Do a 35% water change every week, nice thing is gravel vacuum not necessary, just hover to clean the fish crap. When the plants start to thrive stock fish slowly. As far as efficiency if you go planted start the tank with tap water and plants from the begining. I prefer planted aquariums for there natural ability to 'nitrify' the water but mostly because of the beauty and compliment to your fish.If you want live plants then a UGF is out of the question. Use 'Flourish Excel' along with 'Flourish Comprehensive Plant Supplement' for fertilizer. Use 'Florite' by seachem as your gravel/substrate. Java ferns and java moss are very good lowlight 'beginner' plants. Plants need mostly Red and Blue so the daylight bulbs are full spectrum. Soft White, Cool White are no good as they are to yellow and green. On the package and base of the bulb itself it says 6500K. They are marked 'Daylight',and are made by 'Lights of America'. Walmart has 2-packs 15-35 watt per bulb for about $8. If you have an incadescent fixture exchange the bulbs for the compact florescent spiral type. Any red or purple plants need at least 3.5-4 watts per gallon. Try to getat least 30Watts flourescent, 6500K 40watts may be better cause of depth factor. Octoganl tanks are usualy hard to light because of their depth and small surface area. If you can't find them locally, check out aquarium plant sellers online. They don't need a lot of bright light and won't overgrow your tank. If you want to get live plants that will do well in a 10, try an Anubas Petite and a few Crypts. Generally, it's best to set up tanks by region, for instance, an Amazon tank, with soft, slightly acidic water would be ideal for small Amazon tetras such as Neons, but the best water for them, would not be good for Gups. The Platys and the Gup prefer harder water and a higher Ph than the Gouramis and the Tetra, but that can also depend on which species of Tetra you have. One of the greatest problems with too many aquarium owners, is not understanding that not all fish have the same water parameter needs and mixing them can lead to unhappy, if not dead fish. A tiny pinch wouldn't harm the Plays or the Gup, but would NOT be appreciated by the Gouramis or the Tetra. As long as you keep your tank clean and your fish seem to be doing fine, leave off the salt.
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