Starting a 10g planted tank

[JenRosefl]

I'm planning to start a 10g tank. I'm thinking of aiming to be a low tech, heavily planted tank for cherry shrimps and possibly some small schooling fish like tetra. 

I purchased a florescent hood that has a "full spectrum" light with it, can I use this? Or would I be better to use one of the bulbs specifically for plants? 

I'm planning to use black sand substrate, I've read some information saying to put peat or dirt under it first.. Can I get away with not doing this? Will the plants be okay in just sand? 

I also am going to use sponge filters and a bubble wall. 
 

What plants do you suggest that are low maintenance and healthy for cherrys?
 I'm thinking...
Foreground : Java Moss, Dwarf baby tears(though it seems to not like my 2.5) or hair grass 
Midground: Java Fern, Dwarf Lily (Nymphaea Rubra) 
background: Anubias (not sure what variety) ,amazon sword? 

 

I also found a "plant" pack of 12, http://www.aquariumplants.com/12-Plant-Assortment-Hardy-Low-Light-p/ashll.htm   .. thoughts on this would be appreciated. Or others you could recommend. 

Thanks so much! Finding information is so frustrating on looking it up, every site says something different so I thought I'd go straight to the people whom I can talk to! 

[chappy6107]

hi there jenrose,

  with a low tech tank you may have some problems with the dwarf baby tears.  but you could always give it a go.  Also I couldnt see or tell what plants those were in the link.  Here is another link with packages of plants for you to look at(seller has other packages too)

http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auction.cgi?liveplants&1482684600

[JenRosefl]

Thanks Chappy! I will check out that link. I'd like to get a package of plants that all require the same light.   Will the full spectrum light bulb be okay for plants to thrive? Its the aqueon full spectrum t8. I'm planning to set up the tank with about 1/2 water to let the light penetrate more to the plants for a week or so, then let the tank run another couple weeks to cycle and establish. 

 

I have some dwarf baby tears in my 2.5 nano and its not doing well, does it require high light? 

[Ebi_flo]

most moss should do!  xmas moss, flame moss, mini pellias.  if you want a carpet, you can do monte carlos, they'll grow slower and prob not as green/dense as with co2, but they'll thrive and be ok.

 

I'd recommend the peat and some have plenty of ferts in them already so it'll work well.  If you more concern with PH and such for neos or shrimps in higher ph etc, you can always add in rocks like seiryu that tend to buffer higher.  Or do a mix of sand + peat, peat where you are going to put the plants.  Upaqua soil also seems to be ok, doesn't mush like ada aquasoil, doesn't leech ammonia and is easier to manage with.  For some, it doesn't really buffer the PH low as advertised.

[chappy6107]

is the bulb one of these?  http://www.aqueonproducts.com/products/fullspectrum-daylight-t8-fluorescent-lamp.htm#

 

if it is, those are really only good for low light plants.  I'd look for a 6500K bulb or google what is best on the market right now.  I have stopped using bulbs a long time ago.  I am 100% LED lights myself.

 

yes baby tears need high light.  you might look into the monte carlos mentioned by @Ebi-San above they are great plants and will probably do much better than the baby tears in your set up

[TheGlassBox]

I think both baby tears and dwarf hair grass are out unless you go high tech.  They really only flourish with high light and CO2 (for baby tears).  That being said, you might be able to dry start them and grow them out fully before adding water to the tank.  Might work with a good head start...  But you'd have to wait until it fully filled in.  On the bright side, if you did that, once you filled the tank with water and went low tech, you wouldn't have the constant trimming that high tech tanks require, because the growth would slow.  

 

Can the dirt idea unless you're committed to doing a dirted tank.  Every time you rearrange a plant, the water will get all cloudy with dirt.  And since sand particles are larger than dirt particles, that pretty sand cap will eventually disappear as it settles into the dirt.  Plenty of folks have great luck using just sand and root tabs.  (I'm one!)

 

If you want a low tech tank, you should really be looking at only low light plants.  That bulb you mentioned might grow low light plants, but most carpeting plants would just laugh at it...  But be careful in going for too strong a light, because then you'll need CO2 to balance it out or you'll just farm algae. 

 

I'm actually putting together a low tech shrimp tank as we speak.  Still picking out the plants.  Think I'm going to try a moss carpet.  But not over the whole substrate, just part of it.  Still deciding on the moss species.  Would love Fissidens fontanus, but it grows slower than a snail can run, even in high light with CO2.  Might try cultivating it slowly and someday be able to use it as a carpet, while I start it out with Java or Christmas moss that grows faster...

 

Some great accent plants are java fern (it has several different strains that all look a little different), crypts, anubias and Bucephalandra .  Bucephalandra  has some really beautiful variations!  You can add some color and interest to your tank with these.  And don't forget the crypts, you can add both color and interest to a low light tank on a really low budget!  Crypts are beautiful!

 

Happy Holidays, hope this helps.

