[christian_cowgirlGSR]

I have a 10 gallon planted tank. Sadly enough, that's the largest I have room for (I have set up a 5 gallon shrimp/fry grow-out tank, though :hihi.

I use two 10W "mini-flourescent" bulbs at 6500K. My substrate is plain gravel. This tank has been set up since early October 2010. I'm using a HOB filter that's older than I am so I don't know the specifics about it. I've covered the intake with the toe of an pair of pantyhose and a sponge for the shrimps' sake. At the suggestion of some members of aquatic plant central, I put some lava rock in the filter and took out the filter media. This is an experiment that I started yesterday. We'll see if it works. I try to dose twice weekly with Seachem Flourish.

The fish in this tank are chosen by their size and hardiness. For the plants, I chose plants that were hardy but also that I liked the looks of.

Fish: 3 White Cloud Mountain Minnows, 2 leopard danios and 1 zebra danio. I'll be adding some fry from my fry grow-out tank shortly.

Invertebrates: ~10 Red Cherry Shrimp, 5 Pomacea diffusa

Plants: Marimo Moss Ball, Java moss in the in-progress moss wall, Java Fern 'Narrow Leaf', Java Fern 'Needle Leaf', Java Fern 'Windelov', Rotala Rotundifolia, Anubias Barteri var. Nana, Anubias Barteri var. Nana 'Petite', 3 different kinds of dwarf water lily, Saggitaria subulata, 5 aponogetons of 3 different species, Brazilian Pennywort, Bolbitis Heudelotti, and a Banana Plant.

Any suggestions on how I could re-arrange the tank to make it look better?

 

[2in10]

The gravel isn't too good for plants, color not withstanding.

 

[christian_cowgirlGSR]

The gravel isn't too good for plants, color not withstanding.

I realize this. I use root tab fertilizers for the plants that need it (like the s. subulata). Most of the plants in the tank don't care. For instance, the brazilian pennywort, anubias, java ferns, etc.

When I first set this tank up, I hadn't intended on very many plants. However, I got hooked on real plants (over the alternative of fake ones) after getting my first anubias. In the next tank I set up, I may try some sort of soil substrate topped with sand. However, I really don't want to re-do the substrate in this tank right now.

 

[tharsis]

That moss wall is going to look really sweet! A definite shrimptopia, and the plants are looking good, the new growth on the rotala is looking really healthy.... but yeah the sooner you switch out the clown puke gravel the better:tongue: