# The Dood's 10G



## thedood (May 30, 2015)

*Intro*
Hello and thanks for visiting my Super Newb 10G thread. This thread will contain the documentation for what I hope turns out top be a successful 10G low tech planted tank build. 

I had a few nice freshwater aquariums years ago but did not have the time to care for them so I sold all the equipment. A year ago my wife and I decided to buy an aquarium for cichlids. A year later I have 3 cichlid tanks and a fourth 10G that was given to me for free that will be the home for the fauna in this build. 

I have a general love of science which is what draws me to aquariums. I enjoy the technical side of aquariums and I struggle with the aesthetics piece of the puzzle so we will see how this turns out. I have 0 artistic ability and that's what planted tanks are really is works of art.

I like to re-purpose things so I am always open to diy ideas. One example is I have two dead hob filters, they died in less than 6 months. I am filling one with lava rock and plumbing my canister output to the hob and running the water through lava rock for additional bio filtration. The lava rock is rock I have recycled from a landscape and boiled until the water boiled clean.

I plan to convert my 55G that currently holds _Labidochromis_ sp. "Hongis" into a planted tank for my Altolamprologus calvus. If anyone is interested I have one Red Top Hongi I would trade for plants.

*Materials 
*20 x 10 x 12 10G aquarium
Dirt from a wooded are near Lake Shelbyville in Illinois.
Black Diamond for the cap
Bacto-Surge sponge filter (this is probably a little big for a 10G but I am going to try to incorporate it some how into the design or hide it behind some taller plans)
Clamp on light fixture
23 Watt 5000k daylight cfl
Dead wood from Lake Shelbyville area
Possible piece of granite - small
Home made 2x4 stand. I made on for my 55 that I am going to enclose and finish when I take it down for plant setup. Will do the same here but finish first. I may build on to the 55 stand since where it is being moved to I would have the room for both next to one another.
Our water is hard here. I am going to get a quality report this week. Its very hard I know. My established aquariums never drop below 8.5 ph and kh and gh hover around 200. I need to test the water after its been standing because I do have limestone rocks I gathered from a quarry in those tanks to buffer the numbers for my cichlids.

*Zoological Fauna
*Red Cherry Shrimp
Blue velvet shrimp
Snails?? Those burrowing snails that I need to look up the name for. 

*Botanical Flora
*Java fern
Java moss
Anubias (Recommendations?)
Some type of grass for low tech (suggestions?)
Unknown plant that my buddy has that just grows like the dickens in gravel and standard cheap kit light should do well here. When I get some I will upload pics and maybe get an identification on them
I would like to incorporate some local aquatic plants. If anyone has suggestions for this and where (Illinois) I can harvest some that would be great. 

I will be prepping my soil, substrate, and wood today. Pics will follow. Thanks for reading and suggestions.


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## rragan (Jun 2, 2015)

Looks like it will be a great setup. I think the snails you are talking about are MTS.

I built a 2x4 stand for an old aqrylic 180G i used to have, this can save you lots of money and will be much better quality than any Ikea ish stand.


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

@rragan Thanks for the reply. I am looking forward to getting this built. As I type this I have a pan of soil ready to bake and my dead wood is on the stove boiling. Hopefully this week I will start putting some plants in it.


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

Update:
I am going to get the green plant behind the peace sign in the pic below. Can I get an i.d. on this plant?


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

Hello all. Last night I got my substrate all setup. I have about 3/4 inch of good clay yard soil and 3/4 inch of Black Diamond as a cap. 

Here is the plant list I would like to use:

Dwarf sagittaria
Vesuvius sword
Ludwigia repens
Staurogyne repens
Bacopa caroliniana
Needle Leaf Java Fern
Christmas moss
Peacock moss
Subwassertang
Hygrophila Pinatifida
Anubias Nana Petite
Italian Val
Java moss
Unidentified plant from the pic above

Crystal Red shrimp 
Blue Velvet shrimp
Crystal Red shrimp
Malaysian Trumpet snails
Other fish as suggested


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

I have my 10G up and going! I bought a little java fern, java moss and an anubias from the lfs. I have more plants coming which should be here monday. Looking forward to members opinions on the scape and what else I should do. I still need an i.d. on the plant above if anyone can help with that. This was fun and educational. Thanks all who have answered questions.

