# Natural Planted Tank



## Bettawolf19 (Jul 15, 2010)

Bit of an update on my older post: http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=72522

So far I have the plants ordered the tank soiled and in the submerged stage. For soil I used Earthgro's Potting Soil and washed(like 3 hours worth of washing) play sand. I have the lighting all good just have to edit a piece of arcrylic I got to hold the lights because they are a few inches short from holding on their own. I also have a 20 gal back up tank as well as a 10-15" Driftwood centerpiece for the 10 gallon. 

My list of plants:
*1* 10" Melon Sword
*2* x 6" Amazon Swords
*16* Water Wisterias
*3* x 3" Sagittaria Sublata Dwarf
*16* 8" Ludwigia Arcuata
*16* Hygrophilia Angustifolia
*16* 8" Rotala Indica
*1* Cryptocoryne Moehlmannii

Pictures so far:


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## youlovegnats (Feb 23, 2011)

Sounds like it will be super cool!! I can't wait to see when it's finished!


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## Alex09 (Aug 9, 2010)

It's hard to tell from the pic but it looks like you have mud and water in the tank? I just recently converted my 2.5 gal into a NPT and that was my first mistake. When I poured in the gravel all the muddy brown water went to the top and the tank was a mess. I just dumped everything out, put in dry dirt, capped it with gravel, and SLOWLY and GENTLY added water. Water was crystal clear


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## RobertTheFish (Jun 6, 2011)

Good luck fitting all those plants in there.

Keep us posted, I'd love to see how it turns out. I just started a natural soil myself. Over a week later and my water is still tea colored, but I'll live.


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

Interesting! I plan on doing this with my 45g we're setting up over the winter  Keep us posted, that's a lot of plants (well to me, I don't own a single live plant!)


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## Bettawolf19 (Jul 15, 2010)

Alex09 said:


> It's hard to tell from the pic but it looks like you have mud and water in the tank? I just recently converted my 2.5 gal into a NPT and that was my first mistake. When I poured in the gravel all the muddy brown water went to the top and the tank was a mess. I just dumped everything out, put in dry dirt, capped it with gravel, and SLOWLY and GENTLY added water. Water was crystal clear


I'm using what OldFishLady told another here:http://www.bettafish.com/showthread.php?t=72157&page=2

"Once you get your plants-remove as much water as you can-plant the stem plants then cap with the gravel to help keep them in place-fill half way with water-drain-repeat until the water is clear...be sure and add the dechlorinater on the finial fill....gotta be really careful with filling with water so not to disturb the soil bed...."

It might be different for me because i'm using sand instead of gravel as the top layer for my Cories. So the water will be less "dirty" I think because of the sand blocking out the holes and cracks that gravel doesn't. It will be challenging don't get me wrong lol I have a 10 gal and its in the basement so gonna take a bit but its worth it . 

As for the number of plants the stems will only be in there until the tank picks up its natural filter. Plus I have 5 other thanks that would be good to have more plants in(ranging from 3-20 gals). I like plants XD all of my tanks have them in there ranging from Java fern to a dwarf lily that I got from one of those bulb packages you see all the time at Walmart and the like. Also note that most of the plants are stems that dont take very much room at all. That and i'm debating weather or not to put the 10" Melon sword in the 20 gal or not.


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## Shimizoki (Jul 8, 2011)

How are you going to fit 70 plants in that little tank? If you can do it I will be amazed, and I bet it would look AWESOME. Best of luck in this endeavor.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

As Bettawolf knows already...with soil based tanks it is important to start out with lots and lots of stem plants....at least 75% or more of the floor needs to be stem plants and 25% floating until the tank matures and this can take about 3 months....then it is nearly a self contained ecosystem.......but since its a closed system it still needs some help from us.....

I don't rinse my dirt or my sand that I cap the soil with...I use sand for caps not gravel, however, small diameter gravel can come in handy in small amount around the base of some plants to keep them in place until they root or a big rock...I have used both...it depends on how dense the soil layer and how deep the sand cap-once it is filled with water the soil can suspend slightly under the sand layer until it becomes water logged and held together with roots.....these are the only type of systems I keep and 70 plants are not as many as you think........but Bettawolf.....be aware your sword plants are going to outgrow the 10 gallon pretty fast....I would only use 1 sword....not to mention the mass root system these guys can have....

Its important to have clear water in the beginning too.....otherwise you can have poor light penetration and this can affect plant growth....active plant growth is what keeps the livestock safe.....

Look forward to following your NPT......


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

I am being told on a tropical forum that you need some sort of water agitation, and to have a powerhead on these type of tanks. True?


