Hello all,

I am a new member of the Barr Report. So, again, hello!

I am setting up a small tank next to my desk, and decided on a 7-gallon mini-bow since I have always liked this little setup. I read Tom's article on low light no CO2 tanks and thought that sounded just up my alley. I have a hagen aquaclear 20 (formerly mini) and the standard 14w light strip that comes with the setup. I have a bag of Onyx sand ready to go in there on top of the leonardite that I have on order.

My first question is suggestions for foreground plants. I would love something very small like glossostigma. I have heard it will do well under 2w/gallon, but does it need CO2 to do well? I saw they have Marsilea minuta at www.floridadriftwood.com and thought this might be a good alternative. Anyone have any experience with this plant? Other options I have looked at are Crypt. parva, or Anubias ‘nana petite’ but I would prefer a smaller plant like glosso or the M. minuta.

My second question is about stocking levels. I would like to have a betta and some algae eaters. I figured some shrimp for hair algae control. For something to clean the glass and plants I was thinking of trying Olive Nerite snails. But my question is this? How much bio-load do snails and shrimp contribute? I know the 1”/gallon isn’t an exact science, but does a 1” shrimp = 1” of bio-load as a fish would? And a 1/2” diameter snail would seem to me like it would have the same biomass as a 1” fish.

I’m sure I’ll have some other questions as I set this up, but that is it for now. Any feedback, about my questions, or advice in general would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks for taking the time to read this,
AZ Burns

Most plants can be grown in non-CO2 tanks ... the rate of growth may just be slower than the turbo-charged growth so often forced on aquatic plants in the modern high-tech environments ...

So don't be afraid of trying any plants that you may want to try ... just be reasonable in your expectations of what kind of growth rate to expect ...

Most people would be better off with a much lower "tech" environment than most of us currently have ...

Greg