Hi all,
I'll post my questions first, and if you need more info, read below.
____
I'm pretty new to the whole aquarium thing (both planted and non-planted.)
About 8 months ago, I set up a 29 gal tall tank that my parents used to keep for me when I was a kid.
I set everything up, let the tank cycle, and bought some fish (guppies, cories, mollies) and some plastic plants (yawn). I really became enthusiastic about the fishkeeping aspect of the hobby, but quickly became bored with the plastic decorations.
I lost some fish to some beginner mistakes, bought some new ones, managed to raise some from birth, and still lost and bought a few more. I think I'm pretty satisfied with the crew I've got now, (although one always wants a few more right?) and I hope they're happy too. They seem to be.
One thing was missing though. The Plants!
So a few months back, I found this site and got really excited about the possibility of having a more natural looking tank. Since then, I've been lurking around, reading as many posts and journals as I can, and generally just looking for inspiration/advice from some of the more experienced folks.
Well, I finally decided to start a planted tank. I wanted to start small, but still grow some interesting plants; a "high-tech" setup I guess... So I got a 10 gallon tank plus the essentials, a 28 watt compact fluorescent light fixture, some eco-complete, and after ordering a plant package with a bunch of different plants, and having a few of them bite the dust after planting, I realized I needed a CO2 setup!
I considered the DIY method, and although it seems very economical, I really didn't like the high-maintenance it seemed to bring with it. So ultimately I have ended up with: a 10 gallon planted tank with lighting ~ 3WPG, and CO2 injection from a pressurized 5lb cylinder (which seemed like a good idea in case I want to upgrade to a larger tank in the future ) with bubble counter (around 1-2 bps) and am using one of those glass CO2 diffusers. I still want to get a drop checker.
Plants in the tank currently - I think...they didn't come with a list, but I tried to do some research):
Mayaca fluviatilis (bog moss?)
Myriophyllum heterophyllum (foxtail?)
Echinodorus ozelot (Ozelot Sword)
Sagittaria platyphylla (chilensis?)
Echinodorus osiris (melon sword)
Vallisneria americana (corkscrew val)
Echinodorus 'Kleiner Bar' (kleiner bar sword)
Nymphoides aquatica (banana plant)
Elocharis acicularis (dwarf hairgrass)
and some assorted small plants that are too young for me to identify...
It seems like kind of a lot of plants for a 10 gal. (but that's good right!) although sort of a hodge-podge... maybe too many swords for my liking, I guess I just need to practice my aquascaping skills to make it look good.
Um, I guess that's all for now, sorry about the dissertation-length of this post - I just wanted to give the whole story.
Oh, and sorry for the no pictures, a digital camera is on my list - as soon as I finish doing my research on them... any relatively inexpensive suggestions?
Thanks.
I'll post my questions first, and if you need more info, read below.
- Is there such thing as too much CO2 injection for a planted tank? (I do plan on putting a few small fishies in my (10 gal) tank eventually... so I know I won't keep it higher than aroung 30 ppm when I do) Or are high CO2 levels just inviting algae growth?
- I'd like to have a "carpet" type effect on the substrate. I'm thinking of planting glosso for that, does it help to plant it in a finer substrate? Can I put some black sand on top of my eco-complete or is that a waste of time?
- I've checked out some of the fertilizer guides, and am tentatively planning on the EI method. I am currently just dosing flourish every few days or so... I am really a beginner when it comes to fertilization, so some advice here would be helpful.
- Any recommendation on some tiny fish for this aquarium? I don't really wanna overcrowd...
- I know I need to test for gH and kH right? What's the best way to do that?
____
I'm pretty new to the whole aquarium thing (both planted and non-planted.)
About 8 months ago, I set up a 29 gal tall tank that my parents used to keep for me when I was a kid.
I set everything up, let the tank cycle, and bought some fish (guppies, cories, mollies) and some plastic plants (yawn). I really became enthusiastic about the fishkeeping aspect of the hobby, but quickly became bored with the plastic decorations.
I lost some fish to some beginner mistakes, bought some new ones, managed to raise some from birth, and still lost and bought a few more. I think I'm pretty satisfied with the crew I've got now, (although one always wants a few more right?) and I hope they're happy too. They seem to be.
One thing was missing though. The Plants!
So a few months back, I found this site and got really excited about the possibility of having a more natural looking tank. Since then, I've been lurking around, reading as many posts and journals as I can, and generally just looking for inspiration/advice from some of the more experienced folks.
Well, I finally decided to start a planted tank. I wanted to start small, but still grow some interesting plants; a "high-tech" setup I guess... So I got a 10 gallon tank plus the essentials, a 28 watt compact fluorescent light fixture, some eco-complete, and after ordering a plant package with a bunch of different plants, and having a few of them bite the dust after planting, I realized I needed a CO2 setup!
I considered the DIY method, and although it seems very economical, I really didn't like the high-maintenance it seemed to bring with it. So ultimately I have ended up with: a 10 gallon planted tank with lighting ~ 3WPG, and CO2 injection from a pressurized 5lb cylinder (which seemed like a good idea in case I want to upgrade to a larger tank in the future ) with bubble counter (around 1-2 bps) and am using one of those glass CO2 diffusers. I still want to get a drop checker.
Plants in the tank currently - I think...they didn't come with a list, but I tried to do some research):
Mayaca fluviatilis (bog moss?)
Myriophyllum heterophyllum (foxtail?)
Echinodorus ozelot (Ozelot Sword)
Sagittaria platyphylla (chilensis?)
Echinodorus osiris (melon sword)
Vallisneria americana (corkscrew val)
Echinodorus 'Kleiner Bar' (kleiner bar sword)
Nymphoides aquatica (banana plant)
Elocharis acicularis (dwarf hairgrass)
and some assorted small plants that are too young for me to identify...
It seems like kind of a lot of plants for a 10 gal. (but that's good right!) although sort of a hodge-podge... maybe too many swords for my liking, I guess I just need to practice my aquascaping skills to make it look good.
Um, I guess that's all for now, sorry about the dissertation-length of this post - I just wanted to give the whole story.
Oh, and sorry for the no pictures, a digital camera is on my list - as soon as I finish doing my research on them... any relatively inexpensive suggestions?
Thanks.