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

I use filters for the first 2-3 months and then remove them on tanks smaller than 10gal...on my bigger tanks I like the water movement but they are not needed per se......on my 25g, 55g- I remove the filters- but I do have a sponge in one 20gal, a canister in another 20gal and an HOB on my 75gal....but they are for water movement not filtering per se...the plants are the filter....IMO/E filters are optional on NPT.......


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

So would a filter do, or can a powerhead be used (after the few months).

Reason I ask is we plan on doing this with our 45g long. It's $100 for a proper HOB filter, or $30 for a powerhead/$30 for a lesser filter. Then I could put the lesser filter on my 29g. It's a difference of $40.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

You don't want too much water movement that can drive off the CO2 that is naturally created in the tank that the plants use for energy......too much/strong water movement can also displace the soil bed and you can have a cloudy tank......If I had to pick one type of filter for a NPT it would be a canister.....I have an HOB on my 75g because I don't want to spend any money on another filter and it came with the tank...thats the only reason I have it....lol.....


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## Pitluvs (Jun 22, 2011)

Unfortunately, things are expensive here with not many options. We're either HOB or Powerhead  That's why I wanted to go NPT, to help save on costs. *sigh* 

I'll figure it out, thanks OFL!


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

I would go with the cheapest you can get and once the NPT matures...remove the filter and use on a different tank....if the NPT is setup correctly and stocked properly so that it is self contained....the plants will work as the filtration........anything can work for water movement......


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## Bettawolf19 (Jul 15, 2010)

Could you use a bubble stone for water movement? Or do you need to get a filter? I'm just curious though I do want to get a filter for my 20 gal though so i gues it would just be easier to get one and put it in there then move it to the 20 gallon after.

Alrighty I'll start with 1 amazon sword in that tank instead of all three of them. I got the 10" melon sword intentionally at first for my 20 gal tall because of the flat rate shipping of $7.50. I also didn't think the swords would take off very fast and they would be slow growing so I would be able to move one of them to my other tanks. Mostly because I don't own fast growing plants other then my aracharis. I can see that I'm wrong with that and thus I apologize for the problems and confusion that has caused.


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## Oldfishlady (Mar 1, 2010)

Plant growth can be much faster in soil based tanks....all those nutrients in the soil-plus the added decomp from decaying plant material- creates compost of sorts and even more food along with the CO2 that decomp creates in soil based tanks...plant growth can be different as compared to plain gravel, sand and even plant specific substrates IME and I have done them all....laffs.....

I wouldn't use an airstone but only because it can drive off CO2...sponge filter would be better and canister even better since you can move the outflow arm so that it stays under water....... this can give a nice effect too....plants swaying......

Since you are in the US....look at Dr Foster and Smith....I just got the new catalog today and WOW.....big Sale going on right now and with free S/H for orders over $49.00...I have been wanting to try one of the LED lights and they are on sale...so I just might have to get one and setup a new experiment......a good canister filter for planted tanks is the Rapids mini for $25.59......I got 2 of them a while back when on-sale for $19.00 and very happy with them and the API master test kit is on-sale for $19.19 too and really good to have on hand...lots of stuff...wish I had more money to spend...lol.....


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## Bettawolf19 (Jul 15, 2010)

Oldfishlady said:


> Plant growth can be much faster in soil based tanks....all those nutrients in the soil-plus the added decomp from decaying plant material- creates compost of sorts and even more food along with the CO2 that decomp creates in soil based tanks...plant growth can be different as compared to plain gravel, sand and even plant specific substrates IME and I have done them all....laffs.....
> 
> I wouldn't use an airstone but only because it can drive off CO2...sponge filter would be better and canister even better since you can move the outflow arm so that it stays under water....... this can give a nice effect too....plants swaying......
> 
> Since you are in the US....look at Dr Foster and Smith....I just got the new catalog today and WOW.....big Sale going on right now and with free S/H for orders over $49.00...I have been wanting to try one of the LED lights and they are on sale...so I just might have to get one and setup a new experiment......a good canister filter for planted tanks is the Rapids mini for $25.59......I got 2 of them a while back when on-sale for $19.00 and very happy with them and the API master test kit is on-sale for $19.19 too and really good to have on hand...lots of stuff...wish I had more money to spend...lol.....


I knwo theres a filter that some use on here that allows you to adjust your power on your filter but I'll find something lol that Rapid's Mini filter looks scary in the picture XD I already have the API Master kit(got it for my birthday last year lol for 32 something). If anything I go for a sponge filter because I was originally gonna get one though I have to order it online because noone carries them anywhere near me. -sighs- the things I do for my fish lol. I easily have over $500 bucks invested in my fish. and I've only owned Bettas for a little under 2 years XD


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