# 10 gallon low tech new at this



## sevendust111 (Jul 15, 2014)

I just skimmed you posts, but a couple of things to suggest.

1. This is a lightly planted tank at this point, not moderately. I would get more plants.
2 Bacopa does better in at least medium light. Do not bump up past medium-low light without at least using diy C02.
3. Fertilze. Go to Nilocg's website and get his diy EL liquid kit. It is so easy. You would just dose 2.5ml of macros and micros once at week and the kit will last you an insanely long time for only about 30 bucks with the gh booster.
4. Consider using Seachem's Excel as a co2 supplement. Dose 2ml everyday. Helps with algae too.

As long as you have decent lights and you stick to low and medium-low light plants, this is fool proof.


----------



## F3-RapalaAngler (Mar 17, 2016)

I've read co2 in liquid form can go bad, dropping ph quickly if you are not precise to the does your tank needs? 

Would you recomend maybe taking the bacopa back for more water sprite?

Any idea how long I should be leaving my light on?


----------



## F3-RapalaAngler (Mar 17, 2016)

Also if I'm going to be adding 8 pygmy cory catfish in a couple weeks will that give the plants the food they need? 

And is adding more plants I think I really should do?


----------



## sevendust111 (Jul 15, 2014)

Are you planning on doing other fish because 8 cories would have you fully stocked.

What you heard about excel is not true. I have changed my doses with no ill effect as long as...

1. You don't have inverts
2. You don't have jungle vals or anarchris

When I was doing diy c02 on a 20L, I was dosing 4.5ml of excel daily, which is more than twice the recommended.


----------



## F3-RapalaAngler (Mar 17, 2016)

I have 5 nerite snails, a cherry shrimp, aND an assassin snail so I have plenty of inverts.

I was also going to replace the bacopa with anacharis.

Does this change my plan of attack?

The 8 corries, rather they are habrosus or pygmy would be all I added


----------



## sevendust111 (Jul 15, 2014)

Based on this additional info, I would ditch the Excel as least for now. Anacharis is much easier to grow so I would do that.


----------



## F3-RapalaAngler (Mar 17, 2016)

What if I did more water sprite since it seems to do great in my tank and then keep the anubias nana driftwood and Moss balls. Would that require anything more? 

Sorry if these may be dumb questions. I just really want to do things right


----------



## ArchimedesTheDog (Apr 9, 2012)

sevendust111 said:


> I just skimmed you posts, but a couple of things to suggest.
> 
> 4. Consider using Seachem's Excel as a co2 supplement. Dose 2ml everyday. Helps with algae too.


Isn't this a double dose?


----------



## jrill (Nov 20, 2013)

It's not uncommon to double the excel dose for algae control.

Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk


----------



## touch of sky (Nov 1, 2011)

Since the bacopa has only been in the tank for two days, it is very early to judge whether or not it will do well. I would give it two weeks before making a judgment. If it were my tank, I would leave the bacopa and see if it settles in, and also add the anacharis to give your tank more plant mass. Any time I make changes to my tank, whether it be adding a new plant, moving a plant, changing lights, fertilizing, etc., I give the changes a couple of weeks before I make a decision. It is a good idea to keep a diary of for your tank, so that you can look back and see what changes worked, and what didn't and to keep track of maintenance, additions and changes.


----------



## F3-RapalaAngler (Mar 17, 2016)

I appreciate the help guys. Like I said I'm new at this part of the hobby so all the info I can get is useful to me


----------



## sevendust111 (Jul 15, 2014)

I double dose excel as per the guru Hoppys instructions. I think Tom Barr suggests this too. Double dosing excel seems pretty widely accepted 

I personally would ditch the bacopa and get more watersprite. I would still consider dosing ferts though. Maybe try some water wisteria.


----------



## F3-RapalaAngler (Mar 17, 2016)

Is Excell a fert?


----------



## F3-RapalaAngler (Mar 17, 2016)

I took the bacopa back.

Do I want flourish or flourish excel and what's the difference? 

Which one will help me with algae and more importantly brown algae (diatoms)


----------



## sevendust111 (Jul 15, 2014)

Flourish is micro nutrients, excel is a liquid source of carbon. I would do some research. Look up sundeep or Tom barr's low tech guides


----------



## Maryland Guppy (Dec 6, 2014)

Diatom algae will usually run its course and be done with.

Seachem makes an entire line of Flourish products.

Excel is one of them, it provides Organic Carbon, call it a form of CO2.

My wife keeps two heavily planted tanks thriving with bi-weekly 25% WC's.
She refuses to use any chemicals other than Prime for WC's.
Her tanks contain Moscow guppies and RCS that are constantly breeding.

This can be kept very simple if you choose undemanding plants.


----------



## F3-RapalaAngler (Mar 17, 2016)

So would you say with just the water sprite and anubias Nana it would help much?


----------



## Kathyy (Feb 22, 2010)

Plants need a lot of nutrients to grow. Water, oxygen, carbon, nitrogen, potassium, phosphorus, calcium, magnesium, iron are the ones that come to mind. 
Water and oxygen are taken care of. 
Carbon, a little is in the water that diffuses from the air and also some from flora and fauna respiration. Adding Seachem Excel if the tank is a bit too bright can help plants outgrow algae better. It is also an algicide and can damage some plants so dose as the bottle reads if you choose to use it.
Nitrogen and phosphorus are found in fish waste, bright tanks can need more of both but you won't. 
Calcium and magnesium are components of water hardness so if your water has GH of 1-10 the plants will have plenty. I see damaged shells on my snails so am sure to dose GH booster.
Iron and potassium are less easy to get and that is what you must use. Just dose as the bottle suggests and if there are additional micro nutrients it's fine.

Snails help with diatoms. Time helps. Wiping down the tank panes helps. Lowering the light to the tank helps, either by dimming it with something between light and tank or a shorter lighting period. My new nano just didn't get it this time and neither did my big tank when I rescaped it last summer. I had my programmable LED on very low level for a month, encouraged snails and wiped down the tank at every water change with a white paper towel. I've been doing this for a while and suspect it was all in the lighting as I've always had snails and always wiped the tank down and always had a little diatom growth early on.


----------



## GrampsGrunge (Jun 18, 2012)

I've noticed that the old _Ceratopteris thalictroides_ Oak Leaf variety of Water Sprite doesn't seem to be available any more. I had incredible growth with that variety this new type with the finely pinnate leaves is almost as slow growing as Java Fern.


----------



## GrampsGrunge (Jun 18, 2012)

F3-RapalaAngler said:


> I took the bacopa back.
> 
> Do I want flourish or flourish excel and what's the difference?
> 
> Which one will help me with algae and more importantly brown algae (diatoms)


You know F3-RapalaAngler you were given some pretty good advice about waiting 2 weeks on making changes. The moment you go off into changing you tank's water parameters daily is the moment you tank will never establish an equilibrium. 

Patience..... 

I'd have left the Bacopa in and added another submersed Water Sprite or two. Also, when you plant Water Sprite, always leave the root/stem node above the gravel about 1/2". For quick "fix", short-term things you can do, one is cut back your light's on time by an hour, and two, add more easily growing, floating plants, like more water sprite, which you said is doing really well in your tank. 

Work to your tank's strengths.


----------



## F3-RapalaAngler (Mar 17, 2016)

Couldn't really keep the bacopa as it fell apart in my tank. I came home from work and it was uprooted and brown.


----------

