My 10 gallon planted aquarium build log

[Sean W.]

I am going to be starting a 10 gallon planted tank and I am going to use this thread to document everything I do for you all to see and maybe it just might inspire someone to do the same! So Enjoy, all questions, comments, concerns, suggestions and critiques are welcomed!


So the first thing i did was get some of this API First layer pure laterite to but on the bottom of the tank:

before you put it in your tank, be sure to rinse it thoroughly, as you an see it turns water brown, i dont know about you, but i hate when my aquarium water is anything but crystal clear

The next thing you do is simply put it in the bottom of the tank, i left about a 1" gap around the edges, because im not going to have any plants there, i wanted to make sure there was as much nutrients for my plants as possible. you dont use very much of this stuff, i used 20oz ( the entire package ). The instructions say to use 1oz per us gallon, so i doubled up on that. Hopefully that wont come back to bite me.

Then i capped it with regular aquarium gravel that i liked

here it is all capped, i used probably 14 pounds of gravel for about a 2" thick substrate

Then i stole 5 gallons of good cycled water from my 22 gallon tank

used the plastic fish catcher thing to puur the water into so it didnt disturb the substrate

half full of cycled water

then the rest with fresh treated tap water

here it is all full!

boiled 2 pieces of drift wood for 2.5 hours

and finally have them in a bucket to soak for as long as it takes for the water to not turn brown anymore ( probably around 2-3 weeks )

and here is a video showing the light hood i made

here it is after it all settled down and i got the Co2 system installed

 

[Lexluethar]

Nice work man. I used to have a fresh water aquarium, then i purchased a saltwater one. It's a fun hobby IMO.

Thinking about getting back into saltwater again.

Your tank looks amazing.

 

[Sean W.]

thanks for that! ive always wanted to try to do a salt water tank, and i have decided to start one a few times and gone into research mode and im always scared off. All the chemicals, protein skimmer, PH can fluctuate so easily, phosphate, there is just so many things that can go wrong so quickly on a salt water tank...

 

[Lexluethar]

Ya, but it's not as difficult as you read.

The larger the tank the more stable the environment. I think we are going to do a 10 gallon SW aquarium soon, i think while financially it's cheaper its going to be more difficult to maintain.

I had a 30 gallon aquarium for about 2 years and it survived one move. The only reason we got rid of it was because we moved again and it was going to be too difficult to keep everything alive for 3 hours.

 

[PP Mguire]

I used to have a 10 gallon when I was smaller with a couple of fish. I'm honestly too lazy for the upkeep with our water out here. I do appreciate a pretty and large tank though, especially salt water.

 

[Sean W.]

Water is still green, blegh

 

[XGC Forsakend]

Nice video.

 

[Sean W.]

thanks! i re-recorded it 3 times because i would mess up, i messed up a few times in that video, and wanted to re-record again, but decided i didnt want to record it again... haha

 

[Joe C]

We have chlorinated water out here....is it o.k. to use distilled water for a small 10 gallon tank?

 

[Sean W.]

You just gneed to get some tap water treater, it immediately removes chlorine from tap water. 1 gap full will treat 10 gallons. I have to treat every drop that goes into my fish tanks because my water is from the city, it has all the chemicals the government puts in it, chlorine, florite etc