# Substrate without Soil



## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Steve Perkins gave a nice talk at the Raleigh Aquarium Society in July 2017 on his NPT without a soil substrate. He just sent me details and pictures to post. Tank is a 75 gal containing small fish--Killifish, Norman's Lampeye, and Otocinclus catfish ("Otos"). Otos are a finicky fish, but they were breeding in his tank so that's what impressed me right off the bat. He is an experienced hobbyist who has built on the concepts in my book. I especially like that he's combined floating plants and low-light plants in his tank--an ideal combination. Below he describes his method for constructing a substrate out of plastic mesh:

"Take your Anubias, Bolbitis or Microsorum rhizome and lash it down to a strip of "Darice Plastic Canvas". I've used the black #7 mesh, but it is also available in clear. A pack of four sheets, each 10.5" by 13.5", is $8 on Amazon at: https://www.amazon.com/4-Pack-Darice-Mesh-Plastic-Canvas/dp/B073WJYWTC/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1504052875&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=darice+plastic+canvas&psc=1

I use monofilament fishing line from ****'s Sporting Goods. Note my vision and hand-eye coordination are not that great (nor is my patience), so I cut a strip of the canvas about 1 inch wide by 4 inches long, lay the rhizome along the strip and then whip the monofilament around the outside of the strip.

Get a Ocean Nutrition Feeding Frenzy Seaweed Clip, stick the suction cup to the bottom (or wall) of the tank and then clip the canvas into the jaws. A four pack is $13 on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Ocean-Nutrition-Salt-Creek-AON25102/dp/B01MY7048B/ref=sr_1_1?s=pet-supplies&ie=UTF8&qid=1504053294&sr=1-1&keywords=seaweed%2Bclip&th=1

Photos: One is a front shot of the entire 75 gal tank. Other two photos are shots taken from below the tank. As you can see, no substrate. One photo shows a bunch of my Otos tucked into the rhizome mat of one of my big _Microsorum pteropus_ (Java Fern). The mat is probably 8 inches across and the leaves are a volleyball-sized hemisphere. The Otos love it and reproduce. You can barely see one of the Seaweed Clips a couple of inches from the top of the photo in the center. Really, once a rhizome mat gets that big, you do not need the Seaweed Clip. The thing stays in place pretty well.

The other photo shows the rig much more clearly with the Seaweed Clip at the bottom and a Bolbitis rhizome (and my Otos).

I attach all my rhizome plants that way -- Bolbitis, Anubias and Microsorum. The others are floating plants [_Ceratopteris_ (Water Sprite) and Bacopa mostly] for the killifish and their fry."


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## Paradise fish (Aug 27, 2017)

Questions about this setup. What would be come of the fish wastes? Will you still need to vacuum the bottom of the tank? 
Will this method only work for plants that don't need a substrate? What about plants that are heavy root feeders like swords and crypts?


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

What a great idea for a breeding tank!


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Paradise fish said:


> Questions about this setup. What would be come of the fish wastes? Will you still need to vacuum the bottom of the tank?
> Will this method only work for plants that don't need a substrate? What about plants that are heavy root feeders like swords and crypts?


He did regular water changes, but I don't believe he did vacuuming. Remember that in an NPT fish wastes are simply recycled into plant food.

I don't think it would work for regular rooted plants. However, you are welcome to test this.


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## tiger15 (Apr 9, 2017)

I've seen people hang plastic canvas to make moss walls. Why bother to use canvas as foundation when you can lay flat rock and glue fern, bolbidis and annubias onto them. Canvas looks artificial until it gets filled out. Rock is natural, resistance to uplifting, and provide mineral enrichment to water column. I don't see how substrate free set up fits the definition of NPT. You need aerobic and anaerobic layers to mineralize nutrients.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

I've grown epiphytes on flat stones, and I can see several advantages to the mesh. The primary one is portability. If you need to catch fish, you just pull the plants/mesh out and put them in a bucket. The mesh also allows circulation of water to prevent anaerobic conditions, and the roots of the plants can grow through it. It is easier to tie plants to mesh than it is to glue them to stone.


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## Paradise fish (Aug 27, 2017)

tiger15 said:


> I've seen people hang plastic canvas to make moss walls. Why bother to use canvas as foundation when you can lay flat rock and glue fern, bolbidis and annubias onto them. Canvas looks artificial until it gets filled out. Rock is natural, resistance to uplifting, and provide mineral enrichment to water column. I don't see how substrate free set up fits the definition of NPT. You need aerobic and anaerobic layers to mineralize nutrients.


