# 10g planted betta tank



## blizowman1 (Jan 16, 2012)

ok, so heres the story: my kids betta weve had for yrs finally died....my girlfriend said I should buy them another. so I decided to setup a 10g for it this time instead of the constant maintenance of a bowl....( I know I know). but heres the setup
10g tank
black gravel (osmocote tabs underneath)
marina s10 hob filter which I put my own media in lol
















walmart 10g heater
walmart hood for two 15w incandescent bulbs.... which I ended up buying 2-10w mini fluorescents 
does anyone know anything about these bulbs im sure im in the low light range but would love any info someone could give me on these lights and what can be exected out of them



























I'm planning on getting a back ground for it and probably either a bag of Eco complete like I have on my 90g or maybe some fluval stratum.
Do either of you know if those bulbs are in the super low light level? And can you recommend any low light plants I could keep in here cause my 90g is high tech so I'm not real sure how to do low tech lol. And it being low tech should I start liquid dosing at some point? And do I HAVE to dose some thing like excel ?

Here's a pic of my 90g too


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## jpappy789 (Jul 28, 2013)

I've never used those fluorescents specifically, With incandescent hoods I usually just use standard daylight CFLs instead. You may have to remove the splash guards to fit some of the larger bulbs. Perfect for a good amount of plants, although I've never tried anything considered "high" light.


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## blizowman1 (Jan 16, 2012)

I've tried looking for CFL at Walmart but it seems like the only ones I could find in 6500k are 100w.... I'm trying to stay as low tech as possible. So I'm not gonna be doing anything high light if I can help it lol. But since I've been high tech with my 90g for so long it's hard to transition down to low light plants and such.


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## Meganne (Sep 3, 2012)

pkg says 6500k so plant friendly, yes?


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## jpappy789 (Jul 28, 2013)

blizowman1 said:


> I've tried looking for CFL at Walmart but it seems like the only ones I could find in 6500k are 100w.... I'm trying to stay as low tech as possible. So I'm not gonna be doing anything high light if I can help it lol. But since I've been high tech with my 90g for so long it's hard to transition down to low light plants and such.


Are you sure they are 100w and not 100w _equivalent_? Equivalent ratings just compared them to incandescents, but they aren't a number we really worry about in terms of output.


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## HuntCast (Aug 25, 2013)

6500 can be tough to find. At my Walmart, I could only find one 13w bulb that wasn't soft white. Had much better luck at Lowes. You can also find them at dollar stores, from time to time.
13w and 23w are the most common. Never have seen a 100w. Think you misread the packaging. That is the equivalent.


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## blizowman1 (Jan 16, 2012)

I must have misread then, thanks for telling me ill have to check it out again cause I paid 6 bucks a peice for these compared to 5 bucks for two lol.....

Do I HAVE to use excel in a low tech tank?


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## jpappy789 (Jul 28, 2013)

Not at all, look into the Tom Barr low tech method. A pretty good way to setup a tank w/o Excel or CO2 and not have to do much work.


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## blizowman1 (Jan 16, 2012)

Cool ill def check that out.... What kind of low light plants should I try out ? And for carpets


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## Stone454 (Jun 1, 2013)

Those light will put you in low-mid lighting, i use them in a few of my 10 gals dwarf sag can do a good carpet like effect and is easy I am trying out a few different things that might work out most carpet plants need high light and co2


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## blizowman1 (Jan 16, 2012)

Stone454 said:


> Those light will put you in low-mid lighting, i use them in a few of my 10 gals dwarf sag can do a good carpet like effect and is easy I am trying out a few different things that might work out most carpet plants need high light and co2


Do you dose your tanks or have to use excel in the 10gs


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## Stone454 (Jun 1, 2013)

I do dose my bigger tanks to help out but I do the min. dose every other day, the dwarf sag will not need it


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## blizowman1 (Jan 16, 2012)

Do you dose excel daily ?


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## Allentan97 (Jul 1, 2012)

excel not needed terry, just give them the root nutrients and they should be set. i dont know how powerful that filter is but just dont lets detritus get left behind


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## Django (Jun 13, 2012)

> walmart 10g heater
> walmart hood for two 15w incandescent bulbs.... which I ended up buying 2-10w mini fluorescents
> does anyone know anything about these bulbs im sure im in the low light range but would love any info someone could give me on these lights and what can be > exected out of them

Those CFLs are Power CFLs, which is why they're putting out 600 lumens instead of 550 that the 10w spiral CFLs do. I am using a 10w spiral and a 13w spiral over my 10g in "brooder" type dome reflectors, which are very efficient. I think your CFLs are oriented correctly for the most output - horizontally for Power CFLs. The only problem is the white plastic reflectors in the Walmart canopy is very inefficient, so you may only get 550 or maybe less lumens out of each of them. This is probably enough to grow Java Ferns and other low-light plants, but IME not enough for regular plants.


