# 10 Gallon Tank Plans



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

Okay, I got a 10g tank at the beginning of the month. It's the AquaCulture kit with the 5-15 filter and hood. I set it up and put my new betta fish (Twlight) in it.

The thing is, I want to divide it. I'm going to be getting #7 craft canvas and white report covers. I've been wondering though if glue from a hot glue gun would be safe. I say this because I can't find any aquarium sealant at my walmart, and it's $10 from walmart.com for a small thing of it. Which may seem not much to some people but my family is being really tight on money due to some things going on. And what stores might have aquarium sealant? BTW, we don't have any petstores around.

On another note, I'll also be getting some more fake plants and some gravel. They have fake silk plants in the fish section, but I'd get more coverage with a package of 3 other fake plants. What do you think I should go with?

Last but no least, I can't decide which betta fish I would put on the other divided side. I have another male betta (Valentine) and a female (Azure) who is housed lone surviving guppy (Speckles, who has a shredded tail because of said male betta). Which ever betta goes in the 10g, the other goes in the 2.5g. The guppy stays with my female betta.

So yea, that's pretty much it. I would appreciate people answering my questions.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Hot glue can be used as long as it's 100% glue and no other additives.

And probably the package of 3 as long as they're silky or fabric and not plastic. You can use fake leaf packages from the craft sections of wal-mart as well. Rinse them off well and in they go, as long as there isn't any metal in them they're safe :-D

And I would put both males in the divided tank although 2.5 isn't much room for a girl and a guppy. So I change my mind, put the girl and the guppy into the other side and give Valentine the 2.5


----------



## Rana (Apr 27, 2013)

I tried using hot glue for my dividers, and before I put water in the tank it was fine but as soon as the glue got wet it failed to stick to the glass. I believe that hot glue is aquarium safe if allowed to cool completely before being put into the water, but it doesn't hold up well.

I bought my sealant for $5 for 3oz, which is quite a lot, on Amazon but I don't know how much it would be in a store. You can usually find it at Home Depot/Lowes or other hardware stores, the important thing is that it must say it is 100% silicone and must _not_ contain any fungicides/mildew resistance, since that will poison the water. The big sizes that comes in a round tube you need a special gun to use, but the tooth-paste looking tubes you can just squeeze. Honestly I think used maybe a third of an ounce for my dividers, and they're nice and sturdy, so you can use a dinky little tube no problem.

You can also make dividers without anything to hold them in place, you just need to have extra mesh so that instead of going straight across they curve- this tension, plus the gravel on the bottom, will hold them in place. 

As for who goes where, I would put the female & guppy on one side and the shredded male on the other and keep the quarrelsome male in his own tank, but that's just my opinion.


----------



## peachii (Jan 6, 2013)

I use sealant Waterproof Silicone made by GE for Window/Door - have to make sure it is 100% silicone with *no additives*. It's completely fish/aquarium safe and holds up just as well as aquarium sealant, plus it's super cheap. You have to buy one of those caulking guns but it's still cheap with that added on. Have had no issues with it and it lasts forever as the tubes are huge compared to things of aquarium sealant.


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

Thanks you guys for all your responses.

I'm going to Azure and her guppy friend iin the 10g once it's divided. Valentine isn't quarrelsome, but he got a little nippy when I put 3 guppies in there with him. 2 of the guppies died from illness about a week after I got them, but I managed to save the one and since then he has resided with Azure in her 1.5g. Yes, I know, it's too small. But they're going to have an upgrade soon, and Azure has never shone any violent tendacies. She's a sweetheart.

As for the plants, my walmart downgraded their craft section and when I went there last (yesterday) I don't remember seeing plants in the craft section. So I think I might be stuck with plastic. As it is, since I'm moving next month I think I'll grab the silk plants while I can, because Azure's plants will be going in with her. After I'm moved and all, I'll get more plants for coverage.

My walmart doesn't have mesh, but my dad's does and I asked if he'd buy me some next time I visited and he said probably. Last time I was there we also took a looksy for dividing supplies and looked at sealant in the home repair and glue in the craft section. He also suggested his help with setting it up, so I'll tell him about the no additives/funicides/mildew/it has to be 100% silicone. If I do decide to use glue or whatnot, Twilight will be residing in a 1 gallon bowl for a few days. But I might try the no glue/silicone way first.


----------



## OrangeAugust (Jul 23, 2012)

I didn't use glue on my DIY dividers. The width of the mesh with the report binders on each side fit perfectly in my 10 gallon tank. They moved a tiny bit so I used suction cups, one on each side of the divider, to keep it in place. So check the fit of your dividers first. you might not need glue.


