I would like to plant a 10 gallon tank, but I've never had live plants before. The tank is already set up and has been for about 8 months. I've had fish in the tank for the full 8 months but I need to move them into a biger tank (in about a week). The tank has an undergravel filter and a Whisper Filter.
I would like to change the gravel that is in it.
And I would also like to make it a home for 3 or 4 dwarf puffers...?
Do I need any special gravel?
Will I be able to keep the undergravel filter?
Answers:
I am not sure why infoman would suggest what he did, but it would seem that he is guessing.
In order to have a successful planted tank you need to consider what the plants need to live. They need light to photosynthesize. No way around that. Not just any light will work. We are talking about 2-4 watts of 6500k-8000k spectrum light per gallon. This gets costly, quickly. Also, they need CO2. Fish exhalation is nowhere near enough. CO2 injection can be quite expensive, or quite cheap depending on if you use compressed CO2, or DIY CO2 injection. Both types require equipment used to dissolve the gas into the water. Keep in mind that by agitating the water surface, like with bubble stones, you are allowing most of the dissolved CO2 to escape back into the air. Additionally, plants thrive best with special substrates. A product called 'Eco-Complete' works well here. Some people even swear by under-gravel heaters. This causes convection, pulling nutrients down to the roots. Also, consider the cost of the plant packages (retail bundles of aquatic plants) available. Planting a tank is not simply putting live plants into an aquarium.
I am not trying to scare you away from planting your tank. Hopefully, my post will prevent some frustration and/or wasted money! While it can get costly, I feel that by planting your aquarium, you are creating a healthy, beautiful home for your fish. The following are some links to references which I found helpful when planting my tank.
dont need anything special most under water plants will grow anywhere just read up on the kind of plants your are planting . heres a great site ask many answer to fish and tanks http://www.ocsarfish.com
Jason is right as far as everything about plants and lighting and I won't even try to improve on that, but your question also was about whether you could make a 10 gallon tank home to 3-4 dwarf puffers, and the answer to that is no. Dwarf puffers, dwarf though the name may say, can still grow to 1 foot long and one puffer alone needs 30 gallons of water. So, you are either going to need to re-think your choice of fish, or invest in a 60-75 gallon tank for those 3-4 puffers. Good luck with everything!
you need to buy a hornwort plant. I got one of those and some anacharis for my tank and the hornwort has grown a foot in a month. i didn't use any kind of substrate for it i just dropped it in the water and it is growing wonderfully.
Now I don't know anything about the puffers but I suggest you research it some before you put them in the tank.
no need for anything special. most plants grow in regular gravel. you can keep the filter and the gravel. the fish will be great for this tank. for these fish any plant will be good just make sure you know how much light and how to care for them.
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