# My NPT Journey



## NayR:D (Jan 14, 2010)

Hasnt started yet :shock:

However it will be soon, and I would appreciate any help given. I'd like your opinions on everything - from tanks to plants, to accessories, to soil. I want to create the best possible tank I can on the first attempt! I'd rather not make a tank where the light is too powerful and the soil is wrong and then it makes my plants die or whatever.... you get the idea 

I live in the UK so any information from people here who know where to get good substrates from. ie. B&Q, Wicks etc... would be greatly appreciated!

My ideal tank would be something like the Arcadia Arc, 20l or 35l, I haven't quite made my mind up yet. With a light gravel base on top of a good soil that I will get based on any opinions given to me on this forum. Any opinions on this are welcome!
I like the layout of the iwagumi tanks, with the sloping landscapes and rock formations etc...

So far my experience with plants in tanks is limited to the java fern - which I hold a high opinion on, I am very happy with those plants, as my tank doesn't have a light, and the plant is still going strong after 2 months! Plus my Betta's seem to love it! 
I like the look of the Chinese Evergreen and plants that are more red in colour - I like the contrast of colours, so that would be something I'd be interesting in getting.
And also I would like a plant that would carpet the bottom of the tank, or at least a significant area, that resembles grass - any ideas?

Please post opinions and advice!

Thanks!


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## NatalieT (Mar 20, 2007)

NayR:D said:


> My ideal tank would be something like the Arcadia Arc, 20l or 35l, I haven't quite made my mind up yet.


Are those "20 liter" and "35 liter" or are they "20 gallon long" and "35 gallon long"?

I find the letter L to be a confusing abreviation for tank sizes


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## NayR:D (Jan 14, 2010)

Sorry Natalie T. Its 20litre and 35 litre(cube).They come with a 11w light, filter and a heater if i remember correctly. Id proberly disconnect them. Would that light be any good? I found a few of the same light on Ebay so maybe i could get another and have 2x11w? Thanks.

edit: Heres a link to a site selling the 35 litre its got all the info on there, 

http://www.warehouse-aquatics.co.uk/index.php?p=product&products_id=2704&cid=0


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## NatalieT (Mar 20, 2007)

I'm not very good at light amounts and specific styles of aquariums, but I'm sure that's enough light to grow something. I agree that java fern is great stuff!

For some basic information on El Natural, try this thread that's stickied at the top of the forum:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/el-natural/26458-what-el-natural-step-step.html

The second post in particular sums up most of it.

For the tank you mention, I would personally use the light and possibly the heater, but not the filter. I'd also try to get a package of plant trimmings from someone on the forums--try placing a wanted post in "for sale or trade." Plant everything you get, and you'll soon know what's easy to grow for you. Then concentrate on making a scape you like with the ones that grow well. It's fun to try some new kinds of plants every now and then, even after you've got a selection of ones you know you like.

I wouldn't stress about adding to the light unless you find that plants won't grow with it. Since the light doesn't cover the entire top of the tank, you might be able to grow medium or high light plants directly under the light, and low light plants at the edges. Your java fern is a "low light" plant.

Some plants die if they don't get enough light, some change color (red in high light become green in low light), some grow leaves of different shapes, and some plants just grow slower.

Edit to add: I'm in the United States, so I can't advise on where to buy stuff. For substrate, you want something that's "just dirt"--without a bunch of fertilizer in it. I dug up dirt in my yard, many people buy some sort of topsoil or potting soil. Then cover the dirt with gravel--you can usually get that from your local fish store, just look for small size gravel rather than big pebbles. (You can get gravel cheaper from other places, but for a tank that size you don't need a whole lot of gravel, so it's probably not worth looking farther than the fish store.)


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## NayR:D (Jan 14, 2010)

wow. Thanks for the help its very much appreciated. Im on my phone at the moment so there wont be paragraphs, just alot of fullstops haha. Im going to pick up some topsoil pretty soon and some gravel, maybe 1 or 2 rocks nothin bigger than 2inches, possibly some wood/root, java fern and i heard a neat trick to sandwich a layer of java moss between 2 pieces of fine mesh, and itll grow through and when trimmed is like a carpet. Also what about lace fern? Ill put a post in the sale/wanted thread. Good thinking about being able to point the light. Has any one kept a paradise fish in one of these tanks? Thanks again for the help.


