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I am sure Tom did do a very successful non C02 tank, I seem to remember it had very bright lighting too?

This is a good one to read through….. https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/low-energy-soil-substrate-scape.65484/

I hope it is as successful as your previous attempts.

Plants, water changes and a trickle tower.

This was my filter set up about 25 years back, 6” of gravel over a supported perforated plate with a 1” gap at the bottom. A popular marine method of the time and something I was using on my Koi ponds. In fact I have found by far and away the most successful koi ponds I have built operate a very...

I think that Mulm is another word for disolved organic compound “ DOC”

Lots of pets shops look more like torture chambers to me, small boxes for rabbits, wire cages for birds, bowls for fish and staff encouraging you with false information.

How much depth of substrate have you got? I am not sure if the square layout of the right looks very natural & overall it does not offer much perspective or depth of field. What do you plan on planting? You have a lot of height in you tank.

2 x T5 the length of the tank was (is) the standard fitment for a high tech tank, then a few years ago LED came along and confused everyone!

You seem to get this type of person in all walks of life .... the angler who catches all the fish, the footballer who scores all the goals, the punter who wins on the horses etc. You ask them how they do it and they reply .. "Oh it is easy" obviously it is for them but maybe not for us...

It looks like you have to much light for the amount of C02 available to the plants. It may be possible to increase light once the plants become more established but things dont normally go very fast in a low tech......

I think we still remember the our fist planted tanks from years back, the concept of keeping the co2 in the tank rather than gassing it off.. it worked very well too. Now we have a new angle but, I have yet to be convinced myself! I have read Darrel's post & understand what he is saying but like...

OK I think I have an plan now So I am going to set up something in the garage very soon Well I don't actually use all the lights at once but in sequence on timers & the tank is quite shaded by terrestrial plants with their roots in the tank water.

LOL .. cant argue with that Tom, I look after 4 reef tanks, including a cold water reef, my lounge planted tank & numerous koi ponds. The low tech, lush looking tank is a dream at the moment but, I feel it is something I need to get to grips with... however. as you so correctly point out there...

There seems a few options available but I prefer to be a bit radicle so trickle filters & water changes sound good to me. Don't tell Ceg but I have mega lighting over the tank at the moment, 4 x T5 1 xT8 & 3 x 11w LED so I have the lighting covered with the T8 & or LEDs. In fact I have most...

Thanks Tim, I am going to do plenty of home revision before I take the plunge!

Yes Tom very good point :) How about I set up all the necessarys to run a low tech, like soil & suitable plants etc & give it 2kg of gas up front, perhaps then a few weeks of liquid carbon before settling into a low tech... what do you think?

If I go for this, I want the best chance of success because it will be in my lounge tank, 90x70x40 deep, & I will be looking at it every day. I have of course tried the low tech route before but, I became bored to quickly to call my attempts successful!

Fantastic...So if I were to start a low tech tank, a dry start to get the plants established, or even a long term dry start of say 3 months, might be a good way? There seems to be every changing ideas about low tech recently, water changes being a prominent one. I am sure it has been said that...

Thanks Alistair, you are using a high gas exchange through a huge surface area & movement, a decomposing substrate & 2 x water changes so that is quite a recent movement in low tech tank development! I have paid attention on this & other forums about the latest movement in low tech design &...

Hi Michael, yeah you are using the more conventional low tech method that we all know works but what about these high gas exchange sets we are seeing from the likes of Troi & Alistair?

I am still trying to get my head around how 'successful low tech tanks' differ from, say a community or even a single species tank? I mean 'successful' as in growing healthy plants. So we have a soil substrate, a fertiliser regime, one wpg, & recently it seems 10 x flow & even weekly water...

Depends if you have any algae issues or not? Every tank is different so you might have to judge for yourself.

It sounds like you need to revise the low tech section on the forum, there are a few guys having great success with soil based tanks. It helps if you understand that C02 is the driving force not matter what angle you attract from.... the more C02 the better there after it is about patience...

I am not a fan of soil dividers either & I dont know if that would stop the sand from traveling down through the soil anyway? You could fill you tank with water & then drain it down for initial planting but why not plant from the beginning. Soil is incredibly messy when wet, so even the...

Because overflows drive off any co2 that might be present.

Your sump should be ok with added carbon but I dont think low tech & sumps mix very well!

So how do you separate CO2 from O2? Would it be possible for the hobbyist to harvest enough CO2 from the atmosphere in some way ?

Using that theory - wouldn't simply operating an air stone powdered from an external air pump supply C02 from the atmosphere as well as oxygen?

There are several very successful soil tanks featured on this forum Toms bucket of mud & Allister's Chocolate puddle are both good examples. I realise you don't want to waste your substrate but you might be inspired to read their threads

I bought some ferts the other day too, I bought them from a forum sponsor, they where cheap to buy & are absolutely perfect for my tank?!

Hi Tom no idea if the soil changes the water parameters as I dont really test anything, all is says on the bag is..... Levington Bonsai Compost is a free draining blend of loam, sand, bark and peat with essential nutrients

Not off the top of my head mate but, I will probably have some in my shed - however I seem to remember the info on the packing was pretty basic! Anyway I have used it numerous times with success.

Look out for this

If these ammonia rich soils catch on amongst our formites I am sure methods to deal with the new tank start up will develop too. As Ceg has already said the dry start method is well tested & using an already mature filter will help no end too. Trickle filters are very effective & fast at...

You should be able to get a similar product from any garden centre, lime free coarse sand, grit or lime free gravel is sold for pot plant use. Cactus, orchid & Bonsai sections normally have silica & lime free products too.

I really hope this does not turn sour as I actually enjoyed reading Trois post (I enjoy Cegs too). It is good to have differing opinions & it makes interesting learning. Obviously I don't want to read about an argument but, if I can learn from a scientific based discussion that is good with me.

Are well I got to meet the chap & I wrote a few articles for the mag too! I managed a Koi farm & tourist attraction at the time & we bought a fish called TC, a huge red tailed cat that weighed 36lb. Anyhow I had built this 1000gal tank for the catfish & the mag featured the whole event of the...

Hey Troi, sorry to deviate slightly (a lot) but you mention the "Aquarist” is that the same magazine that I remember? Edited by David Sands, a cat fish expert & later to become Dr David Sands with a spot on channel four television based on animal psychology!