[MaineAquatics]

My sister in law moved, and because of this, I got a free neglected 10 gallon tank! lol. After a thorough clean up, and some planning I've decided what I wanted to do with it.

I have a 75g rainbowfish tank that has been planted for a few years but for various reasons I've just decided to keep it unplanted. SO- that free's up my pressurized co2 system! So then it all came together- after convincing my wife it was the right thing to do, I decided to plant the 10g!

So far, here's what I've got

This lighting fixture and these lights are en route as we speak..


and the co2 diffuser I've ordered as well..


And a picture of my co2 system patiently waiting its diffuser and plant shipment :icon_eek:

and the tank itself!



For filtration I just took a small powerhead, with a half inch PVC over the intake, drilled a bunch of holes in the pvc and wrapped a filter pad from my xp3 around it lol.. its not pretty but it's working well!

I realize the tank doesn't look like much right now, but I only posted it now so that when it's planted we can all look back and say oooohh aaaahh look how much better it looks!:icon_lol::biggrin:

 

[deleted_user_12]

very impressive get that tank running!

 

[MaineAquatics]

Hey guys I was just about to top off the fluorite with some fine grain gravel when I thought maybe I should have More for substrate then just one bag of fluorite.. what would you guys recommend? Potting soil? And if so would it go under or above The fluorite? Lol any help would be really appreciated

 

[2in10]

Fluorite will be fine by itself if you wish. You should aim for 2" to 3" depth of substrate for good rooting.

 

[MaineAquatics]

Ok great, I'm considering getting some more to build up the back of the tank more:fish:

I made some DIY plant anchors... does anyone use plant anchors? If so, what brand do you use?

Here's the ones I made myself.. just cut the bottom off a plastic cup and slit an X into it... then pulled the pointed center cuts back.. I've used them with success before, as long as the center tabs are pulled back enough to keep them from cutting the stem.. Do you guys approve of these? lol, or are plant anchors for amateurs?

Anyway, I am planning my FIRST attempt EVER at a carpet like foreground lol, any guidance would be greatly respected.. I plan to get some potted dwarf hairgrass and some Glossostigma elatinoides- in terms of glosso, is there a better one to get? this one looks closest to what I'm envisioning lol.

I was also looking at some dwarf baby tears.. I'm just not sure how to plant or trim these kinds of plants.. so I'm a bit weary of getting into them:eek5:

 

[londonloco]

I'd go soil and cap it with the Flourite, especially if you want a carpet...

 

[MaineAquatics]

Ah.. seems its a bit too late for that.. thanks for the advice but the fluorite alone will have to do :bounce:

I drained the tank today and decided I wanted a slope in the back, not a large one, but enough to make the plants in back have that look that everyone ELSE seems to accomplish lol, it was my first try at this but I accomplished what I set out to do...

Just fluorite capped with black gravel.. hopefully it's enough to do the job!

I tried something new so I didn't have to stare at a cloudy tank for a few days... layed down some saran wrap and put some rocks on it as weights, then poured the water slowly on the saran wrap.. it actually worked! lol, still got the water cloudy because I moved stuff after I took the saran wrap out, but in principal it wasn't all that bad..

Here it is with the saran wrap

And here it is full again, not as cloudy as it would have been..

With the slope in the back the filter intake is too long now, I'm going to shorten it up and put it in the back of the tank tomorrow.

I wonder if me pouring the water so slowly had anything to do with my 4 year old waking up and running out of his bedroom (on the other side of the wall of this tank) straight into the bathroom LOL...


So when it comes to the baby tears and DHG- I will be recieving it potted- do I individually plant each stem? or a few stems at the same spot?

 

[MaineAquatics]

Added my lights... 36watts of t5HO.. seems like a bit much but I put the legs on the fixture so it sits a few inches from the surface.

What light combo should I use?

6700k and 12000k
or just both 6700k

I also have a 460nm but I realize this won't do me any good haha

 

[2in10]

Which ever combination you like best on the bulbs; the plants won't care. You will want to move the lights to about 12" above the tank or you may end up fighting algae. You will need CO2 and good fert dosing at that height to keep algae at bay.

