Re: 10gal planted tank?

[Josh]

Hey, for your tank I wouldnt even bother with soil, if you can afford
it all you will need is one bag of Seachem's Flourite... (it runs
about 25 bux in LFS and about 15 with shipping online the last time I
checked) Flourite is made for planted aquariums with a very small
rock size for the plants, all I have heard is good reviews from
people on this product and the stuff really does look good in your
aquarium.

And are you considering running any Co2 because there are some
inexpensive co2 systems out there that are made for smaller tanks...

On Tue, 29 Jul 2003 22:44:44 GMT, JuanMa > wrote:

>Greetings.
>
>My LFS told me that to have a planted tank I need to have the bottom of the
>tank with potting soil and gravel on top. If so, how many pounds of soil do
>I need to make it at least 1 inch deep of soil and how many pounds of gravel
>would I need to make 1 inch deep of gravel? Or should I use more/less?
>Should I use sand(non argonite)instead of the gravel?
>
>The tank will have two 36W PC lights, maybe a power head and a HOB filter.
>
>Where can I find a list of livebearers online that are compatible with other
>livebearers and that won't grow too large?
>
>Thank You.

[Iain Miller]

"JuanMa" > wrote in message
...
> Greetings.
>
> My LFS told me that to have a planted tank I need to have the bottom of
the
> tank with potting soil and gravel on top. If so, how many pounds of soil
do
> I need to make it at least 1 inch deep of soil and how many pounds of
gravel
> would I need to make 1 inch deep of gravel? Or should I use more/less?
> Should I use sand(non argonite)instead of the gravel?

The plants in my tanks grow at a stupid rate - both of them just have 1-2"
of sand on the bottom. I have reasonable lighting, CO2 & feed them
regularly - sometimes I wish they'd slow down a bit!

[Eric Schreiber]

JuanMa > wrote:

>My LFS told me that to have a planted tank I need to have the bottom of the
>tank with potting soil and gravel on top.

If you follow their advice, you're going to have an unholy mess on
your hands. There are several brands of aquarium gravel specifically
for planted tanks, most well-know being Flourite from SeaChem. These
gravels are much easier to work with than potting soil would be.

>The tank will have two 36W PC lights, maybe a power head and a HOB filter.

That's a lot of light for a ten gallon tank. That's not a bad thing,
but you're going to have to battle algae until you get the CO2 and
fertilizer balance worked out.


--
www.ericschreiber.com

[Zion Hill]

I have a 10 gallon planted tank which I operate opposite from every advice
that you have heard.

Here are some rules that I break:
-Don't use under gravel airstone setups with plants, the roots don't like
it: I do and it works great. I believe the system actually pulls fish waste
and uneaten food toward the roots which they find nourishment from

- Don't use power heads with plants, they don't like water that moves too
much: I use a dual-riser under gravel setup with low powered powerheads. The
water is always fresh with oxygen, and last I checked plants out in the wild
grow in moving water.

-Use soil or flourite: I just use fine stone and the roots are nicely
dispersed in them.

-Use CO2 for growth: I use lower lighting so I don't have to monkey with
CO2. The plants grow, but slowly which is fine by me. I keep the tank away
from the window so I don't get any algae. The water always smells fresh when
I do water changes. It's not what you would call a show quality tank but
it's nice and it's low maintenance.

Oh, yes the fish - just assorted kinds of gold fish, colorful but low
maintenance. Thinking of trying shrimp.


"Eric Schreiber" > wrote in message
...
> JuanMa > wrote:
>
> >My LFS told me that to have a planted tank I need to have the bottom of
the
> >tank with potting soil and gravel on top.
>
> If you follow their advice, you're going to have an unholy mess on
> your hands. There are several brands of aquarium gravel specifically
> for planted tanks, most well-know being Flourite from SeaChem. These
> gravels are much easier to work with than potting soil would be.
>
> >The tank will have two 36W PC lights, maybe a power head and a HOB
filter.
>
> That's a lot of light for a ten gallon tank. That's not a bad thing,
> but you're going to have to battle algae until you get the CO2 and
> fertilizer balance worked out.
>
>
> --
> www.ericschreiber.com

[Racf]

"Zion Hill" > wrote in message
...
> I have a 10 gallon planted tank which I operate opposite from every
advice
> that you have heard.
>
> Here are some rules that I break:
> -Don't use under gravel airstone setups with plants, the roots don't
like
> it: I do and it works great. I believe the system actually pulls fish
waste
> and uneaten food toward the roots which they find nourishment from

Root need O2......you are giving it to them.

