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852 Posts
ruuskystar,
First of all, welcome to APC! You're in the right place
If you want a low-maintenance tank, you might want to try a non-CO2 setup. They are very stable and easy to maintain. Some of the basic tenets of fishkeeping (specifically water changes) are all but discarded with this method.
For a non-CO2 setup, I personally prefer a mix of peat moss and topsoil under a layer of regular aquarium gravel. The soil/peat mixture for me is usually .5-.75 inches in depth, whereas the gravel is 1-2 inches deep. To create space in a 10 gallon, you might want to keep the total substrate at 2.5 inches or less.
The path of fertilization with a non-CO2 setup is through fish food. Fish food contains all of the nutrients plants need, and with slightly lower light and no injected CO2, the plants will have plenty of nutrients to maintain good growth. Maintenance (i.e., pruning, etc.) is much less with this sort of setup, but growth is slower and your species options are a bit less. This is not to say, however, that a beautiful tank cannot be accomplished with this method.
Alternatively, you can opt for the so-called "high-tech" setup, where you can include injected CO2 (pressurized is best, in my opinion, since maintaining 30+ ppm with a DIY setup is very difficult...and I personally don't use a pH monitor--to me it's an unnecessary and peripheral frill), a specific substrate, weekly water changes, and fertilizers. A little more light than for a non-CO2 tank should be used.
I assume you have a fixture left over from your salt tank. How many watts is it?
First of all, welcome to APC! You're in the right place
If you want a low-maintenance tank, you might want to try a non-CO2 setup. They are very stable and easy to maintain. Some of the basic tenets of fishkeeping (specifically water changes) are all but discarded with this method.
For a non-CO2 setup, I personally prefer a mix of peat moss and topsoil under a layer of regular aquarium gravel. The soil/peat mixture for me is usually .5-.75 inches in depth, whereas the gravel is 1-2 inches deep. To create space in a 10 gallon, you might want to keep the total substrate at 2.5 inches or less.
The path of fertilization with a non-CO2 setup is through fish food. Fish food contains all of the nutrients plants need, and with slightly lower light and no injected CO2, the plants will have plenty of nutrients to maintain good growth. Maintenance (i.e., pruning, etc.) is much less with this sort of setup, but growth is slower and your species options are a bit less. This is not to say, however, that a beautiful tank cannot be accomplished with this method.
Alternatively, you can opt for the so-called "high-tech" setup, where you can include injected CO2 (pressurized is best, in my opinion, since maintaining 30+ ppm with a DIY setup is very difficult...and I personally don't use a pH monitor--to me it's an unnecessary and peripheral frill), a specific substrate, weekly water changes, and fertilizers. A little more light than for a non-CO2 tank should be used.
I assume you have a fixture left over from your salt tank. How many watts is it?