I seeded the sponge filter by setting it in an established tank for a few hours. I used aquarium water from the same established setup. One thing I noticed and found odd. After putting the water in the 10G the ph went up a half point to 9 and the ammonia went up to .25. I expected there to be ammonia present as the dirt for a few days with water in the tank. I expected the organics in the soil would start breaking down but I didn't expect the ph to go up. I will be testing again today. Nitrates were at 40ppm and nitrite was 0.










I think I have the wife convinced that I need to plant our 55 and move our calvus over to it and stock it with some dithering fish. I am thinking non-jumbo cyps but the lfs (which isnt so local as I have to drive 2 hours) guy is recommending zebra danios which are a lot cheaper.


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

I added more plants today. We will see what happens. We will see how this goes. Opinions please.


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## big b (Jun 3, 2015)

What's the red plant?


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

Alternanthera reineckii "rosaefolia". Its a cool looking plant. We will see how it will do in this rig.


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## alphabeta (Jul 14, 2014)

500K bulb is ok, but i would suggest to change the bulb to 6500K. it could make a difference for plants.


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

@alphabeta I'm going to get a different light for it and fixture. And a timer I think.


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## Raymond S. (Dec 29, 2012)

Some people will hang that light from a bookshelf bracket on the wall behind the tank.
With just the cord wrapped around the bracket and the clamp removed.
Also seen them spray paint it black on the outside. But the least amount of algae is had
by using the 13W bulbs.
The Alternanthera reineckii does better if it's placed in an established tank. Someone
gave a link on here a while back of a study which showed that some plants give off a chemical which inhibits algae growth. But the Alternanthera reineckii wasn't on the list
given of those tested. Mine quickly got it's leaves covered/w GSA. I had no faster growing type plants established in that tank at the time.
Not all that good of a picture to work from, but I think your mystery plant is a wisteria.
If so it's one of the faster growing plants that will require more potassium than other plants. Fish food/waste and regular large(50% or more)water changes per week can/will
provide nutrients for a low number of plants, but mostly if those are all in the slower growing type. IF that's a Wisteria likely it will bump you out of that category of not
needing to add ferts. BTW half a dozen stems of floating Anacharis will help out/w algae.


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

@Raymond Thanks for the tips, much appreciated. I like the bookshelf idea. I think the mystery plant is out anyway, not much room left.

Bump: Now the fun begins to see if I can get this tank thriving.


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## Raymond S. (Dec 29, 2012)

If you're not going to be in shock at my unorthodox tank "style" I'll give you links to various stages of the main tank's growth from beginning to now.
There are 14 kinds of plants in there now. 10g tank/w EI ferts/Excel/one T5HO bulb.
Start up:
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/picture.php?albumid=14289&pictureid=43385
Way too much light phase/Cladophora on everything.
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/picture.php?albumid=14289&pictureid=47129
Still trying to make it work/w too much light.
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/picture.php?albumid=14289&pictureid=60930
Just got rid of the excess light.
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/picture.php?albumid=14289&pictureid=73618
Things finally starting to work out better.
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/picture.php?albumid=14289&pictureid=81193
Last month.
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/images/pGallery/pg_12001e.jpg


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## burr740 (Feb 19, 2014)

5000K CFLs are terrific plant bulbs, Im running a few myself going on a couple years now. The only reason to change would be if you prefer the slightly cooler look of a 6500K.

You may want to consider going to a lower wattage though. A 23W in a dome reflector is incredibly high par, especially if you have it clamped onto the side rather than suspended up a good bit.


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## alphabeta (Jul 14, 2014)

@burr740 good to know that 5000K a still terrific for plants.


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

alphabeta said:


> @*burr740* good to know that 5000K a still terrific for plants.




Someone please correct me if I am wrong.


