Planting my new tank for Betta

[LisaM62]

I have a 10 gallon tank hanging around collecting dust.  I have a few questions. 

 

1.  This tank has a white film on the glass that I can't get rid of.  Actually I can't tell if it's on the outside or inside of the tank.  I've tried just plain bleach, hot water and scrubbing.  Nothing.  It's still there.  Is there anything else I can try?

2.  I ordered some java moss, moss ball, baby tears, water sprite, java fern, and a Christmas moss bridge.  I don't want to put anything in that can wreck his fins.  He is going to be the only fish.  I will be adding some Amano Shrimp later.  Are there any other plants I should add or will this be plenty?

3. How long should I let the plants acclimate before I add him?

I'm open to any and all advice including substrate.  I'm planning on using black gravel and making a white "river" running thru it with some round rocks that are green in color in the "river".

[MDoc]

Sounds like a good plan. The baby tears may struggle without a decent substrate (or at least root tabs) and decent lighting, but overall, not a bad selection of plants. 

The white film sounds like hard water stains (lime/calcium buildup).  You could try a product like CLR, but you might be able to get away with plain old vinegar.  Just make sure to rinse everything super well after cleaning. There are videos out there about how to prep an old tank for use. 

Personally, I don't acclimate plants. So as long as the tank is cycled, you should be able to add the betta whenever you're ready. 

[LisaM62]

I have root tabs and Easy Green (?).  I'll try vinegar.  Hopefully that will take care of it.  I'm not rushing a thing.  I have a lid with LED lights.  I'm worried the betta will pull up the plants.  Don't they like to move rocks around?

[H.K.Luterman]

I've never had a betta bother the plants or move anything. Some will chase shrimp and eat them, but that varies from betta to betta. My current one likes to flare at the ramshorn snails and neos in his tank, but he doesn't try to hurt anything. 

[Odd Duck]

Sometimes old tanks, or tanks that have been neglected, can have the glass etched by chronic algae or mineral deposits.  Or it can be super fine scratches.  Think about how polishing something uses finer and finer grit until it’s perfectly smooth.  The scratches can be at “fine” to the point where we can’t feel it as an actual scratch, but not fine enough to be “polished”.

I’ve had tanks that no amount of vinegar or scraping would clear that cloudy haze. 

It’s possible to have tanks polished, which is sometimes done on big, expensive tanks, but it wouldn’t really make sense for a small tank that’s much cheaper to just replace.

If repeated vinegar cleaning doesn’t clear it, it’s not likely that anything short of polishing will clear it.