# 10 gallon NPT



## majolo (Oct 5, 2007)

I set up this 10 gallon at the start of January as a bedroom tank, just wanted to share it...










substrate is gravel over some cheapo potting soil, lighting is 40W cf.
The dominant plants (in terms of growth) are 3x Crypt. wendtii 'Tropica', A bunch of Crypt. walkeri, and a couple lilies of unknown species (from those dry bulb packs). The lilies have sent tons of floating leaves up -- I trim about half a dozen a week to keep some open water. The animal inhabitants are a bunch of juvie Endler's and a wonderful shoal of pygmy cories, plus a few cherry red shrimp and plenty of snails (common pond & ramshorn).

Anybody have any suggestions for some plants to add in front right corner, where some E. tenellus (I think) seems to be slowly dying out?


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

Nice looking tank! Love the colors of your lilies and crypts. 

Hmmm, for the right front corner maybe some moss-covered stones; Lillaeopsis mauritius does okay with low-tech setups; an entire corner filled with Anubias nana petite (I love that stuff); Lobelia cardinalis small form might do okay so long as the light isn't blocked; or Cryptocorne parva or lutea (I'm blanking on which is which) if you have the patience.


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## guppyramkrib (Sep 5, 2007)

Very NICE! It looks Great! Thanks for posting


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## owenj (Jan 8, 2008)

Looks really nice! Although, 40watts CF seems like a lot for a 10gal. You could try some Pogostemon helferi as a foreground since you've got a nice amount of light. If you go with a crypt foreground, parva is the smallest, lutea is just an old name for C. walkeri.
~Jaime


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## majolo (Oct 5, 2007)

Thanks for the comments. I know 40 watts is on the high side by conventional wisdom, but I've had this fixture on a different planted 10gallon last year with no big problems, knock on wood. Plus the lilies are happy to provide as much surface cover as I'm willing to allow. Here's a pre-trim shot looking up:










I actually have a bit of several of the plants cs_gardener mentions: Crypt parva, petite anubias (you can see it just right of center) and some lilaeopsis (the store didn't know the species though). I'd love to try P. helferi -- never seen it around here, but I might try to get some shipped when the weather is a bit more reasonable (windchill minus 51F last night! whee!)


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## majolo (Oct 5, 2007)

Here's an update:










Stuff is growing nicely, fish seem happy (though I lost some of the pygmy cories for causes unknown). No algae problems. Good growth from the crypts in particular, and the lilies keep sending out lots of leaves, including some big submerged ones (the one you see here is a bit past its prime). I usually wait till there are about 20 leaves on the surface, then trim a bunch.

And here's a nice shot I managed to get of one of the pygmy cories basking on a leaf:


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## xpistalpetex (Mar 31, 2008)

are you using co2? because usually with high light often used with co2 injection


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

I don't think you will be able to keep the lilies. I have a 125 and 2 lilies. Even then they sometimes feel too big. One leaf of my green jade is about 6" long and 4" wide. I keep them trimmed down so they are close to the midground. Glad you're getting such good growth.


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## tames (Apr 18, 2008)

Very nice tank. I have never seen or heard of a pygmy cory. Thanks for the pic.


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## majolo (Oct 5, 2007)

*Re: 10 gallon NPT (Update June 30 2008)*

Just another update. The tank continues on much the same course, no algae problems. The pygmy cories sadly dwindled down to just one left. A few stems of Rotala rotundifolia have invaded everywhere, creeping along the bottom and lots of weird angles. I added a female betta who prevents an Endler population explosion (but she leaves the adults alone). I'm still pretty happy with it.


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

Your betta must be in heaven with all that vegetation to explore. It has a truly untamed look that is surprisingly appealing.


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## tames (Apr 18, 2008)

I think your tank looks great. I love rotala. I like the "forests" it creates.

I never considered a betta for Endler control. I have lots of different kinds of livebearers, but the Endlers beats them all. I have a 20 long tank of wild-type guppies. The colony has been in there for years - always seems to be a nice balance. The Endlers just keep breeding and breeding and breeding.....


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## SpeedEuphoria (Jul 9, 2008)

Wow thanks for a good idea. I like your tank!!

I have a 10G w/ RCS and Endlers, they are young and not gotten out of control, yet. I was considering a couple ADF's to try and control population but I may try the Betta also.


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## majolo (Oct 5, 2007)

Well, I haven't been around the aquarium boards for ages, but the tank is still running, so why not an update?










After 20 months, it's still a nice stable tank with no algae problems. The endler's are the only fish left (betta got transferred into another tank and died later), so they've multiplied into a colony. There were a few months where the lilies seemed to have died, but they apparently just had a dormant period and are back (but putting out smaller leaves and slower). The Rotala is still all over the place. Every month or so I'll pull hunks of it out so some light can get through (it's about time for a trim now from the looks of it). Unfortunately, the lower parts of the Rotala stems tend to lose their leaves, so the look of it isn't very attractive.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

_Very_ nice!

I have found that a little pruning keeps one plant species from taking over the tank. You could remove 1/3 of the plants in this tank and probably be fine.


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