[stanley2]

I know you guys have to answer the same dumb stupid noob questions but can you help me plz.

hey everyone, I have some dum noob questions.

Q.1 I have a 10gl with some plants and no fish I want to get it so I dont have to clean it and the plant do that. Right now it has 19watt flouresent light 20gl fillter system and next to window for more light. It has been running for 2 days (new for my room). I added some salt (right?). Just regular gravel. 20gl heater. Im gonna wait to put some fish and wood(nothing fake).I also have lot of co2 tanks sitting around can I use those and buy just the part of the co2 system and save some money or I cant really do that? plz I am very poor.
hey, can so guys recommend the equipment I need because I have crap stuff and I am also a stupid noob. for example like what type of subsrate, filter stuff, temp, what to add to water for good growing, and stuff plz.




Any suggestions on anything even fish?

Thank You ( I am drowning in my own drewl when I look at everyones planted tanks)

I LOVE YOU GUYS

 

[uncskainch]

Rex Grigg's site is a great place to start: http://www.rexgrigg.com/

You mentioned not wanting to have to clean the tank, but you'll still have to clean/maintain a planted tank. So while a tank full of healthy plants will certainly improve the tank's environment for its inhabitants by using up some of the nutrients created by fish waste and excess food as fertilizer and by producing oxygen through photosynthesis, you will still need to keep up with water changes and other tank maintenance to ensure healthy plants and healthy fish/shrimp/snails/etc.

The sunlight coming throught the window is a light source that you can't control which could result in some algae (I'm not sure), but my tanks don't get any direct sunlight, so I can't speak from experience as to whether, in general, the extra light is a pro or a con.

Most people on the forum seem to prefer a canister filter, but many have hang-on-back filters, too (I do, but would love to upgrade to a canister). Just be aware that hang-on-back filters create more surface agitation which can cause your CO2 to out-gas more quickly.

There are many different stubstrates available that will grow plants successfully -- do searches for "substrate" in the forum and you'll see lots of opinions on Flourite, Eco-Complete, ADA, and other options.

You'll also want to think about fertilizers for your plants. Some people use bottled fertilizers available in fish stores and others order dry fertilizers to dose individual components. Again, if you do a search for fertilizers, you'll see a lot of different opinions.

You might want to give some thought to what kind of "look" you'd like to go for -- that may make a big difference in what kind of light, CO2, fertilization, etc. you set up and what kind of plants/inhabitants you choose. Maybe look through the photo album and create a list of favorites and see what plants those people are using, then see if they would be appropriate for a 10 gallon? You might also be interested in checking out the Nano section of the forum for ideas for fish/plants that will do well in a smaller tank.

Once you have a sense of what kind of tank you want to create, look up the requirements of the plants and fish you are interested in in the plant database here or on the website of one of the aquatic plant retailers. That will help you know how much light you want, what water temp. you want, how much current you want (or don't want), and what kind of CO2/fertilizer regiment you'll want to set up. Once you have that ballpark sense of what you need, you might want to do some searches in the forum archives here for opinions on things like a specific substrate you're considering, a specific CO2 question, and so on. You'll also be better able to come up with a list of questions that will be really specific and help everyone here to help you as effectively as possible.

Happy reading, and good luck with your tank!

 

[stanley2]

Thank you sooooo much

 

[tropicalfish]

Salt is NOT NEEDED. IGNORE the petstore people, don't use it unless you have a disease or you have a salted tank. A canister filter on a 10 gallon tank is POSSIBLE, but NOT necessary, as canister filters were designed for larger tanks. A way to reduce surface agitation from a power filter is by raising the water level. What exact equipment do you have?

 

[uncskainch]

Tropicalfish makes a great point about the filter -- I was forgetting that you're working with a small tank, so you'll probably be using a hang-on-back power filter instead of a canister. In my own tank, I keep the water level quite high and that does do a lot to reduce the surface agitation.

 

[stanley2]

I have a hang over filter and heater.

 

[mrbelvedere]

I had an Eheim 2213 on a 10 gallon. It performed admirably.

 

[FelixAvery]

THE best hang on filter is a Eheim liberty 150, or a 200 for a 10g
just such a great filter