adding plants 10g aquascape

[liberator123]

I am trying to aquascape my 10g tank. I have the hardscape down, I just need to add the plants. However, I am a newb with plants, so I need some advice!
The plants im going for are:
Dwarf four leaf clover
Dwarf baby tears
Blyxa Japonica (doing a design with bamboo sticks)
Stargrass (doing a design with bamboo sticks)
Anchor Moss (doing a tree with driftwood)
marimo moss ball

My equipment:
10g
Flourite black and Aquarium sand (divided)
Aqueon Quietflow 20
underwater river with airpump small
Adding a DIY Co2 system with yeast
Aqueon Fluorescent Deluxe Full Hood (with the stock light, it says full spectrum, 19watts)

Is my light good for the plants listed?
do I need to purchase a better hood? or just a different fluorescent lamp?
do I need to add fertilizers? if so, which ones?
how do I grow the moss to look full like a tree? how long does it usually take? any special way of laying it or tying it to the driftwood?
is Co2 really needed for a 10g?

Ill be posting a pic soon after I fix it up a little.

 

[Khuligirl93]

I can only answer a couple of your questions with the experience that I have. I have the same tank and I started out with that same hood and light. I had very little luck growing anything- and i had pressurized CO2. I had water wisteria, anubias, ludwigia, and amazon swords and they grew veeeery slowly, and the ludwigia had strange, long, spaced apart leaves. All these plants I believe are less demanding than the plants you have listed (except maybe the moss). So, I'm not sure you will get very good results.
I spent the extra money and invested in a finnex ray2 though- and now my plants go crazy.

 

[Rivercats]

For the plants you want, especially the HC/Dwarf baby tears your going to need much better lighting and CO2 if you don't want a ton of algae. Even tho you only have a 10g with good lighting and CO2 I suggest using dry ferts to give your plants all the macro and micro nutrients they need. The ferts will last you a very long time so it's a one time investment which is pretty cheap considering how long they last and compared to the price on liquid ferts.

 

[liberator123]

I looked up finnex ray2, and i see it uses 15 watts... same amount with the full spectrum fluorescent lamp my hood came with. So whats the difference? why was the ray2 so much better?
is there a possible lamp replacement I can put into my hood?

 

[Khuligirl93]

The finnex brand lights are high output LEDs that are made specifically for planted tanks. I'm not clear on all the details, but I know watts work differently with LEDs. You can have a high output light with very few watts. I think it has to do with their great energy efficiency.

 

[azmodan]

Here's a must-read regarding watts and par when it comes to aquarium lighting: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=184368

 

[Rivercats]

That's a good read! You can't go by watts on the newer fixtures. You go by Par and the Par on the LED is much higher than it is on your stock light. Which means you get a higher amount of light.

 

[Fishperson]

Your light can't really grow blyxa well, or HC (dwarf baby tears). Also, like others have said, LED lights are high output, so you need to measure par instead of watts. A ray2 will give you quite high light on a 10 gallon, and a fugeray will give you medium to high light, so you can choose. If you go with a fugeray, then liquid carbon like excel or gluteraldahyde is okay, but for a co2 source DIY co2 would be better IMO. For a ray2, IMO, pressurized co2 is the best choice, if not necessary. Also, what is your budget for this tank?

 

[liberator123]

oh man so i guess i got to order some LED lights huh. lol makes the full hood i just got useless o well. unless there is a brand of fluorscent replacement thats good? my budget is whatever goes, but ill be a bit hesitent in buying 1 item worth more than 40 bucks. most i spent on 1 item was 30, which was the hood and the fluorite.

 

[liberator123]

im going to read that article and decide what to get. the fugeray is 57 bucks and im kinda leaning towards that.
my tank is a bit cloudy now, so ill post a pic when its cleared. fluorite lol.

 

[liberator123]

Eh its cloudy but the front hardscape is seeable. The marimo will be moved, its just there temperarily. I ordered my plants already, hopefully have em by next week. There is the driftwood to the left that hopefully turn into a tree. I coated the bamboo sticks with krylon polyurethane (I hope thats safe). Im thinking of adding dwarf hairgrass or dwarf swords for between the rocks in the middle.
Ill keep updated

 

[Fishperson]

Well, I think that the fugeray would be your cheapest replacement. If your hood has 2 parts, a half plastic half glass bottom, and a light strip, than you can remove the light strip and put the fugeray on the glass. It also prevents (or decreases) evaporation.

