My 10 gallon

[Billbug68]

Rescaped my 10 gallon this weekend! Removed one piece of driftwood and rearranged the rest. I think as soon as the ludwigia takes off I'll ditch the amazon sword and fill in the back with it. I also might ditch the rest of my java fern for some more anubias nana, and I'll be getting a couple more pots of micro sword to help the carpet area out. The micro sword was just planted in a bunch before and finally started sending out a bunch of runners last week so I decided to spread it out. My Val has sent out like 4 new plants in the last week or so too!

 

[Noah0504]

Looks great! Is that a dwarf gourami I see?

Why are you thinking about ditching the Amazon sword?

 

[Billbug68]

Looks great! Is that a dwarf gourami I see?

Why are you thinking about ditching the Amazon sword?

Yup! That is my DG! He actually bit the crap out of my arm while I was working on the tank! He WAS my favorite up until then... Lol.

As far as the amazon sword goes, I'm just not liking the looks of it in this tank, I kinda like more bushy plants like the ludwigia. When I look at it, and picture the entire background behind the driftwood ludwigia instead of the sword it looks much better... In my head at least... Another thing that bothers me, is I just don't like tons of different plants in such a small tank, I guess I'd rather have a few species, well placed, and just let them grow in. I like simple but full looking tanks and I hope that's what I can create! With lots of patience of course...

 

[Noah0504]

He was just giving you a love bite! Haha.

And I understand. I was just wondering your reason. Sounds like a good one to me! I mean, you're the one who has to look at it everyday, makes sense to get it just the way you want it! Either way, it looks good. Maybe post back after everything has grown a bit bigger!

 

[Billbug68]

Yeah, I'll def be posting updates as it grows in. I've got my DIY co2 pumpin pretty well, API rot tabs, flourish comp once a week after water change, and I might try to pick up some seachem iron as well. I don't think I'm ready to do the dry fert thing yet.

Oh and here is the current stock incase you were wondering...

1x DG
1x Female Betta
6x Glowlight tetras
3x otos
4x Red cherry shrimp
1x assassin snail

 

[Noah0504]

I'm guessing your betta and DG get along pretty well?

 

[Billbug68]

I'm guessing your betta and DG get along pretty well?

Yeah, she followed him around flaring for the first day, no nipping or anything. I've only seen him chase her off a few times during feeding time. Other than that they do great. The betta did eat two of my RCS when I introduced them though... At 3.99 a pop at my LFS I was pretty upset with her! Lol she definitely doesn't like newbies, she also chased my otos around for a day. She's chill now though, once she gets used to everyone.

 

[Billbug68]

Here she is showing her stuff when I first introduced my DG... Haha, feels so long ago! Thanks for your compliments btw!

 

[Billbug68]

Just a small update... Added another pot of micro sword to help the carpet fill in yesterday, started to dose flourish iron yesterday as well. I've also got another baby Val popping up! The amazon sword is yellowing and browning pretty bad on a few of the leaves, so I'm hopping the iron helps. I'll be dosing 1ml a day for a week or so to test it out.

 

[Noah0504]

I was a little worried how my micro sword would do because I don't have the best lighting system. I noticed today that some shoots are coming up in almost every little bunch that I planted. Hopes yours does well too! The plant I had the most trouble with was my anacharis. It just took the longest to get going. Now it's really starting to take off though.

Look forward to the other updates!

 

[Billbug68]

Thanks! The micro sword was one of my first plants and I originally just planted it all together. It stayed idle for a few months and just recently started sending out runners. I hope spreading it out will help even more now that the tank is more established.

 

[Billbug68]

Update time! Changed a few things on the tank and this is the final setup.

I Had a bad issue with some algae and had to trim a bunch of stuff. I started dosing excel so I had to get rid of my Val. I decided to go with the amazon sword in the corner and removed the ludwigia(put that in my 5g bedside tank.) Change the tank to open top and went with some clip on desk lamps. Other than trimming the sword when it gets too big and the anubias, this is it! I MIGHT add a couple more pots of micro sword for the right side since the Val is gone. I'm extremely happy with the scape! I can't wait for it to fill in! Just ordered a glass co2 indicator off eBay so I can get a better idea of where my levels are at.

