Lighting

[kholder]

I have two of these in the hood of my 10 gal. :

Lights of America Mini Aquarium Bulb

• 10 Watt Compact Fluorescent Bulb

Color enhancing
Ideal for freshwater aquariums
Natural 6500k daylight
40% more light


Where does this put me on the lighting scale for plants? Lowlight, medium, medium high, or high?

[Oldfishlady]

That would put you low to low/mod light on a 10-12h photoperiod and you will have lots of different plants to choose from that should grow well...crpys, vals, sags, naja, ferns, moss, anubias, hygrophilia, lugwigia, bacopa, rotala and more.....

What kind of substrate do you plan and stocking...

[kholder]

Current substrate is gravel - mixed in size - maybe BB size up to the size of a white navy bean. Going back and forth on whether I should put something under the gravel - I had read somewhere about doing a layer of peat moss, then play sand, the peat, then sand and covering with the gravel. I'm kind of lost in that department. Of course, I'd like to have that figured out before I get in plants that root in the substrate.

Have only ordered frogbit to date-not received yet. Currently looking at anacharis, java fern, sags and vals. I keep looking at the "package" deals for lowlight aquariums, but mostly because I'm a little afraid to do my own thing.

I can get this package for 18.00 (plus shipping) at Bobs Tropical Plants (not REAL clear on what you get):

10 plant starter low light package. this is a great package if you are starting out and unsure what you want. i try to make sure you get foreground mid ground background and floating plants. A assortment of plants such as dwarf hair grass crypts java ferns anubias dwarf onion pennywort sags Crispus and so on.


For $30, I can get this package from Planted Aquariums Central (package is for 20 gal tank..I do have a 5 gal I can plant as well):

This package consists of :
2 x Large Java Fern
2 x Cryptocoryne Wendtii "red"
2 x Cryptocoryne Retrospiralis, or Spiralis
1 x Hornwort
1 x Marimo Ball
2" x 2" portion of Christmas Moss, or Java Moss

[Oldfishlady]

I would go with the BB size gravel for your first planted tank...you don't want to use peat moss...at least not at this point....once you have your first successful planted tank and find out how easy they are....then-move on to more challenging substrates or even the plants type substrate if you want to spend the money for them.....

The $30. package looks good-but would be better if they would swap the hornwort for water lettuce and maybe add some stem type plants instead of so many crypt...but this is a package for 20g not 10g...also depends on how big the crypts are to start...crypts are nice plants and easy low light too....if you can find out how they grew them...either emersed or submersed... they tend to melt and this is normal and will come back full force with new growth just when you think they are dead.....

You will love a planted tank.....