.

The java fern that I have gotten from fellow hobbyists has acted like expected based upon what people say about the plant. My experience with store bought java fern has not been impressive (though it eventually grew).

I wouldn't panic.

[madness]

BTW, I would choose between either using inert (cheap) substrate like the sand that you have or using good nutrient rich substrate (ADA Aquasoil or Up Aqua soil).

Nutrient rich soils provide a great boost in plant growth but all of the other 'plant' substrates offer minimal benefit in my experience. Not saying that they are worthless but just that you won't see the boost that you expect.

You might try picking up some Rootmedic liquid ferts or some Pfertz and just supplement with ferts to get you started and then down the road you can worry about doing more complicated things.

The plants that you list don't appear to NEED CO2 to grow well but most aquatic plants benefit from it greatly so it certainly shouldn't hurt the plant growth.

[raunch]

Ha thanks a lot, you were very helpful. And I just found that ada aquasoil and I think I will give it a shot. Just trying to figure out how many 3 liter bags I need for a 10 gallon lol. Also I think I'm going to start doing water changes with gallons of filtered water(like from the store). My tap water here is terrible which may also be a reason the plants aren't growing well.

I have the flourish excel. Should I just keep up with regular doses or is it no good and should I get something else like you recommended.

Thanks

[CatB]

lights seem fine to me... 5000 K is okay, 6500 K is better but not that much.
it might be cheaper over time, if you can afford it, to just get a RO filter than to buy tons of RO/DI water from a store.

[raunch]

Yeah that would be good to have but I doubt I can do it right now. I'll just get one of those huge jugs and fill it from those machines at grocery stores til then.

Anyway, thanks for everyone's advice. I will update if any progress or better growth happens.