If I am not mistaken, the Kelvin of the bulb is just the color hue us humans see/perceive and doesn't have anything to do with how "good"/strong (PAR, color spectrum/wavelengths, photons) the lighting is. For instance one bulb with the same Kelvin unit could be stronger than another bulb with the same Kelvin. 


4000K is usually more yellow tinted, what's known as warm white, while 6500K is usually more blueish tinted, what's known as cool white, so I think 5000K would be a midground between the two, pretty much being just white (but the color graph shows it might possibly have a green tinge, although not sure if our eyes perceive that much)

So pretty much it has no effect on growth, it's just color of the light we see and it's personal preference what we color we like to shine upon our plants. Most people don't like warm white because it makes the tank look rather bland and washed out, not as vibrant/crisp looking a cool white.


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## alphabeta (Jul 14, 2014)

@WaterLife 
it is more complicated than that, and Kelvin and Par have to do with each other. 
saying simple, too low Kelvin, or too high Kelvin makes the light to be out of the range of useful light for plants, and PAR will get lower. The optimal is somewhere around 6000K. 
This is why, in particular, when you build an LED light you want to cover the whole spectrum, with more intensity around 6000K. 
It is also true that if you do not change the kelvin thing for the light, and just increase its intensity (higher watts), then PAR will increase. 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photosynthetically_active_radiation

hope i did not create too much confusion.


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

Interesting discussion. In regard to light right now I am turning on the lights from 7am to noon and then the tank gets diffuse light from windows. Does that sound reasonable? So now I have a few questions.

1) Nitrate levels. Mine are off the charts. Like 180. I am thinking the soil is causing the high levels. Is this something to be alarmed about at this stage with no zoological livestock? The level is like 160 or so.

2) Ferts. With nitrates as high as they are I am sure that I need to avoid adding any type of nitrogen but does Flourish Excel contain nitrogen and is it something I should consider using at this time?

3) What type of water test kit are you using?

Other than those questions i think all is well. I didnt have time to test ammonia this morning but I did test ph-8.7 or so,gh-180,kh-240, no2- between .5 & 1 and no3-160. When I added the new plants I did a 30% water change with aquarium water that itself had just prior undergone a 20% water change. I was using aquarium water for the added nitrates but it looks like it doesnt need them. Here in a bit my wife is going to run a test for me and I will have some current readings.


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## alphabeta (Jul 14, 2014)

180ppm for nitrate is high, and toxic for fish. For plants+fish a good level is about 30ppm. I am not sure about the exact number, but high nitrates are toxic for plants too. Probably it comes from the dirt, so a heavy water change regime will dilute it. 

hold on with ferts for now  you have enough of them. Excel does not contain nitrates, so you can use it. start slowly 1ml/day for 10 gl, and then you can go to 2ml, per day. 

API test, but make sure they are not expired. 

What are the parameters (PH, dKH, dGH) of the tap water, not from aquarium? Do you mix it? PH is kind of high, and needs to be compared with that straight from the faucet. 
Are you sure about gh,kh? how do you measure it?


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

alphabeta said:


> What are the parameters (PH, dKH, dGH) of the tap water, not from aquarium? Do you mix it? PH is kind of high, and needs to be compared with that straight from the faucet.
> Are you sure about gh,kh? how do you measure it?


The tap ph is about the same. 0 nitrite, < 10 nitrate, kh and gh numbers are about the same as in tank. I use apc 5-1 test strips and an apc ammonia kit. I guess tonight I do a 50% change and use distilled water.

I filled my planted tank with water from one of my cichlid tanks because the water parameters are so close between them and tap, other than some nitrate. These are established, well cared for systems with very low bio loads. Our tap water does not have 0ppm nitrate from the tap. I should have a water dept report soon.

Our water is harder than a Mike Tyson punch, yep its that hard. Been perfect for keeping cichlids and I check it with every water change and it is rock stable. I do buffer my cichlid tanks with limestone rock. That NO3 number is going to have to come down a lot before I can add my invertebrates. 

