Can someone double check me on these plans?

[Chiroptera]

My 10g is soon going to be converted into a betta sorority with 5 females, and some tiny clean crew members, and my plans are as follows:

Substrate: Sand. Root tabs will be placed every 5 or so inches along the bottom to help at first.

Layout: The sand will be shallower towards the front, sloping gently towards the back right corner. In the middle some aquascape rock will be arranged, with three pieces. Two smaller ones, and a large one in the middle. On the ground, dwarf baby tears will be the general lining. On the aquascape rock, Riccia Fluvantis will be attached to the rock so it climbs upward (I love the little bubbles) and then behind that, in two spots, Blyxa Japonica will shoot up through the Riccia, because it's grassy. Between those two I may add some curling driftwood, no moss.

My CO2 plans are to dose two tablets twice a week... but will that be enough for the Riccia to bubble? They need high light and high CO2 to bubble, and I'm really shooting for that crystalized look. I don't want a CO2 tank in my bedroom if I don't need to, and I don't want the DIY option, so the tablets look pretty neat.

I may not have the dwarf baby tears just because I want some kind of tiny catfish, and I know they like sand more. Tell me your thoughts?

Or, will they be okay with the plant carpeting?

I also plan on dosing flourish.

Thanks for taking the time!

 

[fort384]

What kind of flourish do you plan on dosing?

What kind of lighting are you planning on? You have selected some pretty high light plants there.

Do you have experience with Riccia? It is a very nice looking plant, but imo more trouble than it is worth. It is difficult to keep it where you want it as it is really a floating plant, so it does not readily attach to wood or rock.

I would skip the CO2 tablets. They are garbage in my opinion and dosing them twice a week is insufficient. If you don't want to do a pressurized or DIY system, then consider dosing a glutaraldehyde solution like flourish excel for Carbon supplementation. But, it has to be dosed at least every other day to be effective. All of these carbon additions disassociate rather quickly in water, so they have to be dosed quite often to be effective.

As far as your layout, consider not centering your largest piece of the scape. Using the rule of 1/3s, or the golden ratio, just like in photography usually lends the most appealing design. Rather than centering, place the largest piece about 1/3 away from either side of the tank, and then place the other stones in descending order by size.

 

[aqua_chem]

Agreed on the tablets. They are largely a product designed to pray on people trying to cheap out on co2.

What are you doing about light?

Also, I don't think that a betta sorority has long term potential in a 10G. They generally will need more room and cover than what you have.

 

[Chiroptera]

I was going to do a full-spectrum fluorescent, haven't glanced at brands but (by the outdated rule) I was gonna look at 4-6 watts per gallon, then start double-checking the products with reviews.

I did re-think the plants after reading that riccia seems more trouble than it's worth. If I keep my moderate bulb, I may just do a non-carpeting plants in my substrate, and make a cool cover of broader-leaved rooting plants.

Honestly, I just love the dreamy look plants (especially the riccia) get while pearling, and I'd probably get a small CO2 kit after a while if it was working out for me. Or I could just keep my moderate lighting and go lower, like ferns and anubias. But I'll only ever have two tanks, this 10g and my 125 project, except for maybe a 55 growout/hospital tank that will end up being empty in the garage most of the time, so I figure I can go out of my way to make the small one nice. I just don't want to spend a lot on a CO2 system at the start if I don't like the setup, and end up going down anyways..

 

[tropicalmackdaddy]

I was going to do a full-spectrum fluorescent, haven't glanced at brands but (by the outdated rule) I was gonna look at 4-6 watts per gallon, then start double-checking the products with reviews.

I did re-think the plants after reading that riccia seems more trouble than it's worth. If I keep my moderate bulb, I may just do a non-carpeting plants in my substrate, and make a cool cover of broader-leaved rooting plants.

Honestly, I just love the dreamy look plants (especially the riccia) get while pearling, and I'd probably get a small CO2 kit after a while if it was working out for me. Or I could just keep my moderate lighting and go lower, like ferns and anubias. But I'll only ever have two tanks, this 10g and my 125 project, except for maybe a 55 growout/hospital tank that will end up being empty in the garage most of the time, so I figure I can go out of my way to make the small one nice. I just don't want to spend a lot on a CO2 system at the start if I don't like the setup, and end up going down anyways..

DIY is pretty cheap and easy. It cost me about 20 bucks and 30m to make. Changing the recipe every 4-6weeks only takes 10 minutes.