newb to freshwater and planted tanks

[scottayy]

I am new to freshwater tanks and planted tanks but I have set up lots of saltwater tanks so I know about all of the equipment and cycling and the wonderful world of fishkeeping.

I've bought a standard 10 gallon aquarium with hood, a hang-on-back filter rated for 20 gallons, a koralia 240 nano for flow, a bag of fluorite substrate, some silk plant decorations (for now), some airline, a pump, and an airstone.

I have a few questions:

1) I am going to replace the stock incandescent bulbs with two 13 watt 6500k spiral compact fluorescents. Is this too much light? I can windowscreen the tank if necessary. I don't know if plants can bleach like corals or what not.

2) Is the koralia 240 necessary for a freshwater tank or will it be too much flow (or not enough)?

3) What kind of plants should I start out with? What would be good for a 10 gallon?

4) Stocking. Have no idea about freshwater fish. Can I get a school of small fish? What are some appropriate options? Would really like to have a school if possible. If that's possible, could I get another species for some variety in addition? To me, it sounds like overstocking but I don't know anything about freshwater fish.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Wilkes]

I am new to freshwater tanks and planted tanks but I have set up lots of saltwater tanks so I know about all of the equipment and cycling and the wonderful world of fishkeeping.

I've bought a standard 10 gallon aquarium with hood, a hang-on-back filter rated for 20 gallons, a koralia 240 nano for flow, a bag of fluorite substrate, some silk plant decorations (for now), some airline, a pump, and an airstone.

I have a few questions:

1) I am going to replace the stock incandescent bulbs with two 13 watt 6500k spiral compact fluorescents. Is this too much light? I can windowscreen the tank if necessary. I don't know if plants can bleach like corals or what not.

2) Is the koralia 240 necessary for a freshwater tank or will it be too much flow (or not enough)?

3) What kind of plants should I start out with? What would be good for a 10 gallon?

4) Stocking. Have no idea about freshwater fish. Can I get a school of small fish? What are some appropriate options? Would really like to have a school if possible. If that's possible, could I get another species for some variety in addition? To me, it sounds like overstocking but I don't know anything about freshwater fish.

Thanks in advance!

Hey man

I don't think I can cover all your questions with the answers you may need but....

1) not sure too much light will be a massive problem apart from the initial algae blooms that may occur.

2) I'd say in a newly planted aquarium you wouldn't want a strong flow as this could uproot the newly planted plants before they have had chance to get rooted.

3) with high lighting levels you choice is much larger. Dwarf baby tears and hair grass are nice. I'd recommend using YouTube and search planted tanks so you can see different set ups were people usually list what they have.

What aqua scape design are you going for? Iwagumi is a fantastic search, Takashi amano he is the genius that rules that design.

4) yeah a school of small fish would be ideal and there lots to choose from along with shrimp, Alternatively you could keep a beta Siamese fighter..

 

[Rivercats]

I'm not good on lighting in small tanks so I'll leave that to others who have them. One thing tho is if you have high light in such a shallow tank you are going to have to do DIY or Pressurized CO2 and use dry ferts IMO. You might be able to use a liquid carbon but it would have to be at a higher dose.

You HOB filter will also give you enough water flow. You won't need the nano pump.

As for plants also will depend on what type lighting you go with but being said you could use Crypts, most stem plants such as Ambulia, Cabomba Furcata (for color), Telanthera Rosefolia (Alternanthera reineckii) (again for color), most Rotala's and Ludwigia, Bacopia's, Narrowleaf temple, Dwarf sag, Dwarf baby tears or hair grass, and the list goes on. I wouldn't use any Swords or Val's in a 10g due to their size.

Here's a link that has tons of pic's you can look at for ideas... Your Tanks - Browsing. Plus check out AA's Members Freshwater Tank forum for other idea's.

 

[Rivercats]

Forgot about fish. Check into Nano fish, ones like Endlers, Sparkling gouramis, Scarlet Badis which looks get in a 10g with Red Cherry Shrimp. There are Ember tetras, Clown Killifish, and several others. With these Nano fish you'll be able to stock more and have a nice active tank.

 

[scottayy]

So no circulation pump.. wouldn't the water get stagnant and algae grow?

Thanks a lot for your help guys

Also co2 is a must?

 

[Rivercats]

So no circulation pump.. wouldn't the water get stagnant and algae grow?

