# el nautural questions



## tundra girl (Mar 2, 2006)

doen't the water cloud up with the potting soil-does it float up at all or does the gravel hold it down?
I am setting up a 55 gal for my local library and would like to use this simple method.

What kinds of plants do well in an el natural setting?

Thanks


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

Clouding depends on the soil, so doing a bottle test would definitely be worthwhile. I've had better luck with top soil than potting soil. Potting soil is more likely to contain additives that will cause you problems. If you can find a cheap generic potting soil without any added fertilizers or other substances, you should be ok. Don't get a potting soil with a lot of wood/bark shreds though. They are very common in Oregon and all those darn shreds like to float.

All sorts of plants will do well. The rooted plants of course: crypts, swords, water lillies, vals, I've also got Cyperus helferi doing well in a NPT. Epiphytes also do well: ferns (java, bolbitis), anubias, mosses. Stem plants grow well provided you get ones suitable for the light that you have. And of course floating plants help keep excess nutrients down, especially starting up a new tank. Your choice of plants is really broad and will depend on how much light the tank will be getting and how much you want to deal with maintenance.


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## tundra girl (Mar 2, 2006)

I want to keep maint. low as possible since this will not be at my house. Defiantly slow growers as I don't want to have to trim every week.:mrgreen:


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## cs_gardener (Apr 28, 2006)

If you want very low maintenance, stick with crypts, ferns and anubias. Add a floater to help with nutrients and you'll be well off. 

I have a nice low maintenance 44 gallon corner tank where I mostly just feed the fish and top off with water (open-topped tank). Every 2-3 weeks I clean the HOB filter and scoop out excess floaters. It has soil under eco-complete (I just liked the looks of the eco-complete and I already had it); 65 watts of light; driftwood planted with java fern (regular, narrow leaf, and lace leaf), bolbitis fern, and anubias; the ground is heavily planted with an assortment of crypts (spiralis, wendtii, pontederifolia, and others that I've come across). I have hornwort floating and an assortment of surface floaters as well. My only real problem is it is overstocked. If I had fewer fish, I'd have even less maintenance. Oh well, live and learn.  

Swords might get too big too fast, although mine seem pretty slow growing for swords. Cyperus helferi is beautiful and slow-growing, but it does take a long time to get established and is prone to algae on the tips of older leaves. For low maintenance avoid vals and stems, they take so much more effort to keep looking nice and the vals are so darn invasive. For a foreground, I've had both Sagitaria subulata, and E tenellus look good with little effort. I've had mixed success with Ranunculus inundates, in one tank it tried to grow quite tall, but in two others with lower light it has stayed nice and short.

Have you decided what type of look you're going for in this tank? There are so many possibilities I'm eager to see what you decide to do.


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

Some people in this forum have suggested airing out the soil before using it, which releases the ammonia. That would be a common source of clouding the water. Nuphar japonica is another of my favorite slow growing plants. Its basically a water lily that has light green translucent leaves with wavy edges that grow from a thick rhizome that looks like a chunk of raw pineapple!

Here is a picture:


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## tundra girl (Mar 2, 2006)

Robert Hudson said:


> Some people in this forum have suggested airing out the soil before using it, which releases the ammonia. That would be a common source of clouding the water. Nuphar japonica is another of my favorite slow growing plants. Its basically a water lily that has light green translucent leaves with wavy edges that grow from a thick rhizome that looks like a chunk of raw pineapple!
> 
> Here is a picture:


very nice -I haven't seen that one before. Are they hard to come by?
I am making this as maint free as possible so think can't be screwed up-ie timers auto feeders. probably only fertilized 2 a month. I hve been on The planted tank for a while and never heard of anyone putting soil under the gravel. This method intrigues me


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