My wife just called and ph has dropped to 8.5, NO2 = 1, NO3 = 160, GH has dropped to 120, and KH = 180.


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

Ive got a bunch of frogbit and another small floater that I cant recall the name of at this time. Think I should put it in?


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## alphabeta (Jul 14, 2014)

the strip test are notoriously not accurate. even the liquid ones are not very accurate, but better. on long run liquid ones are cheaper. API Aquarium Test Kits : Amazon.com: API Freshwater Master Test Kit 
Amazon.com : API GH and KH Test Kit : Aquarium Test Kits : Pet Supplies 

if the tests are correct, or close to correct NO3 of 160ppm is high. I would try to dilute before the plants get melting. 
the gh and kh. Usually it is measured in the hobby in dKH dGH. One degree KH (dKH) is equal to 17.848 mg/l (ppm) CaCO
So your water will have dGH= 6.7 and dKH=10. The usual parameters in the hobby are dKH around 4-6 and dGH 7-10 (?) Hainvg dKH by that much larger than gKH looks strange to me, but probably somebody more experienced in chemestry can comment on that. 

So they are not that bad out of range. I would not mess around to alter these parameters of the tap water (unless you already use a RO/DI). Plants will generally adapt to it.


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

@alphabeta
You have been a huge help, I appreciate it. I am going to do another water change with tap water and see what happens.


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## RcScRs (Oct 22, 2009)

By opinions, what are you looking for exactly?


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

I started dosing with excel this evening. I also changed my light. Now I am running an 18in 15 watt 8500k fluorescent tube. Considerably dimmer than what I was running for sure. I also ordered the freshwater master kit and the gh/kh test kit as well. While I was at it I ordered a small powerhead for the sponge filter. My water parameters are as follows:

Ammonia .25 (I am doubting the accuracy but since I am going to start ammonia tonight I will retest)
PH 8.5
KH 10
GH 10
NO2 1
NO3 40 

My plants aren't looking real good. From what I am reading and as suggested here I may have had way to much light, we will see I guess.


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

Today I started dosing Excel and Flourish comp. My plan is 1ml of Excel daily and 1ml Flourish once a week to start. I will be purchasing dry ferts in the future.

I am replacing my light with a 13 watt 6500k cfl this evening. I will also be putting my lights on a timer to run from 7am to 11am and from 6pm to 10pm. I had tried a 15 watt 18" 8000k fluorescent tube but it didnt seem right to me. I don't care for the spectrum or something. @Raymond S. recommended the 13 watt light in this thread and another I started and I am going to heed the advice. 

My plants look better than I was thinking. I have a few issues but nothing that cant be corrected. I was worried about a few plants whose leaves turned transparent but after research and inspecting the plants I realized it is only the bottom half of the plants where leaves are dying and the tops are seeing new growth. My java moss was turning a little brown but is making a come back. 

The ph on this tank is dropping. It has went from 8.5 down to almost 8. This morning I tested my water using the freshwater master kit from api and got the following:
Ammonia: .25
Nitrite: 1 or 2 but this is incredibly hard to discern color
Nitrate: Again hard to discern but seems around 40 to 80ppm two days after a water change

I will test the water again tonight and see where everything is. 

Tuesday night I performed a 30% water change. While doing the change I replaced the air-pump to the sponge filter with an aquaclear 20 powerhead. I hooked the airline up but turned off the venturi so there is only a trickle of air bubbles. I also turned the flow control all the way down, wide open was way to much. In the process I knocked a few plants loose and had to replant them. I noticed anaerobic pockets while replanting the plants. The tanks lone resident (that I know of) is a trumpet snail I hope takes care of that issue. The tank is full so trying to poke the substrate will prove to be painful. 

All in all I think the tank is doing better than I initially thought. I have one known mistake that I made. I should have used osmocote+ under the substrate. I wont make the same mistake when I start planting my 55.


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## alphabeta (Jul 14, 2014)

good progress. 
for o+ use some jelly capsule and a syringe to put them as far as possible under the substrate. 
I use a simple 3ml syringe, cut the top of it, and put the capsule with O+ in it, stick into substrate and push the syringe handle, which will push the capsule to the bottom. Works nice for me.


