10 Gallon Planted Log

[Holokai]

Ok, I've been researching this for a bit now, and planning in my head for a looong time. I'm gonna lay out my plans here, and kinda detail my foray into planted freshwater tanks.

So here's the plan.

Lighting - Modest to begin with, I'm leaning towards 2x13w 10,000k PCs. Gives me about 2.6 wpg.

Substrate - I was leaning towards Eco-complete, until I saw how much shipping was (the LFS here doesn't seem to be the greatest...). Now I am thinking some sand with root tabs will be sufficient. I don't know what kind of tabs to get though. (ideas? )

Filtration - I have an Aquaclear filter, but no filter media. So I'll be needing some of that, but I'm unsure what kind to get.

CO2 - The standard DIY set up. I'm thinking of putting the output from it into the AquaClear's intake, so that the impeller can break it up into fine bits. Then it'll get stuck in the filter media until it dissolves.

Fish - A long time ago my dad got me some coolie loaches for a 20g tank we had. (pink rocks, do not fish signs, etc ) I must have some more of them! I hear they do well in groups, so perhaps 2-3 of them will work nicely.

I'm also partial to Zebra Danios, so I'll most likely have 4-5 of those.

Plants - No idea. I like the kind of plants that stay relatively low to the ground and get nice and thick. Also a few larger leaved plants that get taller for the back. I'll also toss in a piece of driftwood, if one catches my eye.

- Chris

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

Kuhli loaches are nice, but they really need a sand bottom (they like to bury themselves) so it might be suited.

3 Kuhli's and 6 rummynose tetras (similar shape to danios but a nice tight school) would be nice in a planted tank keeping the bioload down (tetras don't crap up the tank to bad)

Seachem tabs are nice, I try to stick to one brand, that way if something goes wrong I know who to yell at (probably my fault, but it makes me feel better)

Filtration, Floss and bio-rings, I'm trying out Seachems Matrix in my canister filter, want to see how that one does.

The Co2, seeing how you are coming from Marine tanks, do you have a pump and an old reactor of some type? get the flow going down through bioballs and put the Co2 output at the intake of the pump (get's stuck at the top of the water getting bashed against the bioballs until it dissolves). Just a thought if you have the gear already there.

Avoid the no fishing signs, some fish are wild caught and this could be considered insult to injury

Also consider are you going to put some rocks in, or Wood, Or nothing? just a thought, I like the wood because it has a more unique look then rocks.

 

[Holokai]

I'm with you on the wood, but if I recall the last time I put driftwood in a tank, I had to rinse, soak, rinse, soak, etc for a few weeks to get the yellow out of it. is that normal?

I don't have any reactors sitting around, unfortunately. I think the way I'm planning it will disperse the CO2 better than any other method, barring more equipment.

- Chris

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

yes, I use strictly Mopani wood, it's a bog wood, as such it's saturated with tannins (yellow stuff), I usually give it a very hot bath overnight, drain and refill with hot water, then put it in the tank when the water has cooled, I've never had a piece change the colour of my water. But I don't mind the yellowing from the wood if it happens, also the temperature of your water will dictate how much leaches (hotter means more leaching, cooler water means less). Typically if there is discolouration of the water it's really good for the fish and plants (tannins is rich in nutrients)

Malaysian wood tends to be more concentrated in tannins, not sure why but I've heard of people soaking it for a week or more and still having it leach tannins into the water.

 

[Holokai]

Ok, so this town really stinks for sand. I went with play sand from Wal*Mart, actually looks alot better than I thought it would. I've got it about 1.5 inches deep, I hope that's enough.

I also bought 9 gallons of Wally World R/O water, so as soon as I decide if the sand is the right amount, I'll fill 'er up.

I also cleaned all my equipment, tank included today. Note to self, AquaClear filters aren't so clear after a scour pad gets done with 'em.

- C

 

[Holokai]

Ok, I upped the sand bed to a bit over 2 inches, and filled the tank with R/O water.

Here's some pics of the process...

^^using the old "moms dinner plate before she gets home to find out" method.^^

Here's a picture of my lighting. I changed my mind, by the way. I will be using my old saltwater light setup, it consists of an oak hood with a 96w PowerQuad (50/50). It also has temperature controlled fans for cooling... so if the hood area gets hot, it will vent out the sides.

Final shot.

Yes, the tank appears to be hanging over the edges of my nightstand, but in reality, it's just the oak base. Underneath the tank is a 2x4 stand, which supports the wight. the oak that you see just slips over the whole thing, and is actually not attached at all.

- C

 

[Tiffi]

Looks really nice, how you made the wood around the tank. Very clean looking. I suppose you know that the plants won't benefit from the actinic parts of your bulbs, but you'll still have 4.8wpg, which is a lot.

You should have no problem with low, dense foreground plants now.

Did you already think about some plants now? I would put them and the CO2 in as soon as possible to prevent algae, use nutrients and help you with the cycle.

 

[Holokai]

I didn't realize I could put plants in so soon. I haven't even thought about the kinds yet! Yikes!

Is there a place that I can go where plants are categorized for me to look at? I'll go search around for those a bit later.

Thanks!

- Chris

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

http://www.tropica.com

nice variety of plants listed along with lighting/care requirements. It also gives you a bit of history of the plant, where it's from and special characteristics of the plant.

 

[Holokai]

Wow, nice site. I love the Aquacubes, or whatever they're called. That would make a great gift. I'll take a look t all the plants a bit later, but this one in particular looks interesting for a mat...

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

I went to the store yesterday to pick some of that up, they said they had 2 left, got there and it was all gone.

