This is will technically be my first planted tank (I've had about a dozen Aponogeton sp. hybrid plants from Walmart for several months, but never actually had a tank full of plants). So first of all, some general specs on the setup:
size-- 10 gallons
lighting-- 2 of these 10 watt fluorescent bulbs: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Lights-of-America-10-Watt-Mini-Fluorescent-Aquarium-Bulb-1-ct/10448675
filtration-- AC20 (100gph HOB)
CO2 setup-- none
water change schedule-- about 50-75% every two weeks
temp-- 78F
pH-- neutral (around 7.4)
fish-- listed in my sig
plants-- so far, I have:
4 or 5x Pothos plants that are each about 14" (roots are in the aquarium; the rest of the plants come out of the top, next to the filter)
1x Anubias nana ~4" tall
4x java fern, each about 8-9" tall (which, from what I've read so far, is pretty tall for this species, although each plant only has two leaves...)
about a half dozen Anacharis which are floating right now, but will be planted once their roots start to grow out
1x ~4" Aponogeton sp. hybrid
1x amazon sword (which I'm hoping will grow large enough and be hardy enough to eventually be moved into my 225).
So, my questions:
Does my set up sound okay so far?
Do I need to remove the Pothos (they've been in the tank for months, but I was wondering if they might consume all of the nutrients in the water, or something)?
Is it necessary for me to set up a CO2 system?
Is my lighting appropriate for the plants I have, or should I buy some better lights?
What other plants could I add to the tank that have similar care requirements to what I have now? It is pretty empty right now, because I wanted to make sure I could take care of plants before investing too much money into them, but I will probably add more sometime.
size-- 10 gallons
lighting-- 2 of these 10 watt fluorescent bulbs: http://www.walmart.com/ip/Lights-of-America-10-Watt-Mini-Fluorescent-Aquarium-Bulb-1-ct/10448675
filtration-- AC20 (100gph HOB)
CO2 setup-- none
water change schedule-- about 50-75% every two weeks
temp-- 78F
pH-- neutral (around 7.4)
fish-- listed in my sig
plants-- so far, I have:
4 or 5x Pothos plants that are each about 14" (roots are in the aquarium; the rest of the plants come out of the top, next to the filter)
1x Anubias nana ~4" tall
4x java fern, each about 8-9" tall (which, from what I've read so far, is pretty tall for this species, although each plant only has two leaves...)
about a half dozen Anacharis which are floating right now, but will be planted once their roots start to grow out
1x ~4" Aponogeton sp. hybrid
1x amazon sword (which I'm hoping will grow large enough and be hardy enough to eventually be moved into my 225).
So, my questions:
Does my set up sound okay so far?
Do I need to remove the Pothos (they've been in the tank for months, but I was wondering if they might consume all of the nutrients in the water, or something)?
Is it necessary for me to set up a CO2 system?
Is my lighting appropriate for the plants I have, or should I buy some better lights?
What other plants could I add to the tank that have similar care requirements to what I have now? It is pretty empty right now, because I wanted to make sure I could take care of plants before investing too much money into them, but I will probably add more sometime.