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## Raymond S. (Dec 29, 2012)

*thanks for this...*



alphabeta said:


> good progress.
> for o+ use some jelly capsule and a syringe to put them as far as possible under the substrate.
> I use a simple 3ml syringe, cut the top of it, and put the capsule with O+ in it, stick into substrate and push the syringe handle, which will push the capsule to the bottom. Works nice for me.


That is quite a discovery. Good use of and good fit for a not expensive purchase from the Flea Bay.
Thank you very much for this info...


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## Raymond S. (Dec 29, 2012)

Actually the CFL works best when used in one of these type lamps.
HDX 150-Watt Incandescent Clamp Light-HD-300PDQ - The Home Depot
Designers Edge 10-1/2 in. Brooder Lamp with Hang Hook-0165 - The Home Depot
Better yet to place a bookshelf bracket on the wall in back of the tank, remove the clamp and hang the lamp by the cord from the bracket. This way you can adjust the height if algae happens. Some even spray paint the outside of the dome black etc.


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

@alphabeta Excellent tip. I was planning on getting osmocote+ today for my 55g I am planting, I will see if I can find some empty gel caps so I can make some tabs and get them in there. 

I tell ya this planted tank hobby is something I am really enjoying. I wish I had started doing this long ago.


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

Here is a pic of some of the plants I have that are getting droopy. My understanding is to pull the plant, clip the top, and replant the top. I am not to sure where to clip the plant at but I assume an inch or so below the good green leaves? 










And another.


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## alphabeta (Jul 14, 2014)

if the stem is still alive, give some more time. but if the stem is dead, then yes, cut just above where the plant is dead, and replant. 
they may go through a shock, and melting, but should come back, if the water parameters are ok, and the light is decent. 

Try to keep the Nitrates below 40-60 ppm, not to fry the plants with high level of nutrients. 
as somebody once said, everything at some level becomes toxic


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

I was surprised at that high nitrate count. I had just performed a 30% water change Tuesday. Going to check again this morning and see where I am with the water parameters.


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

I've got snails! I tossed a single trumpet snail in a few days ago and I just noticed what appears to be several baby snails. I have a crummy pic but I am going to try and get a better pic.


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## alphabeta (Jul 14, 2014)

just relax about the snails. no overfeeding, and the population will be under control. 
Just do not try to kill them now with chemicals, especially in a new tank. 

If you want to be sure, close to 100%, then you have to dip all the plants you receive, and disinfect whatever you put in your tank. 
dipping is easy, but can kill the plants.


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

Just get an assassin snail to eat the other snails, then rehome the assassin snail after it's done it's job (leave it for a while since there might be babies getting ready to be born).

But it sounds like you wanted the MTS, so no worries there.


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

Its not a problem I was just surprised is all. I placed a few in another tank and was looking tonight and there are babies in there as well. Prolific breeding little buggers I guess. I wanted them in there to aerate the soil.


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## Goldie (Aug 27, 2015)

I love snails! Especially MTS. I have them in my tropical and in my gold fish tank as well as a betta nano tank. I've never had a population issue in any tank.


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

Ive been enjoying watching them myself. Interesting little dudes.


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## Mariostg (Sep 6, 2014)

Snails are your friends


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

The tank is trucking along. Here some updates on where I am.

So far no algae. I have had some melting but my understanding is this is typical in a new setup.

I had a few plants, I believe Ludwigia repens, that the stems had a section about an inch long that turned black in the middle. I pulled the plants and cut the tops off and replanted the tops. SO far so good.

I had a couple of other plants, same type though, that had leaves that melted from half way down the stem all the way to the substrate. I pulled thos plants cut the plant above the dead leaves and replanted the tops. So far so good I think. 