I think I'll have to wait until I can setup a 125 or 150 and give the 75 to my sister with the sailfin pleco. The store offered quite a bit for a trade in on him, but he was my mothers and she'ld be heartbroken knowing he went to an oscar tank or another environment he wasn't used to (community).. Just the way she is, so I'll give him to my sister along with the 2 balas to keep her lonely one company.

I may have to pay for 2 or 3 in advance and get them to call me when it comes in since it seems to be a hot item. I'll have to see what it looks like, be sure to post pics.

 

[workfortheman]

Hmmmmm ... . .. ..hmm

here's the situation as I see it: You need plants in there fast! And you need fast growers, too. If I were you I would immediately get 1-2 species of fast growers (anacharis comes to mind) just to soak up the excess nutrients and seed some bacteria. Let them grow for a couple weeks while you learn about and order some plants.

By the way, what are the measurements of that tank? It just looks strangely like a 20 gallon tank with that hood on it. Cool hood, too!

 

[Holokai]

Thanks Ernie!

That's my favorite hood that I've made. I make all my own hoods and stands and whatnot. I usually make my own tanks too, but this is just a cheap "I need a tank or I'm gonna go nuts" tank.

I'll be driving to Vegas here in a few hours, so I'm going to stop by a couple of fish stores, to get a feel for what they have. When I leave, I'll pick up a few plants.

I should have them in tank by Thursday. I'm going to see Jerry Seinfeld tonight! woohoo!

- Chris

 

[Holokai]

Well, I had a successful stay in Vegas, Seinfeld was hilarious. Headed back to Kingman via Bullhead, and found an INCREDIBLE fish store. There wasn't one sick fish, none of the tanks were missing chunks of their fins, the plants were healthy, the corals were healthy, the anemones were plump and happy.

I've never seen anything like it. On top of that, the prices were extremely low. It's called Riviera Reef, at 2070 HWY 95 if any of you live near here. well worth the trip.

Anyhow, I picked up two Anubias nana plants, and stuck them in the tank. They cost $3.99, which seemed reasonable to me for the obviously healthy plants. There's 5 or six new leaves growing up from the potted one, and 3 or so on the unpotted one.

-

-

The question I have right now is if the one that is actually planted in the tank is sitting too high. I know the rhizome (sp?) is supposed to be above the sand, but that may be too high.

I'm also wondering about the potted one. You'll have to forgive me, this is my first time working with live plants. I should take that out of the pot, right? And throw away the sponge or whatever, too?

I'm about to do a water change, you can see the water is still very cloudy. We'll fix that!

- Chris

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

Yes, you remove it from the pot, throw away the hydroponic wool (it has a proper name, but I can't remember for the life of me what it is ATM.)

The rhizome should be a little lower, tho it makes no difference with anubias, you can tie it to driftwood if you want (it get's in nutrition from the leaves, similar to Java Moss), it will also pull itself into the substrate as long as no fish disturb it.

Also, you are going to need some cover, Anubias is a slow growing low light plant, having it exposed directly to bright light will cause algae to grow on the leaves (my current problem since I upped the lighting).

and, you spelled rhizome correctly as far as I can see.

Until you get some high light plants in there, try to break up the lighting cycle if you can (on 4 hours, off 2, on 4, off 14) to try and stop algae from ruining those beautiful plants.

 

[Holokai]

Yikes, low light?? I was reading online that they did well in almost any light. That's why I bought 'em. I'll place them in the flow from my HOB for now, that might help a bit.

I have no idea how I'm going to find cover for these bad boys... Might end up taking them back. We'll see for now though.

Thanks for the tips!

- Chris

*edit - Did a water change and the water was looking better... but then I planted the other plant (turned out to be two in the pot, score!) and now the water is cloudy as all heck again. I have a bad feeling about this sand. Shoot!

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

I wouldn't worry about the clouding, it will settle and stay out of your way (or the fine particulate will get vacuumed up), those anubias are a great plant, and when they shoot up a flower they look really nice.

Getting cover is easy, they stay about 1-1.5" off the ground, anything that get's to about 6" will make a nice mid level plant and will provide them with more then adequate cover.

Oh, a small thought, if you can set which way your bulb is, put the actinic part at the front, the actinics won't really promote algae and it will keep the plants very low to the ground. it will also give the plants at the front a bit more cover.

Glad you found a good store to get plants from, the BigAls I deal with has some very nice ones, but this time of year the staff are to busy to keep them in nice shape, but I did score the Echinodorus Uruguayensis and a Rotala Spec Nanjenshan for 5$, had to trim all but 5 leaves off the sword, it's already recovered to 7 leaves.. the other one was in real bad shape, I've got it at the back of the tank, I'll have to stand it back up somewhere that the pleco won't knock it over again.

 

[Holokai]

The only reason I'm worried about the sand is because I've never used this kind before, and in the 5 years that I've been using sand in my saltwater tanks, I've never had the cloudiness kick up like this after disturbing the bottom.

Good idea about the bulb orientation, unfortunately it looks like I'll have to monkey with my hood to get the actinic pointed in the right direction.

Good luck with your plants, they look like nice ones from what I found on google.

Thanks!
- Chris

 

[czcz]

I would get a heavier substrate. Your lighting should grow whatever you want, and if you move onto stem plants or a carpet, dealing with a light substrate can be a headache. Kuhliis wont mind, especially if you give them some driftwood to hide under and lots of plants to play and hang in

Great job on the hood.

 

[Holokai]

Thanks czcz!

The Coolies really were the only reason for the sand. I'm not sure I even know what the other options look like, time to go hit the image gallery. I was thinking of trying eco-complete, but I really would like to keep this low cost.

I read about a guy who used dirt (top soil?) as a bottom layer and gravel as his top layer. Seems to me those would mix eventually though.

- Chris