Setting Up A 10 Gallon

[MrGT500]

so i am about to build a 10 gallon tank with some female bettas and a few pepperd cories in it, and maybe a few shrimp. i put some sand and some plastic sword plants in it today, but the more i think about it the more i think i would like to use this tank as my introduction to live plants. i would love to keep them in my bigger tanks but dont want to get plants just to have them die or have litghts that are going to grow a ton of alge. i was thinking of starting with banana plants and java moss balls. any ideas or advice would be welcome.


note: there is already about an inch or so of sand in the tank. will these plants grow in the sand?

 

[HAMBONE]

so i am about to build a 10 gallon tank with some female bettas and a few pepperd cories in it, and maybe a few shrimp. i put some sand and some plastic sword plants in it today, but the more i think about it the more i think i would like to use this tank as my introduction to live plants. i would love to keep them in my bigger tanks but dont want to get plants just to have them die or have litghts that are going to grow a ton of alge. i was thinking of starting with banana plants and java moss balls. any ideas or advice would be welcome.


note: there is already about an inch or so of sand in the tank. will these plants grow in the sand?

go for it.. it's been my experience that my betta will eat my skrimps..

oh, if it's sand, you'll need to add some nutrient clay balls to the sand.. the lfs can help you with that..

 

[fluttermoth]

I have loads of plants that grow perfectly well in sand.

Try some of these; cryptocorynes, Java fern and anubias (both those two need attaching to rock or wood, not planted in the sand), vallis, Java and Christmas mosses. I've never grown banana plants, but moss balls (they're actually a kind of algae, not a moss) are very easy.

 

[MrGT500]

how do you go about attaching plants to rocks or wood? sorry if thats like a super noob question.

 

[Ps3Steveo]

Super glue or fishing line

 

[fluttermoth]

Or cotton thread. Superglue is by far the easiest way, just make sure it's pure cyanoacrylate; most of the very cheap ones are.

Messing around trying to tie knots in thread with wet hands is not a fun way to spend your time! Plus, I've heard horror stories of plecs and things getting trapped between the thread/fishing line and the rock/wood. It makes me nervous now.

 

[MrGT500]

what part of the plant do you glue down? does any one have a pic? that would be helpful. as far as lighting, i was told that i really only have to turn the light on for a few hours a day, is this true? i dont want to go growing a ton of alge by having a plant light on all the time and a low power filter cause of the bettas. if this is true the rest of the time i would have a color max light over the tank.

 

[fluttermoth]

Java fern and anubias have a rhizome; like a thick horizontal stalk that the roots and leaves grow out of. That's the part you want to glue onto your rock or wood. You can trim a few of the roots off to make it sit neatly, if you need to.

Plants need around 6-8 hours of light a day.