 

[liberator123]

Yes, its two parts. It does sort of reduce evaporation because of the condensation build up on the glass part. Anyways, the water cleared up a bit. (the tank is actually already cycled before hand, it got cloudy after i did a rescape on some things, thats why theres fish in it already). Oh, my cory cats are sorta ruining the sand lol... I hope they wont be a nuisance when I add the foreground plants... (HC)
As for the lighting, Im thinking of just converting the fixture I have of t8. Now my question is, which would be better off for me to get? a t8 LED tube or a t5HO tube? Basically, which is a better lightsource, t8 LED vs converted t5HO?

Edit* Im going to check out homedepot and see if theres a cheap alternative to get rather than buying a new fixture.

 

[Fishperson]

Yes, its two parts. It does sort of reduce evaporation because of the condensation build up on the glass part. Anyways, the water cleared up a bit. (the tank is actually already cycled before hand, it got cloudy after i did a rescape on some things, thats why theres fish in it already). Oh, my cory cats are sorta ruining the sand lol... I hope they wont be a nuisance when I add the foreground plants... (HC)
As for the lighting, Im thinking of just converting the fixture I have of t8. Now my question is, which would be better off for me to get? a t8 LED tube or a t5HO tube? Basically, which is a better lightsource, t8 LED vs converted t5HO?

Edit* Im going to check out homedepot and see if theres a cheap alternative to get rather than buying a new fixture.

I don't know much about light, but I know t8s aren't that powerful, or less so than a t5ho, but I think you're best bet is a finnex fugeray. That's what I'm getting for my 10g

 

[liberator123]

update*
added an extra light! now im running 1 15 watt t8 and 1 18 watt t5ho. this should give me enough light right?
i added diy co2, but it hasnt started working, might be a leak somewhere...
my plants came in today, and i added em in. they gave me the wrong four leaf clover, so im not adding that. i feel like the middle is empty, what plant should i put there? also, should i be trimming the plants? the tall 1 is stargrass, and alot of the leaves are in bad shape from shipment. but, the hc was in good condition. byxia japonica is right below the stagrass. and i put anchor moss on the driftwood, its in really bad shape...

 

[liberator123]

anyone know how long the co2 takes to start working? no bubbles at all and has been running all night. :/
should I cut the stargrass in half? or should i let it be for a while? im a noob at aquarium plants, and so far im not liking how it looks...

 

[Fishperson]

I think that's like medium light? I don't really know though. You might be able to grow the blyxa and dhg with that, but maybe not.

Edit: To check for leaks, put soapy water on the OUTSIDE of the bottle, around the cap, and see if it starts bubbling up. Even try squeezing it a little bit with the soapy water on it maybe.

 

[liberator123]

I think that's like medium light? I don't really know though. You might be able to grow the blyxa and dhg with that, but maybe not.

Edit: To check for leaks, put soapy water on the OUTSIDE of the bottle, around the cap, and see if it starts bubbling up. Even try squeezing it a little bit with the soapy water on it maybe.

Ok thanks for the advice. I will try it when I get home from work. The light seems very bright to me... and its at a little more than 3wpg (not to mention 18watts are t5ho), but only time will tell if the blyxa and dhg will grow or not.
Btw, I really like your 20g tank stocking list, I always wanted to have a school of rummynose mixed with bloodfins. How do they interact? Do they ever school together or do they only stick with their own?

 

[Fishdude3233]

I'm going to guess you bought a new light fixture for the T5HO lights? Also were did you get the fixture and bulb?

 

[liberator123]

I'm going to guess you bought a new light fixture for the T5HO lights? Also were did you get the fixture and bulb?

actually i didnt really "buy a new fixture", more like retrofitting the old one. I just bought a used workhorse 2 off ebay ($8) and the t5ho I got for 20 bucks on amazon its called truelumen t5ho 18 inch 18 watts. Then I retrofitted the t8 fixture hood to fit both the old and new (used) ballasts with the t8 on the front and t5ho on the back. I had to remove the old white reflector because that was impeding the space available. I placed a new aluminum reflector that I made myself.