Journal: beginner 10g planted tank

alter40

alter40

Superstar Fish
#21
Nov 26, 2007
1,293
0
0
39
Charlotte, NC
#21
Thank you sweetpickles. I do love the colors of the bolivian rams. I know the one LFS here doesn't have any, but I will have to check the other two and see what they have. I will be going to them later this week and hopefully get a better idea of what fish I will add to the tank after the cycle.
How often do you do water changes in your 10gal tank? I was thinking that I would probably end up doing about a 20% change once a week.
 

sweetpickles7

sweetpickles7

Superstar Fish
#22
Feb 13, 2007
1,239
0
0
Central Illinois
#22
Yea thats about right, maybe 25%. Flame gouramis are great, i just got my first gourami and im not 100% sure what type it is i cant find it on the net? It is a dwarf but its mainly red with neon blue strips, and is kinda pearl white in the face? I mainly just stick with cichlids but i do like the occasional change.
 

alter40

alter40

Superstar Fish
#23
Nov 26, 2007
1,293
0
0
39
Charlotte, NC
#23
Ok so I will do about a 25% change once a week then. Flame gourami is one of types that I was looking at getting. I was also looking at the blue dwarf gourami or one of the dwarfs that has the stripes going up and down on them. If I can find some of the bolivian rams though I'm going to have a tough decision to make :D

Does your flame gourami look like this? Flame Gourami
 

alter40

alter40

Superstar Fish
#25
Nov 26, 2007
1,293
0
0
39
Charlotte, NC
#25
Well just a quick update that got me excited haha. I just checked my tracking number and the estimated delivery date for my supplies is on Saturday. This is earlier then I expected it to get here :D :D :D
 

alter40

alter40

Superstar Fish
#28
Nov 26, 2007
1,293
0
0
39
Charlotte, NC
#28
Well if I get the stuff Saturday then I should have the tank filled with water by Sunday. I have to find plain ammonia though, I went to Walmart today and they didn't have just plain ammonia. If I can find that before the weekend then the tank should have water in it Sunday.
 

alter40

alter40

Superstar Fish
#31
Nov 26, 2007
1,293
0
0
39
Charlotte, NC
#31
Well I have to find the ammonia somewhere to add to the tank and I will just follow along with missfishy's guide to cycling the tank. I let it start to cycle with probably just the substrate in there as soon as I get everything and I will soak my driftwood in a bucket when I get it and once the water stays clear in there I will add it in. Hopefully I can find 2 or 3 rocks at Home Depot or a crafts store and boil them and add them to the aquascape, and I will start adding plants next week probably.
Do I need a timer for my lights? How many hours a day should the lights be on?
 

alter40

alter40

Superstar Fish
#33
Nov 26, 2007
1,293
0
0
39
Charlotte, NC
#33
I will have to pick up a timer then. I'm kind of a night owl so my timer is probably going to be set quite a bit later then that. I have been thinking that a timer would probably be a good idea since I will be having live plants in there and they will need time for their photosynthesis. I will be picking one up this weekend to add into my setup.
 

Lotus

Lotus

Ultimate Fish
Moderator
#34
Aug 26, 2003
15,115
13
38
Southern California
home.earthlink.net
#34
Gosh, all these posts and no pics :eek:

Lights should be on for 10 to 12 hours a day. It doesn't really matter which hours, and if you want to have them on in the evening instead of the day, that would be fine.

Ammonia is a good way to cycle a tank.

The "planted" way involves putting a lot of fast-growing stem plants in the tank (like a bunch per gallon) and stocking slowly. Plants will use up ammonia and nitrites. You need to have good lighting, a lot of plants and few fish for this to be sucessful. In some ways, it's good to start off a planted tank with a lot of fast-growing stem plants, as they'll use up excess nutrients faster and balance your tank faster. Plants like anacharis, hornwort, wisteria and watersprite are the usual ones people use.
 

alter40

alter40

Superstar Fish
#35
Nov 26, 2007
1,293
0
0
39
Charlotte, NC
#35
So my 15watt light probably isn't strong enough to do this then? I would love to cycle it the planted way; if I do that do I still manually add in the ammonia? I'm not sure I really understand exactly how to cycle a tank the "planted" way.
 

alter40

alter40

Superstar Fish
#39
Nov 26, 2007
1,293
0
0
39
Charlotte, NC
#39
FishGeek said:
Sry got a bit carried away LOL :eek:
Click to expand...
By all means, feel free to get carried away. I have to setup the tank still and let it cycle and I am open to all suggestions that would be appropriate for a 10 gallon planted tank.

Are those cichlids that you posted aggressive? If I were to go with the cardinals and those ones you just posted then I would have to buy all the fish online. I have never done this before and to be honest, I'm kind of afraid to do it. If others here have ordered fish online though with no problems which I'm sure many have, then I maybe give it a shot. Thanks for the links, those fish really are beautiful. You have now made me start to rethink my stocking plans yet again :D
 

You must log in or register to reply here.