>
> - Don't use power heads with plants, they don't like water that moves
too
> much: I use a dual-riser under gravel setup with low powered
powerheads. The
> water is always fresh with oxygen, and last I checked plants out in
the wild
> grow in moving water.

Plants need water movement in order to have nutrients available, else
the area next to the plant becomes void of the nutrients they need.

>
> -Use soil or flourite: I just use fine stone and the roots are nicely
> dispersed in them.

Sure, gravel and sand......why not....

>
> -Use CO2 for growth: I use lower lighting so I don't have to monkey
with
> CO2. The plants grow, but slowly which is fine by me. I keep the tank
away
> from the window so I don't get any algae. The water always smells
fresh when
> I do water changes. It's not what you would call a show quality tank
but
> it's nice and it's low maintenance.

They get CO2 from your water. It keeps enough CO2 disolved from your
water circulation.

>
> Oh, yes the fish - just assorted kinds of gold fish, colorful but low
> maintenance. Thinking of trying shrimp.
>

Sounds like you are covering all the bases......whom preaches against
these things, except the goldfish?

>
> "Eric Schreiber" > wrote in message
> ...
> > JuanMa > wrote:
> >
> > >My LFS told me that to have a planted tank I need to have the
bottom of
> the
> > >tank with potting soil and gravel on top.
> >
> > If you follow their advice, you're going to have an unholy mess on
> > your hands. There are several brands of aquarium gravel specifically
> > for planted tanks, most well-know being Flourite from SeaChem. These
> > gravels are much easier to work with than potting soil would be.
> >
> > >The tank will have two 36W PC lights, maybe a power head and a HOB
> filter.
> >
> > That's a lot of light for a ten gallon tank. That's not a bad thing,
> > but you're going to have to battle algae until you get the CO2 and
> > fertilizer balance worked out.
> >
> >
> > --
> > www.ericschreiber.com
>
>

[Eric Schreiber]

"Michael" > wrote:

>> If you follow their advice, you're going to have an unholy mess on
>> your hands.

>Why is that? My neighbor has potting soil covered with sand and it
>works very well for him. He helped me set up my 15 gallon the same way.


It'll work fine except when you have to either remove an established
plant or put in a new one with a large root system. In those cases,
which involve digging or disrupting the substrate, the sand won't
suffice to keep the potting soil from entering the water column -
hence the mess.

I'm not saying it can't be done - potting soil would probably be great
for the plants - but substrate intended for aquarium use will be a lot
easier and cleaner to work with.

--
www.ericschreiber.com

[Zerex]

The way I use soil in one of my tanks was pretty easy to set up. I went to the
local cheap craft store (Garden Ridge). Bought a bunch of small clay pots. Got
some 100% silicone sealant from the hardware store and a caulking gun. Sealed
the drain holes in the pots. Poured a very small bit of Iron Sulphate in the
bottom of the pot (use very sparingly), then put 100% top soil in the pot to
about a couple inches from the top. Planted the plant ( or a bunch, depending
on the plant) and then covered the soil with a couple inches of small gravel.
Works like a charm. Easy to re-arrange things, and not too shabby to look at
either. Also easy to vacum the bottom of the tank at cleaning time.

--Jim

[LeighMo]

>My LFS told me that to have a planted tank I need to have the bottom of the
>tank with potting soil and gravel on top

Some people do that, but you don't have to. I would consider using Flourite
instead. Much easier, especially for a beginner. Or sand mixed with laterite,
if you can't get Flourite where you live.

>The tank will have two 36W PC lights, maybe a power head and a HOB filter.

That is way more light than you need. If you are new to planted tanks, I would
consider using half that amount of light, at least at first. 36W over 10
gallons is plenty of light, enough so that you'll be able to grow whatever you
want. A ten gallon with 72 watts of light over it would be a challenge for
even an experienced planted tank keeper. If you do everything right, you'll
have plants growing more than an inch a day, all in a pretty small tank.
You'll be pruning daily. If you do anything wrong, you'll have an algae farm
at best and a tank full of dead fish at worst.

I hope you are planning to inject CO2 in this tank. If you go over 3 watts per
gallon, CO2 injection is mandatory.

>Where can I find a list of livebearers online that are compatible with other
>livebearers and that won't grow too large?

Try FishProfiles.com:

http://www.fishprofiles.com/profiles/fw/category.asp?id=Livebearers

The profiles list the size the fish grows to, and describes its temperament, as
well as how easy it is to keep.


