# First Aquarium - 10g Planted



## covertune (Aug 10, 2012)

Ok, time for this noob to start a journal so I can share my progress.

This is a little 10 gallon Marineland LED starter kit with their Bio-Wheel filter. The substrate is Flourite black and I made every mistake in the book putting it in yesterday, namely, just dumping in all the water on top of it. I was far too impatient. Needless to say, the water was so cloudy I couldn't see an inch into it, even after a couple of hours.

So, I drained all the water and started over. I rinsed the Flourite for a couple of minutes then spread it all out on a towel in the sun to dry before putting it back in the tank.


I filled it SLOWLY, as you're supposed to do, and here's how it looked last night after letting the filter run for an hour, and putting in my plants.


By this morning, it was beautifully clear.


Either tonight or tomorrow I'll get everything planted. I want to put in some more large rocks on the left side, just have to go out and find them. Then I'm thinking an Oto will be the first fish I put in, but I'm not sure if I should get one or two.. And I guess I need to get a testing kit and see where my levels are at.


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## Ebonbolt (Aug 12, 2011)

Otos are not the best for cycling a tank; they're somewhat delicate, and prefer to be in groups. Fishless cycling is, IMO, the best and easiest method. Plus, with fishless cycling, at the end of the cycle the tank can me fully stocked immediately. If you must cycle with fish though, some of the hardier tetras, like serpae, lemon, and black phantom, would be best.


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## vdub (Apr 22, 2010)

That plant on the left, the one that looks like a valisneria or sag, isn't aquatic. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

Good luck starting your first planted tank.
I started my first planted tank with a 10 gallon and I used to use blue/white gravel. LOL Not sure what I was thinking.
Personally I feel that it is better to plant heavier in the beginning rather than too light. If you have a heavily planted tank it will be cycled, no need for oto. You can add stability to the tank to help speed up the process. 
You can plant soem fast growing stem plants to get things going first, the slow growers (like anubias) will not do much.
I am just a rookie though, so...this is just my humble opinion...


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## covertune (Aug 10, 2012)

Finding plants is a bit of a nightmare.. lots aren't labelled and the store staff are clueless, so, aside from the Anubias nana, I just picked out the ones I liked the look of and that were low-light.

I'm not intending to cycle with the Otos, was just going to put them in first since, if I decide to go with Puffers, it's going to take a while before I can find/acquire them.

I started using a bacteria starter/booster (sorry can't think of the name right now) today as well and it's only supposed to take 3 days.


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## Alkatraz (Jul 20, 2012)

Welcome and good luck with the tank. The test kit (liquid) is a must.


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## covertune (Aug 10, 2012)

Is there a specific kit that's recommended?


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

if the store cant go about properly labeling their plants then just don't buy from them, i've been doing that for a long time now. When cycling with fish, it is best to load the tank up densely with cheap plants so their stress is minimal. You can always thin out the plants you dont want and replace with the plants you want as you aquire them  Look on the classifieds and pm people to see if they will ship to you. Or go through Canadian aquatics to get plants if you're after something they carry. Myself and a few others have shipped plants to people from our sale ads.


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## Alkatraz (Jul 20, 2012)

covertune said:


> Is there a specific kit that's recommended?


Everyone seems to recommend the API master kit: Freshwater Master Test Kit - API j&l aquatics (forum sponsor) sells it cheap and offers shipping.

That gives you ph, ammonia, nitrites and nitrates which is what you want (need) to measure when cycling.

I use that and just picked up the kh/gh test and the phosphate test (both separate) today as I'm starting to use fertilizers, buffers and such now.


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## covertune (Aug 10, 2012)

neven, unfortunately, my choices for stores is extremely limited around here.. just trying to do the best I can with what I've got! Also, I'll be moving in about a year so I'm keeping that in mind as well.

Thanks Alkatraz, that's the one I'll get!


