# new 10g planted tank, sound ok? *please read and give advice, first timer*



## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

copied this thread to the proper location.

sorry if its a bit long winded, heres my setup:

i went to ipu in richmond yesterday and seachem red fluorite is all they recommended for a planted tank so i picked up a bag of this for my 10gallon planted pleco tank with 3 little 1.5 inch l 144s
i asked if they still do a 15% discount for bcaquaria members and they said no because they have their own forum now?? oh well.

the aqueon 10g starter kit lights are weaksauce so they also recommended i get a 13W Compact fluorescent uv 2.0 which is a light for reptiles with a good spectrum for growing plants they said, i just have that on the one side cuz its like 5x brighter than the regular lights.

after rinsing the red fluorite for a good hour with a hose, rinsing then pouring off all the mud, repeat...
then finally got it upstairs put it in a little strainer and did further rinsing in the sink (didnt wanna clog it so i did the majority outside)

i took out 75% of the water added the fluorite, weighted down a piece of manzanite from aprils, and threw in a amazon sword , java fern, and some foreground plant Hemianthus callitrichoides "Cuba". (to add this i cut off the bottom 3/4 of the foam stuff it came in that the roots hadnt gotten to yet, and then gently planted it, i hope it spreads fast, i didnt pick individual stems out and plant with tweezers i planted it all together :/) and added 1/4 of a cap of seachem flourish after filling back up to the top. (found an amano shrimp in the hob filter while moving the tank, the cichlids appreciated him)

ive never done a planted tank before, does this sound like its going to work well? once the driftwood is self sinking i plan to attach the java fern to it.
also, is it worth getting a second one of these lights or will it burn the java fern or annoy the plecos?
also i read on some sites plecos can destroy amazon sword leaves, is this true? will they do it to the java fern too?
How to grow Amazon sword plants with pictures

the plecos will be moved to a larger 37g tank i have when they grow a bit.


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

> i asked if they still do a 15% discount for bcaquaria members and they said no because they have their own forum now??


is that really the case now, or was the person mistaken?

as for the light, i say sure get another, if its too much light it'll only be by just barely, in which case you can offset each lights photo period and have em overlap midday (or raise them). it'll only burn the plants if their leaves reach the surface and the cfls are way too close


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## ibenu (Apr 21, 2010)

Did you get the full spectrum light or a UV One?
Swords will grow in the dark
Java fern will too
HC never been able to grow it myself so cannot advise.

Plecos will eat at the leaves of swords and skin them, seems even with food galore they find them delicious!!


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## Mferko (Jun 8, 2010)

i made a tank journal of this, it can be found here:
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/tank...gallon-planted-l-144-pleco-home-*-pics*-4441/


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