My first planted - 10g

[rhetor]

Hey guys!

I've been reading a lot of posts and have been setting up my 10g with some plants. I'm a college student so i have about negative eleventeen bajillion dollars. This means i don't have a test kit! All i have is a ph test.

I have a 10g running on city water, which i treat with de-chlor before i use.

For lighting i have two 19w 5500k daylight bulbs, and a 15" 15w CF that came with the hood. I could easily build a different hood with 3 or 4 of the 19w cf screw ins, but i think that might be too much.

I set up a small co2 injection system following the DIY posts. Great information over there!

Anyhow, i ordered Flourish, Flourish Excel, and root tabs from bigals. I would have gotten a test kit too but it all costs so much. Hopefully i can get one around christmas time.

Since i got the plants before i really started reading, i have probably all the wrong ones. I have a big Sword in the back, a few smaller swords, a small plant called "tropica fern" from petco, and then two grasses called kyoto from petco also.

So my question is this- Is the lighting sufficient? Is a 1L bottle and an airstone enough for the CO2? How much of the flourish should i dose when it gets here?

 

[dapellegrini]

Do you have pics of the plants? Sounds like you may have stocked a bunch of non-aquatics...

http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_list.php?category=11

Petco is notorious for selling plants that will only rot in your aquarium!

 

[evercl92]

Do you have pics of the plants? Sounds like you may have stocked a bunch of non-aquatics...

http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_list.php?category=11

Petco is notorious for selling plants that will only rot in your aquarium!

Total agreement. I'm not all that familiar with petco plants, I don't go there anymore due to mislabeling, selling non-aquatics, too expensive, etc. You probably will end up getting rid of the sword too, unless it's a fancy variety. My amazon sword is almost 2 feet tall, and about 2 feet wide. They get a little too big for a 10 gal.

If you put a post in the barter/trade forum, I'm sure you can get smaller plants for your tank pretty cheap.

 

[dapellegrini]

I haven't done a 10g in a long time. I think your lighting is sufficient, if not overkill, but perhaps others with 10g setups can answer the ratio related questions. I have also never done DIY CO2, but it sounds like you are on the right track. Not sure if you need Excel and CO2 though. Also make sure you have the appropriate Macro Ferts (NO3, K, and PO4). Flourish Comprehensive will give you a good Micro Fert base.

 

[rhetor]

So the Seachem flourish just has trace ferts, right?

Is there something i can buy that will give me a good mix of those Macro Ferts? I have fish in the tank so i guess they provide some of the nitrates right?

I have a picture but am having trouble uploading it. I'll get it in soon.

I've read that the kyoto is mislabeled by petco, but the ones i have seem to be doing well and are growing new roots and leaves. I will toss them if they start to drop out.
The sword is nice. I'm missing something because it is not thriving and growing like it should

 

[dapellegrini]

If your bottle of Flourish says "Comprehensive Supplement for the Planted Aquarium", then yes, that is what I use for Trace dosiing (micro ferts).

Seachem sells each Macro fert liquid individually. You would want:

Seachem Flourish Nitrogen
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18480/si1380572/cl0/seachemflourishnitrogen500ml

Seachem Flourish Phosphorus
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18480/si1380575/cl0/seachemflourishphosphorus500ml

Seachem Flourish Potassium
http://www.bigalsonline.com/BigAlsUS/ctl3684/cp18480/si1380247/cl0/seachemflourishpotassium500ml

Or, if you want to save a lot of money, you can buy dry ferts from GregWatson.com:

KNO3 for Nitrogen (and some Potassium):
http://www.gregwatson.com/proddetail.asp?prod=Nitrate

K2SO4 for more Potassium:
http://www.gregwatson.com/proddetail.asp?prod=PotassiumSulfate

And KH2PO4 for Phosphorus:
http://www.gregwatson.com/proddetail.asp?prod=PotassiumPhosphate

With the dry ferts, you can make your own mixes. There are lots of resources online for how to do this, or just ask on this board.

Is your sword loosing leaves, turning yellow? Can you post a pic?

 

[rhetor]

Thanks for the info!

A while ago the sword had a few of it's tallest leaves that would turn slightly yellow, but one of them went clear. Then i had a BBA outbreak and removed two large leafs, and dipped it in a chlorine solution. One of the leafs is half yellow now. After i met BBA's ugly face i built the DIY CO2 set up. Its just going out of an airstone so i know i'm not getting very good diffusion. I'll have to build a reactor and hide it in the corner.

 

[Purrbox]

For a 10 Gallon tank you're probably going to need a second one liter bottle to get the CO2 levels high enough. This will also give you the opportunity to alternate when you change out the mix, giving the tank steadier CO2 levels.

The current lighting definately looks to be high to very high light. As a result your plants are probably tearing through the nutrients. Definately look into getting ahold of the macronutrients as soon as possible.

 

[rhetor]

Thanks!

Maybe the chemistry department on campus will have some?

 

[fish 'n' fries]

Quite possibly...whether it's an issue getting some from them...

BTW--in your picture, your fern looks like java fern (if the one in the picture's what's in question). It is aquatic.

 

[rhetor]

Great! I noticed it looked alot like the java fern in other pictures.

They kyoto grasses i soon found were non aquatic after looking on this site. I'll remove them as soon as they start to rot, or when i get new plants. I just want to make sure my tank is capable of growth before getting some nice plants.

I just recieved the Flourish, Flourish Excel, and root tabs today. I put in a capful of the Flourish Excel as recomended, and i think it was 1mL of regular Flourish. I have to wash my hands before i put the root tabs in though.

I think one of the lab professors might give me a small amount of the macro ferts if he has them. When i explain what its for he'll probably be glad to give a little bit. I'm assuming a small amount will go a long way for just ten gallons.

Also, i was told that the spiral bulbs loose a lot of light to restrike, and also that a ten gallon will need a little bit more light than average, not sure if that is true or not. The 15" flourescent light that came with the hood is probably the crappiest and cheapest available.

Thanks for the help so far! I'll let you guys know how it all turns out.