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

Canadian Aquatics is a sponsor here that ships. They are a seller of Aquaflora plants, which are high quality pest free (and always correctly labelled). As i said, shipping is definitely an option and it saves disappointment from LFS who dont know plants. I used to buy all my plants in person, after a while of getting marsh plants (they rot after a time) and being lied to about growth sizes, i just threw in the towel and relied on people on here. There are large plant packages available often, sometimes free from members who will ship (which brings the cost a lot cheaper than buying them at a LFS)


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

also for freshwater, phosphate test kit isn't needed. With the current ideologies of planted tank keeping and ferts leaning towards the EI model, the test kit just gather dust.


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## covertune (Aug 10, 2012)

Thanks neven, you make a good point. I just spent a big chunk of money today on the test kit etc, so I'm going to have to hold off on getting anything else for a while, but I will definitely check out Canadian Aquatics for my next plants.


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## covertune (Aug 10, 2012)

I got everything planted a few days ago. I've noticed that the tall grassy one in the back left corner isn't doing well, one or two of the leaves are starting to yellow and get holes. The ends of the tank are definitely darker than the middle, should I maybe try moving the plant to the centre, so it can get better light?


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## vdub (Apr 22, 2010)

covertune said:


> I got everything planted a few days ago. I've noticed that *the tall grassy one in the back left corner isn't doing well*, one or two of the leaves are starting to yellow and get holes. The ends of the tank are definitely darker than the middle, should I maybe try moving the plant to the centre, so it can get better light?


Like I said before, that tall grassy plant in the back left *isn't aquatic*. It's probably a terrarium plant mistakenly sold as an aquatic plant by your local fish store. It will melt away and die if kept submerged.


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## covertune (Aug 10, 2012)

Well that's a royal p*ss off.. not a fan of wasting money.


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

But you can plant it in a regular pot or a terrarium and it will probably live.
You can get some val which is kind of the same look and is inexpensoive and quite hardy.
On a side note, I persoanlly would plant a lot more fast growing plants to get the tank dailed in, juts my own opinion.


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## covertune (Aug 10, 2012)

So far all my plants are looking ok, except for the Crypt Wendtii, but it's my understanding that having those melt should be expected and I shouldn't panic.

Tonight I got out to do some rock hunting and came home with heaps of rocks to work with and choose from, so I'm pretty excited to get those organized. I do want to get more plants.. $$ is just the issue at the moment, I need some free plants! lol

Also, my test kit arrived! So I did all the tests and the results are as follows:
pH: 7.6
Ammonia: 0ppm
Nitrite: 0ppm
Nitrate: 5.0ppm

So... does that mean my tank is ready for some fish!? I know I need to get my pH down, so I'll have to figure that out.


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## Ebonbolt (Aug 12, 2011)

Make sure the rocks you're adding aren't releasing carbonates into the water, which would cause the pH to rise. Check the classifieds. they usually have posts by people looking to give plants away, or sell them for dirt cheap. I find that most crypts melt a bit when first planted, but they recover soon enough. Adding a root tab seems to speed up the process. There are no fish in the tank right now, so it's hard to tell if the tank is fish ready; I'd suggest adding a bit of liquid ammonia if you have any on hand, and then testing the water 24 hours later to see. If you don't have ammonia, add a couple hardy fish and test after a few days. Or, you could do what a lot of people do, which is swap some media from an established and healthy tank over to the 10g, and then add some fish. The bacteria on the media should be enough to cycle the tank, as long as you don't add too much fish. 

As for the pH, I'd try and lower it, but if it isn't staying down, then I'd just leave it. Most fish these days are tank raised, and don't really mind higher pH, as long as it's reasonable, plus 7.6 is not really that much more alkaline than 7.0; keeping the parameters stable is much more important than having accurate parameters anyways. Fish can, and will readily, adapt to different conditions. What they cannot do, however, is live where parameters change daily; it can, and often does, stress them out.


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## covertune (Aug 10, 2012)

Don't those levels indicate that the tank has cycled? I don't have anywhere I can get filter media from, hence the reason I got the Nutrafin stuff.


