Need help planning a new tank

lauraleigh1981

ok, so I'm looking at starting my first planted tank. I'm thinking about starting with a 10 gallon.
Substrate - Eco-Complete
Filter - Whisper Internal for 10-30 gallon tanks set up for mechanical filtration only...
CO2 - DIY - I'm thinking of starting with 1 two liter bottle setup and add to it later if I need to
Lighting - 30 or 50 watts (2 15 or 25 watt incadescent bulbs) in the standard hood I have

I think my biggest problem is deciding what plants and fish I should start out with. I still have about 4 overly hardy platys left from my turtle tank... And what you think of my initial thoughts on this setup are... I've never done anything like this before, but I love the look of planted tanks...

Thanks in advance for your help!

Laura

lauraleigh1981

I wonder if I could do something like this:

lauraleigh1981

I know the "tree" is driftwood and Java Moss, but I'm thinking the grass is dwarf hairgrass maybe????

SinCrisis

That tree is Christmas moss, not Java Moss. Christmas moss is harder to find and a bit more expensive.

The bottom is not hairgrass, in this picture it is microsword.

You will need to make sure the light bulbs are rated for 6700k or the spectrum might be wrong and cause excessive algae growth since ur running 3-5 watts per gallon.

CO2 sounds fine and the substrate sounds fine.

lauraleigh1981

Awesome! THanks! I haven't gotten the bulbs yet, so I will make sure and check the rating when I do pick them up. Do Incadescent bulbs have the same rating info that fluorescent bulbs do?

SinCrisis

Hmm, i am not sure if incandescent bulbs have the same rating, i know they go by daylight, soft white, etc, but the actual light ratings i am unclear on, maybe someone else here will know.

If not, you could always try the daylight full spectrum kind and see how your plants react, you might be doing a lot of trial and error with these. if the full spectrum ones give too much light and u get messy algae growth, cut back on time or switch them out with another bulb with another rating.

Ostara

For the bulbs, go to a home improvement store (Home Depot, Lowes, etc.) and buy some 6700k power compacts (CFLs). I use them in all of my tanks and they're great. They're inexpensive, energy efficient, and a great way to get more light to your plants without spending a ton of money on upgrading your light fixtures.

I've used the regular incandescents with the 10 gallon in a planted tank... they were okay. The plants did fairly well but they were all low light, and the hue was very yellow. They also heated the tank excessively and grew tons of algae. I'd definitely switch to CFLs, just make sure you look at their equivalent light output so you're not putting too much in the tank.

SinCrisis

well buying the fixture for cfls will be pricey unless you build your own light system. There are many different types of incandescent bulbs, some give off that yellowish tint, but many nowadays are can be bought as the pure-white daylight bulbs.

I think u can get 6700k cfls, they will fit into the same sockets as incandescent bulbs if im not mistaken.

Ostara

CFLs go into the regular light sockets, the same as incandescents. It's not expensive to change to CFL from florescent if that's what you meant. I did it to two tanks and it cost $6 per tank for the dual socket.

And yes, you can use 6700k CFLs. That's what I suggested in my post. If you have a hard time finding them in a local store you can also purchase them cheaply online.

SinCrisis

OH haha i totally missed CFLs in your previous post, i thought u were talking about standard t8 bulbs for some reason >.<