# My First 'El Natural'!



## Mafoota (Mar 13, 2010)

I only discovered this method yesterday and luckily it coincided with me setting up a new tank. It's a 10 gallon hex tank. 
So it's planted and filled. 1" of compost with 1" of medium gravel on top. I've planted it with Alternanthera Cardinalis, Hygrophila guanensis and Elocharis Acicularis with some tiny terracotta plant pots for decoration. The heater will go in later or tomorrow along with the airline and diffuser. Then I'll test daily until the parameters are good and then I can get my betta  They had some in my LFS and they were nice but nothing spectacular, I want to get a really nice specimen. For this tank I'll be using a desk lamp or maybe even fit a new light socket into the main ring of the house and I'll see how I go with a 20w spiral flouro for now.

There's some great info on this site guys, thanks. If this method is as good as it looks I'll be a very happy fishkeeper.

Mafoota (Dave)


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## Mafoota (Mar 13, 2010)

It's a little cloudy but you get the idea:


















The lamp hasn't been suspended yet so it's just propped up against the glass. It's right by a southerly window for now so will receive good sunlight until I sort out my lamp, then I'll just slide it to the other end of my kitchen worktop where it will get less of the midday sun and will help stabilise temps.


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## NayR:D (Jan 14, 2010)

hey, the tank looks great i really like planted hexagons. bit to many pots for me though but its not my tank haha  keep posting pics i like seeing the proggression of tanks.

where are you from, i got a realy nice halfmoon plakat of ebay, i didnt trust getting one of the net but it came really well packadged and boxed with a heat pad. so could be worth checking ye old bay.

in my new tank i had a crazy brown algae outburst litterally was over the glass wood and coverd the plants, i got 2 ottos and its been under a week and its all gone even on the little delecate leaves i didnt think they would bother or have to skill to eat off, id defonatly recommend them aslong as you introduce them in the correct way they are great little guys. pluss your betta wont even notice them most likly


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## mudboots (Jun 24, 2009)

Just out of curiosity what are the pots for? Tank looks fine, I was just curious because I've seen them in many set ups but have never used any myself.

Some humble offerings from someone who had never had a hex tank before:

You might consider dropping the water level a little until the plants grow some more to keep the open water from encouraging green water algae to take advantage of little competition. Also, if you are considering a foreground plant around your mosses, Marsilea species seem to work really well in El Natural tanks. Something else that seems to be doing well as a super-low foreground in many tanks I've seen (and tried myself) but is very slow in such a set up is Staurogyne 'porto vehlo'.

Davemonkey's daughter has a similar hex tank in the journals forum (I think called Rita's Princess Tank) where you might see some ideas. I mention it simply because it looks almost like the same tank, though they had to ditch the hex after a seem busted. They were using Marsilea in the foreground.


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## Mafoota (Mar 13, 2010)

Thanks for the comments. The little pots won't look so crowded when the plants grow, they should fade nicely into the background when the plants establish and grow, they'll also provide some nice hidey holes should I wish to put any bristlenose cats in there.
I have to be honest I'm about a bit dubious about getting fish through the post, I've seen the way Royal mail treat their parcels!

Good point about the water levels, I may just drop it down, it'll also help the light get to the plants.

They're basking in the morning sunshine at the moment but I'll have to get the lamp sorted today as sunshine is never guaranteed in the U.K, especially during summer


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## Angie (Dec 4, 2005)

I love the little pots. What a great idea.


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## WhiteDevil (May 7, 2009)

Mudboots, if they are terra cotta they are UBER porous and bacteria colonizes on it and inturn holds many many huge colonies on it which help filter the tank on the biological level.
also provides cover for livestock as well as anchors for mosses and anchoring root systems.


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## mudboots (Jun 24, 2009)

WhiteDevil said:


> Mudboots, if they are terra cotta they are UBER porous and bacteria colonizes on it and inturn holds many many huge colonies on it which help filter the tank on the biological level.
> also provides cover for livestock as well as anchors for mosses and anchoring root systems.


Ahhhh; I see. That's an awesome idea on getting a mega-load of bacteria colonized. I have two small, black "caves" in my tank, but they are enamel sealed except for the very bottoms, and even then only where the ring of the base touches a surface (they were part of a set of hinge-lid clay jars). I have mine laying on their sides simply to allow for small territories for Apistos. They're in the back and cannot be seen unless you're really looking hard for them in the 125. I kind of wish I had used the terra cotta now.


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## Mafoota (Mar 13, 2010)

I honestly hadn't thought about the pots being a good home for bacteria, I just thought they looked nice. 