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

Alrighty then, I will.  Although I have no clue where to get suction cups. And how did you put them on your divider? I was thinking some string, like thread, but... not to sure how that would work.


----------



## OrangeAugust (Jul 23, 2012)

DreamerHorse said:


> Alrighty then, I will.  Although I have no clue where to get suction cups. And how did you put them on your divider? I was thinking some string, like thread, but... not to sure how that would work.


Hehe the suction cups came off my heaters that I didn't use anymore and I just suctioned them to the glass on either side of the divider and they come with that heater attachment part so they're high enough to keep it in place... you can probably find regular suction cups at a store, though.


----------



## LADY K (Jul 28, 2012)

i use the little suction cups that you use to hang your christmas lights in your windows .


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

Interesting. I'll keep the suction cup thing in mind. ^.^ I'm thinking of putting some rocks over the gravel... I'll probably be getting white or black. I haven't decided on the color yet though, depends on what walmart has. My dad did the same thing with his new betta, with putting rocks over the gravel, except it's glass stones.


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

I got a 1 gallon bucket filled with gravel from the beach. Any tips on preparing the gravel for tank use?


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Umm I would probably boil it, probably the best way to go. Although I know rocks can explode sometimes when exposed to heat for too long so you might want to google on how long you can boil them.

If not you can rinse them out with hot tap water, let them sit in hot tap water and change the water every 8 hours or so so it stays mostly hot. Do that for a few days to get rid of any salt and other bacteria that might be lurking in there. Rinse out again and let soak in 4x conditioned hot tap water, again change every 8 hours or so (twice a day will be fine) and do that for a few days and it should be safe after that.

But I would definitely prefer the boiling method and then use the 4x conditioned water after that.


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

If I asked my mom to boil rocks she'd get all hissy fitty on me. I'll ask.  BTW the beach is freshwater. Shelbyville beach in Illinois.


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

Heres a picture of the gravel. Its a mixture of very little sand and tiny little rocks. Would it be safe to put a plant in?


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Oh okay, freshwater is good. I'd still do the bucket method with the hot tap water to get rid of any nasty stuff.

And are you saying okay to put a plant in the tank or a plant from the beach into the tank?


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

A live plant from Walmart.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Oh okay, yeah sure! All my tanks have plants and I love them :-D what kind of plant are you going to get?


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

I don't know, they usually only have like 1 or 2. So I might not be able to get one at first at all, cause they might be out of stock. But a list of starter plants would be nice.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Certainly!

Java Fern, Java Moss, Anubias, Rotala, Ludwigia, Water wisteria, Water sprite, Cryptocorynes, Vallisneria, Cabomda, Hornwort, Pennywort, Moneywort, and that's about all I can think about right now lol most of those are low light requirements as well which is good


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

Okay, I'll look for those. Thanks for the list. I plan on getting a female guppy or two as well after I get the divider up and quarantine tank free. Not for breeding, but for a tankmate as when I last had a group of male guppies they got real nippy to the point of losing scales. -_-

Oh, and what about plant bulbs from walmart? any good?


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

I think my walmart sells Amazon Swords. It's that or Anubias. Either way, I think I'm going to get Aponogeton bulbs for $3. I can't find lighting requirements though


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Ehhhh I warn you, bulbs nearly never sprout because they're usually just duds that they want to make money off of. But you're more than welcome to try, just a warning.

Probably Anubias, a nice easy low light plant. You just can't bury the rhizome in the gravel, the roots can go in just not the part that the roots come out of on bottom and the leaves shoot from on top.

Amazon swords on the other hand are heavy root feeders and benefit greatly from root tabs fr fertilizer, otherwise they get soft and might die off. They are also moderate to high light plants and grow over a foot tall. So if you don't have a big tank, I don't suggest them lol Anubias is great though! I haven't managed to kill mine yet and I've had it for a year ^_^


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

Thanks for the warning. If they never sprout, and I've looked at the reviews and people said that it's a 50% chance, then I'll just take them back and demand a refund for dud plant bulbs. xD

Pretty sure it was Amazon Swords. Unless I can find root tabs I'll stay away from them.

I was thinking of having my dad boil or bake the beach gravel, but I'm worried about them exploding, so I'm just going to soak them in hot hot water for 3 days, rinse them thoroughly, and then condition the water they're soaking in 4x.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Yeah I tried them once but they were both duds :-( but yes you've got a 30 day warantee on them from the company, not sure if wal-mart will take them back though.