Thanks a lot for your help guys

Also co2 is a must?

Your in saltwater mode still... lol. Actually your HOB should give enough water movement throughout the tank. I use those exact nano's in my 220g for extra gentle circulation, in a 10g along with an HOB filter you'll blow the plants and fish out. In a planted tank you only want a gentle circulation flow, enough that your plants should sway gently.

If you use the brighter bulbs, which I would so you can grow non-green plants and carpet plants if you want you really want to look into DIY CO2 IMO. You could do liquid carbon but if you add alot of plants you'd have to use a higher dose like I do. They also make little mini pressurized CO2 units, Fluval has one, but then you have to spend money on replacement canisters.

 

[scottayy]

Yeah def in saltwater mode lol. I almost can't believe a little 240 would be too much flow but I trust u guys. I'll take it back and get a co2 injection system. I don't want to mess with diy so I will just buy the canisters.

I'm excited. Getting this as a Christmas present for my mom but I will be doing all the maintenance and setup.

I know she wants African dwarf frogs. Well those fish listed be compatible?

I know, I, myself, want the stuff that looks like grass on the bottom. Other than that I didn't know there were aquascapes. I'll have to research.

 

[scottayy]

What do u guys think of the "stocking ideas" section on this page?

http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/Stocking_a_10_Gallon_Tank#Fish_suitable_for_a_10_Gallon_tank

Seems like a lot for such a small tank but again I am new to freshwater.

Also, I have a heater that presets to 78 degrees. Is this needed?

Sorry for all of the questions and I appreciate your help!

 

[Rivercats]

Those are all good nano fish but I do not agree with the White Cloud Mountian Minnows in a 10g. The only issue is the dwarf frogs. If she wants dwarf frogs then you need to set the tank up for them. They do better in small groups and have very poor eyesight and need to be target fed to be sure they actually get the food. When kept with fish often times fish can outcompete the frogs for food.

 

[Rivercats]

Forgot about the heater, personally I don't like preset heaters but if you have it you can use it.

 

[scottayy]

Is a heater necessary and is 78 too warm?

Also, she can pass on the dwarf frogs if there's another peaceful frog species that can live completely under water in a peaceful community in a 10 gallon?

So just thinking of accessories I still need to get so this can be up and ready day 1 and cycling. And other things so I don't have to make numerous trips back to the pet store.

Power strip, light timer, co2 injector, co2, fish food (regular flakes ok? Variety?), plant food/fertilizer (again, any kind?), bottle of prime, thermometer, algae glass cleaner, tank backdrop paper (or would black spray paint look better?).

Crap, everyone always told me this was cheaper than saltwater, lol.

Am I missing anything? I will probably need to hold of on the co2 stuff until my bank balance rebounds from the Christmas budget lol.

Sorry again for all of the questions. Thank you SO much for your continued help! Should I start a build thread when I get it started?

 

[Wilkes]

Is a heater necessary and is 78 too warm?

Also, she can pass on the dwarf frogs if there's another peaceful frog species that can live completely under water in a peaceful community in a 10 gallon?

So just thinking of accessories I still need to get so this can be up and ready day 1 and cycling. And other things so I don't have to make numerous trips back to the pet store.

Power strip, light timer, co2 injector, co2, fish food (regular flakes ok? Variety?), plant food/fertilizer (again, any kind?), bottle of prime, thermometer, algae glass cleaner, tank backdrop paper (or would black spray paint look better?).

Crap, everyone always told me this was cheaper than saltwater, lol.

Am I missing anything? I will probably need to hold of on the co2 stuff until my bank balance rebounds from the Christmas budget lol.

Sorry again for all of the questions. Thank you SO much for your continued help! Should I start a build thread when I get it started?

Plant substrate, root tabs

When I can find somewhere to get it I'd like the frosted glass film for the back it helps add depth without having a cheap looking background or just black.

Seachem is a good brand for plant ferts

Are you aquascaping straight away?

 

[Rivercats]

Is a heater necessary and is 78 too warm?

Also, she can pass on the dwarf frogs if there's another peaceful frog species that can live completely under water in a peaceful community in a 10 gallon?

So just thinking of accessories I still need to get so this can be up and ready day 1 and cycling. And other things so I don't have to make numerous trips back to the pet store.

