Need some suggestions (High tech tank)?

[phoenixkiller]

Hey all!

I'm tearing down my 10 gallon betta tank to start afresh, focus more on a CRS project I've started, and lessen the burden of water changes on the holidays.

By start afresh, I mean start over. Almost completely. The tank has become consumed by algae, and water quality is declining. It is so bad I would feel ashamed to even share a picture.

Therefore, I am tearing the tank down and throwing away every plant in there. The substrate isn't nearly deep enough, with no nutrients, filled with poo and detritus, and clouding the water. The lighting system is not doing its job, just growing an algae farm. Fertilizers have been neglected for some time, so no extra nutrients have been available. This is awful, and I am embarrassed that the only way to fix these problems is to start over.

Alrighty, now that you know what I'm getting into, down to business!

Tank: This is a standard 10 gallon black rimmed tank, the one you find everywhere. No scratches, in very good condition.

Lighting: Right now, a full spectrum desk lamp, 6,500k, 27w one. I really, really want to get a better light, but I am not going to break the bank purchasing a schnazzy, with-all-the-bells-and-whistles Finnex, Fugeray, ADA, or FishNeedIt fixture. I just want sufficient, sustainable, reliable lighting that fits my ever-tightening budget.

Substrate: As before, I do not want to spend oodles of cash getting any special stuff, so don't you dare recommend ADA Aquasoil or UP Aqua stuff. I was planning on using barely used Eco-Complete that needs a use. Got any ideas?

Fertilizers:
Planning on starting once again with N,P,K, and Micros dry ferts that I have in abundance. Root tabs are in plenty, and it variety. Recommend whatever you like regarding this subject.

Carbon Dioxide injection: I have a 24 ounce C02 tank waiting to be refilled. I have a paintball system (ASA On/Off valve system) to go with it. I have drop checker with fluid, bubble counter, C02 tubing, glass diffuser, the works. Please do not recommend a regulator, unless you know someone who is giving one away.

Fish/Invertebrates: Only a male veintail betta will inhabit this tank. Due to the fact that I will be dosing ferts containing copper and injecting C02, no shrimp will be able to survive.

Plants: Here's the best thing! I truthfully don't care what goes in the tank, recommend anything you think a guy just gettin' into high tech would be able to keep alive! I would like to get a pretty foreground plant, either HC or Dwarf Hairgrass. Other than that, recommend away!!

pH is around 8.0 usually, kinda an important fact lol.

Thanks guys!

 

[fort384]

Well, if you want the best, you will get ADA aquasoil.

If you want to try something that is nutrient rich, cheap, and will work, try some organic top soil and cap it with PFS. Lotsa folks love the dirt tanks. It can be messy though. Laterite is also fairly economical and can work well at absorbing and retaining nutrients. Any of the clay based substrates will be better than using sand as far as retaining nutrients and helping with plant growth.

For plants, go to PlantGeek.net - Your Aquatic Plant Resource and you can sort their plant guide by lighting requirements.

As far as the light, I think you will be able to grow a lot with 27W of CF over a 10, but if it is a desk lamp the reflectors might not all that great. I would call it medium to high light, but you might have trouble growing some of the more light hungry species, and while I think you could keep HC alive and it would grow, it would most likely not stay compact with that lighting over a 10. Quite frankly, I didn't get what I would call "compact" HC growth with 27W of CF over a 5.5 gallon tank - to keep it nice and short I had to trim often. Trimming HC blows - all the little tiny leaves get all over the tank. I never knew how compact this stuff could be till I started blasting it with LEDs in a shallow 36" long 12 gal tank. The pic on the left half of my signature is HC that has not been trimmed ever. It is still within an inch or so of the substrate. That is what is desirable with ground covers, and all of them can be hard to get to grow out instead of up unless the lighting is intense.

Why can't shrimp survive in a co2 injected tank? I keep my 12g at around 40ppm CO2 and have a healthy thriving and multiplying colony of CBS and CRS. In fact I cannot recollect any shrimp tanks I have kept over the years that didn't have copious amounts of co2 injection.

And what are you dosing that has Cu in it and why?

 

[DanTheGuppyMan]

+1 to fort384 about the C02 injection with shrimp- I have my 60g planted tank running at about 2 bps for about 6 hours a day and have a thriving shrimp colony, sadly my Amano shrimp cannot breed in FW but none have died yet I dose aquariumplants.com TOTAL, PHOSPHATE, and IRON root tabs monthly as instructed and also some Flourish when needed and the only thing that can pose a treat to my shrimp is the TOTAL root tab which is vital to my plants but contains small trace elements including copper but since it is a small amount and I use it only once a month as well as the fact as my tank is fairly large it doesn't affect the shrimp at all. They are happy and healthy as can be

 

[fort384]

Yes, I should have caviated that - most trace mixes contain some copper, but it is in such an amount that it will not have any negative effect on inverts. There is naturally some Cu found in the wild, and shrimp actually need it.

 

[phoenixkiller]

Also, I just don't have an extra $125 (At least) for a CO2 system, and I don't really need CO2 anyway. DIY CO2 is a PITA, and hard to keep stable, I have yet to get a DIY system to function properly, much less efficiently and consistently.

I use Plantex CSM + B for trace mix, and I actually killed a few RCS by doing full EI dose. That's actually when I sold all shrimp.

 

[fort384]

I don't think that that was the cause unless you way overdosed. I have dosed Plantex csm+b for years in my shrimp tanks. If you want to grow compact plants under high light it will be a challenge without co2 injection in my experience.

 

[Billbug68]

Also, I just don't have an extra $125 (At least) for a CO2 system, and I don't really need CO2 anyway. DIY CO2 is a PITA, and hard to keep stable, I have yet to get a DIY system to function properly, much less efficiently and consistently.

I also had the same opinion of DIY after my first pass with it. I just set mine back up though and use baking soda in my mix now and its much more stable. I have a constant 1 bps for a few weeks and my drop checker is always lime green. So far I've found for me, the key to DIY is consistent room temperature, 2 liter bottle, 2 cups sugar, 1 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp yeast.

Didn't you say you have a DIY paintball setup? That should suffice, although I've never tried it.

 

[Rivercats]

If you don't want to use CO2 then you could try using Excel, Glutaraldehyde, or API CO2 Booster. I've had very good results with Glut in my 220g and in a 10g it would be very cheap. One gallon of Glut costs $27 and it makes up 2-1/2 gallons when added with RO water to make it the same strength as Excel. I actually dose alittle on the high side with the CSM+B and it doesn't bother my shrimp, nor does the Glut which I also use in a high amount due to my tank being high light and heavily planted.

 

[phoenixkiller]

Ohhhhhhhhhhhh oops... my bad.

I thought I was talking about my 10g CRS tank, but no, it's the other 10g I'm talking about.

Sorry for da mixup, yes, I will be injecting CO2 via paintball system.

Sorry.