I have added RCS. I had 6 to start. I dosed excel and the next day one was dead. Two days later I dosed again and another shrimp died. The first happened the day after a 40% water change. Seachem says to add 5ml/10g after such a water change. The next morning I dosed 3.5ml. The second time I had dosed 1ml. So for now I am cutting out excel on this tank and see what happens. The remaining shrimp seem to be ok so far. Last night I noticed at least two munching down on some plant matter.

I am adding a few pics. I would love ideas on how I can improve the layout, do better maintenance, etc.


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## alphabeta (Jul 14, 2014)

looks ok. make some shots from a little far and perpendicular, to see the whole tank. 
looks like you are doing the right thing.

Excell: On initial use or after a major (> 40%) water change, use 1 capful (5 mL) for every 40 L (10 gallons*). *Thereafter use 1 capful for every 200 L (50 gallons*) daily or every other day. *
Dosing may be slowly increased in high-growth aquariums. 

So, for 10gl, on daily basis i would suggest 2ml, so the shrimps are not harmed.


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

Good morning AB. I actually used less than that. I think the shrimp were probably weak. Who knows how long the little dudes were at the lfs. I am going to wait a bit and let things settle for a week or two and start back in again with the excel. The little dudes are fun to watch. I spent quite a bit of time last night watching a couple of them swimming around and munching on some food. This little 10g tank is as entertaining as my 75g.


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

This tank is going well. One of the plants I was worried about, Vesuvius Sword, is producing lots of new growth. The Java Moss had at first turned a little brown is spots is now bright green and growing. I did lose another shrimp, I am not to sure why as they were all eating well. The ramshorn snails are growing like weeds. Its amazing how fast they grow. They are pretty cool to watch with their long flowing tentacles/antenna. Pretty freakin awesome to watch this tank balance itself. I just need more shrimp now.


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## alphabeta (Jul 14, 2014)

@thedood Vesuvius Sword is one of my favorites. if it picks up, then goes very well. I started with literally 3 runners, not in the best shape. 
sorry, not much advice about shrimps ...


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

Good morning ab. Question about the Vesuvius sword, happens to be one of my favs as well, can I trim the new growth off of the runners replant and chuck the runners? These runners get long it seems. I was amazed to find the new growth. It is actually 3 plants connected and I found them floating in the tank. I was just going to cut the plants from the runners and replant. One of the things that amazed me was the tip of the runner. The runner had what could be described as looking like a 3/4 inch long green paint brush end coming right off the end of it. When I woke up the next morning it was almost 2 inches long and twisting with new leaves. Pretty darn cool to see the changes like that.


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## alphabeta (Jul 14, 2014)

yep, cut the runners, and replant. they just need to be 2-3" long leaves, to start well.


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

Thanks. The look great. I tell ya when I first started the tank and watched the plants start to melt is disheartening to watch. See them stabilize and come back, pretty darn cool.


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

*Shrimp babies!*

Noticed one of my berried shrimp acting a little different last night. I thought maybe the shrimplets were hatching but I could'nt see the babies. So I went to a youtube video of rcs giving birth and it sure looked the same to me. My eyes suck so I imagine the shrimplets are to small for me to see. Hope to see my shrimp population blossoming soon!


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

I never would have thought a 10G tank would be so cool. My water parameters are rock stable so far, my plants are growing well and my shrimp and snails seem ok. Also found my first shrimp molt the other night. I figure if the shrimp are molting and the berried females I got are hatching babies those are good signs the tank environment is sound and healthy. I love this little tank!


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

One of my Shrimps, a berried female unfortunately, died Sunday night. The following is what I think happened to her.

I do my weekly water changes on Sunday afternoon. In this tank I usually do 2 - 3 gallons. With the driftwood, sponge and powerhead I figured this is 40% or so change. I always test my parameters before I change water. 
The tests I performed Sunday resulted as follows: The temp is at 68 (room temp in my house) due to a cheap ass less than 2 months old heater that has quit working or has its internal thermometer mis-calibrated. 

PH 8.0, Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates 10 - 20, Gh 9, KH 12. Our tap water PH is around 8.4. The PH is very slowly dropping in this tank. I think that the PH changed enough with the water change the shrimp were a little shocked. This shrimp may have been weak to begin but I wonder since she was berried. 

