Clueless and in Need of Ideas

[Edee6646]

Hello all!

I recently bought a ten gallon aqueon tank with a 50 watt heater, Quietflow 10 filter by aqueon, and a 15 watt full spectrum light that came in the hood. I also have eco-complete planted aquarium substrate. And I'm hoping to set up a planted freshwater tank. I've tried to have plants before and they've all died so this project I'm 100% invested in.

I'm concerned about my substrate being enough or what type of additive and fertilizers would be needed. Would sand be a good option as well? I'm trying to create a grass carpet affect and am possibly thinking of dwarf babby tears. I also am thinking of investing in CO2, any ideas?

I'm most likely going to be stocking this tank with a betta fish and some friends such as shrimp or small bottom dwellers so that the bioload is minimal. Any ideas?

 

[coralbandit]

Most carpeting plants need high light along with the CO2.
You need balance between the two or it can be difficult.
The tank heater and filter should all be good.
For ferts you need to look into PPDS or if driven to extreme IE dosing ...
Your tank is small so regular LFS ferts won't break the bank, but you still could use the more affordable , quality stuff if you are serious.

 

[nirbhao]

The QuietFlow filters have cartridges that are very poorly designed, in my opinion. You have to toss the entire thing every few weeks.

Do a search for "diy aqueon filter cartridge." Lots of good resources on how to not throw away your beneficial bacteria all the time.

My hacked Aqueon was quilting batting with ceramic cylinders. Very effective.

CO2 is great for plants. You can get paintball cartridge kits that people seem pretty happy with.

Eco complete doesn't require any additional substrate fertilizers. Water column, yes, but no root tabs. You can cap it with sand if you want.

Glad to have you! I look forward to seeing this come together.

 

[Bert2oo1]

As said above no need for tabs but you can add them if you wish. Co2 is a must for plants like DHG and HC Cuba. These also require regular trimming to get that nice carpet effect! (Every 10 days or so)

You might want more lighting depending on how bright it is. I'm a big fan of LED's due to being able to dim them to the required light.

Don't waste your money on DIY co2. Get pressurised straight up as a paintball setup will last you a fair while before tank changes and it's much easier to hit that 30ppm target. Set and forget!

Aim for 10x tank turn over with your filtration if you can get it (not a must but good flow is important).

As stated above high light setups are best fertilised with PPS pro or EI dosing.(direct dosing with dry salts)

No need for the sand unless that's the look your after. Plants will carpet just fine with Eco. You want a substrate depth of atleast an inch and a half.

Hope I've helped

 

[Edee6646]

Most carpeting plants need high light along with the CO2.
You need balance between the two or it can be difficult.
The tank heater and filter should all be good.
For ferts you need to look into PPDS or if driven to extreme IE dosing ...
Your tank is small so regular LFS ferts won't break the bank, but you still could use the more affordable , quality stuff if you are serious.

Thanks for the advice! How much wattage would I need for high lighting?

 

[flchamp89]

On a ten. 2.5 and up would probably get you there. Obviously being so shallow it easy and affordable to achieve high light on a 10g. Remember parameters/balance on nanos can be challenging. High light on a nano even more so.

As bert said since its a 10g switching to leds would be a simple and practical way to go. The 24/7 will get you there. The old planted plus will get you into high medium range at the substrate and high near top.

One nice thing about a 10g imo is you can take a low par led and grow plants well with ferts and co2.

 

[Edee6646]

As said above no need for tabs but you can add them if you wish. Co2 is a must for plants like DHG and HC Cuba. These also require regular trimming to get that nice carpet effect! (Every 10 days or so)

You might want more lighting depending on how bright it is. I'm a big fan of LED's due to being able to dim them to the required light.

Don't waste your money on DIY co2. Get pressurised straight up as a paintball setup will last you a fair while before tank changes and it's much easier to hit that 30ppm target. Set and forget!

Aim for 10x tank turn over with your filtration if you can get it (not a must but good flow is important).

As stated above high light setups are best fertilised with PPS pro or EI dosing.(direct dosing with dry salts)

No need for the sand unless that's the look your after. Plants will carpet just fine with Eco. You want a substrate depth of atleast an inch and a half.

Hope I've helped

Thanks for the advice! I've been looking into CO2 and there are all these fancy little kits for it at petco, such as like Gulf Stream, are they any good?

 

[flchamp89]

I ran a mini system on my 10g for first few months. They work yes. But some issues are finding affordable refills and inconsistent bubble counts. It caused a little bba for me. Im on about 3 weeks now with a paintball and algae has improved as have my plants. Also I don't have to mess with bps twice or more a day. The cartridges are typically so small that as the gas is used the count is harder to hold.

 

[Bert2oo1]

I ran a mini system on my 10g for first few months. They work yes. But some issues are finding affordable refills and inconsistent bubble counts. It caused a little bba for me. Im on about 3 weeks now with a paintball and algae has improved as have my plants. Also I don't have to mess with bps twice or more a day. The cartridges are typically so small that as the gas is used the count is harder to hold.

Yep go with a paintball rig if you want best bang for buck. Get a mini reg from GLA (green leaf aquariums) full system with everything you need will only be about $120.

+1 on a finnex. They have nothing but happy customers on this forum.

Something to keep in mind tho is you don't need extremely strong light. A lot of people think they need to run everything on maximum. That's not true. You want to play with your lighting and find a level that brings you solid growth but not so much you get an algae bloom every week.

I'd recommend PPS pro over EI dosing for a tank your size. People tend to have less issues with PPS pro in smaller aquariums. EI works best in larger aquariums.