# Jar's 10g journal



## Jar (Jun 5, 2011)

Hey there, everyone. I'm new to the forums and new to aquariums. A few weeks ago, I inherited a 10 gallon tank from a friend. Before I dove into setting that up, I threw together a ~2 gallon bowl for a betta and a hitchhiking pair (more to come?) of pond snails. I came across the "el natural" method, and it seemed suitable.

This is the bowl at 2 days:


It's looking better everyday, and the betta seems content.

I started the 10 gallon in roughly the same way. I bought a AquaClear 30 HoB filter for the setup period (a few months, maybe?) . I added a small Tetra submersible heater. I inherited a very cheap hood that houses 1 Marineland 15 watt clear bulb and 1 ZooMed 10 watt/120v fluorescent bulb. For substrate, I used Miracle Gro Organic Choice potting mix, per Diana Walstad's suggestion. I've got a piece of driftwood that rests against the glass at the bottom of the aquarium. For flora, I haphazardly added what plants I could find, including scarlet temple, an unknown anubias, hornwort, pennywort, moneywort, wisteria, java fern, micro sword, and an unknown hygrophila. For fauna, I have 1 ivory mystery snail, 1 MTS, and 3 harlequin rasboras.

A couple photos (I'm an amateur with a camera, too) ~30 minutes after setup:


The water's pretty cloudy, but I'm guessing that'll settle down in time. Is this harmful to the inhabitants?



So, any comments or suggestions? I've got a lot of questions. For instance, is my lighting okay, considering it will get sunlight from a W-SW window during the day? My plant layout's haphazard, but will it fly? Does driftwood present any problems? Glad to meet you all, and I'm excited to improve. :wave:


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## littlebittyfish (Jun 5, 2011)

I think it looks nice.I like the driftwood. Does your betta bite his tail?Your betta looks like my bettas twin...My fish is quite crazy though..He spins in circles to bite his own tail..:der:


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Looking good. Once your plants get thicker I think it's gonna look good.

Do you have plans to move your betta buddy to the 10g.? They are really happiest in no smaller than a 3gallon. (Some even say no smaller than a 10g)


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## Jar (Jun 5, 2011)

Day 2:


Things are still looking cloudy. The water looks like a dense white haze. Any ideas what's causing this, and is it something to be concerned about? My 2 gallon test bowl was like this the first day, but it cleared up within 24 hours. I'm not sure it was so severe, though.

littlebittyfish: The betta seems fairly active and content so far. No masochism, or anything like that. He's been in his bowl for about a week now, with no filter or heater.

Tex Gal: Yes, the betta will move into the 10g once I feel he's safe. The harlequins, unfortunately, have no choice. I was using the betta's bowl as a test for the soil substrate, but it's such a cheap container. I'll probably tear it down once he leaves. I'm having so much fun with all this, and I'll probably be setting up a little no-tech bowl for small shrimp.


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

The haze is probably an algae bloom as you tank completes it's cycle. It should go away by itself. Nice to hear about the up coming move. I think your future plans are great!


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

"For instance, is my lighting okay, considering it will get sunlight from a W-SW window during the day?"

I am confused, are both bulbs flourescent? If so, you are probably fine.

"My plant layout's haphazard, but will it fly?" 

You have a nice variety, with a good balance of fast-growing stem plants and slower growing rosette plants. Don't be upset if not all of them live, not all plants thrive in all tanks, even easy species.

"Does driftwood present any problems?" 

No. It may color the water with tanins, but that is an appearance issue only. If you did not rinse your soil before putting it in the tank, it will probably release tanins into the water also. This will cause your water to look like very weak tea. Again, it does no harm and will go away by itself eventually. You can speed up this process by doing frequent water changes.

Have fun, and good luck!


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## Jar (Jun 5, 2011)

Day 3:


My parameters still seem static and within safe levels. I think the water is finally starting to clear up. The harlequins are active and no longer bunched up together in the middle of the tank. I'll probably add the betta to the tank soon. The plants look a little perkier.

