Journal: beginner 10g planted tank

[alter40]

Well here is my journal for my first planted tank ever. I have never done a planted tank before and I'm pretty much clueless as to what I am doing, but I hope to learn fast. As promised I have a couple of pictures of my tank setup now. The glass still isn't super clean yet; I still have some cleaning left to do on that. I have till at least next week until all my stuff comes in from Drs. Foster and Smith. Alright now on with a couple of pictures.

First here is a picture of my tank up close. It has an old ornament in there from when this was setup before. I will not be using this once I set it up but I figured the picture would look better with something in there.

And here is an overview picture of where I have this setup. The tank is going to sit on my computer desk.

 

[alter40]

Ok and here is a list of what I purchased from Drs. Foster and Smith for my tank. I'm ditching the old 5-15 regent filter and the non-submersible 50w heater that came with the tank and getting a more powerful biowheel filter and a submersible heater. Here is the complete list of my first order for the tank.

Hagen Thermometers Floating Glass w/Suction Cup $2.39
Mag-Float Small $6.79
Master Test Kit Freshwater $15.99
Flourish™ 250 ml $3.69
Flourish™ Excel 250 ml $3.69
Malaysian Driftwood 6"-8" $6.99
Eco-Complete Plant Substrate 20 lbs $21.99
Penguin BIO-Wheel Power Filters 100 $16.99
Rite-Size A Mini & 100 6 pk $9.49
Stealth Heater 50W $15.29
Fish Catcher Nets Small $1.29

Shipping $12.99
Discount $10.00 (found coupon code with google)
Total $107.58

 

[d3sc3n7]

HEY! I have that same trunk! But mine dosent have the plants on it..got it used. Well, mine isnt pink!

 

[alter40]

lol its supposed to be brown but its old and nasty and could probably use a cleaning

 

[alter40]

Here are some basic ideas that I have at the moment for this tank, but I'm looking for suggestions as to what others think will do well. At the moment this tank has a 15watt light.

As far as plants go I think I'm going to put in some hornwort in the back on one side, and some java fern in the back corner on the other side. Probably some java moss on the piece of driftwood I have ordered unless it has a hole in it, and if thats the case I will try to put a plant through the hole and into substrate so it appears to be growing out of the driftwood.
I am curious as to whether I can cycle the tank with the plants in. I think I remember reading another thread where it said that this is ok and helps the cycle some, but I will be putting ammonia in the water and cycling according to missfishy's page unless there is a better way to cycle a planted tank. Somebody who knows about planted tanks please let me know if that is the best way to cycle the tank with plants in it or if there is a different way that I should go about this.

For fish I'm still open to this. Its a 10 gallon tank so I can't put too much in there and whenever I try to figure out what I want to put in there I usually come up with an overstocked list. So because of my problem of wanting to overstock my tank I'm going to take suggestions and make sure I get others approval of my stocking choices before any fish go in the tank. My original thought was to have about 4 neon tetras and a dwarf gourami (either a flame or neon blue) this may be overstocked though so let me know. I also love how german blue rams look, but I believe my tank is too small for one. If I'm safe to go the ram route let me know what else would be able to be in there with it.

Like I said before I'm open to all suggestions and I'm trying to get as much information from others with more experiance before I put anything in there. I really want to have a successful tank and I'm so excited to hear others feedback. I hope I'm on the right track at least and not completely out of my mind.

Thanks for reading my ramblings and thanks for any suggestions and responses,
Eric

 

[ishar]

yes, you can cycle with plants in without any worries.

I think a gourami (one of the small one's- I suggest a dwarf gourami) and the neons would be great with the addition of a small shrimp or cory cat would be a good mix in there I think .

 

[tom91970]

Personally, I'd go with a powder blue gourami and four or five glo-light tetras. Maybe throw in three or four ghost shrimp.

 

[alter40]

I like the glo-light tetras, but I always love the way neon and cardinal tetras look in planted tanks. I would like to put some cardinal tetras in there instead of neons, just because not as many people seem to have them, but I can't seem to find any at my LFS. I can easily get some neons or glo-lights. I am unsure however if 4-5 neons and a dwarf gourami is overstocking for 10 gallons though. Then adding shrimp or a cory cat for a cleaner. Would this be too much or does it sound feasible?

What other fish would be good to have in a small planted tank? I would like something that can add some nice colors to the tank and won't tear up my plants. I was also thinking of swordtails as well. I just really would like to have a few smaller fish and hopefully 1 larger fish as a showcase type fish.

 

[tom91970]

I don't see many cardinals for sale, either. I read something not too long ago that stated that don't live as long in the aquarium becuase they are mostly caught in the wild as adults. However, I have learned that recently they have been bred in captivity so maybe they will be seen more at the LFS. I might have to look the next time I go.

 

[alter40]

I want to put some a few rocks on the bottom around the driftwood that I get. The LFS didn't really seem to have anything there as far as rocks go, but I have a couple other LFSs that I will be checking this by this weekend sometime to see if they have any. If they don't I will probably check out a crafts store or something. Is there anything that I need to do with the rocks that I get before they go in the tank? I think I will need to boil them or something probably but I'm not 100% sure if thats what I need to do. Also do I need to do the same thing with my piece of malaysian drift wood as well? I read one place that the self sinking driftwood doesn't need to be boiled because they release less tannins then others. I'm not sure how accurate that is.

