Ideas for a 5-10 gallon species only tank

PhilipPhish

What kind of plants would do good in hard water?

I'm going to be babysitting a lot in the month of July, so I'm going to make a list of new stuff to get with my money.

• 10 gallon-X2
• water testing kits
• sand(what kind do you guys recommend?)
• drift wood
• river rocks

Byron

Vallisneria does incredible in hard water, so definitely Corkscrew Vallisneria for a 10g [see the profile]. Most plants will be fine too, they are more adaptable than fish.

I use Quikrete Play Sand, from Home Depot, Lowe's, etc. Cheap and looks authentic.

PhilipPhish

I'm probably going to redo my 30 gallon and put sand and live plants in it.
I've heard that sand can build up toxic bubbles and its really hard to clean. Is this true? Are there ways I can prevent toxins/make cleaning easier?

Byron

This worry kept me away from sand for years. Keeping the depth less--say 2 inches overall, having substrate-rooted plants, and Malaysian Livebearing snails, all do the job. In 2 years of sand tanks I've had no issues. I rarely vacuum the substrate, the waste organics should be broken down naturally by snails and bacteria and provide nutrients. This is all explained more in my article on bacteria:
Bacteria in the Freshwater Aquarium

PhilipPhish

Thanks Byron! I'll definitely go read it! :)