All-Natural Planted Tank

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fishyz

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Dec 3, 2007
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I am planning on trying to plant my 29g tank for the 1,000,000 time. I remember an article in TFH about an all-natural planted aquarium; no co2 injection, no adding ferts. However I cannot find the article about it. As I understand you use an organic potting soil for substrate so that bacteria have enough food to make co2 and stuff. I have a power compact light that will fit on the tank i just need to get a glass hood for it so the light will work better and i want to get a sponge filter or two to for filtration/light aireation.

Currently I have a single yellow lab in the tank that will be moved to my 150g tank that has turned into a dumb tank with 6 huge goldfish and various minnows. It also has a bunch of different Anubais on a peice of malysian drift wood that I will use; I want to get another peice of drift wood and use a java fern I have and java moss. I also think im going to have some sort of sword plant on one side of the tank and vals on that other. I plan on using the tank as a grow out for bristlenose plecos until they are big enough to put in my pond and my 150g tank for algea control

Does anybody have experience with this kind of tank and know if this will work? I would like to get to work on this as soon as possible so anything you might have to offer could be a great help.

Thanks
 
I have not setup one of these tanks but have heard great things about them. Google Diana Walstad and you'll find tons & tons of info of this style tank!
 
Yep, sounds like a Walstad tank to me. Sounds like a fun project. Be sure to let us know how it goes and post pics!
 
Bristlenose plecos will eat your plants, especially plants like swords.

If I were you, I would be using pond soil (see if there's a pond supply in the phone book, you used to be able to find Schultz Aquatic Plant Soil at Lowe's but not any more here, not now anyway...perhaps it's seasonal?) topped with a layer of pea gravel. This doesn't need rinsing - just pour it in, and it should be clear within a couple days, you might have to do a water change to siphon the little floating bits from the top.

Soil works, but it is likely to cause algae problems and every time you disturb the substrate with rooting the plants (or your plecos disturb it) it will cloud your water. Also, if the potting soil has perlite (those little styrofoam ball looking things) for drainage, all of those pieces will float to the top. If you do go with soil, try Hyponex potting soil (sold at Kmart and Walmart) which I know for a fact doesn't have perlite. A 20 lb bag here in Central Florida is just $1.99 - 40 lbs is $2.69.

But personally, I would recommend Eco Complete or Flourite. It may be more expensive, but it will definitely grow your plants better than potting soil.

Instead of a glass top, I would maybe just go with mounting legs:
http://www.amazon.com/Aqualight-Mounting-Legs-Adjustable-degree/dp/B0009YD6W6/ref=pd_sim_k_3
The glass will cut down on some of the penetration. And if it's going to be a bristlenose tank only, jumpers are not going to be an issue.
 
I have gone this direction with my tanks. I have a 2" layer of Fertiloam Ultimate potting soil capped with another 2" of playsand. Just over 1wpg of lighting. Quite a few low light plants and a normal HOB filter. Marineland penguin biowheel. I have 3 albino bristlenose plecos and they do not eat my plants. I do get some soil clouding when I uproot plants but I think if you keep a gravel vac close at hand you can minamize it. It's never been a huge issue for me. The pearlite can be skimmed off the top with a normal net if it escapes, but eventually it becomes water logged and sinks. I dose no ferts or CO2 and have moderate plant growth with no nutrient deficiences that I can see. I don't have to trim plants every day and have healthy happy fish. If you've got any other questions about my setup feel free to ask. I enjoy it quite well. I do have a small 5gal hex planted with small gravel capped over the same, looks nice as well. Another algea solution may be nerite snails if you are afraid of the BN plecos, but I've never had a problem with mine. I should note my tank has quite a bit of natural light and I do not have a problem with excessive algea.
 
one thing i haven't seen mentioned is calcium. the benefits of mixing some crushed coral or some sea shells to a walstad tank is covered pretty well in dianes book. also she seems to like miracle grow organic potting soil. just remember soil has ammonia in it so you'd be best off running your tank without fish for a while to let it cycle like you would with aquasoil.

my bristle noses don't eat my plants either so i see no issue there really. can't say it's not true as many people have claimed it i just don't see it as a big issue.
 
I used miracle gro organic in my big tank. The first one I made. The only thing I can say is wood. There is a ton of shreded wood, chipped wood, peat. The only problem I've had with it is not enough mechanical filtration. The stuff doesn't float but does find its way to the surface of the sand where It likes to clog my HoB. I've switched to Fertiloam Ultimate in other tanks to see if the problem remains. I can't complain about plant growth though. I just pulled out a single crypt lutea that I planted 6 months ago and had to seperate it into 5 seperate plants. The roots were more than 5" long! The plants think it's tasty.
 
Running the soil through a screen first will remove the big chunks. And keeping the soil submerged for at least six weeks will process any ammonia and allow the soil to settle down before adding plants and fish. Walstad tanks are pretty easy, just remember that you will need to have higher lighting (2 - 2½WPG) if the tank is not near a source of sunlight. If your interested in it I highly recommend her book The Ecology of the Planted Aquarium, it's an excellent read for people who want to know what is happening in their planted tanks.
 
So what I've put together so far is that I should use miracle grow organic mixed with crushed coral with either a play sand or gravel layer over it (I might mix the two and see how that looks). My water is a little on the harder side so I might not need the coral but I will probable get some anyway just to be sure.

I was looking on aquabid to see if there where any ultimate sponge filters for posted; I couldn't find any but I think I might give the rocket filter a try. I think I can hid it behind the vals.

After the plecos are bigger and have been moved around I will be turning it into a show tank since it is in my living room. I will probable go with a nice Betta and some peaceful barbs or larger tetras in the tank so I don't know if there would be any jumping issues, and I don't want any toys to end up in it so that's why I want a hood for the tank.

I will be sure to get some pictures of it for you guys to. I'm hoping it will turn out nice and the tank will actually work this time.
 
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