# Finally! (Pics to Follow!)



## Hopeseeker (Feb 6, 2012)

I get to setup my 15 gallon NPT sorority tank!!
Just got my plant order yesterday. Will be going through the plants carefully, when planting. I did get them from a great place online.
Right now, I'm going through the soil to get all the rocks, sticks and random weird chunks of wood out.
Like I said, pics will be uploaded in a little bit.


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

:-DAwesome!! Cant wait for the pics!


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## Hopeseeker (Feb 6, 2012)

*It's done....for now!!!*

And the wait is over!!!! Here is my first NPT and in a few weeks it will be a full blown sorority tank!!!







Aquarium: 15 gallon
Light: Florescent Daylight bulb (came with aquarium kit, will be replaced with better daylight bulb.)
Soil: MiracleGro Organic Choice Garden Soil (Rocks and large wood chunks picked out.)
Sand: CaribSea Super Naturals Tahitian Moon (black color)
Plants: narrow leaf anacharis, Bacopa Carolina, Cryptocoryne retrospiralis, Foxtail "RED", Brazilian Pennywort, Rotala Rotundifolia (Indicia), Pigmy Chain Sword, Green Cabomba, Dwarf Lily and stargrass (Floating water sprite will be added as soon as I trim bad leaves off. Putting about half of what I have of it. It became too plentiful for all of it to fit in my 10 gallon divided tank.)
Filter: Fluval U2 (carbon filter media taken out.)
Heater: Hagen Elite 100 watt
Mopani Driftwood is on order and I will be getting some moss for it.
Doctor Who Tardis ruin will be purchased in a few weeks by my boyfriend.
More pics to come in the future.


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## andakin (Aug 10, 2009)

I bet it took a long time to arrange everything. But your efforts paid off; the tank looks great!

With such a heavily planted tank, I would consider a DIY CO2.


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## Hopeseeker (Feb 6, 2012)

Maybe...in the future. I do have flourish and flourish excel. I don't know if OldFishLady has any CO2 for any of her NPTs...she does have quite a few. I'll just chat with all the NPT tank owners and see if I need to make a CO2 for my tank. Thank You, Though!


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## teeneythebetta (Apr 29, 2012)

Wow that looks _AMAZING_!!! 
I bet the girls would really like some floating plants as well. :-D

I cant wait to see your girls!


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## MaisyDawgThirteen (Dec 7, 2011)

What an amazing tank!!


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## bettafishfinnatic (Mar 18, 2012)

so jelous i had some live plants in a non-lit tanks and well... you do the math and it was a GIANT mess


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## andakin (Aug 10, 2009)

Just as a personal experience, I tried Excel when I first started my tank, I found that it did nothing for me. After switching to a DIY CO2 my plants really started to bloom.


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## Hopeseeker (Feb 6, 2012)

Thanks for all the compliments!!



andakin said:


> Just as a personal experience, I tried Excel when I first started my tank, I found that it did nothing for me. After switching to a DIY CO2 my plants really started to bloom.


I appreciate you letting me know, I understand, and this doesn't mean that I won't try it! It's just that I want to talk to many experienced Natural Planted Tank owners to see what they are doing, and to just see what will work for my tanks. I've put so much into this tank and just want to enjoy it before I start another project for it.


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## Relic (Jul 14, 2012)

Looks good. It's my understanding that with the use of potting soil, there is no need for CO2...the carbon is created naturally within the tank. The trick is not to have any surface disruption so the CO2 is not dissipated. I recommend an internal filter or if your filter is adjustable make sure the outflow is below the surface.


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## Bettanewbie60 (Jun 26, 2012)

That looks awesome! I am so excited to get mine going...I am trying not to use any Co2 or ferts in mine...Walstad method I'm hoping. I don't think OFL uses any in hers, but I may be mistaken. So with the filter, do you just take the cartridge out and let it run that way, or do you put something else in the filter area?


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## Relic (Jul 14, 2012)

Bettanewbie60 said:


> That looks awesome! I am so excited to get mine going...I am trying not to use any Co2 or ferts in mine...Walstad method I'm hoping. I don't think OFL uses any in hers, but I may be mistaken. So with the filter, do you just take the cartridge out and let it run that way, or do you put something else in the filter area?


You can use filters..just don't use activated carbon. you can uses sponges or get some quilt backing from the craft store and use that.