I allowed the new water, with 1ml prime added, to sit in the bucket for 2 hours to equalize temperature.

Here are the resolutions I am coming up with. I have a finnex controller hooked to heater on that tank and I am replacing the cheap ass heater with a 100 watt aqueon pro. I realize 100 watts is a bit overkill. I will set the temp to 72 degrees on the finnex and if I decide later to move this tank to a 20G, which I may very well do in the future, I will have a heater big enough. Our house is very old brick row building and tends to get cold so I know 100 watts will heat it enough with no problem.

Going forward I will reduce the amount of water I am changing from 30 - 40% to 10 - 15%. I will drip new water into the tank after water changes. This should minimize temperature and ph shock to the shrimp. I really don't want to get into micromanaging water chemistry at this time however if it proves necessary I will. 

Other than the above the tank is going well. I have a few plants with what looks like little burn holes in them. I have started treating with 1ml Flourish twice a week. I will be ordering ferts and moving to pps pro dosing when the Flourish is gone.

My mosses are doing well. The peacock moss is really nice and is one of my favorites more importantly the shrimps seem to like it as well.

The Italian val has bounced back from transplant shock quite well and looks gorgeous. I think osmocote+ in gel tabs has helped them immensely. I really like the bladed grass type plants more than stem plants. 

My Vesuvius sword has not recovered as nicely as the val but it is producing runners and seems to have developed a decent root system. 

The rosaefolia I have is growing and looks ok. I think they would do better in a little higher light. I have thought about trimming them and putting the cuttings in my 75G to see how they would do in there. 

Snails are thriving along with some copepods, amphipods, or limpets (hard to tell which). 

overall there seems to be general good health of my 10G tank so far.


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

I looked tonight and I can confirm four baby shrimps! At least one of my berried females has had herself some shrimplets. I figure if I saw four of the little boogers there are several more in hiding. #Planted tanks rock!


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

Hey all I wanted to give an update on this tank. Things are going well. Lots of growth of my plants. The Dwarf Sag is reproducing like mad. I have Italian val that is doing well. My Vesuvius sword is reproducing I have had to trim runners a few times. Moss grows like mad. The Alternanthera reineckii is not as red as it was but it is growing well and a few of the plants have almost reached the top of the tank.

I have tons of snails. I added a nerite but I really dont see him.

My shrimp population which was at about 11 is now an unknown count. A few of the shrimp I bought were berried and it looks like the young are thriving. I never see molts really but there is a piece of driftwood and a lot of the time the larger shrimp are under it or in cracks and holes in the wood itself. It has bothered me not seeing many molts but since I am not finding dead shrimp I am assuming the shrimp are molting in a hidden spot. My ph is high but the driftwood I believe is dropping it. The ph started at 8.4 or so and now stays at about 8 and I thought that might be an issue.

I have some algae, mostly it is the long stringy hair like algae but it isnt much really so it doesnt bother me. 

I want to thank everyone who has given me advice on this setup and a lot of the credit for how well the tank is doing thus far goes to people on here who posted advice and the people who run TPT. Thanks to all. And thanks to @alphabeta for the great hookup on plants, they look great and really helped me get started.
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## alphabeta (Jul 14, 2014)

thanks @thedood for your kind words. great to hear that things are going well. post some pictures. bad that the weather is not good for shipping, but I would be happy to send you some trimming of some other plants. Keep in touch, and let me know (preferable in advance) when you are in the city, and I will try to arrange something for you.


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

@alphabeta I appreciate the offer. After the holidays I will shoot you a pm.Here is a pic of the tank. The front is a little dirty from hard water deposits.


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

I thought I would update this since I am going to be migrating it to a 20H soon. Latest pics. Pretty obvious the tank has had tremendous growth since I first set it up.


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## gmdiaz (Feb 3, 2016)

Your moss looks amazing!


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## thedood (May 30, 2015)

@gmdiaz Thanks! I havent done much just water changes.


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