Need Some Direction On Low Budget Tank...

BIGbadJOHN

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I've got a 10G tank that has just finished it's cycling and I need to know some basics of what I need to do to have a well maintained low budget planted tank. It has just one Aqueon 8000K Full Spectrum Daylight florescent tube(15W 120V T8 18"). I have 2 Amazon Swords in it at the moment because they' came together and I wasn't about to waste one. I also have a java fern attached with some fishing line to a piece of driftwood laying long ways which runs about half the length of the tank. I had a some stalks of something that looked similar to anacharis, but they seemed to be dying so I removed them. I have about an inch of CaribSea FloraMax that slopes up to about an inch and a half at the back of the tank with pool sand about an inch thick on top. This is probably too much substrate I suppose, but if I can keep from pulling it all out I'd prefer not to fool with it. I also have set the lighting to come on for an hour early in the morning as well as 5 more hours from 5pm -10pm. Throughout the cycle I have had NO problem with algae. I haven't turned the light on for more than a minute at a time and that was only a handful of times. I also just put the first dose of Aqueon Fertilizer in. I only used 5 mL. I know it might not be the best stuff, but I had a coupon for it, sorry! The Java fern had a few leaves that were brown out of the package and I had no more that turned brown up til a couple days ago when I removed 2 leaves starting to turn brown. It has only about 5 leaves on it now. The swords have actually sprouted a dense cluster of about 5-6 leaves in the center starting about 2 weeks ago or so. They seem to be growing, but not fast. They have been growing roots well. I actually trimmed them back when I repositioned them today. I plan on getting some more plants, and I'd definitely like something that will carpet a little on the sand. I just want more variety. Some bushier plants, some taller, some that carpet, etc. And as far as fish go, I'll be adding a betta who is currently recovering from some fin rot and definitely some platys because my wife LOVES the Mickey Mouse variety. I would also like to add some shrimp and maybe some ?corys? I don't know about the corys cause I know they school and I don't know if I have enough room. If no cories then I'd like a couple of ottos. That's about it I'd say. I've been told not to use platys cause they're too large for a 10G, but my wife loves them and I just don't see why a trio of them wouldn't be ok.

Anyways, I guess what I'm asking is:

Is my light source sufficient enough to sustain plants, and if so, how much?

What should I set my lights to for low algae, but good growth?

Should I use fertilizer for such a small tank, and if so, how much should I use?

Any advice would be appreciated and if there are any good links to some sites or any good books I should pick up for a planted freshwater tank I'd love to hear about them!
 
Hiya

The browning on the java leaves is pretty normal as it acclimatised to your water. As long as the rhizome stays looking healthy then you'll be fine :)

If you had pygmy cories then you'd be able to fit a small group in there. I find ottos notoriously difficult to keep alive for any more than about 3-4 months even in established tanks, I don't know if that's just down to my water parameters or what, but anyways.

Your light source is fine for what you're wanting to do. I know at the moment you have it on for 6 hours total, thats about how long you'll want it on for. I don't know how splitting the light works though, having it on for some time in the morning and some at night. I guess light is light and time is time so it wouldn't really matter, just most people prefer just to do like 4-10pm to make it simpler.

I don't really know what's in your fertiliser as it's one I've never used. Tbh, if you had a betta and cories, and even possibly your trio of platies (just keep an eye on your filtration with them, technically you'll be over stocked with a betta, cories and platies, but if you have adequate filtration for the bio-load then you should be fine. Just add fish gradually) your plants will most likely be able to get enough nutrients from fish waste. The only one to watch would be your swords. They use a fair bit (relatively) of iron, which isn't replaced by fish waste. Therefore if they start to show deficiency of iron, slow growth and paler leaves, it may be an idea to dose some ferts, as long as your fert contains iron! :lol: Just dose what they reccomend on the bottle.

I would give you a couple of links to sites but I'm on my iPod at the moment so it's not the easiest. Have a look on PARC for some good planted links ;)
 
I would stick to low lighting plants such as Anubias, Jave Fern and Java Moss. You should be able to keep these plants without any issues. Also Vallis isa good plant for low light setups. I would knock the fertiliser on the head as your plants shouldn't in theory need any. Save it for when you get a larger more well lit tank. The fish will produce more than enough nutrients for the plants, especially with low light. Increase the lighting to 7-8 hours a day also. If wanting to carpet low ight then i would try and attatch some Java Moss to some rocks and carpet that way. Most carpet type plants ike higher lighting than what you can offer.

My stocking would be a bit different to what you mention though. Pygmy Cories will do very well in a tank of your size, but i would go with Harlequin Rasboras or checker/cherry barbs and Shrimps personally. Platties can become a fair size, although they would probably be fine in your tank. I would aim for 2 females though only unless you want fry which you would get almost for certain if you added a male also.

The issue with Otocinclus is providing them with enough food, essentially algae for them to survive long term.
 
Yeah, I think I'll try and get some Amano shrimp a little later. I think I'll skip on the corys since I think they may overload my bio capacity. What would be the possibility of maybe getting another platy or 2? The reason I ask is because of the 3 we got, the HiFin platy has been very aggressive today I see. When I got home all he keeps doing is chasing the other 2 around and nipping at them. I don't want to get rid of him, but I will if I can't find a way to keep him off the other 2 because I really like the others as well. Will getting another 1 or 2 platys help out with this aggression? Or maybe a small school of tetras or something? Any suggestions guys?
 
Hiya

The browning on the java leaves is pretty normal as it acclimatised to your water. As long as the rhizome stays looking healthy then you'll be fine :)

If you had pygmy cories then you'd be able to fit a small group in there. I find ottos notoriously difficult to keep alive for any more than about 3-4 months even in established tanks, I don't know if that's just down to my water parameters or what, but anyways.

Your light source is fine for what you're wanting to do. I know at the moment you have it on for 6 hours total, thats about how long you'll want it on for. I don't know how splitting the light works though, having it on for some time in the morning and some at night. I guess light is light and time is time so it wouldn't really matter, just most people prefer just to do like 4-10pm to make it simpler.

I don't really know what's in your fertiliser as it's one I've never used. Tbh, if you had a betta and cories, and even possibly your trio of platies (just keep an eye on your filtration with them, technically you'll be over stocked with a betta, cories and platies, but if you have adequate filtration for the bio-load then you should be fine. Just add fish gradually) your plants will most likely be able to get enough nutrients from fish waste. The only one to watch would be your swords. They use a fair bit (relatively) of iron, which isn't replaced by fish waste. Therefore if they start to show deficiency of iron, slow growth and paler leaves, it may be an idea to dose some ferts, as long as your fert contains iron! :lol: Just dose what they reccomend on the bottle.

I would give you a couple of links to sites but I'm on my iPod at the moment so it's not the easiest. Have a look on PARC for some good planted links ;)

I have a Fluval C2 by the way. Great filter so far....I love the convenience and the multiple filtering. Best HOB filter out there now if you ask me. I still have the seed material which is a large piece of filter floss from one of PETCO's sumps. It must have been pretty well cycled because it was converting ammonia in under 12 hours within a week and I was fully done with the cycle in about 3 weeks not including the proving week.
 

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