 

[alter40]

I don't see many cardinals for sale, either. I read something not too long ago that stated that don't live as long in the aquarium becuase they are mostly caught in the wild as adults. However, I have learned that recently they have been bred in captivity so maybe they will be seen more at the LFS. I might have to look the next time I go.

I know that they don't have cardinals at the 3 LFSs that are in my area. If they don't live that long though I would probably be best to not get them and just get neons instead if thats the route that I decide to go.

 

[tom91970]

When I soak my Malaysian driftwood I just put it into a 5 gallon bucket and put just enough water in it to cover the wood. Every day or two I change the water so I can see if it's getting less cloudy/brown. One piece took over a week and another took maybe three days.

The only thing I've boiled to release tannins was a cave I made out of a coconut shell and that took forever.

As for rocks have you tried places that sell them for landscaping?

Oh, and regarding the second picture, are you posting a new pic in three weeks so we can see what February looks like? *SUPERSMIL

 

[alter40]

I haven't tried any places for landscaping. The town that has the other 2 LFSs is the same town I would go to for a crafts store and the same on that Home Depot is in. So I guess if they don't have any decent looking rocks at the LFS there I can always check out Home Depot for some decent rocks.

The only thing I've boiled to release tannins was a cave I made out of a coconut shell and that took forever.

So I understand how the wood should work (I can just soak in a bucket with regular tap water right?)
Does this statement mean that I won't have to boil and rocks that I get?

Oh, and regarding the second picture, are you posting a new pic in three weeks so we can see what February looks like?

I can probably take a new picture come February of the general area of the tank so you can see what has changed around the area haha *SUPERSMIL

 

[cchase85]

My cardinals were very small when I got them, they have grown a bit but still aren't fully grown. If they live a "short time", I don't know how short because I assume mine are at least a year old and don't seem to be looking all that old.

Test any rocks before putting them in. You should only use stuff like granite and slate as other stuff may alter your water chemistry or introduce toxins.

Boil any rocks you get... just as a precaution. Wood it can't hurt, my mopani wood I just soaked overnight in a bucket and it never dirtied the water after that so I threw it in, everything was fine.

 

[alter40]

Test any rocks before putting them in. You should only use stuff like granite and slate as other stuff may alter your water chemistry or introduce toxins.

How do you test the rocks themselves?

 

[tom91970]

How do you test the rocks themselves?

Soaking them in vinegar to see if it fizzles is the easiest way...or get some hydrochloric acid for the test.

 

[tom91970]

g

My cardinals were very small when I got them, they have grown a bit but still aren't fully grown. If they live a "short time", I don't know how short because I assume mine are at least a year old and don't seem to be looking all that old.

You need to ask 'em for some ID.

But as I was saying, it seems that it was not until recently that it was possible to breed cardinals in captivity. The info that I read regarding the short life span due to only adult specimens being sold was in, I believe, a book by my favorite felon, Dr. Axelrod. And, in truth, alot of the info in his books is a bit outdated.

Edited to add: I forgot to mention that the cardinal tetra (Paracheirodon axelrodi) is named for ol' Herb, who in fact discovered the fish (or claims to). Ol' Herb is in interesting dude. I've been reading his book Freshwater Angelfish this week. Sure wish I could find an unauthorized bio on the man...I wonder what he was thinking about when he fled to Cuba. Then again, it does make sense since he does have some patents in the cigar industry. Then again, maybe him and Fidel are pals.

 

[alter40]

I have been doing some reading on the tetras tonight and it seems that between neons and cardinals the neons are my best bet. From what I have been reading the cardinal tetras get larger then neons and they also require more stringent water conditions then neons. With my tank being a small one, the smaller the tetras the more I should be able to put in there, and with the neons not being as susceptible to water conditions makes them a better choice of the two.
I'm afraid of overstocking the tank by putting too many tetras in there with a gourami and maybe a small shrimp.

 

[alter40]

Well I just got confirmation that my shipment has left the warehouse and is now in Fedex's hands. Hopefully this means I will get everything early next week. I'm excited to get it setup and get an idea of how the tank is going to look.

One other question I have is about the lighting in a planted tank. How many hours a day should the lights be on? Should I get a timer for them so they are sure to be on every day at the same time and so I know they are on for the correct number of hours.

 

[sweetpickles7]

Sorry i didnt catch this awhile back. For your first question on whether or not you can put a GBR or some other dwarf cichlid, yes you can. You can have a pair but that wouldnt leave u with much space.Although if you can i would get bolivians as they can handle water changes better than GBR's. The GBR's at my lfs die with in the first few days of getting them home, i think its because they are from asia, which usually means that they are died with extra color.I would say my 10gal planted tank is over its max of fish but as long as you do your water changes then everything should be fine.I wouldnt add just one cory either they need to be in a group go with an oto and some ghost shrimp instead. As for tetras i love x-ray tetras thats what i have in my 10 but i missed spelt there real name on my sig. Good luck!