ulster exile said:
I have recently made an attempt to set up my first proper 'scape with a 28litre tank (inspired by Graeme Edward's latest effort, but that's a different story).
It has 11W of lighting, so is pretty low light to say the least.
I have an inert substrate, with added root tabs for the crypts.
Fish load consists of just a betta and a few cherry shrimp. No plans to add anything else (although I hope the cherries increase in number without much effort on my part 😉 )
Plants are all low light - anubias barteri v. nana, java fern, flame moss and monosolenium tenerum (if I can get it attached to some small bits of slate 🙄 ). I accept I'm going to have pretty slow growth in these conditions.
So, as I have a very low fish load I doubt I can rely on the plants utilising any of the nutrients from the fish/food waste.
Ideally, as it's intended to be a low maintenance tank, I'd prefer a liquid solution to this one. Any suggestions of products/dosing regimes?
Hi Chrisi,
Barr's Non CO2 method is really not that difficult but yes, sometimes it's a struggle to glean what you need to in order to be on your way. The non-CO2 and the high tech method both work on the same principles. I've had a look at your proposal and it sounds pretty good except for, in my opinion, the choice of substrate.
In a high tech tank there is massive pressure to dose the water column. With megawattage of lighting there is no way root feeding can supply the nutrients fast enough. In non CO2 however, there is much less pressure simply because the lighting is lower. Because of the lower light (THE driver) there is much less pressure to rapidly uptake nutrients so having a rich substrate allows the plants to feed slowly but regularly. Some choose to use potting soil, but for me that's a bit messy. It's so much easier to use an enriched substrate such as AquaSoil, Onyx even Flourite or Eco-Complete. I don't mean to imply that you
can't be successful using the inert substrate, only that you give yourself a much better
chance of success by using an enriched substrate.
OK, so you lighting is low, let's say you go for a better substrate, and many of the other rules still apply; You need good filtration and good circulation without breaking the surface - so no bubbles. Next, water changes: The non CO2 method is based on the principle that the plants adapt, through internal chemical changes, to the existing low level of CO2. If you then change the water, which normally has a higher CO2 content, algae immediately sense the change and are awoken. Being simple plants they can adapt instantly but the plats require a few weeks to adapt so they are at an immediate disadvantage. It is not considered a good idea in the non CO2 method to change water more than a couple of times per year.
Finally, dosing; If you have an enriched substrate you need only dose NPK and micros once a week or once every two weeks. Personally, I would still use the dry ferts from AE. I don't see any reason to use something more expensive. KNO3, KH2PO4 and CSM+B will work brilliantly. Additionally, you may also consider a once a week dosing of excel which will provide a form of carbon to the plants which is not available to algae.
One more thing; according to Barr it's not really necessary to limit yourself to only low light plants. Some of the other more common plants will grow with this regime but of course they will not grow nearly as quickly.
So you see it's not any more complicated that the high tech approach and is actually quite a bit easier if you follow the formula: Good substrate, no water changes, low light, small but regular water column dosing.
Cheers,
