Starting 10 gallon Planted

[mattmathis]

Just a few more questions...

Thanks to those who responed on other posts. This is an attempt to get it all into one post, instead of having quesions scattered around.

Question 1
I am shorter on cash than I previously thought but I do now want to sacrafice on lighting. So I have an idea and I would like to know if this wont work for any reason. I have a 48in 40 watt fixture with a sun-glo bulb that I am using on my 70 gallon fish only tank. I usually run it from 8am to 8pm. So I figure that I could just set it up on the 10 gallon tank when I turn it off at 8pm and let it run there for a while.

How long should I let it run for these plants?


The plants I am getting to start are:

Java Moss
Java Fern
Sunset Hygro
Pennywort

Question 2
I am planning on using Seachems Flourish line. Is there any need to go all out and follow

this schedule?(Minus day 7 - my water is pretty good)

Or should I just go with Regular Flourish, Iron, and Nitrogen?

Question 3
Also, I have read of people taking the carbon bag out of there filter on planted tanks. Is this a good idea?

Thanks!

 

[bluerose]

For Java Moss and Java Fern, you're probably fine with the occasional splash of Flourish.

Hygro and Pennywort, not sure.

I have Anubias and Anacharis in my tank that are neglected with added ferts. They grow too much as it is... I dose Flourish once a week tops, generally every other week.

You don't really need carbon in a tank-- it's more of a water 'polisher'. Your call but it is something extra to replace (it does go bad and require replacing while filter floss and the like can just be rinsed).

 

[FishCrazyBenBOMB]

I would only run your light for 10 horus a day and let the plants rest for the other 14. I suggest a timer so you don't have to worry about it yourself.

For your list ofcourse you'll be able to grow javamoss and javafern. Suggest on the javafern, tie it on something. I've tried it planted in the substrate and tied on something. Does A LOT better when it's tied.

For the pennywort, it depends if you get brazilian or marsh pennywort. Marsh takes higher light and is a foreground plant, brazilian is a low-medium light plant that grows taller. Most commonly you will be getting B. Pennywort. I think you would be able to grow it with your lighting. Since your in the low to medium range. For the sunset hygro, you should also be able to grow that since like the B. Pennywort it is a low-medium light plant.

It is not necceary with "low-tech" setups to do dosing or co2. It is always a plus though for most plants. I do use DIY co2 since it always helps, but I never do dosing and my plants are fine. I grow javafern and moss, corkscrew val, C. wendtii, and hornwort.

I use the carbon in all my filters. I might end up pulling the filter out of one of my planted tanks sinces it's going to be heavily planted soon and the plants will do all my filtering and cleaning of water for me, there just wont be a current. I can solve that with a powerhead.

I suggest any cyrpts you can find, they are all very cool plants and grow in any lighting.

In anything else matt?

 

[czcz]

Let me show you something -- there's nothing really special about this tank from a few years ago except the whole thing was maybe $30 (including substrate) and junk around my place (no filter) and I think it might encourage you. This was a medium light 10g with a 13w spiral screw in flourescent in a swinging desklamp by a window with bamboo blinds (lets some, not much, diffused light in). It was going to be a Diana Walstad tank so I used Schultz Aquatic Soil with some black decorative gravel (for weight) over a ton of mulm from my established tank and some peat and terrestrial root tabs (which were a bad idea) because back then I was afraid of soil.

t looked like this about a month later: I added at least another bronze C. wendtii to the back right there but still I had never really seen crypts grow so fast. (IME they grow wider leaved and fatter like that under lower light -- probably because they have more surface area for light? Until recently I have never grow any Java fern but I am guessing as a low light plant it is similar.)

Then I decided to use DIY CO2 and stick the tube under the floating plants, then add another 23w spiral screw in flourescent in a desklamp. I had a little GW (I think from the root tabs) but I figured that tank could grow lots of stuff and so I moved a couple bits of the carpet I used on my high light tank and they sent runners too (that's Elatine tiandra) and while they grew taller and never filled everything (I was too lazy to keep replanting to bare spots) they grew fine. And I moved in some more Anubias sp. "Petite" that never looked right in my other tank. This is what it looked like a month later.

'Case you'd rather just leave the fixture on your 70. I'm not suggesting you use soil or a complicated substrate or anything, I'm just saying you should think about desklamps and even if you don't I think you'll be fine.