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## blizowman1 (Jan 16, 2012)

Django said:


> > walmart 10g heater
> > walmart hood for two 15w incandescent bulbs.... which I ended up buying 2-10w mini fluorescents
> > does anyone know anything about these bulbs im sure im in the low light range but would love any info someone could give me on these lights and what can be > exected out of them
> 
> Those CFLs are Power CFLs, which is why they're putting out 600 lumens instead of 550 that the 10w spiral CFLs do. I am using a 10w spiral and a 13w spiral over my 10g in "brooder" type dome reflectors, which are very efficient. I think your CFLs are oriented correctly for the most output - horizontally for Power CFLs. The only problem is the white plastic reflectors in the Walmart canopy is very inefficient, so you may only get 550 or maybe less lumens out of each of them. This is probably enough to grow Java Ferns and other low-light plants, but IME not enough for regular plants.



So should I just take the plastic cover off while using these and regular cfl bulbs???


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## jpappy789 (Jul 28, 2013)

I took the splash guards out...just got in the way.


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## blizowman1 (Jan 16, 2012)

jpappy789 said:


> I took the splash guards out...just got in the way.


Well it seems like my plants are living in the tank so far lol 
Oh and I put a background on the tank today


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## Django (Jun 13, 2012)

blizowman1 said:


> So should I just take the plastic cover off while using these and regular cfl bulbs???


I'm not exactly sure what the "plastic cover" is. If it's the canopy itself I'd leave it on. I would also leave on the white plastic reflector, as it does reflect something.

For spiral CFLs I would strongly recommend buying a "brooder" type dome reflector at a local home improvement store like Lowe's or Home Depot. Then you have to figure out how to mount the reflectors or put them right on top of a glass top.

I just don't know for sure whether a power CFL, like yours, would perform well in a brooder dome reflector. I think it would but I would pm Hoppy and ask him about it or just try it and see if there's enough light with your 10w power CFLs. If you posted the before and after pics one right after the other, we could definitely tell.

The spiral CFLs are made to be mounted vertically, not horizontally as in your canopy, and would give off less light than mounted in a brooder dome reflector vertically.


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## blizowman1 (Jan 16, 2012)

Ok here's a pic of the kind of good I bought









Here's a pic of when I first set up the tank









Here's a pic from today









And the bulbs are mini fluorescents not compact fluorescents


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## jpappy789 (Jul 28, 2013)

FYI, I was referring to the plastic shields that are labeled "3"


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## blizowman1 (Jan 16, 2012)

Yea me too I'm sure they block light..... And the reflectors on this good suck..... I'd probably be better off wrapping them in aluminum foil


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## jpappy789 (Jul 28, 2013)

They are pretty crummy, not sure they even really qualify as reflectors. That's one of the reasons I went for a bigger CFL, figured I would lose a bit of light from not reflecting and restrike.

Tank looks really nice by the way!


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## Django (Jun 13, 2012)

blizowman1 said:


> Yea me too I'm sure they block light..... And the reflectors on this good suck..... I'd probably be better off wrapping them in aluminum foil


I get it. Those must be life-size pictures of the mini fluorescents then. My guess would be that you could buy 13w spirals and throw them in that canopy, if you don't want to go out and buy an inexpensive $16 brooder dome reflector (metal). Maybe Hoppy knows what the % difference is between vertical and horizontally mounted spiral bulbs. I think he's very knowledgeable about lighting.


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## blizowman1 (Jan 16, 2012)

Ok so no new additions to the tank except for more clippings out of the 90g









And here is a better shot of the lighting and bulbs


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## Django (Jun 13, 2012)

The tank looks pretty bright to me - maybe you want to look for 12 or 13w bulbs, or just 1 13w and 1 10w. I agree that the white plastic reflectors are not very efficient, but they of course do reflect some light.

Your bulbs look a lot like some Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs that I have seen, and it's possible that they are intended to be installed horizontally - I hope so, they look pretty good.

All things considered, I would leave the reflectors as they are, see how the plants do, and maybe swap one of the 10w out for a 13w and see if that works.


