suggestions for a newb

[Guppylove85]

so I just recently got back into fish keeping, i have started a 10 gal, which holds wild/ feeder guppies and 2 glass shrimp.
While i am not new to the hobby, i am new to plants, i have always admired a planted tank and really want to make it work.

So far the only plants i have are some duck weed and a green hygro that a lfs sold me, i was not impressed with the person helping me. they didn't have much for a beginner, or he didn't want to take the time, although the store looked really nice, well kept healthy fish and clean but not too much. I also have a nice piece of drift wood. kind of boring still.

So what would you suggest, I don't want to spend a ton but want a nice lush tank? I also would like a suggestion as to which light bulb works the best for this small tank? I have both types of fixtures the long tubes or screw in type.

Thanks
Chris

 

[HighDeft]

The plants you have are fast growing plants in good conditions and in a 10 gallon aquarium may require a lot of pruning to keep under control. In my experience plants have better color and grow more densely when provided with the right nutrients (Lighting, Ferts, CO2..) What kind of setup are you trying to create? Low tech or high tech? The plants you have would be fine in either. Low tech has much slower growth and is easier to maintain as long as you can keep the algae from taking over. In a high tech setup, if you do it right, has very little algae. As far as the bulbs I would stick with a 6700k bulb. The amount of light you need would depend on the kind of setup you are creating.

 

[Guppylove85]

more than likely low tech for now until my aquarium confidence returns( it has been at least 6 years since i last kept fish) im not worried about over growth since i have other tanks i can set up, and i plan to use some plants for feeding my turtle as well.

 

[TotallyCoral]

I have a very low tech 10g with a simple zoo med flora sun strip (the one that shines pink). For low tech, I'd definitely get a fluorescent tube that shines pink as plants absorb red and blue light during photosynthesis. My plants are growing like crazy! Still dosing some excel but now the fish do most of the fertilizing... Very undemanding if you have fast growing plants that soak up all the waste from the fish. Good luck!

 

[Smcoyle87]

What type of hood do you have, is it the one with the two screw in bulbs or one that has a florescent tube?
Plant-Java Fern is a very hardy plant that comes in different sizes. you can get tall, med, or small. Very cool plant.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

So what would you suggest, I don't want to spend a ton but want a nice lush tank? I also would like a suggestion as to which light bulb works the best for this small tank? I have both types of fixtures the long tubes or screw in type.

Thanks
Chris

If you put in easy to grow low light plants your 15 watt light with a good bulb will work out just fine and won't force you to use co2. If you want to grow plants that require higher light then you may want to use your double screw-in fixture and outfit it with either the 10 watt U-shaped aquarium CFLs that you can get at either a LFS or walmart, or simply use a 6500K spiral daylight that you can get anywhere. The long U-shaped Bulb gives you a little more usable light per watt, but you can get lots of different watt options from common spiral CFLs. Any fixture, outfitted with daylight or plant bulbs will grow plants. Just be aware that the brighter you make the tank the more necessary co2 will become. Keep the lights in the low range and you'll get buy without co2.
For plants you can either order an easy plant pack online or ask the people at that nice shop for anything in stock that'll be easy to grow. They may not always like answering 100 questions from somebody who bought all their equipment from another source, but they'll likely be happy to sell you the plants you need. After you buy a few things from them they will hopefully see you as an actual customer and offer help when you ask.

 

[Guppylove85]

What type of hood do you have, is it the one with the two screw in bulbs or one that has a florescent tube?
Plant-Java Fern is a very hardy plant that comes in different sizes. you can get tall, med, or small. Very cool plant.

I have both types as i have an assortment of tanks from the early days of my fish keeping, so glad i never let all my tanks and hoods go.

as for right now I am using the two screw in bulbs at the moment with 10w cfls

 

[Guppylove85]

If you put in easy to grow low light plants your 15 watt light with a good bulb will work out just fine and won't force you to use co2. If you want to grow plants that require higher light then you may want to use your double screw-in fixture and outfit it with either the 10 watt U-shaped aquarium CFLs that you can get at either a LFS or walmart, or simply use a 6500K spiral daylight that you can get anywhere. The long U-shaped Bulb gives you a little more usable light per watt, but you can get lots of different watt options from common spiral CFLs. Any fixture, outfitted with daylight or plant bulbs will grow plants. Just be aware that the brighter you make the tank the more necessary co2 will become. Keep the lights in the low range and you'll get buy without co2.
For plants you can either order an easy plant pack online or ask the people at that nice shop for anything in stock that'll be easy to grow. They may not always like answering 100 questions from somebody who bought all their equipment from another source, but they'll likely be happy to sell you the plants you need. After you buy a few things from them they will hopefully see you as an actual customer and offer help when you ask.

Thanks for your imput, I guess I either have to think about lowering my lights or addign co2 then?
since two 10 Wat cfls is more light then i need?

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Thanks for your imput, I guess I either have to think about lowering my lights or addign co2 then?
since two 10 Wat cfls is more light then i need?

Anytime. Actually, you should be able grow plants with your current setup and lights just fine by using a little liquid fertilizer, daily doses of Excel, and feeding your fish lightly. Plants are always better off with it but tons of people have a 10g with CFLs and no co2. It just depends on the type of plants you want and how fast you want them grow. If you love the idea of a tank filled with plants like a jungle then co2 will really help you get there. If you want a tank that is less maintenance with slower growing plants that you don't have to trim all the time then you shouldn't need it. If it was me, I would add a bunch of plants with a few root tabs and see how everything goes. After a couple of months I'd try a DIY co2 system and see if it makes a big difference. That way I could see for myself if it's needed or not. Nothing like a little experiment to see things both ways first hand. How does that sound? ^_^

 

[Guppylove85]

i really appreciate your input. i guess i will just try things out and see.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Anytime! Let us know how everything goes.

 

[Guppylove85]

will do