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## NayR:D (Jan 14, 2010)

UPDATE

I decided to just go for it, a pal of mine said he was on his way to a fish shop and did I want him to pick me up anything.  So I asked for him to get the store plant guy to pick me out some low maintenance plants that wouldnt require much light. So he dropped the plants off on his way back, I'd already cleaned out a 14ltr tank I had, I think thats around 4 gallons. I used an inch layer of soil from my back yard, placed my plants, stone, wood and then put a thin layer of gravel around it all. The only light i have at the moment is a 20w desk lamp, how long should I leave this light on the tank for?? is it too strong??

I dont know any of the names of the plants i got apart from the java fern, I transferd into this one from my other tank. Are they really low maintenance plants? Tanks me set up since Saturday morning, things look ok. There seems to be a few bubbles popping up from the gravel/soil is this ok?

Thanks Ryan.

Edit;

i realise i didnt post pictures ill do it now


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## NayR:D (Jan 14, 2010)

The second pic looks alot lighter than it actually looks in peson the flash and room light make it look like some kind of microwave.


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## NayR:D (Jan 14, 2010)

anyone ??


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## NatalieT (Mar 20, 2007)

I'm sure your light is not too strong. Does it have an incandescent light bulb or a fluorescent? If it's incandescent, it's probably not strong enough. If it's fluorescent, it's more likely to be fine--although I see it's above the tank rather than sitting right on it, and a lot of the light is going into the room rather than all being directed into the tank. If you identify any plant that seems to need more light, try sticking that plant right where the light is brightest. The "rule" about how many watts per gallon is poor at best, and when you deal with tanks that are unusually small, large, tall, wide, etc. it goes for poor to almost useless  In your case, you have something like "5 watts per gallon" but I don't think it'll be too much unless there's also a lot of sunlight hitting the tank.

I'm not good at identifying plants, so I can't tell if they're really low maintenance or not.

Good luck!

Edit: I forgot to say that I don't know how many hours to run the light each day. I tend to light my own tanks about 12 hours each day, but that has a lot to do with the amount of time I'm home & awake to look at them! I'd say, just pick a convenient length of time each day and try it for a while, then decide whether it seems to be working alright. (Unless someone chimes in with a more specific suggestion.)


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## NayR:D (Jan 14, 2010)

Alllllrighty then 

I wasnt sure on the whole WPG thing so didnt know if I was going to roast them or it wasnt going to be enough.

This tank isnt going to to be very planted ill proberly remove the 'big leaf', plant as i know it, and replace with a moss. The fighter will be moving on into the next tank(heavily planted) once I've masterd this one, my girlfriend wants to then take over his one and have some smaller pretty fish so would guppys be ok in one of these or would i need to add a filter?

The bubbles coming from the soil seem to have stoped unless i poke it :-$ is this normal?


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## NatalieT (Mar 20, 2007)

I have kept guppies plenty of times without having a filter. (Of course, other people will probably have different advice...) My own tank has no filter, and I had lots of guppies: I just gave some away to reduce the population because the tank was so full of them.

I'm not quite sure about the bubbles from the soil; maybe someone else will chime in, or maybe you could search the forums--someone may have asked that before.


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## NayR:D (Jan 14, 2010)

Hey Natalie T.

I had a search and found someone else withthe problem, well its not so much a problem its quite normal, and is good for the plants as its just co2 from the bacteria and organic matter. if i remember rightly haha.

Im going to another local fish shop, hunting for a moss  its going to replace the Anubias barteri(the big leave) plant, because after doingsome research on it i found itll proberly do fine in my cichlid tank and it grows quite wide an tall, so im stunting it a little by having in in my 5Gallon, and if i let it grow itll cast a big shadow over the HC. 

Thanks.


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