10 gallon overhaul...phase 2

[Zerileous]

ok, well its time for the big change in my 10g.
Current livestock 5 male guppies, 3 mystery snails, 2 guppy fry (betta food).

I have aobut 20lbs of eco complete and will soon have an AC30 to compliment the Fluval 1 Plus (50 gph internal).

First things first, how should I go about aquriring plants and such that are (hopefully) snail free. Pet smart is out of the question because their stock isn't so great and also my moms tank with pet smart plants has snails now.

Second question, what is the best way to switch the substrate to eco complete? My plan is to drain most of the tank and move livestock to a bucket, then scoop out the gravel, do some cleaning, and dump in the eco complete. Anything im missing? How would I go about minimizing harm to the bio filter?

And finally, I would like some hardscape and plant suggestions. they will be under 20w courtessy of wal mart screw in CF bulbs. Right now I am thinking some drift wood to one side and a rock shelf of sort to the other side. Is hot glue safe in an aquarium for hardscaping?

zer

[ChurchofAdam]

I'm not sure about the hot glue... it'd be safer and just as easy to use clear silicone.

other thing is, the eco-complete won't give your plants much added benefit with that light. 20 watts over 10 gallons isn't a huge amount of light. that 3-5 watts/gallon rule doesn't apply to smaller tanks. also, spiral screw in CFs have a lot of restrike so you definitely don't get the full benefit. then again, if you just like the look that's fine of course.

(for the record, I found that cheap ghost shrimp actively hunt down and eat small snails)

[Zerileous]

i know the lighting isnt great, but im afraid that it will have to do for the time being. the tank is brightly lit, and grows algae well lol. I am not really looking to try advanced plants, im more interested in a low tech no co2 type setup with some basic plants (though i would like the vegetation to be dense).

thanks for the tip with the ghost shrimp, i might have to put some in my moms 5g to keep the snails under controll.

[cocoa_pleco]

if you crank the temp. to 80F, ghost shrimp get VERY rowdy. put 10 in a tank full of snails at 80F and it looks like a gang war

[Zerileous]

here is a draft of my planned aquascape, just looking for some suggestions here. i have marked the hardscape. the translucent circles represent various plant speicies.

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green = anachranis or some other tall leafy stem plant that can handle high flow
yellow = cabomba or other tall goregous stem plant
blue = java fern
pink = ground cover of some sort
maybe a moss ball or some java moss on the drift wood too

any suggestions?
ps, any pics of your 10g microreef cocoa?

[cocoa_pleco]

sounds good!

unfortunately, i wont have my camera for a while. my friend went to a wedding in calgary and i lent him my camera. i didnt have the chance to get any pics of the tank before he left

[gm72]

Do NOT use hot glue. Only use aquarium-safe silicone.

[Zerileous]

any suggestions for ground cover in this situation?

PS...when i got back from vacation day before yesterday, there was alot of algae on the tank. I went ahead and did a black out. I was checking on it 24 hrs later and found the water a very murkey green. is this dead algae or what? I went ahead and did a 3 gallon water change and am not sure what else to do. I might be adding the AC30 tonight.

thanks
zer

no big deal on the camera cocoa, just let me know when you have a chance. sounds like an interesting setup!