Hi everybody,

So i just wanted to ask you guys for some opinions and feedback on the start of my 10 gallon high tech tank. I haven't set it up yet, and probably won't be setting it up for a while, but i wanted to figure out  the basic setup. My plan for this tank is too have good substrate, high light, DIY co2, and ferts. I want it to really be a pretty showcase and something that i can look at and just love the beautiful growth! So i hope you enjoy! Lets get too it...

Inhabitants:

This is for my betta Winston or Sampson. I'm not sure which one will be going in there yet but i will figure it ou when the time comes. I also was planning to get some otocinclus cats to help clean the algae as well as some shrimp such as RCS or amano shrimp. I also was thinking about possibly adding a small school of cories and maybe a shoal of neon tetras or some type of tetra once the tank has been cycled and has started to balance out and develop.

Lighting:

I am planning on using The Odyssea T5HO 20 inch fixture. Here is a link too it...

http://www.aquatraders.com/20-inch-4x18W-T5-Aquarium-Light-Fixture-...

IT has a total of 72 watts which i find is overkill and too much light on a 10 gallon. So instead i will probably run it with either 3 bulbs for 54 watts of light, or 2 bulbs for a total of 36 watts of light. It seems like a good deal and is really cheap for what you are getting!

Substrate:

I feel like substrate is very important in planted tank. Roots grow in the substrate which is the fundamental for building most plants. Having good roots is important. So i just need some suggestions on what i should do. Here are my two options right now but i'm open to others too!

1.) Do dirt as my bottom layer and then put a slight layer of moler clay on top. After this i would cap both of them with some eco complete.

2.) Use just the moler clay and Eco complete and make the moler clay a little bit deeper. Possibly supplement with root tabs.

I have no clue on what i want to do. I have heard that if its dirted then i shouldn't use ferts on it and i feel like with dirt, the excess nutrients combined with my high lights will cause a good amount of algae growth too happen. It's not a big deal for me but  have to wait a while for the tank to stabilize before i get the otos. I also feel like dirt adds a lot of benefits and i have 4 or 5 tanks that are dirted right now, and most of them i have seen great results from! So i honestly don't know what to do. I want to know if i did just the moler clay and the eco complete would i have to supplement with root tabs?

Aquascaping/Plant Selection:

I'm not completely positive on all of the plants but i want the centerpiece to be a nice piece of driftwood with a lot of branches coming off of it. Then i want to tie things like riccia fluitains and java moss and java fern to the driftwood. After this i want to have some dwarf sag in the front, surrounding the base of the driftwood in the front. After this i want to try having Glossostigma elatinoides in the front right. Then i will probably have some crypt parva as well as possibly trying wither dwarf baby tears, or dwarf hairgrass. For the mid-ground, i want to have crypts surrounding the driftwood. I want to have a variety of different crypts, because i think they have great colors and look sweet once established into the tank. I will also have stargrass on the right side, but the midground is still developing and i haven't exactly thought of all the plants that i'm going to put there yet. Then i want to have Ludwigia Repens, Bacopa, and Wisteria in the background. I also may have Rotalla indica either in the mid-ground or background. I may also incorporate some small stones into the scape, just to give it some more character. I may also spready the glosso into different sections of the foreground and see how well it does.

EDIT: For the foreground i am pretty sure i will be having Eleocharis parvula and Glossostigma elatinoides. I want to have some dwarf sag in there too, but i'm not sure on it yet. Mid-ground will be crypts, stargrass, and ludwigia repens i think. Then the background will be Rotala nanjenshan, Bacopa, Ludwigia inclinata var verticillara "cuba", and some type of redish plant. I might take out one of the background plants for a total of three background plants, so it's not to busy. What do you think?

Fertilization:

I am planning to use a lot of the flourish products. I have never dosed a tank with ferts so i'm rather new to the whole concept. I have seen that a lot of people use and love ferts though, and i figured it would greatly improve my plants health as well. I'm planning on getting flourish excel, flourish plant supplement, and then possibly something else like dry ferts or maybe get the trace or potassium, as i get a lot of holes in my leaves in other tanks for some reason, but i don't dose in any of my tanks right now so maybe its just some issue with my water.

Co2:

People kept telling me that if i was going to have a high tech tank i need co2 and i also need co2 to work with the light or else the plants wouldn't have co2 to take in. I looked online, and cost of the systems were really expensive. I'm just a kid and on a tight budget so i need to be thrifty! Instead i have decided to just do a DIY co2 system. This will add some co2 too the tank and will help benefit the plants while being inexpensive yet effective. I may just get a regular diffuser though just so i get more co2 dissolved in the water, instead of it coming up and just dissolving into the air.