The betta bowl is doing really well, all things considered:


Michael: I have two bulbs... One is a 6500 fluorescent, while the other is a cheapy Marineland 15w bulb I picked up at Petsmart. It gives off a yellowish light, although it's marketed as being clear.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

So the Marineland bulb is an incandescent? If so, you can replace it with a spiral compact flourescent, sold everywhere. These work very well for small tanks. Walmart sells one that is 6000 or 6500 K, and they are cheap.


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## mudboots (Jun 24, 2009)

The tank is looking nice and clearing up well. That betta bowl is beautiful.

Your mystery snail may eventually frustrate you, but I have read where others have housed them with little or no plant munching.


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## Jar (Jun 5, 2011)

Day 4:

No picture today; Not much of interest going on visually. The scarlet temple seems more red. Is that because it's receiving more light than it was previously?

The betta was added to the tank, and seems to have gotten the hang of the timid current. The harlequins -if anything- seem to be traversing the tank a little more.

Michael: Yeah, the bulb's incandescent. I wasn't sure if I should swap it out. Thanks!

mudboots: Thank you. The mystery snail was sold as _pomacea bridgesii_, which I've read may or may not eat healthy plants. Honestly, I didn't find much info on them. He's being good for now. I'll have to keep an eye on him. :spy:


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## mudboots (Jun 24, 2009)

Just out of curiosity, what is "scarlet temple"? I've not heard of this plant before, or perhaps just the name...


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## Jar (Jun 5, 2011)

Day 5:






Things are looking good. Everything looks yellow with my curtains drawn, but the water's cleared up pretty well. A few leaves are turning clear here and there. This Brazilian pennywort is a beast, though!

The pomacea bridgesii and the betta bowl were given to a friend. I'm waiting on some frogbit and java moss to be shipped before I start another no-tech bowl. I think I'll try shrimp in that one. I may post pictures of my experience with that, too.

Does anyone think that 10+ plant varieties in a 10 gallon is way too much? Will this sap all nutrients too quickly? Should I let only the strong survive?

mudboots: Scarlet temple is the reddish plant in the third picture above. _Alternanthera reineckii_ is the scientific name.


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## ramis (Feb 19, 2008)

Your tank looks really nice. I don't think you have too many plants, I wouldn't worry about nutrients being sapped too quickly, just the opposite, it's a good idea to add more plants, so algae doesn't start growing.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

_Does anyone think that 10+ plant varieties in a 10 gallon is way too much?_

From a design standpoint, probably yes, but that is a matter of personal taste.

_Will this sap all nutrients too quickly?_

No. In fact, you want the plants to absorb the excess to avoid algae and help keep the fish healthy. Lots of plants right from the start makes it MUCH easier to establish and stablize the tank.

_Should I let only the strong survive?_

Some of the species will likely fail to thrive, but that is OK. Others may threaten to take over the tank. Try to strike a balance among which plants are easy to grow, which plants you like, and how much maintenance you want to do. Finding that balance is how you create a tank that you really like.


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Great advice. Whenever I start a new tank I try to stuff it with plants. Then as it matures I take out what I don't want. It keeps the fish happy, helps establish the tank and looks pretty.


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## Jar (Jun 5, 2011)

2 weeks:




Slowly but surely, my water's clearing up. However, some spots of green algae have been showing up on my glass. I bought two _neritina natalensis_ in hopes that they will clear some of it up. Is this just a phase that aquariums go through in the early stages? I've been exposing the tank to less light in hopes that would help.

As for flora, I added a patch of java moss to the driftwood, and about 25 frogbit plants. When my order of frogbit came in, all of the root systems had melted on the journey, but they look to be growing back quickly. I was worried I had lost them all, but they must be pretty resilient. The wisteria I have is ugly; it looks like a weed to me. Some of my pennywort is turning brown. The moneywort's lower leaves are falling off. There's new growth on all of the plants, though, so maybe I shouldn't worry.

Somewhere along the line I inherited some pond snails and maybe a ramshorn snail or two. I think most of the pond snails are in my new ~2 gallon bowl, but they're multiplying too rapidly. I've been crushing them and dropping them in the 10 gallon and the rasboras go nuts. I've added some more trumpet snails into the 10 gallon, and I hope they do a good job with cleanup.


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