# what is needed for a planted tank?



## PinkFlamingo (Sep 26, 2010)

I recently started a tank for my 5yr old and it has been a bit of a problem. Lost a few fish due to an unknown disease and fin rot. Anyways I have 2 adult fish and 2-3 fry. I was thinking of adding live plants but wanted to know what i needed. I am assuming i would have to get different bulbs and some kind of additive for the aquarium. How much does caring for live plants normally coast? It is a 10 gallon with a filter for a 20-40 gallon with carbon media and loose zeolite crystals in a media bag. I have a heater but it heats the tank up to 80 F on the lowest setting so i turned it off, being told it should be around 72 F. Are plants good for keeping tanks stable? Any advice is appreciated! Thanks!


----------



## Niki7 (Aug 16, 2010)

The only "advice" I can offer is that I keep my tank at 82 degrees all the time unless I'm battling ich then it goes up to 87-88. I have freshwater fish and never had any trouble due to the temp being 82. Is the heater rated for a 10 gal tank or is it intended for a larger one? And what kind of fish? Hope someone can answer your other questions!


----------



## Atom Plant (Nov 16, 2008)

Yes, to a degree plants can help keep a system stable since they absorb variuos nutrients-ammonia, nitrite, nitrate. A ten gallon tank is small but live plants along the sides and back will give it a natural look.

Since you are just starting with live plants I would suggest the following (a few of each or just some of one-your decision as to which plants you like the looks of):
_Vallisneria_-cheap and readily available
Water Wisteria (_Hygrophila difformis_)
Crystalwort (_Riccia fluitans_)-floating or can be attached to driftwood or rocks

These are easy to grow plants and the most you may need is a good plant supplement w/iron.

As for bulbs (I have no idea what your current one is) I would reccomend a full spectum daylight bulb w/6,700K.

As far as the heater goes it may be too many watts for a ten gallon tank or the heater may just be no good. It also depend on your climate and internal room temperature. Here in Ohio I have times in the summer where all my tanks reach 82-86 degrees F even my heaters are set at 77.


----------



## Dmaaaaax (Nov 20, 2008)

PinkFlamingo said:


> I recently started a tank for my 5yr old and it has been a bit of a problem. Lost a few fish due to an unknown disease and fin rot. Anyways I have 2 adult fish and 2-3 fry. I was thinking of adding live plants but wanted to know what i needed. I am assuming i would have to get different bulbs and some kind of additive for the aquarium. How much does caring for live plants normally coast? It is a 10 gallon with a filter for a 20-40 gallon with carbon media and loose zeolite crystals in a media bag. I have a heater but it heats the tank up to 80 F on the lowest setting so i turned it off, being told it should be around 72 F. Are plants good for keeping tanks stable? Any advice is appreciated! Thanks!


1. What kind of fish do you have? Tropical fish prefer 78-88 C water, non-tropical prefer it cooler.
2. How long has the tank been up and running? How much gravel do you have?

For lights you need a 6700k or 10,000k bulb and it should be on for abour 8hrs a day. Go with low light plants because slow growth means that you will not need to add nutrients to your tank other than normal water changes. I would suggest removing the carbon and zeolite from your filter. They remove nutrients that your plants would use and are not needed in an established tank. Some plants do not do well at temps over ~84C for long periods.


----------



## PinkFlamingo (Sep 26, 2010)

Dmaaaaax said:


> 1. What kind of fish do you have? Tropical fish prefer 78-88 C water, non-tropical prefer it cooler.
> 2. How long has the tank been up and running? How much gravel do you have?
> 
> For lights you need a 6700k or 10,000k bulb and it should be on for abour 8hrs a day. Go with low light plants because slow growth means that you will not need to add nutrients to your tank other than normal water changes. I would suggest removing the carbon and zeolite from your filter. They remove nutrients that your plants would use and are not needed in an established tank. Some plants do not do well at temps over ~84C for long periods.


ATM i have one balloon belly molly and one adult guppy with 2 fry guppys. The tank takes 2 of the smaller bulbs. It i take out the carbon ther wont be anything filtering it. (its not an established tank) It's been running for 2 weeks. I was going to add some of that aquarium salt, if i were to get plants would that hurt them? I was also going to try and get a supplement. It will be a few weeks until i can get most stuff but i want to know how much money i should save prior to going to the store. 

I have some corallife 50/50 bulbs would those work at all?


----------



## Dmaaaaax (Nov 20, 2008)

PinkFlamingo said:


> ATM i have one balloon belly molly and one adult guppy with 2 fry guppys. The tank takes 2 of the smaller bulbs. It i take out the carbon ther wont be anything filtering it. (its not an established tank) It's been running for 2 weeks. I was going to add some of that aquarium salt, if i were to get plants would that hurt them? I was also going to try and get a supplement. It will be a few weeks until i can get most stuff but i want to know how much money i should save prior to going to the store.
> 
> I have some corallife 50/50 bulbs would those work at all?


Filter floss is all you really need (mechanical/biological filter), but keep the carbon in until you are fully cycled. Established plants will help cycle a tank faster and aquarium salt is bad for them. Look at the info on the bulb, it should list the kelvin and wattage. You want 6700k or higher and ~1 watt per gallon total for a low tech tank.

If you feel the need to supplement your tank, look into Excel and Flourish. Flourish provides the maro nutrients your tank needs while Excel provides an alternative carbon source in place of CO2. In a low tech tank, tap water (and fish waste) usually contains enough nutrients to keep your plants going if you do weekly water changes, but the above supplements should make them more lush and full.


----------