 

[MaineAquatics]

forgot to post my picture of the new light fixture.. this is with 12000k and 6700k bulbs... taken with a junk samsung phone..


seriously debating just putting on the 10g HOB... the whole powerhead thing is just too big it seems. but the 10g HOB has a low flow rate... is that ok?

 

[2in10]

The small HOB usually have a pretty decent flow rate. If it is above 40 gallons per hour you should be OK.

 

[MaineAquatics]

OK, looks like I'll work on getting the HOB on, not sure of the flow rate but I'm sure it will handle the bioload, it's only the circulation I'm worried about :icon_eek:

If you scroll up you will see I have a pressurized co2 system all ready to go (as soon as my new diffuser arrives tomorrow)... and I ordered dry ferts and read up on the EI method-which I will be using... got my doses all calculated, as I plan to pre-mix a solution for each does (kno3, kh2po4, ks2o4) and I already have a bunch of flourish trace kicking around so I'll use that as my trace mix..

For some reason I just like the idea of adding a premix in everyday instead of weighing it out daily... seems much easier to toss 20ml in knowing it has what I need lol.

but yeah It's slowly getting squared away, it's really not that far off! as soon as the dry ferts arrive next week I'll pretty much be ready to order plants!...

what do you guys(and gals) think of this plant list for this tank?? Please feel free to criticize my choice of plants or if you feel one particular plant would not work in this tank!

Rotala Roundifolia- x1 bunch
Cyperus Helferi- x1
Cryptocoryne, Wendtii, Red- x1
Dwarf Hairgrass -x3 pots
Blyxa auberti -x1
Rotala macrandra v. 'narrow leaf'- x1
Dwarf Baby Tears -x3 pots
Pogostemon helferi- x2


and for fish.. so far I'm just going to pull my 6 pristella tetras from my 75.. that'll probably be it.

Im guessing 3 pots of the hairgrass and 3 pots of the baby tears would be a bit overkill for a 10 gallon tank? lol...

 

[10gallonplanted]

Flourite alone is a good substrate in my opinion. Ive had it for a year and it still is supplying good nutrients!

 

[MaineAquatics]

Flourite alone is a good substrate in my opinion. Ive had it for a year and it still is supplying good nutrients!

The overall consensus on fluorite appears to be that it is good... so I'm not too worried about it, although I think the next tank I do I will try the potting soil technique. The other sites I've been to don't even touch on using potting soil as a base layer lol.

 

[MaineAquatics]

got my co2 diffuser and dry ferts in today.

Installed the diffuser and gave it a test run so I can set my bubble counter at the proper level. As you can see I still haven't gotten rid of the butt-ugly powerhead filter.. I just really like the amount of flow I get without breaking the surface water lol... I'll think of something to make it look better eventually.



Also got to work and pre-mixed my macros... all set to go, I made my doses 20ml of the suggested EI dose level for a 10 gallon tank.



Man it was tough to find a scale in this area... the ones in wal-mart wouldn't measure anything less than a whole gram... so I had to go to a ....yep... head shop. lol, oh well, do what you gotta do!

 

[MaineAquatics]

The little heater I have in this tank just can't seem to get the temp above 76/77 degrees.. is this warm enough for a planted tank like I am planning or should I get another one capable of 78/80 degrees?

 

[2in10]

That is fine for a planted tank.

 

[MaineAquatics]

Going to get a Aquasystems Neptune Apex JR today, used for $75!

No more heater adjustments!
No more messing with needle valve on co2 regulator! (for the most part)

Now my co2 levels will be much more precise

and it can simulate sunrise/sunsets, but I'm not sure how much good that will do for me lol.. probably will come in handy in SW

Anyway, I'll post pics later when I pick it up.

 

[MaineAquatics]

I got the NeptuneSystems ACJr with DC4hd for $50! I ordered a new ph probe as the 2 it came with were junk. It took me a while to figure out this controller (even though I know industrial control systems and write PLC programs...) but I have managed to make it work... I'm starting to feel how powerful these controllers really are.. Don't think I'll ever go back!

Ph comes on and turns off when the highly accurate probe reaches ideal levels.. turns on when level gets too low again, same system turns it off at night.... controls the heaters and lights too, any many other things.. I'm quite happy with it if you can't tell lol.


Anyway... where do you all get your plants from? I always get mine from aquariumplants.com but I've only had marginal success... I heard they just warehouse plants that have been grown emerged...