And they don't have to be boiled long, maybe 5 minutes but yeah I think the soaking in hot hot water is probably the best thing to do. Just change it every so often, as I said twice a day is ideal so that it get's rid of whatever they leeched out. You may want to use a few different containers so it's easier to lift to a sink and all. I use regular tupperware containers or any plastic bowls are fine, the bigger ones of course


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

We'll see about it then. I'll take my chances,

The bucket is from Easter, so my two sisters have one as well. I'll just dump half the gravel into one and soak it like you said.

I've gotten rocks from there before. It was a different section of beach, they were pebble sized, and I rinsed in hot water and they were fine. I haven't had any problems with them.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Yup that's fine. Even if they were fine before, better to take caution than get one of your fish sick!


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

Yup. I'm at my dad's right now so I can't do anything yet, but I'll be sure to get on it when I go home.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Np ^_^ I understand totally lol, I go back and forth between mom and dad's house and all my fish stuff is at my dad's 

Should look really nice though when you put it in! ^_^


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

Yea, beach gravel and rocks always looks great. I visit my dad every 2-4 weeks or so. I don't have internet at home, so I take what I can there. xD

I found a petstore in Shelbyville, near where my dad lives. They sell bettas, but no good food. I'm going to ask my dad if we can take a looksy when we go back today. I just want to get an eye for what they sell, so if I ever need something and Walmart doesn't sell it, I can ask my dad if we can get it there.

I've also been thinking about adding moss to my tank, but I'd have to order it. My mom isn't too fond of ordering things. I've only ordered something like once, and it was a few years ago.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Ahh gotcha, ugg no internet? That sucks :/

Yeah always nice to take a gander at different stores, I certainly do haha

Java Moss is great moss! Grows well and fast and doesn't need too much light to grow! I'm trying to get mine covering my driftwood as well or just enough that I can start using it in other tanks as well ^_^ looks great too :-D


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

Nope, no internet. When I'm at home I use weak internet signals on my DSi. It defintely sucks.

There's no petstore where I live a few towns from my dad, and previous no ones that I knew of by my dad. But I saw the name when we passed it, googled it, found they have a facebook page, and asked them about betta fish and food. Their response made me hopeful that they'll add Omega one or New Life Spectrum to the things they sell.

I've heard great things about moss. After I've got the tank all set up with the beach gravel, divider, and plants, I'll try and get me some.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

That's sounds great! Two fish foods that I and my Betta's both love ;-) That's fantastic though :-D

Yeah moss really is fantastic, my girls like to swim through theirs too, looks almost like they are being pet by it


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

Yea, I've been wanting to upgrade on food for a while. They do requests on pets and fish, and supplies, so we'll see. I'm hoping that they have aquarium sealant, more plants, and some moss.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Lol I was going to inquire what size tank this is XD and then I looked at the title and chuckled to myself lol

So are you getting more gravel or is the one bucket enough to cover it all or are you mixing? Totally not really related to anything, but I was just wondering lol

You can use regular sealant from wal-mart, you just need to find one that is 100% silicone with no additives or repellents of mold/mildew is all. But of course it is easier to just find regular aquarium silicone lol


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

Lol. The 1 gallon bucket should be enough, and then I'll put some of the rocks in the tank on to of the beach gravel. I'll look at the silicone at the beginning of the month, but I figure if the petstore has sealant, why not go for it when I can? I'm going to try the way withought sealant first though.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Oh yeah, I agree about the sealant, just I was just letting you know as well  my wal-mart doesn't carry any that's 100% since last I looked (few months ago) but you never know :-D

So 1 gallon to cover all 10 gallons? Usually you use 2 pounds of gravel per gallon, but this is your tank! Don't want to intrude or nothing, just curious lol I should just be a cat so I can be named Curiosity >.<


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

Yea. The 100% silicone sealant doesn't look promising.

As for gravel, I can always get more and repeat the cycle of preparing it, but it took a long while of collecting it. So I'm hoping that won't be the case. I thought it was 2.5 pounds of gravel for 10 gallons? The bucket is awfully heavy.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Usually it's just 2 pounds.

You know I'm being silly, you said it was a 1 gallon bucket right? I kept thinking that it was only 1 pound of gravel lol, yeah it should be enough then XD that's what I get for reading things wrong and assuming! lol


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

Lol, it happens to the best of us. I'm thinking if this goes well I might just plant and cycle the 2.5g with the same beach gravel.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Lol I blame my ADHD, who doesn't these days >.<

But that's great! I think I might go down to my river and see what I can pick up there. Currently I took plants from my Pond and if they survive the few months in QT and grow well, they can go into my sorority tank ^_^

Oh just be careful about taking from other private lands and state lands, many times it is illegal if they catch you, but otherwise should be fine  I'm currently on the hunt for some nice driftwood pieces!