Diana said that she would consider any setup where the plant and the fish balance each other out a "Naturally Planted Tank," given that the terms "NPT" and "Walstad" aren't interchangeable. So this setup will not be considered a traditional "Walstad Tank," but still would be considered a NPT or El Natural tank.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Michael said:


> It is easier to tie plants to mesh than it is to glue them to stone.


Wow! I can't imagine gluing plants to stone!

All that debris that eventually accumulates around the rhizomes creates bacteria biofilms with anaerobic pockets. The ferns can pull in nutrients (iron, copper, etc) that are generated under anaerobic conditions. It helps that ferns are relatively slow growing and less demanding of nutrients. Nevertheless, the long-term success of Steve's tank suggests that one does not have to have a deep "anaerobic layer" of soil for ferns to get the iron, etc that they need.

Bacterial biofilms contain a mix of aerobic and anaerobic micro-environments. The aerobic bacteria (e.g., nitrifiers) remove oxygen, inadvertently generating anaerobic conditions for anaerobic bacteria (e.g., denitrifiers). They are often found living together in the same biofilm. (See my book, page 70.)


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## tiger15 (Apr 9, 2017)

I set up a planted tank with robust cichlid. They are digger and incompatible with substrate rooted plants. So I have to superglue fern, Anubias and Buce to rock and wait for them to develop anchoring root. I chose small pieces of lace and lava rock with rough surfaces so it's faster to anchor, and the light weight makes them highly mobile. I move them around often to rescape, or take them out to re attach loosen plants. Yes, it takes longer to anchor than tying to mesh, but it looks all natural. I can also stack one over another to create caves and 3D effect that mesh cannot.


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## ttk86 (May 15, 2017)

This is so neat. I gotta try to make this kind of tank. Will it be good idea for a quarantine tank?


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

It would be great for a quarantine tank. You could take the plants out to catch fish, or if you needed to use medication toxic to plants.


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## ttk86 (May 15, 2017)

Michael said:


> It would be great for a quarantine tank. You could take the plants out to catch fish, or if you needed to use medication toxic to plants.


Thanks Michael. I'm planning to get a 75-100 gallons tank so I've wanning to do a quarantine tank first. Is 15-20G big enough as a quarantine tank?


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Depends on the size of fish you need to quarantine, and how many at a time. I used a 15 gallon when I set up my 75. The fish were young, and I split them up into several groups bought at different times. If I had to quarantine them now all at once, I would need another 75, LOL.


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## Skizhx (Oct 12, 2010)

Some moss carpet and a couple potted plants and you've practically got a modular low-tech iwagumi.


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## ttk86 (May 15, 2017)

For the usual NPT, the dirt provides nutrition for the plants. In this case, will I have to dose fertilizers for the plant? I already have everything ready to set up a quarantine tank with this method. Can't wait 

edit: I have few more questions. For Walstad tank, if it's heavily planted and not overstocked, we can add fish after few days. What about this kind of tank? I feel like i should cycle the tank first, correct? At the beginning, when there is no fish to make waste. Will the plants die form lack of nutrition? Should i dose Seachem flourish? Thanks


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## ttk86 (May 15, 2017)

Started my tank finally. It currently contains anubias, java fern and buce plants. No fish yet since it's not cycled. After ton of research, i think ei dosing is best method for these plants but I want it to be low maintenance. For now just Flourish and some fish flakes to feed the plants.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Please keep us updated.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

ttk86 said:


> Started my tank finally. It currently contains anubias, java fern and buce plants. No fish yet since it's not cycled. After ton of research, i think ei dosing is best method for these plants but I want it to be low maintenance. For now just Flourish and some fish flakes to feed the plants.


That seems very reasonable. If you add snails, they would speed up conversion of added fishfood to plant nutrients. Based on picture, I think you're off to a good start.

Yes, please keep us posted.


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## ttk86 (May 15, 2017)

dwalstad said:


> That seems very reasonable. If you add snails, they would speed up conversion of added fishfood to plant nutrients. Based on picture, I think you're off to a good start.
> 
> Yes, please keep us posted.


Thank you. I will add some snails in tmr. I'll will update with more pictures in the future


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## rs18alpha (Aug 13, 2017)

Can some tell me if I can grow Eleocharis Belem in Caribsea aqua sand?


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## DutchMuch (Apr 12, 2017)

you can grow DHG in any substrate.


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