# first attempt, 10 gal tank



## SkullX (Nov 23, 2010)

Hi Everyone,
Been on an aquarium hiatus for a while, hence I haven’t visited the forums for some time. Had to take care of some elderly dogs, which we since have lost. My daughter now asking for a Betta again, and rather than throwing together our old 2.5 or 5gal tanks, I was thinking of getting something slightly bigger and using real plants instead of plastic. I’ve read a lot of great information here about how to get the tank going, but wanted to ask a couple of questions. I am considering this Marineland 10 because its on sale at Petsmart, and I also have a manufacturers coupon...


*http://tinyurl.com/b5w9otd*
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One question I have about the tank is would anyone know if the lighting on it is good enough to use for plants? I already have some gravel and sand I can use, so I would get some substrate to mix in. 
The other questions I have are if there is a certain number of plants I should start with, and are there any particular to start with? I’ve never tried a planted tank so this is all new. Thanks folks


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

That is a nice tank, however, it doesn't look like the LED lights are rated for live plants. You might be able to keep plants like-java moss, java fern, anubias....if you had some natural light from a window to supplement.

Best plant lights are florescent 6500k-watts vary based on bulb length.


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## Stone (Jan 6, 2013)

I have that tank, the led will support java fern and anubis java moss and flame moss I know for sure, the only downside I had with this tank is the penguin biowheel 100 filter I didnt use it in the tank because of its gph 100 gallons per hour so it caused huge current it is not adjustable so you will need to baffle it and most likely use some sponge on the intake to tone it down, I did not use it for like 2 months and was going to use it on a bigger tank and it burned out in less than 24 hours so now i have to hassle with petsmart and most likely marineland to get it replaced.......but other than that it's an ok tank, but I actually like the topfin filter that comes with the petsmart topfin led starter kit better it's not adjustable but it is far from 100 gph


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## SkullX (Nov 23, 2010)

Thanks for the replies, I appreciate the advice. I'd rather learn as much as I can before dumping a lot of money into this project. Perhaps I will look into the Topfin tank. I didnt see that one at the store. Are the lights on that one any better suited than the marineland one?


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## Gale (Aug 31, 2012)

If you can use fluorescent bulbs in that hood, it should be fine. You should be able to, but I'm not sure as I've never seen that hood in person. 

Also have to join the choir here on not recommending the marineland 10 for bettas or plants. I've had mine for 5 months or so now, and while its a nice, quiet and sleek setup, the light doesn't cut it for most plants, and the filter is just too powerful for a betta. 

Anubias nana and weeping moss are doing great in mine, but everything else I've tried did not last long. My Betta also learned to deal with the current quickly, and gets plenty of exercise, but it isn't ideal. I plan on rebooting mine soon with a different filter/hood and NPT setup, if I don't talk myself into going with something bigger by then...


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## rleroy1967 (Oct 26, 2012)

If you get a 10 gallon tank you might want to get 6-8 neon's in with the Betta. That's what I have and my Betta enjoys the company.


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## SkullX (Nov 23, 2010)

Thanks for all the info, folks. So far everyone seems to be in agreement that the filter is not good for a Betta. If that is the case, is there a specific filter recommended for a 10 gallon tank?


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## Stone (Jan 6, 2013)

well tetra has a nice in tank one that is adjustable but it hangs in the tank taking up tank space, i really like the design of the topfin that hangs out of the tank its not adjustable but it is easy enough to baffle with a water bottle or sponge, I like its design the most because the is no way for any of the water to bypass going through the filter medium, but soon all of my tanks will be going npt and I wont have to use a filter very much if at all, in the next few weeks I will be getting a nice new bowfront tank 29-36 gal or so and I will do a step by step with photos of how I do it.....and where I order plants from and so on


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## rleroy1967 (Oct 26, 2012)

Nice! Definitely let us in on everything!


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## Nicci Lu (Jan 7, 2013)

I got the Tetra 10 gallon kit from Petsmart for about $30. It comes with the Whisper 10i filter, which does take up some space because it's internal, but it's pretty small. I was able to baffle the output with a sponge rubberbanded around the lip of the output so that there was hardly any current at all. If you want more surface agitation, just push the sponge down to allow more water to flow out.

The hood came with screw in incandescent lights. You don't have to worry about whether the hood lights will be good for plants. Just go to Lowes (or similar hardware store) and get some Sylvania mini compact flourescents, 13 watt 6500k. They come two in a pack, maybe $7? They fit perfectly in the hood. Voila, instant medium-low/medium light for the planted tank.


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## rleroy1967 (Oct 26, 2012)

Wow, that's a good deal on both.


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