10 gal. Planted Tanks

[aberkels13]

About how many live plants would you ideally want in a 10 gal. aquarium, and what kinds would be best?

[smaug]

that question is very subjective.Its a good one though.If my light were low,say around 25 watts,I would put some java ferns and some moss and with that have 3 ferns and a football size piece of moss.If I had 50 watts on it Id have some of the more colorful stem plants such as 3-5 cabombas and the same amount of ludwigia.I would also have some micro sword as a ground cover plant.Of course you would want a fertilizing substrate such as fluorite or eco complete,co2 would be recommended if you had the 50 watts at 25 id use seachem excel as my co2.

[pinsonpa]

In my opinion the number of plants to have comes down to personal preference and also the type and number of fish you have (or plan to have).

If you've never had live aquarium plants before you might stick with some easy-to-care-for varieties like Anubias Nana, Crypto Lutea, Java Fern, etc. They are low/moderate light plants and grow pretty slowly so you won't have to do much to them.

I've attached a picture of my 10 gal. which includes all of the plants mentioned above (and in that order from left to right of the tank). I have four plants total (one Anubias, one Crypto and two Java Ferns) and as you can see, I have room for plenty more. I plan to add some Jave Moss to my drift wood and some tall stem plants (Anacharis, Val. Americana, Spiralis or Cabomba) to the background. Please note that some plants (Anubias Nana, and Java Fern, etc.) will do better if they are attached to wood or a rock.

What kind of lighting do you have in your tank? What kind of fish, etc. do you plan to have? FYI: Many species of snails will eat your live plants.

I would suggest you post this question to the plants sub-forum as well. You'll get replies from people who know quite a bit about this subject. You'll get some repies here too.

[gm72]

pinsonpa, very nice little tank there.

I have three planted 10 gallon tanks. One low light and 2 medium (or so) light with 40 watts. They are very fun. Agreed with the ludwigia and cabomba idea for greater light intensities. Otherwise java ferns, crypts, etc.

[aberkels13]

thanks for both of your replies. first off, I do have a tank, the first I've had, and I decided to go towards real plants instead of fake ones a while back. my problem is, when I went to PetCo. (the only place near by that had any sort of real live aquatic plants), they gave me a ton of plants from a tank and directed me towards some of their packaged plants. now, those would have been fine, except that each package came with multiple small plants instead of a single plant, which is what I thought before, so my entire bottom is covered in a mixture of different plants (java fern, amazonian sword, Argentinian sword, multiple ferns, etc.), and I'm afraid that it might be a little too crowded, especially for a 10 gallon; I find it hard to clean, as I have to take most of the plants out just to get any room and then re-set them in the tank afterwards. since some of the plants seem to be dying i figured I could probably toss most of them and re-set it up, which is where my original question comes in.

currently, the tank has a group of 12 neon tetras, two penguin tetras, two platys, and two small catfish (one is a bronze catfish, I can't quite remember the other's name).

[gm72]

With a well planted tank vacuuming the gravel becomes somewhat counter-productive as the plants can use the mulm as food.

Sounds like your tank is overstocked, which is a concern. What filtration do you have on it and what is the water changing schedule you follow?

[Augus]

Myself just start adding live plants to my tank as well. I get live plants from other aquarist for free, pay only $5 for shipping cost. Other aquarist usually offer them for free, they trim their plants monthly instead of throwing trim plants away they offer on the forum for free all we have to do is pay $5 shipping fee.
I already got one shipment last week and there should be one at the door when I get home today :)

[smaug]

thanks for both of your replies. first off, I do have a tank, the first I've had, and I decided to go toward real plants instead of fake ones a while back. my problem is, when I went to PetCo. (the only place near by that had any sort of real live aquatic plants), they gave me a ton of plants from a tank and directed me toward some of their packaged plants. now, those would have been fine, except that each package came with multiple small plants instead of a single plant, which is what I thought before, so my entire bottom is covered in a mixture of different plants (java fern, amazonian sword, Argentinian sword, multiple ferns, etc.), and I'm afraid that it might be a little too crowded, especially for a 10 gallon; I find it hard to clean, as I have to take most of the plants out just to get any room and then re-set them in the tank afterwords. since some of the plants seem to be dying i figured I could probably toss most of them and re-set it up, which is where my original question comes in.

currently, the tank has a group of 12 neon tetras, two penguin tetras, two platys, and two small catfish (one is a bronze catfish, I can't quite remember the other's name).
as gm has stated already,vaccing a planted tank is not really a hight priority.What concerns me a bit is the type of plants you may have in your tank at the moment.You mentioned petco tube plants,many of them are not true aquatics some of the ones from there tanks are not aquatic either,such as the Brazilian sword.The trouble with those is that they will slowly break down and pollute your water and even at first when they are not rotting they are taking up very little if any nutrients.Do you have a pic of your tank?

[gm72]

Good points, Smaug. Many of the plants petco sells are not true aquatics. Good call.

[smaug]

I got stung with an "Oriental Fern" awhile back it looked really cool till it fell apart virtually overnight,it fouled my tank terribly.

[pinsonpa]

pinsonpa, very nice little tank there.


Thank you gm72! It's a work in progress, still planning some tall background plants.

Not to take us away from helping aberkels13, but I currently have plants with low/moderate light needs. Some of the faster growing stem plants that I'm looking at adding to the background seem to have higher lighting needs.

My hood is currently holding two 10w mini compact fluorescents for a total of 2 watts per gallon. Is this too bright for the plants I have? It is bright enough for some of the background plants I'm looking at (Anacharis, Cabomba, Spiralis, Val. Americana)?

[gm72]

Remember that the watts per gallon rule breaks down on small tanks and very large tanks. I don't remember the whole formula, but someone else will be around to expand on the topic.

[smaug]

Thank you gm72! It's a work in progress, still planning some tall background plants.

Not to take us away from helping aberkels13, but I currently have plants with low/moderate light needs. Some of the faster growing stem plants that I'm looking at adding to the background seem to have higher lighting needs.

My hood is currently holding two 10w mini compact fluorescents for a total of 2 watts per gallon. Is this too bright for the plants I have? It is bright enough for some of the background plants I'm looking at (Anacharis, Cabomba, Spiralis, Val. Americana)?
you do not have too much light for your existing plants,for the plants you list as wanting,you should do ok for all but the cabomba,it would grow but would be very long and leggy not very attractive at all.

[gm72]

Agreed with the cabomba. Did well at 2 watts per gallon in a 40 gallon tank for about 2 or 3 weeks but then started deteriorating. Have some now in the 10 gallon tanks, nice and bushy with 40 watts of light.

[smaug]

I had it in my tank 58,I guess I lacked enough light,I wanted it to stay compact and get bushy but it just got long and stringy and was constantly shedding its leaves.When I first bought it it had little purple flowers.