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

I'll be careful next time.  I don't do this very often anways, and I'm sure there are others who do this. lol.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Lol yeah probably, just wanted to give you a heads up is all! I take wood/gravel/rocks from my local river but obviously the livestock stays there ^_^


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

Yea. Thanks for that. 

My dad said yes to visiting the pet store when we visit the beach so I can't wait to take a looksy.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Yay! Hopefully they've got some good stuff for you ^_^


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

They hardly have anything. -_- I got a used plant but that's it. *sigh*


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

oh....well that sucks :-(

A used plant? As in live or fake?


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

fake. xD My dad bought it for me.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Ah okay, well that's sweet of him ^^


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

Yup. I was thinking of adding some driftwood too, but decided it wasn't worth it right now. I don't want to think of the unmentionables that could be in driftwood.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Eh, nothing a good boiling won't take care of! haha

My DW still has some moldy stuff on it but it went away after a little while but you'll get mold on it no matter how much scrubbing and soaking you do to it. Cory's and algae eaters help to get rid of it though :-D


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

Lol yea. Maybe sometime else. ^.^ My dad doesn't agree about the whole boiling thing but then again my dad isn't an expert on fish. xP


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Lol yeah, neither am I, I just know a few things here and there ;-)

Boiling doesn't have to be long, 5 minutes will suffice but it will literally kill all sorts of parasites that might be living there if found from the wild.


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

Yea. I'm thinking of dividing the tank for all of my fish (3 slots). It'd be a little cramped but it'd work. Only problem, the filter is an external filter and I'd either have to get a different hood or different filter.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Yeah my 10 gallon is divided in 3! It's not cramped, they each get about 3.3 gallons still  I actually don't use a hood on my 10 gallon but I keep the water down about 2-2.5 inches. External filter as in a hang on back (HOB)? Your hood should have a slot for that that you can break out.


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

It does, but it would mean one fish wouldn't get 3.3. If the filter was shoved all the way to the side, sure. Either way, I might just go hood less, put both tetra heaters on both ends, and the filter in the middle. That sound good?


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

You won't need two heaters, that might actually fry them. I suggest just two filters, one at each end. I have one HOB at the right side of the tank and the heater is next to it (the flow is diverted with a water bottle baffle) so the heat is dispersed through the whole tank and then I have an internal filter on the other end that is facing inward to create more flow.


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

That sounds really good. And you have a point with the heaters, I was just worried that the tetra heaters might not be able to keep up with a 10g. I have an internal Tetra Whisper filter, it takes medium sized filter cartridges and has an adjustable flow.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Ah, yeah no they'll be fine. I also use the Tetra 50 watt heater on my 10. I've got the Aqua-Tech 5-15 from wal-mart and a Marina mini filter


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

I've got the AquaTech 5-15 too. ^.^ And I have more than enough fake plants until I can get real.  I actually can't wait to get the report covers and get started. It's going to be fun getting them all in one space with less plugins being taken up.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Yeah! I never siliconed mine, I just used Mesh and made it tight fitting but I want to do the silcone and the dividers like that because it just looks nice, not messy if you do it right :-D


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

Silicone sounds good, but it seems like it would a little bit of effort removing, so I'm not gonna bother unless I have problems. xD With two tanks free, I might end up getting another betta. I really want a half moon, but am forced to drool at my dad's half moon Casper. Sigh... Someday I will.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Ah well, I wouldn't remove the dividers if they were siliconed in, that's the thing. They'll stay there until I really don't want them. And you just silicone the report binder spine part, not the mesh so you can remove the mesh if you wanted


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

I know, but until I one day find silicone that is safe, it'll have to do.

Have younoticed we've been rambling? lol. xD


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

I know, but until I one day find silicone that is safe, it'll have to do.

Have you noticed we've been rambling? lol. xD


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Lol totally but that's fine XD


----------



## RussellTheShihTzu (Mar 19, 2013)

I'll let you know how the suction cup divider holders work. The have a slot you can slide the divider down. The slot is 1/16" from the wall of the tank between two suction cups.


----------



## DreamerHorse (Dec 22, 2012)

Thanks Russel.

Lilnaugrim; it's alright with me too. ^.^


----------