 

 

-Sharon

[JenRosefl]

Thank you so much to everyone who replied to this post! I've got a list of plants to hunt down! I will be making it my mission to get plants to stock my tank tomorrow.. lets hope shipping doesn't cost more than the plants! LOL I will post pictures of the results once I get it done. 

@TheGlassBox  Yes that is the bulb! I figured I'd need to put in a "Plant" bulb, it just came with the fixture I got.   LEDs intimidated me, I'm so used to florescent. I will venture into 2016 (almost 17..) soon enough, for now I'll hunt down a good bulb. 

 

 

[TheGlassBox]

Someone told me on another board that micro sword (Lilaeopsis Novaeselandiae) does better in medium light after a dry start than dwarf hair grass or any of the others,  Might give it a try....

 

[Shrimp Life]

On 12/24/2016 at 2:46 PM, TheGlassBox said:

Think I'm going to try a moss carpet.  But not over the whole substrate, just part of it.  Still deciding on the moss species.  Would love Fissidens fontanus, but it grows slower than a snail can run, even in high light with CO2.  Might try cultivating it slowly and someday be able to use it as a carpet, while I start it out with Java or Christmas moss that grows faster...

 

Hey Sharon, Mini Christmas moss has a good growth rate and fans out so nicely especially if you have a bit of a sloping substrate (higher in back and lower in front. I was thinking about doing a Mini Christmas moss carpet in a 12x12x12 cube tank (attaching them to alot of small rocks and letting it grow over them all... Here is a pic I took yesterday to show how nicely this moss fans out... And yea, your right fissidens takes a long time to grow in.... but the end result would be EPIC! (ps thats one of the bloody marys you sent me hanging out on this moss!)

 

 

[Shrimp Life]

I think Theglassbox made some good suggestions for you. You will have the least problems and most success with low light plants like Mosses, Java Fern or Buce or maybe some anubias petite (very nice plant)... 

[TheGlassBox]

Oh I SO want Christmas Moss!  I love the way the fronds are shorter and more compact.  It makes it look thicker and lusher!  I'm just waiting for aquariumplants.com to get some TC Christmas moss in.  I called a few days ago, he said it should be in in about a week.  So I'm checking every day.  Trying to do the new tank I'm starting in all TC plants.  But he's been out of CM for a bit now, and if it's not in in a week I'm just going to order some regular and hope it survives bleach.  As a matter of fact I was planning on experimenting on some java moss and fissendens from my own tank with bleach this afternoon...  If it holds up I might quit waiting and just order some regular from a tank. I got some freshwater limpets in another tank once from an incoming plant and it was horrible trying to get rid of them.   So TC really appeals to me.

 

The shrimp are looking beautiful!  She looks like she's just posing for the camera on that beautiful moss!  Seriously nice shot!  

 

 

 

Oh and JenRosefl, like Dazalea said a small anubias would look great and you should check out the Bucephalandras too.  They're a little more pricey, but they have some wonderful colors other than green.  So you could add a different color and texture for interest.  Also, some of the crypt wendtis aren't green or all green, like the bronze, brown and beckettii petchii.  And crypts do well in low light and are cheap.

 

[Shrimp Life]

I have limpets in my 10 gallon tank and I hate them. I cannot move any moss or anything from that tank to other tanks becuase they will infest other tanks. They are harmless but unsightly. I bought some assassin snails and they have been cracking down on the limpets quite abit. You might way to try assassin snails. Tissue Culture is great option to avoid any snail or limpet issues. Some peopel even have other pests on their mosses like scuds, seed shrimp, planaria. Got to watch out!

[TheGlassBox]

Ugh!  I hate those things!  I got Oto's and they put a dent in them.  But the only way I ever got rid of them was to break down that tank down and start again.  One or two wouldn't have bothered me, but they were all over the front of the glass.  I even ran an experiment using different poisons in a small test tank I set up and I swear nothing would kill them.  Not even copper or ammonia!

 

Yeah, that's why I want to go TC.  No more limpets!  Unless a plant can be bleached....  I wonder if buce's can take bleach?

[Shrimp Life]

I have tried so many times to keep snails out of my tanks and I find its so difficult mainly because I put alot of mosses in my tanks for different sources (all healthy) and the snails are harmless but just annoying if/when the population gets out of control. 

[TheGlassBox]

Snails have never been a problem for me.  I only got them once and eventually got rid of them by squishing them.  A least they reach a size where you can see them before they start having babies.  And if not, there are always assasains....  And I'm very diligent about using bleach or alum and permanganate on all incoming plants.  But they can still sneak through.  All you need are a few eggs...   I've seen a few buce's now in TC.  But only the green one's.  And I want some of the colored ones.  I'll bet they'd take bleach.....   They look like they have thick leaves like an anubias.....  I'd also like to find some TC jungle val and elodea.  But no one has them, not even Tropica.  I think it's because they're such invasive species it would look bad for the company.   I think I'm going to try and TC them myself (as soon as I have the time.)  Don't rat me out....