Help with hardscaping lava rock in a 10 gal!

[SnailorJ]

So I recently took apart my 10 gal, and I want to make it into a celestial Pearl danio tank, plus a few other bottom dwellers or a gourami of some sort. Long story short, I want a tank that is different from my 20 gal.
(Sorry the water was cloudy)
I fell in love with the simple mountain meadow style aquascape, and I would love to do something similar. Ex:

However, I don't have any experience with hardscapes, and I also don't think this design will provide enough plant cover for the CPDs.

I couldn't help myself though, and picked up some lava rock at my lfs for only $17!

My tentative plan is making two mountain like formations at the 1/3 and 2/3 mark of the tank, leaving the center as an open valley. I want some sort of grassy ground covering plant in the foreground, the surrounding terrain being hilly. Id like to immitate a little mountain lake at the base of the mountains by making a dip in the substrate. To give proper covering for the CPDs, I was thinking of making a little "forest" of anacharis in the background surrounding the "mountains" since it's similar in color and texture to what you might imagine finding in the mountains.

So, what do you more experienced people think? Should this provide enough security for my CPDs?

And What can I use to make the mountains? Some sort of clay or just black silicone? And should I attempt to stabilize hills in the substrate with anything underneath, or just mound it up? (I'm using potting soil under a cap of sand)


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[Fishperson]

Anacharis grows fast and since this sounds like a high light or at least medium light tank other plants might do better. Perhaps ammania sp. bonsai? Dwarf hair grass or baby tears in the front would work well but is difficult, staurogyne repens wont look quite as nice IMO but should be much easier. Marsilea crenata would look nice in this tank too.

Make sure not to be too ambitious though! I don't know if this is your first planted tank but if it is maybe working your way up to a big old plan like this would be a better idea. Not trying to be a downer but I had a grand scheme for my first planted tank and it ended very poorly. Many others here started off slowly keeping easy plants and progressed from there, and now have great beautiful tanks.

 

[SnailorJ]

It's not my first planted tank by any means (I put a picture of my planted 20 gallon above for example, but it's still a work in progress), but I have also not attempted anything really difficult before. I wanted something different from my 20 gal, so that's why I wanted to go with rocks rather than just driftwood and a bunch of plants. But, I can get overly ambitious sometimes... hehe. I don't think I'll be able to keep micro tears alive, but I was hoping to do something similar to micro swords or dwarf hair grass, and I don't think I would be able to get any of that to grow on the rocks. I was thinking of just doing some kind of moss, probably Java, on the rocks. I like that anarchist is is fast growing and not difficult, and I don't mind trimming it often, but I think maybe picking a slower growing plant is a good idea.

If it seems like this is too big of an undertaking, I'm definitely open to other suggestions. What I really want for this tank is simple, with only a few different kinds of plants, but I want it to look intentional.


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[SnailorJ]

Thanks for the suggestions for ammania bonsai and easier carpet plants. I like those ideas.

I think I really want to at least attempt this now that I've bought the lava rock, and just scrap it if it doesn't work and try something else. But I want to approach it from an angle with the least chance of failure - and I figure the best way to get experience with something is to try, right?


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[Fishperson]

Yeah you're absolutely right! I wasn't saying that you should toss the lava stone though, just that maybe a more conservative approach at the beginning would be best. Riccia fluitans is a VERY interesting plant. You could use it on a rock as a "lake" like you said, as seen here:



Or you could use it as your carpet. It is easier to grow than HC or DHG (dwarf baby tears and dwarf hair grass, respectively) but I don't know how to carpet it. This guy found a way, however:



Have you decided on 2 23 watt fluorescent lights? That was what you planned on right? You should take a look at DIY co2 or pressurized. Its a lot to deal with so you might as well take a look at it now.

 

[SnailorJ]

Yeah, I think that's what I'm going to go with, but I might just keep those on my 20 gallon plus one more, and then buy an actual fixture for the 10 gal since I'm putting more work into it. I did a very very rough sketch of what I'm imagining.

I'm thinking of mounding up the soil I'll use for substrate as hills, and then positioning the rocks in as my little mountain formations. Maybe I'll silicone them together to make then bigger, or maybe I'll just have smaller ones sticking up. It sounds relatively simple to me, but I guess we'll see haha.

And about the co2.....I think you're right and I'm going to have to give in sometime, but don't those usually cost upwards of $100? It intimidates me but also I definitely can't afford that right now. This tank will be a slow build because I'm going to have to get my plants and fish very gradually as I am able to set aside more money.


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[Fishperson]

Yeah, I think that's what I'm going to go with, but I might just keep those on my 20 gallon plus one more, and then buy an actual fixture for the 10 gal since I'm putting more work into it. I did a very very rough sketch of what I'm imagining. View attachment 244344

I'm thinking of mounding up the soil I'll use for substrate as hills, and then positioning the rocks in as my little mountain formations. Maybe I'll silicone them together to make then bigger, or maybe I'll just have smaller ones sticking up. It sounds relatively simple to me, but I guess we'll see haha.