My specs now are:

-Aquaclear 30 with two layers of sponge, bio bag on top, and sponge pre filter on the intake tube
-2 13 watt 6500k daylight CFL bulbs
-Plain white sand from petco
-DIY CO2(levels pending the drop checker coming next month)
-API root tabs once a month
-Flourish Excel daily(1ml)
-Flourish comprehensive twice a week(1ml)
-Flourish Iron and Potassium every other day(1ml each)
-Weekly clean of the glass and water change of about 50%

If you guys see any problems with what I'm doing, let me know!

Here's a couple new pics!

Oh, and I think I'm gonna try to post a pic at least once a month for a while to see how the tank grows in.

 

[shellieca]

Personally I like the way it looks.

 

[Billbug68]

Personally I like the way it looks.

Well thank you! Are you saying I shouldn't add any more micro sword? Would you like it more once it's carpeted?

 

[shellieca]

Well thank you! Are you saying I shouldn't add any more micro sword? Would you like it more once it's carpeted?

I do have my tanks more heavily planted but I like the way yours looks. And yes I think once it's more carpeted that'll make it look even better. I'm actually thinking I need to get some kind of carpet & re-arrange my plants to accommodate it but I never thought about it when I set up my tanks. 7 months ago I had no tanks now I have 3, seeing other peoples tanks almost always makes me think oh yeah why didn't I think of that? It really is personal preference because you're the one always looking at it.

 

[Billbug68]

I do have my tanks more heavily planted but I like the way yours looks. And yes I think once it's more carpeted that'll make it look even better. I'm actually thinking I need to get some kind of carpet & re-arrange my plants to accommodate it but I never thought about it when I set up my tanks. 7 months ago I had no tanks now I have 3, seeing other peoples tanks almost always makes me think oh yeah why didn't I think of that? It really is personal preference because you're the one always looking at it.

I totally agree, I'm the one staring at it everyday and I'm finally happy with the scape so now it's time to let it grow. Can't wait till that floor is completely green! I think another reason I like to keep it simple, besides my taste aesthetically, is if I'm having problems, it will be easier to narrow it down with only a few types of plants. Yeah at the beginning of feb I had no tanks, and now I have 4, but only two are set up... Already caught the "MTS!" haha

 

[Billbug68]

Hey, I noticed you're in Ontario, do you go to Jan's in Montclair? I'm out here in Lake Elsinore but Jan's is by far my favorite store!

 

[shellieca]

Hey, I noticed you're in Ontario, do you go to Jan's in Montclair? I'm out here in Lake Elsinore but Jan's is by far my favorite store!

Lake Elsinore, I go down that way quite frequently to see my Grandma in Sun City! I have only been to Jan's once, not having any LFS experience I wasn't 100% sure what to look for. They're not huge & from what I saw they're tanks looked clean & well kept. The rest of store seemed a little like organized chaos so to speak, looked like they've been around for a while. So you like them? Have you bought fish from them & not had problems? I'd like to find a reputable LFS I could get fish from when I decide to.

 

[Billbug68]

I actually work in Ontario at UPS, used to live out there too. Hmm jams seems well organized to me? Maybe they were going through changes when you were there. But yeah, I've only bought a few fish, my shrimp, and most of my plants there. I really like it!

 

[Billbug68]

Been a while since an update.

Changed out a few plants on the left, and the micro sword is slowly growing. It's spread across the tank, but hasn't grown very dense. I removed the DIY co2, it was just too much of a pain, I wouldn't always keep up on it, it didn't last very long with the hot summer we had, and was causing too many algae issues.

I might do a few upgrades in the upcoming months. Im going to order some dry ferts and have A go at PPS pro dosing. I'm looking in to getting a more attractive light fixture, might go with PC or LED, haven't decided yet. I like the price of the 18" odyssey 36 watt PC fixture, but haven't done too much research yet, I have heard the quality of their fixtures is slowly getting better. If i go LED i want the Finnex Ray II. Gonna swap out the white sand. IMO it looks terrible with carpeting plants. I might try out some aquasoil. And last but not least on the list is a paintball co2 setup.

Comments and suggestions are welcome! Thanks for reading!

Oh and also, my DG had been acting lethargic the last few days, and I knew what was coming... Found him this morning after work... RIP Bret!