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## Alkatraz (Jul 20, 2012)

covertune said:


> Don't those levels indicate that the tank has cycled? I don't have anywhere I can get filter media from, hence the reason I got the Nutrafin stuff.


The tank is cycled to the level of ammonia present in the tank. Adding more sources of ammonia production (fish, dying plants, etc) will spike your ammonia which will in turn allow for more ammonia eating bacteria to thrive, which will turn more to nitrite, etc, etc.

In other words add fish slowly in batches so there's time for bacteria to multiply and keep up with the increasing bioload.

Your on your way though for sure with nitrate production already occurring.

Sent from my SGH-I727R using Tapatalk 2


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## Reckon (Jul 25, 2012)

I got a similar plant from a LFS about a month or so ago and went through a similar situation. Eventually about 4-5 leaves just died, even when I tried a flourish tab underneath it. Things for it seem to turn around when I made one last try to save it... pulled it out of the substrate... I'm not sure if your plant has a rhizome, mine does, and I guess similar to plants like Anubias it does better when it's not buried. Probably still a bog plant though...
Anyways, try a fertilizer tab and also consider what type of "root" it has.



covertune said:


> I got everything planted a few days ago. I've noticed that the tall grassy one in the back left corner isn't doing well, one or two of the leaves are starting to yellow and get holes. The ends of the tank are definitely darker than the middle, should I maybe try moving the plant to the centre, so it can get better light?


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## covertune (Aug 10, 2012)

Alkatraz said:


> The tank is cycled to the level of ammonia present in the tank. Adding more sources of ammonia production (fish, dying plants, etc) will spike your ammonia which will in turn allow for more ammonia eating bacteria to thrive, which will turn more to nitrite, etc, etc.
> 
> In other words add fish slowly in batches so there's time for bacteria to multiply and keep up with the increasing bioload.
> 
> Your on your way though for sure with nitrate production already occurring.


OH.. that makes sense! *light bulb moment* Thanks for explaining, I get it now.


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## Ebonbolt (Aug 12, 2011)

Like I said, there aren't any fish in there, so unless you've added some source of ammonia, I doubt the tank is cycled, though the presence of nitrates could mean a cycled tank, it could also be from your tap/another source. Unless of cource, I'm wrong, and there are living things in the tank, though I doubt it since, the tank is new, and you've no other tanks.


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## covertune (Aug 10, 2012)

And, like I said, I used Nutrafin Cycle.. which *should* cycle the tank, lol.

The tall plant actually popped out of the substrate today while I was putting in a new thermometer, so I did have a look and it definitely does not seem to have a rhizome.. it's just like all the leaves come down together into a bunch, and then off the bottom of the bunch are two narrow roots.

I'm having a heck of a time figuring out how to arrange my rocks, so it probably won't be until at least the end of the week before I get any fish.. and I'm thinking of just starting out with two for now. Also hoping to find some Ghost or Amano shrimp.


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## Ebonbolt (Aug 12, 2011)

The thing is, most "bacteria in a bottle" products won't completely get the job done, and even if they do, it's usually in very small tanks, though yours is only 10g, so it's possible the tank is cycled. But, since it's been a week since you'v dosed it, and I'm guessing you haven't redosed within the last 3 days, the bacteria have probably started to die off. Bacteria grow to accomodate the waste output, or bioload, of a tank, and since your tank is empty, there is no bioload, so I doubt that much bacteria is left, and I'm almost certain there won't be any left by the weekend.


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## 35angels (Aug 7, 2012)

There should be a thread on here about fishless cycling. It's the way to go if you don't have fish in the tank. I cycled my tank with 3 zebra danios, changing 50% water everyday, until the filter kept up with the bioload. Fishless cycling takes a few weeks, but your fish will be happier, and you can stock you tank all at once. Maybe someone on here can send you a link for fishless cycling. Like BIB said, the beceficial bacteria is usually useless in those bottles...just a $$$ grab.


