~starfishpower's 10 Gallon Planted Journal~

[Starfishpower]

Well im finally going to try a planted tank, and its about time too. iv been really excited about this for a while now. its cycled and has 8 happy little fishies in it. one crowntail betta, one cory cat, one banjo catfish, 2 black kuhli loaches, and three small feeder guppies that never got eaten and i dont have the heart to get rid of . thats moonlight sand in there, so i think im gona have to go with some sort of fert tabs. a little advice on that one, i dont know what kind to get and researching that is difficult since idk how biased the information is towards a particular brand name. but the first issue at hand is getting me a new lighting system. im looking at a diy hood with a light fixture that will give me 3wpg or more. im thinking i can just find an under-cabinet fluorescent light fixture at walmart or home depot and waterproof it by putting a glass cover/splash guard under it. any thoughts on that? there's a lot more too but one step at a time will work right now. here's the tank.

 

[Million]

No need for anything special when it comes to lighting, just look for a compact fluorescent that will fit your hood, and make sure it isn't exposed to too much humid air. Finding ones to fit little tanks is a bit harder, but I use desk lamps which you might want to investigate locally

 

[Starfishpower]

thanks. i was just at the lfs a minute ago and im having them look into getting me a full spectrum T8 bulb (~15 watts). the owner is a "fish geek" so im dropping back by this afternoon to talk with him. i was gona build my own hood and add a glass splash guard to it to protect the light, which is needed since i plan on using an economical shop light type fixture which wolnt be water proof. i also plan to equip it with a cooling fan and a moon light of some sort, cold cathode maybe.

 

[aaronnorth]

root tabs are needed for heavy root feeders like cryptocorynes and echindorous species, they will survive but since i added JBL aquabasis i have noticed a lot of growth.

 

[Starfishpower]

root tabs are needed for heavy root feeders like cryptocorynes and echindorous species, they will survive but since i added JBL aquabasis i have noticed a lot of growth.

can you recommend some plants that will do well in sand? i need to be thoughtful of my fishes needs first: banjo catfish needs to be able to bury himself and my new baby senny needs to be ok if he accidentally swallows some substrate while eating. id also like to use it as a juvenile spiny eel grow out tank in the near future. they need to be able to bury themselves without cutting their skin in order to prevent bacterial infections. id like to keep the sand as long as possible. i dont mind getting a bunch of bogwood and adding rhizome plants for the majority of the planting.

 

[aaronnorth]

all plants do well in sand, easy plants that need almost nothing include:

hygrophilia polysperma
vallis
anubuas
java fern
java moss
bolbitis

 

[Starfishpower]

i got a new light last night. its a Coralife 50/50. its a full spectrum, 15 watt, 6000k. im using an economical fixture from home depot. i love saving money.

http/www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...amp;pcatid=3794

i think its a pretty good bulb. im going today or tomorrow to get lumber to build a hood. i plan to emulate the hood plans we have pinned here and adapt them to my size tank. id like to add a second bulb eventually. something not quite so fancy or expensive. i just started with this one cause it peaks in all the right places (3 peaks too, most T8's dont do that). im also trying to find something i can use as a moon light. i dont know where to get cold cathods and im not going to order anything online. any advice on that one? also, when designing this hood, i need to know, with 2 T8s in it should it need a cooling fan or not. cause i can easily install one i just need to make sure that when i build the canopy that i leave room for a fan.

 

[Starfishpower]

got some moneywort and dwarf hairgrass. looked up their profiles so i know a bit about them. any important info on the yall think i should know?

 

[jacko9901]

looking good i think it needs more plants though.

 

[Starfishpower]

thanks jacko. im moving along as my budget allows which is why i dont have more plants. your right i think it actually needs a lot more plants. i think the next and most important step though is for me to build a good canopy and upgrade the lighting and add a CO2 unit. after that and some fert tabs i should be able to just focus solely on the actual planting of the tank.

 

[Starfishpower]

well iv got algae. id take a picture but my camera doesnt do micro very well so whats the point. it isnt a lot of algea though, not yet at least. it seems to only be forming on my java moss. it looks like little black hairs. if it doesnt get any worse than it is now im not going to really worry about it but all the same i am ignorant on this subject so im open to suggestions and comments to educate me on the matter. i know one way to combat it is to get more plants and use co2. thats about it though. comments?

 

[aaronnorth]

sounds like BBA (black brush algae)

CAUSES:

fluctuating or low CO2
ammonia spike
to much nutrients

take a look in my sig for a more detailed answer.

 

[Starfishpower]

the algae seems to be keeping to itself so im not really worried right now. my moneywort is being forced to grow rather horizontally due to the low ceiling on the tank and has started to put out roots from what im assuming are the nodes located on the lateral stems. should i be aware of anything concerning this? is there anything i should do to help it along? should i take cuttings of it and plant them? whats up with that?

 

[aaronnorth]

if you dont like the roots, then cut them off, the roots are there to try and get more nutrients.

 

[Starfishpower]

oh thats fine. i just wondered if there was something special and out of the obvious that i should know about the situation. but thats fine, i like the roots, they look very nice