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

[Jody]

It is very hard to keep small tanks in balance due to the small margin for
error. Keep it simple and go for slow-growing plants. Fast-growers with
sufficient light and CO2 will fill up a 10g in no time - you would have to
prune very often which can get frustrating after you get over the feeling of
triumph after the first one or two prunings. Be careful with nutrients
because, again, there is a very small margin for error with only 10g of
water plus light.

Regarding the soil substrate: I recently spent about two months trying to
get a soil substrate to work in a 29g, and I wouldn't recommend it to anyone
now. I tried two different products that are meant for use in ponds with
plants. One was a peat/sand mix, and the other was a clay/sand mix. The
peat/sand mix was too light and would cloud the water for hours after the
tiniest disturbance. The clay/sand mix cloud easily as well, and also
settle and stick to everything - plants, rocks, fixtures, glass, everything.

I finally drained the entire tank, left about an inch of the clay/sand mix,
and put on a couple of inches of Carib-Sea's new Eco Complete Planted
Aquarium substrate. This seems to be a winner so far. I especially like
the dark color. You can easily mix black gravel with it like I did to save
a little money. That my two cents.

Jody

"JuanMa" > wrote in message
...
> Greetings.
>
> My LFS told me that to have a planted tank I need to have the bottom of
the
> tank with potting soil and gravel on top. If so, how many pounds of soil
do
> I need to make it at least 1 inch deep of soil and how many pounds of
gravel
> would I need to make 1 inch deep of gravel? Or should I use more/less?
> Should I use sand(non argonite)instead of the gravel?
>
> The tank will have two 36W PC lights, maybe a power head and a HOB filter.
>
> Where can I find a list of livebearers online that are compatible with
other
> livebearers and that won't grow too large?
>
> Thank You.
>
> --
> Take Care.
>
> JuanMa
>
>
> Please remove NOSPAM to reply.
>

[Kevin]

I heartily agree with the recommendations regarding light. However I have
had good luck with using soil in my tanks. I start with plain cat litter on
the bottom. Then I sprinkle some fertilizer over the litter. Then a layer
of potting soil. These 2 layers take up about 1" in a 5 gallon and about 2"
in a 15 gh. Realizing that a disturbance to the gravel may cloud the tank,
over the 2 previous layers I put about a .5" of fairly fine sand. I then
followed with standard aquarium gravel. After all this I then planted and
then filled with water. The tank cleared up in less than a day.



"Jody" > wrote in message
. ..
> It is very hard to keep small tanks in balance due to the small margin for
> error. Keep it simple and go for slow-growing plants. Fast-growers with
> sufficient light and CO2 will fill up a 10g in no time - you would have to
> prune very often which can get frustrating after you get over the feeling
of
> triumph after the first one or two prunings. Be careful with nutrients
> because, again, there is a very small margin for error with only 10g of
> water plus light.
>
> Regarding the soil substrate: I recently spent about two months trying to
> get a soil substrate to work in a 29g, and I wouldn't recommend it to
anyone
> now. I tried two different products that are meant for use in ponds with
> plants. One was a peat/sand mix, and the other was a clay/sand mix. The
> peat/sand mix was too light and would cloud the water for hours after the
> tiniest disturbance. The clay/sand mix cloud easily as well, and also
> settle and stick to everything - plants, rocks, fixtures, glass,
everything.
>
> I finally drained the entire tank, left about an inch of the clay/sand
mix,
> and put on a couple of inches of Carib-Sea's new Eco Complete Planted
> Aquarium substrate. This seems to be a winner so far. I especially like
> the dark color. You can easily mix black gravel with it like I did to
save
> a little money. That my two cents.
>
> Jody
>
> "JuanMa" > wrote in message
> ...
> > Greetings.
> >
> > My LFS told me that to have a planted tank I need to have the bottom of
> the
> > tank with potting soil and gravel on top. If so, how many pounds of
soil
> do
> > I need to make it at least 1 inch deep of soil and how many pounds of
> gravel
> > would I need to make 1 inch deep of gravel? Or should I use more/less?
> > Should I use sand(non argonite)instead of the gravel?
> >
> > The tank will have two 36W PC lights, maybe a power head and a HOB
filter.
> >
> > Where can I find a list of livebearers online that are compatible with
> other
> > livebearers and that won't grow too large?
> >
> > Thank You.
> >
> > --
> > Take Care.
> >
> > JuanMa
> >
> >
> > Please remove NOSPAM to reply.
> >
>
>
>