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## Bettanewbie60 (Jun 26, 2012)

Relic said:


> You can use filters..just don't use activated carbon. you can uses sponges or get some quilt backing from the craft store and use that.


Thanks! I have heard so many conflicting opinions..and I'm thinking if it is a Walstad set up, it should be only one right? LOL...it's all good.


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## starrlamia (May 3, 2012)

Relic said:


> Looks good. It's my understanding that with the use of potting soil, there is no need for CO2...the carbon is created naturally within the tank. The trick is not to have any surface disruption so the CO2 is not dissipated. I recommend an internal filter or if your filter is adjustable make sure the outflow is below the surface.


 actually if you want to maximize growth co2 is needed. Your plants will only grow based on what you provide them, with no co2 plants grow much more slowly but will remain healthy. co2 wont be produced in the same quantities by the soil as you would get from a full setup.

The tank looks amazing!


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## Relic (Jul 14, 2012)

starrlamia said:


> actually if you want to maximize growth co2 is needed. Your plants will only grow based on what you provide them, with no co2 plants grow much more slowly but will remain healthy. co2 wont be produced in the same quantities by the soil as you would get from a full setup.
> 
> The tank looks amazing!


Agreed.
Though...from what I understand a true NPT should be pretty much self sustaining as far as the plant care is concerned?


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## starrlamia (May 3, 2012)

Relic said:


> Agreed.
> Though...from what I understand a true NPT should be pretty much self sustaining as far as the plant care is concerned?


Yes it's self sustaining but with limits, because of the low amount of nutrients and co2 plant growth is limited. To maximise you would have to go high tech including ferts and co2.


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## xjenuhfur (Jan 30, 2012)

So pretty! What are the red plants in there?


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## Relic (Jul 14, 2012)

starrlamia said:


> Yes it's self sustaining but with limits, because of the low amount of nutrients and co2 plant growth is limited. To maximise you would have to go high tech including ferts and co2.


Makes sense.
I run CO2 in all my planted tanks and use ferts where needed{flourish liquid and flourish root tabs}
I'm getting ready to set up a high pressure system for the big tank. I work for a gas company so I can get everything needed for next to nothing...the CO2 would be free.


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## starrlamia (May 3, 2012)

Oh lucky! I would look into dosing more macro ferts though, flourish is good for micro and root tabs are good for root feeders but dosing macros into the water column is good for stems etc. I get dry ferts and it's cheap and they last a long time.


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## Bettanewbie60 (Jun 26, 2012)

Relic said:


> Agreed.
> Though...from what I understand a true NPT should be pretty much self sustaining as far as the plant care is concerned?


Yes the true NPT via Walstad will have no added Co2 or ferts...this is what I am going to do..hopefully!


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## andakin (Aug 10, 2009)

Relic said:


> Looks good. It's my understanding that with the use of potting soil, there is no need for CO2...the carbon is created naturally within the tank. The trick is not to have any surface disruption so the CO2 is not dissipated. I recommend an internal filter or if your filter is adjustable make sure the outflow is below the surface.


We definitely have conflicts of opinions.

Can potting soil really generate CO2 naturally? I would like to find out more if that's true.

I make an effort to circulate the surface as much as I can. This helps produce oxygen for the fish to breath and reduces the surface layer of protein. Stagnant water is less than ideal. 

As for CO2, you don't need a fancy system. A home made one is only a few dollars.


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## Relic (Jul 14, 2012)

andakin said:


> We definitely have conflicts of opinions.
> 
> Can potting soil really generate CO2 naturally? I would like to find out more if that's true.
> 
> ...


Producing Co2 is ONE of the main reasons people starting using soil in their aquariums....the Co2 is produced by the decomposition of the soil. That is not an opinion...it's a fact. Circulating the water is great...especially for a planted tank that has fish in it. agitating the surface is fine as well, but you are degassing the Co2 when this is done...which defeats the whole purpose of using a soil substrate.
Once you agitate the surface you'll need to inject Co2 into the water column to make up for the Co2 that is lost from the naturally produced gas caused by the soil, Which will be escaping the tank via the agitation....and once you do this you no longer have a TRUE NPT.
A true NPT has a soil substrate, is heavy planted, generally low-mid lighting and has no surface agitation and no chemicals used in the aid of growing plants. Circulating a true NPT is fine and is usually done with internal filters...the use of floating plants is also recommended.
The idea is to create a whole self sustaining system. The trick is balancing the whole system...very few can do it. I don't think I could.


