My planted ten gallon! Need sugestions

[Spazzfish]

ok a few questions for my work in progress
1. Substrate I hate the white grrr!!! but its the only thing walmart had when I bought the tank. I want sand will the stuff at lowes work?
2. Plants I have a bunch! of narrow leaf chain swords and im looking to gett rid of a few and add in some other low ground cover (does any one know anything about kompacts? Mine died :'( but id like another) also I want some hight its a little to flat for me :(
3.anything else I want to ditch the ship I like the natural look and dont realy care for the fake stuff.
Hoping to get my girl a sorrority set up in july when I get firework money

[LebronTheBetta]

1. When you mean at Lowe's, do you mean Playsand? If you do mean this type of sand, it's perfectly safe. And, nontoxic.
2. You could bury like, some plants with the stems into the sand. It's kind've like a flag. You just put the stem in the sand and it stays there.
3. If you want a Natural Look, make it seem like your in Thailand. Not like shallow, but you know. Some Aquatic Plants on top, like Duckweed. And more things in Thailand that you could safely put in this tank.

[Spazzfish]

Thank you! Ive been wanting sand for forever but wasnt sure if the playstuff was safe my corydoras thank you :)

[Sheldon31]

Play sand is perfect! It's cheap, non toxic (because children put it in their mouths) and gives a nice look. Just make sure you clean it really well before putting it in as it often contains clay which will cloud your tank. After cleaning it you will get some clouding but it'll soon settle if you have good filtration. Plants that are tall and pretty are amazon sword :) I love them but don't see them much where I am.

[Pacqui]

Is that a vase inside your tank? that is very creative! Are the fishies okay with seeing each other all the time?

For height, I have some water wisteria and that was on the list of easy low light plants. Mine is growing very well and very tall and my betta loves laying on it's leaves and swimming through them. Lots of baby leaves and I've only had it for a little less than a month.

Also, make sure you have the right kind of bulb for your lighting. I learned from this site that the plants like 6500K.

[Pacqui]

Oh also, maybe a little cave or something to replace the ship?

[Mo]

Non-toxic play sand should be okay for both cories and other fish. It is very attractive In My Opinion, easy to clean once in the tank, and is safe for fish, I would commend the plain colored sand. Dyed ones can leak harmful components into the water.

Playsand is very dusty when bought so ideally you would want to wash it very well. When I purchase new playsand I place a bit more than needed amount of playsand into a bucket, and continually wash out the bucket, refill, empty, refill empty, refill, Empty, refill, empty. Repeat this process until the water is virtually clear after 1-2 seconds of settling.

Good plants are hornwort, anacharis, anubias, amazon swords, dwarf chain swords, Hygrophila corymbosa, cabomba caroliniana, ludwigia Repens, duckweed, Rotala indica, Rotala Rotundifolia, and frogbit. Each have very low requirements.

I do have a written thread as a sticky on the top of this sub forum for any more help of care. I have articles on many plants that do not require soil, sand, or any substrate and floating plants

[Spazzfish]

Originally Posted by Pacqui

Is that a vase inside your tank? that is very creative! Are the fishies okay with seeing each other all the time?

surprisingly yes the first week was a night mare she had stress stripes like crazy and then all of a sudden Boom! Gone. She has been a beautiful vibrant purple ever.since. You cant see it very well but she has a pile of rocks at the bottom that she likes to hide in if he starts to get on her nerves. she flares at him he flares at her but they never really charge the glass. I think I am just lucky though I have a realy tame mal. Excuse my oxymoron