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  • #1

    CO2 and lighting?

    I'm wanting to try my hand at aquascaping, but am not entirely sure about how to go about this in a 10 gallon aquarium.
    I'm going to be using CaribSea Eco-complete as the substrate, Purigen in the filter, and I'm wanting to carpet the tank with dwarf hairgrass as well as having maybe some larger/longer plants in the back.
    Do I NEED to do something about CO2? And also- will the LED light that comes with those Topfin tanks be adequate lighting?
    If the lighting is not adequate, then would placing a grow light facing the top of the tank be fine? Or is there some special thing I have to do for that?
    This is a pretty daunting task for me, but I've read all these wonderful stories about how plants make fishkeeping much MUCH easier.
    (The tank will be stocked with 3 danios and 3 female bettas for about 4 months, just until I can afford a much larger tank for my goldfish and then move the bettas into the 29 gal)
    Tags: co2, lighting, planted tank
  • #2
    It sounds like you arent off to a bad start. It really isnt as bad as it seems as long as you set things up properly and just give the tank time. Water changes are your friend. As for the light i dont think that is going to cut it if you want a pretty carpet. even with CO2. If you dont have a huge budget id go for one of the beamworks freshwater LEDs. If you can spend a bit more the current leds have multiple levels. Have you looked into dry starting the tank? ive never tried it myself but it seems to be very beneficial for carpet plants. Hope this helps a little.
    GO COOGS!!!

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    • #3
      i set one up about 3 months ago in a little 15gal. breeder tank. Nothing special, just crushed flint substrate and T5 lighting. Actually kinda nice for an old guy that cant usually grow weeds. :)

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      • #4
        Updating on this:
        I was on a low budget and opted to move the tank next to a window that received a lot of bright, indirect light. I had received some free floating grass-like plants from a local aquarium store, anchored some moss onto a piece of driftwood, and placed some wisteria towards the back.
        Everything went fine for quite awhile- I got a lot of growth out of the wisteria, the moss didn't really anchor onto the driftwood but it didn't die either, and the grass stuff was thriving.
        Sometime earlier in April after a water change, I guess the tank began crashing. The wisteria appeared to be melting despite the pH seeming fine. I removed them all to avoid having rotting plant in there, but then the danios got lethargic. I gave the bettas to a friend, did another water change, and over that night the danios died so I just gave up on the remaining moss and grass in there

        Looking back on it, I didn't really take much consideration into the oxygen circulation in there. Not sure how much that would have to do with it all, but it certainly couldn't have helped.

        I'll likely give this another shot with the lighting Triangle suggested, and not introduce any fish in there until it's been established much longer and tested. I'll also have to get more circulation in there so I don't end up creating another death trap :(

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        • #5
          Low tech or high tech setup?

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