Power strip, light timer, co2 injector, co2, fish food (regular flakes ok? Variety?), plant food/fertilizer (again, any kind?), bottle of prime, thermometer, algae glass cleaner, tank backdrop paper (or would black spray paint look better?).

Crap, everyone always told me this was cheaper than saltwater, lol.

Am I missing anything? I will probably need to hold of on the co2 stuff until my bank balance rebounds from the Christmas budget lol.

Sorry again for all of the questions. Thank you SO much for your continued help! Should I start a build thread when I get it started?

It is still cheaper than saltwater by far. I did reefs for 8 years and even my 220g right now is still cheaper.

As for frogs the African Dwarfs are the only ones you could use. If she really wants them then I'd say get them and maybe 3 fancy "male" guppes for some nice color. I think that would work. But if memory serves me from when we kept them for the kids is that they feed from the bottom of the tank so sinking pellets might work along with actually target feeding them frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp. Try to find a large syringe or even a small turkey baster so after you de-thaw the frozen food she can suck up just a little and shoot the food right in front of them. It might take some time for them to catch on but she could have some fun feeding them.

I prefer painting the back of tanks only because with backgrounds if you splash water between the tank and background you get water marks that look terrible. Then you have to pull the background back enough to clean the glass off. Black is the color most people use for painting.

Your list of goods has everything but a net listed. And food can be flakes, but also something like the shrimp pellets and frozen foods especially if you get the frogs. Variety is good.

 

[scottayy]

I have plant substrate already - something called fluorite. Are root tabs plant roots or plant food?

I figure I'm going to cycle and add fish first then plants. From what I gather the plants and the bacteria will both be fighting for the ammonia so in the end it will still be the same?

I will still go with the African dwarf frogs. I have plenty of syringes, Turkey basters, pipettes and even long target feeding coral tubes.

 

[Rivercats]

The coral feeding tube would be perfect. Make sure you rinse the heck out of the fluorite because it is dusty and I've heard alot of people complain about that. So rinse until you can't stand to rinse anymore. Now I would set the tank up and put in plants right away. If you heavily plant the tank from the start you might be able to do a pretty quick silent cycle. I'll see if I can find the info on it and will post it for you. Then I'd add the fish once the cycle is done. Let me go look for the thread and I'll post again in a few minutes. Oh root tabs are fertilizers that feed the plants via the roots. Are very good for plants like Swords and Crypts along with a few others that take most of their nutrients via the roots. Dry or liquid ferts are for plants who take nutrients out of the water, like stem plants. But they can also benefit root feeders too.

 

[Rivercats]

Here's one but not the one I want.... Cycling a Planted Tank | Rex's Guide to Planted Tanks. I did a silent cycle in my 220g and had fish in it by day 10 and it was totally cycled. Also put some water sprite or wisteria in at first, you can always remove it later. If you Google " how to do a Silent Cycle" you should get alot of results of info to read.

 

[Wilkes]

What Rivercat said, better off adding plants straight away it is beneficial to the cycle

 

[scottayy]

I have never done plants and would rather cycle first and add plants slowly after cycled.

 

[Wy Renegade]

Your in saltwater mode still... lol. Actually your HOB should give enough water movement throughout the tank. I use those exact nano's in my 220g for extra gentle circulation, in a 10g along with an HOB filter you'll blow the plants and fish out. In a planted tank you only want a gentle circulation flow, enough that your plants should sway gently.

If you use the brighter bulbs, which I would so you can grow non-green plants and carpet plants if you want you really want to look into DIY CO2 IMO. You could do liquid carbon but if you add alot of plants you'd have to use a higher dose like I do. They also make little mini pressurized CO2 units, Fluval has one, but then you have to spend money on replacement canisters.

Actually the fish will tolerate a much higher flow rate than you might expect, most even enjoy it. I've always ran a powerhead or two or three in all my freshwater tanks, even with small tropicals, and they all do just fine. I ran a river system tank with only about 12gallons of water being circulated with a maxijet 1200, and the tropical fish did fine.

I can't speak to the plants directly, but based on what I've seen in some of mine with just a few specimens, so long as the powerhead is not directly blowing on them and they are well anchored, I doubt you would have much issue with them.

That said, I'm not saying you need the additional circulation, although sometimes it is beneficial.

 

[scottayy]

I got this stuff. Is it pretty good? Seachem flourish for the water and seachem flourish 10 tabs.

I got all of the accessories as well and about to order the co2 kit online.