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## Bettanewbie60 (Jun 26, 2012)

Relic said:


> Producing Co2 is ONE of the main reasons people starting using soil in their aquariums....the Co2 is produced by the decomposition of the soil. That is not an opinion...it's a fact. Circulating the water is great...especially for a planted tank that has fish in it. agitating the surface is fine as well, but you are degassing the Co2 when this is done...which defeats the whole purpose of using a soil substrate.
> Once you agitate the surface you'll need to inject Co2 into the water column to make up for the Co2 that is lost from the naturally produced gas caused by the soil, Which will be escaping the tank via the agitation....and once you do this you no longer have a TRUE NPT.
> A true NPT has a soil substrate, is heavy planted, generally low-mid lighting and has no surface agitation and no chemicals used in the aid of growing plants. Circulating a true NPT is fine and is usually done with internal filters...the use of floating plants is also recommended.
> The idea is to create a whole self sustaining system. The trick is balancing the whole system...very few can do it. I don't think I could.


+1^ this is why I am doing this..I want a TRUE NPT...OFL is helping me, thank goodness..I'm a bit anxious but determined!


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## kfryman (Nov 7, 2011)

I have a NPT, I added T5s, started dosing ferts, will be adding CO2.... I love the benefits from the soil though. You get amazing results, especially when the soil has become matured.

A tank with low lighting won't run out of ferts very fast. Slap some T5s and you need to fertilize, or you get algae... This is because the plants are growing way more and using more nutrients. The soil will help a lot, but adding Seachem Flourish is also good. NPTs can have have anything added to them. The meaning of an NPT is natural planted so any NPT is still a NPT.

I am using an airstone at night for a variety of reasons, when I have diy co2 I don't want to gas my fish and it provides agitagtion to get the stupid biofilm off. (If you have other fish besides bettas, biofilm is bad as gas exchange is very low.


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## Bettanewbie60 (Jun 26, 2012)

Again, just a difference of opinion as to what constitutes an NPT...for me it means, no ferts or CO2...thus the Walstad method. To me "natural" excludes those things..you could just refer to it as Low tech versus High tech.


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## Hopeseeker (Feb 6, 2012)

xjenuhfur said:


> So pretty! What are the red plants in there?


Dwarf Lily....It was the only one of four bulbs that actually decided to grow. Once it sprouted, within a week it was huge!


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## Hopeseeker (Feb 6, 2012)

Bettanewbie60 said:


> That looks awesome! I am so excited to get mine going...I am trying not to use any Co2 or ferts in mine...Walstad method I'm hoping. I don't think OFL uses any in hers, but I may be mistaken. So with the filter, do you just take the cartridge out and let it run that way, or do you put something else in the filter area?


My filter is an internal filter: Fluval U2 it cames with 3 filter medias: Sponge, some sort of ceramic type stuff for good bacteria to cling to, and carbon. I just took the carbon out.


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## Hopeseeker (Feb 6, 2012)

I want to thank everyone for the compliments, all the info about NPTs and all the info on CO2!!!


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## Bettanewbie60 (Jun 26, 2012)

Hopeseeker said:


> My filter is an internal filter: Fluval U2 it cames with 3 filter medias: Sponge, some sort of ceramic type stuff for good bacteria to cling to, and carbon. I just took the carbon out.


Thanks...I have a Whisper Internal filter I will be using...can I just put some AQ sponge in it?


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## Hopeseeker (Feb 6, 2012)

Bettanewbie60 said:


> Thanks...I have a Whisper Internal filter I will be using...can I just put some AQ sponge in it?


I think it might be possible.


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## kfryman (Nov 7, 2011)

I filter isn't natural... Neither is a heater...

There are natural occurring things that are in the water like iron and all that, so why is it unnatural to put in stuff that is found in nature and water? This is where I am coming from...


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## Jupiter (Aug 30, 2009)

Wooo! So lush! Nice job.


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## Hopeseeker (Feb 6, 2012)

Thank You!


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## Hopeseeker (Feb 6, 2012)

*Latest Update!!!*

I'm going to be getting 3 hm girls from tanseattle and 2 hmpk girls from junglist!!! And I have my ct girl, Pandora! I'm planning on possibly getting 1
more ct girl at a little later date. I'm getting so excited!! I am most likely picking the 5 girls up on sunday!!
And next payday, I'm getting a Python!! Will make water changes so much easier!!


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