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## covertune (Aug 10, 2012)

35angels said:


> Like BIB said, the beceficial bacteria is usually useless in those bottles...just a $$$ grab.


Not trying to be confrontational, just trying to understand.. but why would I be getting a Nitrate reading if the tank isn't cycled? And wouldn't the plants have any effect on things?


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## Alkatraz (Jul 20, 2012)

Its possible that your tap water contains nitrates, you want to do a full test on your tap water to see what you're dealing with. 

Living plants use *some* ammonia, dying/dead plants give off ammonia. Imo its likely your dying plants/leaves/roots are getting the cycling started for you. Or your substrate could be leaching ammonia. 

Sent from my SGH-I727R using Tapatalk 2


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## covertune (Aug 10, 2012)

Tap water tested 0 across the board. However, my pH is actually 8.0


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

In my humble opinion, your tank is fine. Stability and Cycle both contains friendly bacteria but they are a bit different. Anyway, they can cycle your tank for you.
You can spend some time to work on your scape first before adding fish because it sounds like you will be arranging your rocks and so on. It would cause you some inconveniecne and your fish some stress if you keep putting you thand in the tank plus when you move things too much the flourite might turn cloudy.
I would just work on the scape and let the plants grow a bit first. If I were you I would nto be too worried with cycling the tank at this stage. I would try to grow the plants well first. Your tank will be fine once you have your plants growing. Plants can also cycle your tank for you.
Are you planning on using Co2, or dosing?
It may not be a bad idea to try get two slightly brighter bulbs. I found some light bulbs that are 6500K 15W at a dollar store and they were only $2 each. Incadenscent bulbs are not very suitable for plants. You can also try using DIY Co2 which cost you the price of sugar and yeast plus a 2L bottle. 
Root tabs is also a good idea. Canadian Aquatic (Pat) sell his own at $5 for 10. They can really help your plants to take root. 
Personally I would add fish very slowly and adding just a few first, but I would plant heavily to start the tank. Just my opinion.


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## covertune (Aug 10, 2012)

I'm going out to get some glue today and then hopefully I can get my rocks in the tank tomorrow. Definitely no plans to do Co2 or anything like that, but I have LED lighting, not incandescent.


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## covertune (Aug 10, 2012)

So.. the rocks are in! I've got a big empty looking space in the back on the right, so I'll have to stick something in there.. but otherwise, I'm pretty happy with it.



I'll test my water again tomorrow, and then hopefully get livestock tomorrow or the day after.


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## covertune (Aug 10, 2012)

I'm getting an ammonia spike for some reason.. yesterday was around 0.25ppm and this morning it's closer to 0.5ppm.


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## Alkatraz (Jul 20, 2012)

Looking good. Where'd you get the rocks from? Possible organic material on the rocks or dying leaves/roots would lead to increased ammonia. Also .25 and .5 look pretty similar on the test results so it could be you interpreting it differently or in different lighting. If it went from 0.25 to 2.0 overnight i would be wondering whats up. Either way, without fish there is no cause for concern and this will just help your cycling process.


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## 35angels (Aug 7, 2012)

Looks really nice. I love the rock. Maybe get another plant for the right side? Have you decided what type of fish are going in?


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## covertune (Aug 10, 2012)

I was really hoping to go get my fish today.

Some of the rocks are from the North Saskatchewan River, the others are from the aftermath of a local washout/creek overflow. I did wash them all.

I'm planning on just getting a few fancy male guppies, and some shrimp, if I can find them.


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## covertune (Aug 10, 2012)

Well, my water parameters are way off, so I may be fishless for a while yet, which is disappointing.

I did get another plant which I put in today.. marsilea quadrifolia. It's another slow grower, but there's a lot of it so it's filled in a lot of the empty space.

Should I be doing a water change before I put in any livestock? Or, when should I do my first water change? The water has been in for about a week and a half at this point.


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## covertune (Aug 10, 2012)

Water is still no good. Ammonia 0.25, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 5

Starting to feel like I'll never get fish!


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