sorry i posted this in wrong place.


What all do I need to start a planted tank in my 10 gal f/w? have to start cycle over?

My guess would be an aquarium...and a plant

I know you have mentioned in elsewhere but do you have any goals, dreams, or desires in mind for this tank?

lol. I can see right now, that this is going to be difficult. I have a tank, but I dont want to build a whole plant just for a 10 gal. Contractors are a bit out of my price range.

On another site and a different time, I saw the most beatiful tank in the world. It took first prize in the world. A Japanese guy did it. I know I could never win a prize with my tanks, but I thought the grassy bottom and the bonsi tree could be reproduced rather cheap. I can grab a picture of the bankground and print it off......I dunnoooooooooo




edit: I cant find the picture.

I think I know what you are talking about...even tried the bonzai tree thing myself once. I'm pretty sure it was just some drift wood and something like java moss that they were trimming to make it look like a tree.

I believe there are a few different options for a ground cover type plant and you might want to check out the plant page on Drs. Foster and Smith because they do a good job of breaking them down into background, mid, and foreground plants (e.g. tall, medium, and short). As always, narrowing things down to a few more specific plants will help your research take shape faster. As I believe GM mentioned in another thread, it is possible and common to have a "low-tech" planted tank which means you don't have to worry about CO2 or overly expensive light systems and such.

I guess the first thing that you should do first, is to try to build an inspiration out of not just one picture but several of them. I keep a tank where the focus is into aquascaping and just a few colorful fishes. I have a separate community tank by the way which is a delight.

So there! Build on your inspiration first and let your imagination work for you. Here's a few ideas of natural aquascaping.

http://www.aquariumfishexperts.com/aqua ... spiration/

It's also nice for you to get to know your plants as well. If you have fishes, you'd want to know which is damaging to your plants and which is livable with your fish.

http://www.aquariumfishexperts.com/cate ... ic-plants/.

Hope this helps!

I'm not sure what type of lighting your ten gallon aquarium has but try to find and purchase a plant friendly grow light. The pet store is your best bet unless your tank light is not flourescent. Most plants require lots of light and standard bulbs do not provide the right kind of light.

I always had healthier freshwater plants when I kept the tank around 74 deg F instead of 80 deg where I typically keep my freshy tanks.

The single biggest problem I had with freshwater plants is trying to grow and keep them healthy without be over run by algea. Algae loves phosphates and my local tap water has 1 ppm phosphates. If you are not sure about your water buy a phosphate testing kit. There are a few products on the market that help absorb phosphates out of aquarium water, you may want to get one of these products.

You do not have to re-cycle the tank, just keep dead leaves and debris cleaned up in the tank. If you are not going to keep fish in the planted aquarium then you will need a plant food supplement. I did not see any real improvement using plant foods when I used them in tanks with fish.

Don't be afraid to trim the plants especially if leaves begin to turn brown or die. Healthy plants grow very fast.

I always had good luck with plants rooting well in small aquarium gravel. The larger gravel did not work as good.

Plants need the aquarium water to circulate but not aggressively. If you are running an undergravel filter you may want to have a small air stone to keep the water moving, but again not a whirlpool.

Lastly don't panic if your new plants shed several leaves in the first few days/weeks after purchase. The plants are adjusting to your water and will grow new leaves that better suit your water.