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Alright here is my current arrangement: a ten gallon tank with four khuli loaches, two cherry barbs and one male betta. I have marbles on the bottom, not really any substrate and a handful of fake plants and decorations. But I am toying with the idea of converting it to a planted tank. First off, is this realistic? And how much more work is involved? How do you 'plant a tank' and what kind of substrate do you use? And is it ok for me to go out and buy a bunch of plants stick them in the tank, and not bother the fish at all? Or will it send me into another mini cycle? Another thing, what about CO2 injections, what are those and how much does it cost to 'install' one? Thanks ^_^

Fish are like potato chips. . .you can't have just one

Hi,
Personally, I would switch to a planted tank first.
It is absolutely NOT necessary to inject CO2 to have a
lush green jungle.
What light do you have on your 10G tank? If it is
incandescent, switch to a screw in Compact Flourscent.
Go to any hardware store and purchase one labeled
DAYLIGHT or SUNLIGHT and use it. That will give you
plenty of light and it will be in the 6700K range which
is perfect for your uses.
Here is a link for that style bulb so you know what you
are looking for:

http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/diy_main/pg_diy.jsp?CNTTYPE=PROD_meta&CNTKEY=storehome/pg_storehome.jsp&cm_ven=1hd.com2AOL&cm_cat=search&cm_pla=keywd&cm_ite=tbd

This is the style I'm talking about. They come in various
wattages. Just be sure that it is DAYLIGHT or SUNLIGHT.

This specific bulb at 25 watts would give you 2.5 watts
per gallon, and in a 10G tank you should be able to grow
all sorts of plants.

Here are some tanks that might inspire you:
http://showcase.aquatic-gardeners.org/2005.cgi?&Scale=3&op=showpage&name=view-ag-s

Frank

-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

For a substrate I would get some small, natural gravel thats about 2-3mm in size. You could mix it with some flourite, or just have all gravel. My 10g is planted and I use just gravel.

Find out what type of bulb you have and if its incandescent, see what watt bulbs you can get. That will let us know what type of plants to suggest.

You don't need CO2. None of my tanks have CO2. All of them have around 2wpg...so CO2 is not needed.

*Kristin*

Hey Frank, just wanted to let you know I totally appreciate all the one on one help you have offered; tis a life saver you are

To girl, assuming I bought the light Frank suggested, would that give you any ideas on how to help me?

Thanks both of you!

Fish are like potato chips. . .you can't have just one

I am currently in the process of converting my 10g to a planted tank. The first step was to change the substrate. I, like you, had marbles. I switched to flourite. Its a clay based gravel made for plants. First I bought the gravel and rinsed it very well. I tried not to overly rinse it because flourite has trace elements I don't want to wash down the drain. After rinsing, I put all my fish and fake plants in a 2 gallon bucket of aquarium water with the filter running right on it. Then I removed the rest of the water and took out the marbles. I placed the marbles in a mesh filter bag and stuck that in he bucket with the fish to keep the bacteria alive. Then I added the flourite. I used about 15 pounds to get it 2" to 4" deep. Then I added the water using a plastic plate to keep from splashing, and I added the fish and the filter back in. Then I placed the mesh bag with the old gravel in it and I will keep it there for a total of three weeks (one week left) so that the tank doesn't go through another cycle. The whole process took about 4 hours.

Hope this helps, and good luck. The next thing I'm gonna do is add rocks and drift wood. I love khuli loaches by the way.

-Eric
"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose."