Reddit reviews Ecology of the Planted Aquarium: A Practical Manual and Scientific Treatise

Gunna second the suggestion to look up the Walstad method.

The short version: it's a method of using potting soil topped with gravel, you overstuff the tank with plants and set it up with a light. I don't have a filter on mine, though I did plug one in for the first day or two of my tank to clear up the dirt and stuff floating after I set it up, it helped a lot, but I havent had one since then.

It's based on a book, it's a boring read but pretty informative on the whole theory: https://www.amazon.com/Ecology-Planted-Aquarium-Practical-Scientific-ebook/dp/B00DB94K5I

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This playlist is what inspired me to try it myself, and then I got the book to have on hand, a good watch: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2155euLw9DN6EU2zBTlDj8-q572aZv7w

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This is the most highly recommended resource on how to create and maintain an inexpensive, soil aquarium: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DB94K5I

I love the AquaClear filters. The 30 may be overkill on a 10G tank with just shrimp in it, but I sure don't see anything wrong with it. :) Their bioload will be pretty low, and you can always turn down the output if the flow is too much for them.

I'm not sure about the heater — I don't have any experience with the pre-set kind, and I'm not sure how accurately they're calibrated or anything. I always recommend Eheim Jager Trutemp heaters, though, and they're reasonably priced on Amazon if you're considering returning the one you have.

Plants! Plants are terrific, and they can be beautiful, too. :) The first thing you should do for plants is decide how much work you want to put into maintenance. If you want something that's pretty much set-it-and-forget-it, I'd go with root tabs for fertilizers or a dirt substrate capped with gravel. (There's a phenomenal book out there called Ecology of the Planted Aquarium by Dr. Diana Walstad that's really readable and full of great information on using dirt to provide nutrients for your plants.) Both of these methods are great for beginners, the lazy, and people who want to spend the majority of the time looking at their tanks instead of working on/in them. The root tabs aren't as messy initially, but the dirt doesn't need to be replaced. (You'd probably want to replace the root tabs every few months.) Next, join us in /r/PlantedTank. That sub is a terrific resource for planted tanks!

You can use either sand or gravel. I'd go with something black to make your cherries stand out better. There's black Flourite, black sand, black Eco Complete... I'm sure there are lots of options out there that I'm not familiar with, too. If you choose sand, make sure the bag isn't marked "not for use in aquariums" — a lot of that stuff will probably make a huge, cloudy mess in your tank.

For lights, I recommend Finnex LEDs if you decide to go the LED route. A FugeRay or FugeRay Planted+ would provide terrific light for a 10G tank. Current USA also makes a fixture (the Satellite+) that's totally customizable in really cool ways, but has a lower plant-useful light output than the FugeRay or Planted+. Personally, I think Marineland and Fluval lights are hella overpriced, but they're probably not bad lights. If LEDs aren't your bag, though, I'm a lot less helpful since I don't have any experience with using other types on tanks. :) Really, though, you can get away with some pretty cheap options, like a couple of desk lamps with CFLs in them if you want to!

Hope this helps!

Diana Walstad's Ecology of the planted tank covers a decent amount of this.

Freshwater chemistry is a broad term, since it encompasses many different fields, including wastewater treatment, aquaponics, fertilization, and other ecology. You most likely will have a hard time finding a "one ring to rule them all" approach to literature.

I feel like we did a good job of covering a lot of the meat in these topics in the Planted Tank part of our wiki, of which I am a major author on. Let me know if you have specific things you want to learn more about and I can link you some papers/further reading.

> https://www.amazon.com/Tetra-Clarifier-Aquarium-Treatment-Solution/dp/B0002DI1WO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1536594605&sr=8-1&keywords=tetra+water+clarifier

I have to disagree with this product- or any 'clumping' type clarifier.

First, it's probably bacterial bloom from:

a. big difference in ph between tap water and tank water.

b. not using a chlorine remover that also removes chloramines.

c. replacing filter material instead of lightly rinsing it in tank water and re-using it.

d. over vigorous gravel vacuuming.

All of those will kill a % of nitrifying bacteria. The bloom is basically bacteria attempting to re-establish itself.

If you knock the bacteria down with a clarifier it will 'smother' it. Also, according to Walstad the 'sticky' clumping material will also clog fish gills because of ionization.

If you want to add something to the tank to speed the process, add some nitrifying bacteria.

Check out this book: Ecology of the Planted Aquarium

Read through it and you will know more than most people with an aquarium. Armed with this knowledge you could have a miniature underwater forest for a fraction of the cost and headache of most aquariums.