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## blizowman1 (Jan 16, 2012)

My plants seem to be doing well... My pogo was actually frowning out of the top of the water. And all my crypts and nana petite have new leaves. I am starting to get some brown algae on my plant leaves. My plan is to add maybe 1-2 nerite snails to the tank, 1-2 Amano shrimp to the tank and 1-2 oto to the tank


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## blizowman1 (Jan 16, 2012)

Ok idk how many people are really following this thread but I figured I'd give an update on the 10g. I have recently taken out all the black gravel and replaced it with one whole bag of Eco complete. It has given me a nice 2" thick substrate. 









After about a week of having the eco in te tank I have added a new plant..... I bought two bunches of dwarf four leaf clover and put it in the front of te tank.... I may have to get in and spread it out a little more but wanna see how it's even going to grow in the tank.









Another thing that I've started realizing is that all my new growth on my plants seem to be turning white.... When do I need to start dosing ferts and excel??


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## The Dude (Feb 8, 2011)

Tank looks great. If the plants are doing well than I would mess with the lighting. As far as Excel, I dose all of my tanks that don't have Vals. If you have root tabs in there I wouldn't worry about column ferts. I do 1ml a day of Metricide (excel) in my 10g


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## Jess123 (Oct 2, 2012)

New growth turning white is ussually do to an fe(iron) deficency.


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## TankYouVeryMuch (Jul 5, 2013)

Id already be dosing if i were you... I have the same hood, same lights... And dose with co2 booster and seachem flourish. Nothing in the substrate but i have some osmocote coming...


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## blizowman1 (Jan 16, 2012)

See when I first got into dosing ferts I bought a bunch of dry ferts from aquariumfertilizer.com and have a micromacro mix that I was thinking about starting to dose.
Macro Micro Nutrient Mix 1 lb contains 1 equal part each of Potassium Nitrate, Potassium Sulfate, Magnesium Sulfate, Plantex CSM+B. 

Then I have some excel I can start dosing and actually have some osmocote+ tabs but haven't put any in yet.

TANKYOUVERYMUCH- do you have any threads on here about your setup??


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## Django (Jun 13, 2012)

I think you should start Flourish Comprehensive (Seachem) right away at least once a week and maybe get some more little fish in there for the Ammonia and the fertilizer from the fish food that's in the fish detritus. Plus Seachem Root Tabs for Swords and any other plants that feed a lot from the roots, have advanced root systems.


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## greenteam (Feb 8, 2012)

Very nice to see a bigger tank for a betta


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## blizowman1 (Jan 16, 2012)

Well like I said I have the macromicro mix I can make up into a solution to dose the tank with, which : Macro Micro Nutrient Mix 1 lb contains 1 equal part each of Potassium Nitrate, Potassium Sulfate, Magnesium Sulfate, Plantex CSM+B. 

And what other fish would I be able to keep with the betta in a ten gallon I thought about buying maybe 6-10 Pygmy Cory's and idk what else.... I really like CPDs but idk how they'd stand up to a betta.


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## Django (Jun 13, 2012)

I have a small female betta in my tank with a school of 7 Pristella Tetras. The betta is starting to eat their flake food when I feed them. Have been putting food for the tetras at one end and pellets (soaked) for the Betta at the other end, but looks like no more need. She picks around in the gravel a lot too.


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## blizowman1 (Jan 16, 2012)

has anyone hd any luck or know exactly which pygmy cory is best for a 10g .....and how many I could keep in a 10g


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## peachii (Jun 1, 2013)

I have 9 pygmy cories in a 10 with a very friendly betta with some mystery snail babies that hatched about 3 weeks ago.


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## blizowman1 (Jan 16, 2012)

peachii said:


> I have 9 pygmy cories in a 10 with a very friendly betta with some mystery snail babies that hatched about 3 weeks ago.


 
sweet I see your from TN also.... do you know what species of pygmys you have ive heard theres only one of the three that actually stay on bottom like the bigger corys......and ive also heard that they are hard to keep alive is this true?


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## peachii (Jun 1, 2013)

I got 10, one died right after shipping, from The Wet Spot about 3 months ago, ordered with a friend and split shipping then they drove them to me. I still have all 9, so feeling pretty good about them right now. They are, hands down, my current favorite cory and they have not uprooted any of my foreground carpet plants, ever. I planted DHG and S. Repens in their tank a few days ago and they are still planted. I have pygmaeus. They rest anywhere they please in the tank and do swim all over all the tank in a group alot. They are soooooo small, sometimes I can't find them all and really have to search, and sometimes I don't see them until they want to be seen.


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## blizowman1 (Jan 16, 2012)

So would you consider them to be scavengers like other Cory's.... I'm trying to get a clean up crew going and I'd say shrimp is out since I have a male betta


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## Saxtonhill (Dec 28, 2012)

What a lovely tank for your betta!


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