Low-Tech 10g Planted Build

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Marsilea quadrifolia will make a nice ground cover. I was always pruning it out of my tank. It grows mostly in a long, straight row but very soon you'll have enough to cut some pieces off the main row and plant in another area. You can fill in the tank this way. I used plant anchors (the narrow, bendable silver strips) bent into a U shape and then inverted and pushed down over the runner to anchor it.

I think seven crypts might be too many for a 10 gallon tank. Crypts are my favorite plant and I had 7 or 8 in a 10 gallon. In about six months, they were too big for the tank and I thinned them out. I would suggest four to start. See how they grow and are doing in your set up. You can always add more if you want and think you'd like the look of a crypt-dominated tank. I also ran CO2 in my tank, so if you don't plan to, your plants, including the marsilea, won't grow as fast. I also like anubias too, and having too may crypts made the anubias less visible.
 
Thanks! :D. I know they'll grow slower, but I'll be ok with that, as long as they grow. This being my first planted tank, I didn't know how many crypts I'd need, that's why I put it out there. Any other anubias species that you could recommend for a 10g?
 
Learned something about my RO unit today. Although it produces ~22 gallons per day, the storage tank can only hold 3.2 gallons lol. I've got the tank about 45% filled :D, but it will be a little while before I get it all the way filled up.

Edit: I thought about it and I don't know if I should use RO water. Wouldn't it take out the elements that plants like such as magnesium, iron, etc. Although my tap is kinda high in pH, no sure about KH or dGH though. I think I'll fill it up with a little over half RO and a little under half tap and then test the pH.
 
Its not filled up but I tested tap and RO already in the tank.

RO- 7.0-7.2
Tap- 7.4-7.6

btw I changed the plant list a little again.

1 C. Parva
1 C. Wendtii Red
2 C. Lucens (they're sold out right now, but I clicked on the notifications button)
2 Anubias Barteri Var. Nana
1 Java Fern Windelov (Microsorium Pteropus "Windelov")
3 Ludwigia Natans (Ludwigia Repens)
 
I finally got the tank filled :D. 80% RO water, 20% dechlorinated tap. Working on some rock placement, then I'll add some pics.
 
Here's some pics of the tank as of now:
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closer up on the "river"
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so what do ya think?
 
i like it! good start. i like the pile of rocks in the middle. what are the little orange and red ones??
 
Thanks :D. Most of them are just river rocks I've found in the area. the red one in the back and the grey one beside it are failed attempts to polish some rocks lol.
 
It is so cool to see tanks step by step like this. I really enjoy it :D What is that test to do on rocks to make sure they are safe for the aquarium? Where you drop vinegar on them or something? :)
 
yeah. I didn't do that tho because most of them I'm pretty sure wouldn't fizz (by the texture, and quite a few of them are quartz) and they're pretty small as well. I love to watch build threads as well haha.
 
Added a few more rocks and I added 2 Rotala rotundifolia to my list. Also started the cycle with my first pinch of fish food lol. Still don't have a heater. I'm guessing I'll probably need a 50w but I'll probably have to buy it used (if I can find one) because of my low budget lol.
 
Wow thanks. So I guess the pebbles are the focal point. Say I wanted to add some driftwood. How could I do so without messing with the golden rule?
 
Depends on how big the driftwood is. The golden rule can be broken if you're trying to go for a natural look. The key however is integrating the wood and rocks so they won't look forced. Wood + Rocks is a difficult aquascaping combination. However, it only matters as to what you think looks good.

You could find a bigger rock and have a good carpet plant to accentuate the rock's height in lieu of your tank's height to add depth/height contrast. Drift wood can be incorporated as well. The focal point in my tank is the driftwood.
 
This is so cool :

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You could add the driftwood on the pebbles, but then that would have to be the FP. But if you surrounded it with the pebbles it would incorporate them while still keeping the DW the focus.
 
I can't see it lol. But I like how I measured my rocks and they followed the golden rule before I knew about it lol. Maybe adding plants to the driftwood would make it seem more natural.
 
Edit: I thought about it and I don't know if I should use RO water. Wouldn't it take out the elements that plants like such as magnesium, iron, etc. Although my tap is kinda high in pH, no sure about KH or dGH though. I think I'll fill it up with a little over half RO and a little under half tap and then test the pH.

However, it also removes all of the BAD stuff you don't want. It's MUCH easier to put stuff back in than it is to deal with the stuff already in the tap water. Basically what I'm saying is, many people use products that put stuff back into RO water. Some people just put a bit of tap water in. The elements you're talkin about are trace elements, the plants don't need much, so adding a bit of tap water to mostly RO water would probably be good. Then you get the benefits of very consistant RO water, yet you still get the trace elements you need. Or, you could always look into this... or this
 
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