And about the co2.....I think you're right and I'm going to have to give in sometime, but don't those usually cost upwards of $100? It intimidates me but also I definitely can't afford that right now. This tank will be a slow build because I'm going to have to get my plants and fish very gradually as I am able to set aside more money.


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1. For the light, on a 10 gallon a Finnex Fugeray would give you low-medium light, a Fugeray Planted+ medium, and a Ray 2 medium-high light. I suppose the planted+ would be your best bet then.

2. Yes co2 usually costs upwards of $125 to assemble but some online guides can supposedly get it for less. This is a great guide and the author claims to have thrown one together for only $80:

http://www.plantedtank.net/articles/Pressurized-CO2/19/

If you do end up skipping it and just dosing gluteraldahyde you should be fine with medium light if you are careful.

3. Your sketch looks good. You might want to try some red plants in there, maybe order some AR mini from Brookster.

4. Will you go with PPS pro, EI, or some other kind of dosing?

5. Make sure that you have EVERYTHING ready before plants go in. I had a tank only half filled with Eco complete when my plants got here. Plus I ended up not having enough time to set up my new light, co2, or fertilizer until 5 days after arrival. Not smart at all on my behalf. Just be very careful that everything is ready before they go in.

 

[SnailorJ]

Great suggestion for the plant. I was thinking of adding a little more diversity around the base of the mountains/lake so it's not just a mass of green. Maybe I could plant something else in the crater as the lake like you suggested earlier.

As for ferts, I've always just dosed with flourish following the instructions on the bottle.......

And everything will definitely be set up before I start adding plants
My final decision is whether to use black sand or play sand, which is what I've been using previously. I'm thinking black might look more natural with the black lava rock, but I'm afraid of making the tank too dark because I have a black background as well.


Thanks so much for all of your input, btw


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[Fishperson]

You should look up PPS pro and EI dosing and see which you prefer.

 

[SnailorJ]

Okay, I will. I started working on the soil, and geez there are so many wood chips!!!! I picked out as much as I could, but there are still a lot of little ones left. Does that look normal, or did I buy a bad brand of soil? :/


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[SnailorJ]

Also, I'm worried that the sand will slide down off the dirt on the steep parts of the hills. :/


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[Fishperson]

Well I cant really address wether that is normal or not, but I can tell you that the last thing you want is dirt in your water. I hear stories of wood chips getting scattered all over the tank and ruining scapes. So the best thing to do would be to make the dirt part around 1.5 inches tall and completely flat. Not that you should pat it down because there are rules about that, that it causes anaerobic environments that can create toxic gas bubbles that burst and fling soil everywhere. Thats just my understanding of it, I wish I could tell you more about that but I'm sure you already have read up on the necessary precautions. If you want to make hills, or thicker or thinner parts, change the thickness of the sand layer rather than the solid layer. That way if any sand slides it gives way to more sand, not soil. Secondly, you can put flat rectangular rocks (small ones) in the soil on the hills as substrate support. Watch this one of James Findley's aquascapes, called Nature's Chaos, and you'll see how he uses them:

Its a great scape with lots of stuff to learn about. If you don't have time to watch the whole thing just skim to the part about substrate supports. That should prevent any sand from sliding too much. You can probably think of something around you, thats aquarium safe, to use for that, whether it be rocks or other things, better than I can, although rocks are my suggestion.

 

[SnailorJ]

Okay, thanks. I do have rocks in the hills already to stabilize them, but I think it's a good idea to make the sand thicker on the hills in case it does slide.


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[SnailorJ]

Here's the progression!!


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[Fishperson]

Looks good. What will it be capped with? I couldn't tell if it was capped or not in the last pic.

 

[SnailorJ]

Thank you! And Yep, the last picture it was capped with sand. The real challenge will be picking the right plants I think, and getting them to grow correctly.


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[Fishperson]

Thank you! And Yep, the last picture it was capped with sand. The real challenge will be picking the right plants I think, and getting them to grow correctly.


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Picking the plants: no problem! You seem to have a handle on things already. Remember, you can always feel free to PM any of us and ask questions about plants. You can look online for planted profiles (TPT has some good ones) but the best info you'll get is from members here who have had those plants.

But yes growing them is the hard part

 

[Fishperson]

Have you decided on anything final yet? Remember that you will probably have less room than you think. This scape by James Findley has only 3 different kinds of aquatic plants in it, but is one of his most successful, entitled "Crimson Sky":

 

[SnailorJ]

That's a beautiful tank! And yes, what I'm most concerned with is picking plants that will stay small enough not to take over the hardscape I've done since it's so small to begin with. Id love any more recommendations you or anyone else has for a teeny tiny carpet plant that's not crazy hard to grow, and then something for the background to give cover and maybe one more for diversity, at least in color.
Lots of researching ahead!


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[Fishperson]

Besides Alternanthera Reineckii and its mini version (the red one in that tank) there aren't many medium light red plants. Here are some options by I don't know what they require: