10l Planted Journal

[tom_os]

I have had this 10l tank for a good few months and up until recently i have been keeping snails in. Well the snails have moved out and i have been left with an empty tank for the last few weeks. I have been meaning to do a planted "pico" tank and looking on here recently it has inspired me to get started. I have seen things on here similar to what i have been wanting to do so i might change my mind but i am still undecided. The theme of this tank, if you want to put it like that, is a small tank on a small budget. As i go through i will put on the prices of how much it all cost.

Equipment:

Tank: 10L (picked up for free £0)

Substrate: Tropica plant substrate (only a few pounds as i will just pinch some from my big tank. (£3)) capped by black sand (£3)

Hardscape: rocks picked up from my garden (£0)

Co2: Aqua Essentials own brand liquid carbon (500ml £8)

Fertilizers: Tropical plant nutrition + (100ml £7)

Filter: HOB filter (£8)

Heater: 25w (if needed) (£0)

Light: 13w clip on (£13)

Plants: dwarf hairgrass, HC Cuba (£ unknown)

Inhabitants: Shrimp (£ unknown)


15/04/09:

ordered substrate, fertilizers, light, filter, co2


16/04/09

Heres a picture of the tank (pre cleaning). I have just given it a good clean.

The rocks and sand. I was pleased when i found these rocks, pretty much identicle to the ones you can buy but i got them for free.

The ordered bits should come in the next few days so will update when they arrive.
Spent so far roughly £42

 

[Curiosity101]

*Is watching very closely*
Where is the light from?

I've ordered a 14l Tom-Pla plastic aquarium with the plan to do EXACTLY what you are doing! lol.

 

[Smoothy]

Looking forward to seeing how this progresses ... as you know I'm also doing the same lol.

Where did you get the HOB Filter from for 8 pound?

 

[tom_os]

seems to be very popular at the moment, here a link to the light.
http/www.amazon.co.uk/Aquarium-Light-Hol...3614&sr=8-1
i got the price wrong on the original post so will change that

this is the filter:
Azoo Mignon Filter 240 - Generation II

its the same one george farmer used in his similar scape so i thought i would be a good bet. its about £9.50 of ebay but i got it off a friend for £8

 

[Smoothy]

Thanks for the info on the filter ... might have to invest in one of those

 

[tom_os]

yeah they look good. i was going to use a fluval 1+ but as there is such limited space in the tank it wouldnt really work

 

[JenCliBee]

Looking forward to seeing the finished article m8

 

[tom_os]

cheers, me too!

 

[bagu]

this is gonna be gooood

 

[AdAndrews]

just a quick word, as i have just planted my dp 35 litre. it is soo hard, you dont want to know. i used cuba and had to use larger bunches of it in the end as i could physically plant tiny little stems,

make sure that the sand it packed down well before planting, and plant dry

 

[tom_os]

thanks for the adivce

you got any pics of your tank up yet?

 

[AdAndrews]

i will update my journal later, just having lunch now and clearing up.

 

[tom_os]

ok cool, look forward to seeing it

 

[tom_os]

Aqua Essentials order came this morning (substrate, co2 and fertz)

So i began to set up the tank. found the perfect place next to the all important tv and xbox=]

put in a layer to Tropica plant substrate

then washed 1 bag of sand and put it in with a gradual slope towards the back. i dont think is is quite enough soo...

added another half bag of black gravel which i think makes it look alot better

then i washed the rocks and experimented with different positions. after a quick play around i found a position i liked but i will probably change it again alot before i get the perfect look. because it is such a small tank it is hard to fit them all in.

i then pinched a light from another tank so you can see it a bit better!

oh whilst looking at it i found quite a few scratches on the glass to i used a bt of toothpaste to try and get that out and now waiting for it to dry.

i will probably fill it up with water to get a better idea of what it lookes like in a bit and use an old filter on it whilst i wait for the HOB one to arrive. im also waiting for the light.

will update with a few pics later. please tell me what you think!

 

[Truck]

lol, you posted the same link of all the pics