Live plant for a ten gallon tank

[unstopaBULLFish]

Well I feel stupid and very noobish now lol.

 

[Mebbid]

Well I feel stupid and very noobish now lol.

There's no reason to. We are all here on this forum to learn. If you went through to my early posts here on this forum you would see me saying just about the same exact thing

 

[TXaquaFanatic]

Thanks Mebbid. You have brought hope back to my 10 gallon dream. And as far as Alvins new 45 gallon I havent really decide what I am doing with it yet other than putting him in it.

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[TXaquaFanatic]

Trying my hand at this plant thing....

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[Fresh2o]

Trying my hand at this plant thing....

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You gotta start somewhere. Good luck with this. Be patient...Java ferns can grow slowly.
If the 13w bulbs are incandescent, you could possible swap them out with compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL) provided they fit the existing space. CFLs come in various wattages (suggest the 13w) and sizes/diameters. The CFLs run cooler and put out a decent amount of light. Looks for a light color at or near 6700k. I've found them at Lowes hardware.
You could raise the water level. It would increase the tank volume and the filter will increase its throughput (pump won't have to work as hard).


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[TXaquaFanatic]

So a day after adding the driftwood, snails, and a live plant, I now have white foam at the top of my water. Is this normal?

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[TXaquaFanatic]

My Foam issue has stopped and my Java fern is doing well. I have noticed its roots are growing, which is really exciting. With all that said I am going to take the next step in my adventure, switch over to sand and plant some grass. I am leaning torward Corkscrew Vallisneria or Sagittaria. I don't have anything for lights other than what my tank came with and have no plans on changing it anytime soon. Question is will these be okay with low light and if not any suggestions on some aqua grass that will? Also once I switch to sand and plant the grass, will I still need to vacuum my tank?

 

[Fresh2o]

With sand you don't really vacuum. You can hover the end of the hose or vacuum tube above the sand to stir up and remove debris on the surface.
It might be hit or miss with Vals and dwarf sag with the stock LED lighting. I cannot think of any low light grass plants you can try.
With that lighting you can try out crypts such as Crypt wendtii green or red. It grows slowly and does not get too large for a 10g.


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[TXaquaFanatic]

Cool! Thanks for the suggestion I will look into those.

 

[TXaquaFanatic]

With sand you don't really vacuum. You can hover the end of the hose or vacuum tube above the sand to stir up and remove debris on the surface.
It might be hit or miss with Vals and dwarf sag with the stock LED lighting. I cannot think of any low light grass plants you can try.
With that lighting you can try out crypts such as Crypt wendtii green or red. It grows slowly and does not get too large for a 10g.


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I took your suggestion and ordered a Crypt Wendtii and Crypt Spiralis from my lfs. Should be here friday!

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[TXaquaFanatic]

The journey begins!

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[Autumnsky]

The journey begins!

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Looks like Alvin is jumping for joy!!! Oh forgot to add that I had a little Java fern start a few years ago 3 leaves only...which I attached to a spot on a resin/fake root log that that has grown to over maybe 50 leaves!!!

Here is a pic of it from Feb '14 and it has 3 times that many now, lol.

 

[TXaquaFanatic]

Thats a nice Java Fern you have there! I hope mine gets like that!

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[TMRC Exotics]

Well with a goldfish in a ten gallon there should be lots of ammonia and nitrates(if the ammonia lasts long enough to be converted) for plants. Truly Alvin needs a bigger tank soon.

 

[TXaquaFanatic]

Working with what I can... its better than Alvin being stuck in a bowl

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