# indonesian el natural



## tantaMD (Dec 23, 2011)

hi everyone! nice to meet you . this is my first time posting in APC. i would like to introduce my 2nd el natural tank which has going for 3 months now . I try to keep rotala macrandra in this tank, because the main ispiration of this tank is Ms. Walstad's r. macrandra. I think i made it so far, but they not thriving at their best like ms. walstad's. But either way this is my first time and it is said this is one difficult plant so i give myself an excuses . By the way i have problems with BBA started at 2nd month, i already tried azoo carbon plus, i tried to increase the water hardness by adding crush coral to the substrate but all of them only seems to stunt their spreading not eliminating them. I also use eegeria densa which i let floating to get the aerial advantage right now. So, i look forward for your comments, critics, and advice  thanks every one







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## tantaMD (Dec 23, 2011)

tank specs :
size : 100x40x50 cm3
substrate : mineralized garden soil, gravel, crushed coral
flora : java moss, sagitaria subulata, valis tortifolia, valis spiralis, aponogeton, amazon sword, eegeria densa, windelov, anubias, tiger lotus, rotala rotundifolia, rotala macrandra
fauna : albino red eye tetra, slayer platies (which breed frequently ), dwarf irian rainbow, corys
lighting : 4x 21 watt T5 plus sunlight from 8 to 11 AM
water movement : light to medium


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## activesize (Jun 26, 2011)

Therapeutic. Well, it has a natural feel even though your plants and fish come from all over the world. Ninety gallons is a nice size too. The view is so much better with the larger tanks. 

I'm curious how adding crushed coral supressed your bba. Was your water very soft? For your bba you can intervene with a variety of methods like removing the bba with tongs, removing and scrubbing the driftwood, partial water changes, etc., but ultimately you need more plant mass, at least two or three times what you have right now. That will come with time. All your plants look healthy and you're certainly on the right track. I expect that the tops of your r. macrandra stems should get much deeper red color when they reach nearer to the surface. I'm not sure how Ms. Walstad gets her r. macrandra to grow so well and colorful in an NPT. It's probably related to the direction, intensity, and photoperiod of the sun's rays and then she feeds the hell out of her tanks (fishfood). She also has very hard water. I think the main thing is to just sit back and watch your plants grow.


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## tantaMD (Dec 23, 2011)

@ activesize : thanks for ur advice activesize . Even i dont have any kH tester (it's difficult to get any aquarium tester in my town unless pH tester) i think my water are quite soft. the pH of my water is around 6,5. the water source of my town comes from a river close to a mangrove area. i tried to remove the bba manually, but can't do it without damaging the plants or the substrate. It's relieving for me that u think im already on right track and what it takes now is just patience . i've confronted several type of algae previously on my other tank, but i think bba is the most frustrating one


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## zistambus (Dec 29, 2011)

Hey,
I juts found this site now...its nice to have so many aquarium enthusiasts to talk to.
Anyway, I got a new 5 feet Aquarium with 2 weet depth and 2 feet height..
I have used golden sand, fertilizer, river sand for the substrate layers,
i have reasonalbly good lighting..
i plan to plant Dwarf hair grass as carpet, sea grass, aqua rose, and some other plants..
My question is, I cant afford a co2 pressurised cylinder its damn expensive..
Will Azoo Carbon plus do the job for the co2? I plan on buying that...also Can u tell me how much i will need to add for the tank of that size?
also i have heard of some co2 tablets and some electronic co2 Plates... which are also a cheaper alternative..which will be the best?

Thanks...


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## tantaMD (Dec 23, 2011)

hi, zistambus..  welcome to APC and bytheway i'm also new here . about providing CO2 for ur aquatic plants, there are several ways for that, pressurized CO2, azoo carbon plus (the dose is 5ml for every 100L/ day if im not mistaken), CO2 tablets, diy CO2 generator (very easy to make and also very cheap, u can google it), and also CO2 actually can be provided by the tank's ecosystem itself  if you are setting an NPT/el natural tanks which i done with this tank . I suggest u to try this approach, aquascaping with consideration of creating balanced ecosystem is an art form that goes beyond regular CO2 injected planted tank for me


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## zistambus (Dec 29, 2011)

Hey,
Thanks fr ur response.
You told me about NPT tank to make its own carbon dioxide,. can u tell me how does one do ths?


I plan to pant my aquarium today, also i needed to know how to plant the Dwarf thin hair gras, should that be in small clumps of 2-3 grass together or one single away from another 1 inch apart?
How quick will these grow?

I have a 5 feet tank,, 2 feet height and 1.3 INCH in depth i dont know how to calculate the water capacity of this.!! is there any site to this?


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## tantaMD (Dec 23, 2011)

when setting up an NPT, one will use garden soil as the main substrate covered by a layer of gravel (2-3mm size of gravel, the gravel layer itself should be around 1,5cm -2cm thick). The garden soil are rich of organic material and bacteria to decompose it. The decomposing process will produce CO2 for the plants to fotosynthesis. This process needs oxygen, so it is recomended that we use top soil because it has direct contact with the air. If we use the deeper layer of soil we should mineralized it by spreading it into thin layer and wetting it for several days. Also the fishes breathing contribute to CO2 provision for the plants. 
About hairgrass planting, although i never tried keeping hairgrass, iwould go to second option that is to plant it in 2-3 clumps, because if u want to plant it leave by leave that would be a hell of work i imagine . No one can tell for sure how fast will they grow, or even will they grow or die. The more success you get to provide what they need the more they will thrive.
About water capacities calculation there are a lot of conversion guidance in the net just google it u will find plenty. sorry i can't help u directly with this, because feet and inches are not familiar in my country usually we use meter or centimeter to describe lengths.


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