My Planted 10 Gallon Freshwater Aquarium: A Beginner’s Guide

[SilverRanger]

Howdy this is an aquarium for someone with neither a lot of experience, nor a lot of money. It can be scary getting caught in the confusion of thousands of products and options when starting your first tank. Well, this is your thread friend.
Equipment:
Tetra 50 Watt Heater
Marineland Bio Wheel 200 GPH
Tetra 10 Gallon Tank
20 Pounds Carib-Sea Eco Complete Planted Substrate
18-24 inch NICREW SkyLED Bar Light
Filtration:
1/2 Cup Marineland Activated Carbon
Marineland Filter Floss
Fluval Biomax Media (for beneficial bacteria)
Live Stock:
2 Peacock Gudgeons
5 White Cloud Mountain Minnows
1 Otocinclus Catfish
1 Nerite Snail
Plants:
Lucky Bamboo
Cryptocoryne
Java Ferns
Java Moss
Supplements:
Seachem Flourish
Seachem Flourish Excel
Maintenance Routine:
Feed fish twice daily with high protein flake or pellet food only feeding as much as can be reasonably consumed in 2 minutes. Supplement with brine shrimp. The Ottocinclus may need an algae pellet if algae is not present. Change 2 gallons of water weekly using a siphon operated gravel vacuum. Scrub glass with sponge to remove debris. Add package recommended Seachem plant supplements as frequently as the package recommends.
Concluding Comments:
These livestock, equipment, supplement, and maintenance options have worked for me but may need to be altered to accommodate you. I am not affiliated with any above mentioned brands and am a humble customer who uses these products with success. I wish you luck and hope this article will inspire you to set up a planted tank. Always do research before assuming the responsibility of living organisms. Happy Fish Keeping!

 

[Ron Reefman]

Nice planted tank. We don't see a lot of freshwater tanks here. Thanks.

 

[hds4216]

That's almost identical to my first tank! I had a 20g long planted as my first dip into the hobby. The really high end planted tanks are incredibly cool and rival reefs in the amount of work they take.