Aquascaping After Cycle?

[starlitsunrise]

Hey guys, 
 
I have two tanks at the moment and I want to aquascape both of them. My 10 gallon has been cycled for a month and a half and currently has a female betta and a female african dwarf frog living in it, as well as a few java ferns, some java moss and an anubias. My 5 gallon is in the middle of cycling and will house shrimp and snails, at the moment it has some baby java ferns, some java moss and marimo moss balls. I have been reading some aquascaping pages recently but I still have some questions.
 
1. Can I move around and possibly change some of the substrate without hurting the biological filter? 
2. Will my betta and frog get stressed out do to the change in environment?
3. Do I need to buy special substrate, fertilizers or CO2 if I want to keep low tech plants, ie. Java moss, java fern, anubias, marimo moss balls and maybe water sprite? If so, again will this stress out or hurt the animals I have/will have?
4. Do I need to worry about adding too many plants? 
5. Do you have any tips or suggestions? 
 
If you want more info on the tanks, let me know and I'll post asap.  
 
Thanks!!

 

[Byron]

1. Can I move around and possibly change some of the substrate without hurting the biological filter?
 

Shifting it around within the tank won't hurt, but removing it and replacing with new will remove some bacteria, but this still may not be detrimental.  Bacteria are sticky and adhere to surfaces, and adhere fairly strongly.  There will be bacteria on every surface covered by water, and most of it is in the substrate (not the filter, though there is a lot in the filter media too).
Here, I would not worry for either tank; you are not replacing all of the substrate, and you still have the filter media, plus the fish load is very low.
 

2. Will my betta and frog get stressed out do to the change in environment?
 

 
Fish do not like this, usually, and depending upon how much re-arranging you intend, moving the Betta temporarily might be advisable.  In large tanks, 4+ feet, one can work at one end and the fish can remain at the other without too much stress; but in small spaces, to avoid stress and injury, might be best to move the Betta.  The frog I'm not sure as I know next to nothing about this species.  My Red Belly Toad didn't mind something like this, as he was used to feeding off my hand anyway, and it was usually a case of keeping it out of my way.
 

3. Do I need to buy special substrate, fertilizers or CO2 if I want to keep low tech plants, ie. Java moss, java fern, anubias, marimo moss balls and maybe water sprite? If so, again will this stress out or hurt the animals I have/will have?
 

 
You do not need any special substrate for any plants, provided the substrate is not too large (nothing larger than pea gravel, and even this can sometimes slow plants down a tad).  Sand or fine gravel are both good substrates.  Sand is better for substrate fish and substrate feeding fish.
CO2 addition is not necessary for most plants, and certainly not for those mentioned.  I have these and many others in my tanks and the only CO2 is what naturally occurs.
Fertilizers, depends.  Plant nutrients come from water changes, fish/frog foods, and natural processes such as the breakdown of organics by bacteria in the substrate primarily.  [This latter is also your prime source of natural CO2.]  Water Sprite is the fastest-growing plant you mention, and fast-growing plants naturally need more nutrients and light.  I would suggest a basic comprehensive liquid fertilizer added after each water change; it takes very little.  I use Seachem's Flourish Comprehensive Supplement.  Unless you grossly overdose, these fertilizers will not harm fish, bacteria or plants, or snails, frogs, shrimp, etc.
 

4. Do I need to worry about adding too many plants?
 

 Not really.  As they settle in and begin to grow and spread (some are very slow at this, others fast) you can prune/thin them out.
 
With the plants mentioned, you shouldn't have issues over GH or pH.  The GH (hardness) is the prime source of the "hard" minerals like calcium, magnesium, etc, and some faster-growing plants can have deficiencies in very soft water, but here this shouldn't be a concern.  The fertilizer will supply sufficient.
 
Byron.

 

[starlitsunrise]

 

1. Can I move around and possibly change some of the substrate without hurting the biological filter?
 

Shifting it around within the tank won't hurt, but removing it and replacing with new will remove some bacteria, but this still may not be detrimental.  Bacteria are sticky and adhere to surfaces, and adhere fairly strongly.  There will be bacteria on every surface covered by water, and most of it is in the substrate (not the filter, though there is a lot in the filter media too).
Here, I would not worry for either tank; you are not replacing all of the substrate, and you still have the filter media, plus the fish load is very low.
 
2. Will my betta and frog get stressed out do to the change in environment?
 

 
Fish do not like this, usually, and depending upon how much re-arranging you intend, moving the Betta temporarily might be advisable.  In large tanks, 4+ feet, one can work at one end and the fish can remain at the other without too much stress; but in small spaces, to avoid stress and injury, might be best to move the Betta.  The frog I'm not sure as I know next to nothing about this species.  My Red Belly Toad didn't mind something like this, as he was used to feeding off my hand anyway, and it was usually a case of keeping it out of my way.
 

3. Do I need to buy special substrate, fertilizers or CO2 if I want to keep low tech plants, ie. Java moss, java fern, anubias, marimo moss balls and maybe water sprite? If so, again will this stress out or hurt the animals I have/will have?
 

 
You do not need any special substrate for any plants, provided the substrate is not too large (nothing larger than pea gravel, and even this can sometimes slow plants down a tad).  Sand or fine gravel are both good substrates.  Sand is better for substrate fish and substrate feeding fish.
CO2 addition is not necessary for most plants, and certainly not for those mentioned.  I have these and many others in my tanks and the only CO2 is what naturally occurs.
Fertilizers, depends.  Plant nutrients come from water changes, fish/frog foods, and natural processes such as the breakdown of organics by bacteria in the substrate primarily.  [This latter is also your prime source of natural CO2.]  Water Sprite is the fastest-growing plant you mention, and fast-growing plants naturally need more nutrients and light.  I would suggest a basic comprehensive liquid fertilizer added after each water change; it takes very little.  I use Seachem's Flourish Comprehensive Supplement.  Unless you grossly overdose, these fertilizers will not harm fish, bacteria or plants, or snails, frogs, shrimp, etc.
 

4. Do I need to worry about adding too many plants?
 

 Not really.  As they settle in and begin to grow and spread (some are very slow at this, others fast) you can prune/thin them out.
 
With the plants mentioned, you shouldn't have issues over GH or pH.  The GH (hardness) is the prime source of the "hard" minerals like calcium, magnesium, etc, and some faster-growing plants can have deficiencies in very soft water, but here this shouldn't be a concern.  The fertilizer will supply sufficient.
 
Byron.
 



Byron, you are awesome! This is really helpful. Thank you for all of your answers/advice