# My second NPT



## Pendulum (Oct 13, 2014)

Hello people,

I'm Pendulum from Hungary, and this is my second natural planted tank. First was very succesfull in my eyes. (It was posted too in this forum around 2 years ago).

So, my next tank has this parameters: 91 liters(24gal), 2 x 24w T5 bulbs(2 x 880), soil is my own compost, mixed with little peat and JBL manado, and I covered with gravel substrate. I Don't use any artifical fertilizers, and no artifical CO2. Water changes in the first month was weekly, nowadays around in every 2 weeks.

The aquarium start was a bit difficult. The compost was too hot, and I could measure ammonia for around a month, and algae was growing rather than plants. Next time I mineralize or mix it with more inert material.

But after a month it stabilized, algae growth stopped, and plants started to grow very well.

This is the aquarium state at the moment.


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## DutchMuch (Apr 12, 2017)

nice tank!


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## carlsbl (Jun 26, 2017)

Very inspirational!


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## Z1234 (Oct 25, 2016)

Nice and healthy looking tank!


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

That is a very good looking aquascape! I would love to have that success.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Lovely! Somehow I missed your thread back in May when you first posted.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

It's a beauty!! One does not see such loveliness every day. The vividly colored fish set off the plants very nicely.


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## Pendulum (Oct 13, 2014)

Here is a new picture of the tank. Thanks for the comments. 
Between the two picture I pruned at least 2-3 times, if I could not do this, the plants would be much more high(probably growing out of the tank  )


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## Z1234 (Oct 25, 2016)

Still looks great. I think the relatively fresh dirt is still dumping so much CO2 to the water, that plants grow like crazy.


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## Pendulum (Oct 13, 2014)

The plant growth is not stopped yet. 

I already had an NPT before, but I am still wondered how plants can grow only from the soil and the fishfood. Even with artifical fertilizers hard to make better plant condition and growth speed.


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## TDOliphant (Mar 26, 2017)

Love it. Setting up 2 more today myself


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Great looking tank! One of the things I love about Walstad tanks is the fast growth and development of plants during the first six months or so.  About the time I get tired of trimming stems, growth slows to a more easily maintained rate.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Pendulum said:


> The plant growth is not stopped yet.
> 
> I already had an NPT before, but I am still wondered how plants can grow only from the soil and the fishfood.


Wow! This tank is unstoppable.

Soil gets NPTs off to a good start and provides substrate iron (versus water iron that stimulates algae), plus the tiny soil particles plentiful attachment sites for bacteria that recycle fish wastes. Fishfood itself contains all the nutrients that plants need and provides them in small, safe doses. I quantitated all this in my book's chapter 'Sources of Plant Nutrients' (pp. 77-89).

So keep feeding your fish well!


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## Pendulum (Oct 13, 2014)

The aquarium almost 6 months old. I dont feel the soil has lowered its "power". I hope the soil will keep this ability as long as possible.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Still looking great!


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## asad_200113 (Aug 24, 2017)

Is that tall background plant Hygrophila Angustifolia 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## Pendulum (Oct 13, 2014)

asad_200113 said:


> Is that tall background plant Hygrophila Angustifolia
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yes it is.


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## Pendulum (Oct 13, 2014)

My aquarium became 7,5 months old. The growth rate is dropped, and I found nitrogen deficiency. But I made balls of compost and clay, and the deficiency is disappeared.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Still gorgeous! You've obviously know what you are doing. I like it that you added compost to the clay balls. Nice touch!


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Wonderful tank, and I will remember that compost-in-clay technique.


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## FromReefs2Plants (Aug 14, 2017)

For the clay and compost, you literally just made a ball of it and popped it down on the gravel? As for clay, I have been seeing that pop up, what does it do?


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## Pendulum (Oct 13, 2014)

FromReefs2Plants said:


> For the clay and compost, you literally just made a ball of it and popped it down on the gravel? As for clay, I have been seeing that pop up, what does it do?


The clay is very little particles, and it have high CEC. CEC is cation exchange capacity, shortly, it stores the nutrients for a shorter or longer time, and it "gives back" for the water when the physical conditions are allows the cation exchange with the water. I dont know at the moment, that the plant roots could or not uptake this ions from directly the surface of the clay particle. Michael? Diana?


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Yes, plant roots can absorb the nutrients directly from the clay particles. This is why some type of clay is an important ingredient--it keeps the nutrients in the substrate and out of the water, helping to reduce algae growth.


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