Tank help and plant ID

[Misskiwi67]

Hey all,

I was hoping I could get some suggestions for my planted tank here at the house. I've had it setup for 4-5 years now, and it really hasn't changed a whole lot except for the fish. Its been my traveling companion from college, to home and back again, and now finally has a stable home here in grad school. Now that I'm not tearing it down and setting it back up again every 6 months, I figure maybe its about time I did something to upgrade!

The java moss on the driftwood got a trimming this weekend because it had completely taken over my tank and it looked like a giant christmas tree and occupied probably 30% of my tank space. It looks like @(#& at the moment, but it should perk up really quickly. I was originally happy with the open space, but now I think its TOO open... any suggestions would be welcomed.

10 gallon
15W all glass light bulb
Whisper 30 filter
playground sand substrate
unknown crypt species, java moss and other unknown plants...
4 balloon mollies
2 underwater frogs
1 clown plecostomus

I haven't done a water test for as long as I can remember... I can probably borrow the test kit from the vet school tank if you need more specs...

Here's the pics. If you can ID any of the plant species I would love to know what they are. Most go through phases of either growing really well, or being in stasis. They never seem to do this together, so I don't think its my care (or lack thereof) that is influencing growth. The leaves stick around for a while, then they'll all get old and die off and the individual plant will produce a new set of leaves...

Oh, and I really think my tank looks better than the pics show. It seems like the pics pick up every old leaf and make it look like the whole tank is dying... I'm quite happy with it, but would love to make it better if possible without adding light and CO2.

 

[smooth_bourbon]

how bout just try adding some ferts?

I haven't done a water test for as long as I can remember... I can probably borrow the test kit from the vet school tank if you need more specs...

I think a water test would be a good idea, your fishies seem to be gasping at the top. Feel free to correct me if they just happened to be at the top in this photo.

Over all I think the tank looks pretty good, just a bit boring.

ooooh oooh try a different back ground I think that would big a huge improvement.

 

[pseud]

I think you really need to improve your lighting and CO2 to make a big difference. Then I'd get a heap more plants in there... that will get you off to a good start..

 

[zig]

Useing flash while taking pictures of aquariums can make things look absolutely hideously awful........i think thats your first mistake......a tripod or steady surface and a long exposure useing only the aquarium light will make the tank look a lot better, you should turn off any lights in the room as well and close the curtains if its daytime, the results will be 10x better.

Id remove the background the blue does not look great, live bait would also have to be binned along with the broken pot unless fish use it.

The christmas tree still looks like a christmas tree and looks a bit odd as a center piece, i would probably lose that as well.

Its possible to do amazing things with a ten gallon tank believe it or not, the example below is only a ten gallon, so anything is possible if you put your mind to it.

I hope Kenneth Cheng doesnt mind its just an example

Id say your tank probably looks a lot better but the photography doesnt do it any favours along with the ornaments.

 

[Misskiwi67]

What kind of ferts would you recommend? I could probably add a bag of ecocomplete to the vet school order if you think that would help.

I guess I should clarify about the lighting. I'm not against upgrading the lighting, but I don't want to add so much wattage that I need CO2. I can't afford CO2, and I have too many other things (grad school, a dozen pets and the boyfriend) that really need my time right now.

I think I might try a black background, which is what you all suggested for the other tank I'm working on.

Any plant suggestions? I have lots of plants, but the large leaves of the crypts don't exactly fill the space well. I wish I'd taken a pic before the java moss got trimmed... Is there a better way to rearrange them to make better use of the space?

I actually wasn't using flash for those pics... its just the way my camera works I suppose... The fact that I was photographing in the middle of the afternoon probably didn't help. I'm used to photographing bettas and snakes, where the more house light you have, the better the photos...

Is this better? There's still a glare off the sand, but at least the fish aren't beggin for food and the water spots are gone.

 

[zig]

Looks much better, if you covered the heater in moss it could be a copy of the picture i posted above

 

[illusion54]

I'd say a black background would automatically make it look better. Try that first.

 

[Misskiwi67]

Will do!! THANKS!!!

 

[Misskiwi67]

Well, I rearranged today. Added a black background, and decided to use the driftwood for its original purpose, which was to hide the heater and/or filter intake. Since I figured it would look silly way back in the corner (it still does) I picked up another piece of driftwood to make the tank look a little more balanced. I'm not sure if I achieved the effect I was looking for....

Its still cloudy from uprooting everything and stirring up the sand, so I'll give it some time. Do you guys think this is an improvement, or not??? Jury is still out on my end...

 

[Jen]

Wow! What an improvement! I'm not a fan of those fake decorations.... I have have been. I'm glad to see them go. When that plant at the front (i can't think of the name) spreads, it will make a nice lush carpet and will look amazing.

 

[Misskiwi67]

Wow! What an improvement! I'm not a fan of those fake decorations.... I have have been. I'm glad to see them go. When that plant at the front (i can't think of the name) spreads, it will make a nice lush carpet and will look amazing.

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Thanks! That makes me feel better. My poor pleco will have to find somewhere new to hide, but the wood is far enough back he'll be ok. The fresh bait sign is leftover from when I had guppies. I agree it was time for it to retire!!!

And after looking at that new plant (with the red tops) I've decided I want to do whatever I can to make that plant stay that way... I'd also like my foreground plants to form the neat looking carpet everyone else has, and maybe my plants leaves won't seem to melt away anymore...

What can I do lighting-wise with a 10 gallon??? I looked up fixtures, but everything is 20 inches and larger, which is too big for my tank

 

[Misskiwi67]

Apparently my tank is bigger than I thought. I thought 10 gallons were 18 inches, but they're 20, so I CAN get lights!!! Now I'm looking at light fixtures, and all I can find that fits my tank is this one... One compact fluorescent bulb is 40W... which means 4WPG. Holy schmoley, isn't there a happy medium? Is there any way I can bump it up to 2WPG and avoid CO2?

http/www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod...8&N=2004+113345