Well, it seem the algae fairy has been and dumped hairy gunk all over my plants, so it's lights off and bristlenose cat in to munch some of it, I'll try and get some floaters tomorrow to soak up some of the excess nutrient in the water, at least until the plants really establish.


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## Mafoota (Mar 13, 2010)

I've just had to do a full water change as the nitrites/rates are off the scale, that would explain the sudden algal bloom. The water also has a low PH, too low for my liking.


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## Mafoota (Mar 13, 2010)

The algae is now under control, my bristlenose cat scoffed the lot 

Constantine is very happy


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## chad320 (Mar 30, 2010)

sounds great!looks great! I also use a little compost in my tanks with good results. cant wait to see more pics.


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## Angie (Dec 4, 2005)

Any new full tank shots any time soon?


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## mudboots (Jun 24, 2009)

The betta looks happy indeed, and the few plants visible in the pic look very healthy.

+1 on Angie's request for full tank shots!


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## Mafoota (Mar 13, 2010)

Thanks for the comments, I'll put some shots up tomorrow. I have changed the light for a 'daylight' compact florescent, 25w 1250l 6400k.


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## Mafoota (Mar 13, 2010)

It's coming on quite well now. I've struggled in the past with hygros as my other tank is severely under-lit. They would always be really leggy and sparse but now they are bushy and lush.


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## totziens (Jun 28, 2008)

The tank looks good. The pots remind me of those days when my late parents' house was flooded when their flower pots were under the water.


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## Angie (Dec 4, 2005)

Impressive. Makes me want a new tank. lol


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## Mafoota (Mar 13, 2010)

Here's a bit of a close up . I'm really happy with the tank, it's been going less than a month. Looking at the first pic in this thread I'm amazed.


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## Angie (Dec 4, 2005)

You should be happy. It looks great.


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## Mafoota (Mar 13, 2010)

Update.

It's all gone horribly wrong. My tank has been infested with algae. I've done every thing I can, turned the lights off, added floaters, cleaned vigorously, used algol. Nothing has worked.

Someone help me before I scrap it all and start again.


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## Jark (Feb 6, 2010)

Sorry to hear that. Your tank looked great in the last update. Has anything changes in the way of lighting, fishload, did you move anything around, or disturb the substrate? 

What kind of algae is it. Picture?

What is algol? If it is Algon or some sort of algae killing product don't use it. I have used excell to kill algae but only in very small doses spot treating with a syringe.


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## dpr0cision (Jul 15, 2010)

if its green algae get a handful of nerite snails theyre easy to spot if u wanna remove them later down the line i wouldnt suggest any fish as itll up the bio-load and stress your betta to death.

also lower the temperature for a while the betta can handle it and try to reduce the lighting for a while it may take a few weeks to bounce back but it should help.

i dont recommend using any algae destroyer type products they kill bacteria and sometimes also your plants

also if the tank is getting natural light at all (like a window or skylight) its going to give you problems. i had a similar problem in my 55gal and the nerites in cahoots with lower temp light and putting black tank backround kept the natural sunlight from feeding that nasty hair algae on my tanks back wall








heres a pic of mine 
and here is two weeks later with nerites and backround with less temp and light


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## Mafoota (Mar 13, 2010)

Thanks guys, I'll pop some pics up in a bit.
I haven't heard of nerite snails before. I went to the pet shop last night and got some siamese algae eaters but it seems like I should have got some of these snails. I've read around on some sites and they seem amazing.


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## dpr0cision (Jul 15, 2010)

they absolutely ate every speck of algae in the 55gal the saes are also i nice addition but just keep a close eye on the betta they like to be alone i wouldnt leave the saes in there for very long if you notice the betta hiding alot i suggest moving him by himself until you get the algae under control.

at least in my experience, i have had a betta in a community tank the betta just hid on one side of the tank untill i moved him to a tank for himself.

although i did have him with a few oto cats and a pleco that he didnt seem to notice.

quick question: did you get the true saes or are they the flying foxes(a tad larger in size and a bit more energetic)


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## Mafoota (Mar 13, 2010)

Well they were being sold as FFs but they are in fact true SAEs according desceiptions I've read.


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## Mafoota (Mar 13, 2010)

Re-reading this makes me sad. I separated from my wife and before I had a permanent place of my own my son dumped a whole pot of fish food in the tank and killed everything. I cleaned out the tank and gave it to my Dad as he had a goldfish in a really small tank. 
Happy to say that me and my wife got back together, moved house and lived happily ever after.


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