NPT (natural planted tank) 55gal

Thank you......it turned out really nice- if I do say so myself.....and so did the 10gal I did last week.....
I have so many plants I needed to use and this 55gal had been taken over by java moss to the point that you couldn't see much else and I needed to catch all the BN plecos-had 30 offspring that ranged from half to 2 inches that I needed to get out/moved-really hard with all the moss.....lol.....

When I break them down....I don't worry about the dirt and sand mixing since I toss it...lol....well, it usually will be used in one of the flower bed or the garden...so its not wasted...

It is a muddy mess...lol....I will remove 95% of the old dirt/sand and water.....the muddy water all goes away once I add fresh, dry, sifted dirt-I then add water just to cover the soil-place most of the hardscape and then cap with the fresh dry sand-I like to start with dry sand-I don't rinse it-this works better for me-
Once I have my sand layer-I fill the tank with water-drain and repeat-
On the third fill, I only fill with water half way-Now I plant-Once planted-I drain again-refill...sometimes I may go ahead and do a 50% water change at this point too-depends on how cloudy it is....

My finial fill I try to fill with water at the temp I want the tank to be-
Turn on the filter and start adding the livestock after proper acclimation to the new chemistry of course...lol......and I may add a few more plants here and there-wipe off some of the air bubbles on the glass-shake the plants to get any bubble or sand off...etc.....

These pic are about 16 hours after I set it up

I will make 1-2 50% weekly water changes until I see new plant growth and then I will back off on water changes-this can vary-depends on plant growth and livestock behavior-
I will do spot testing using test strips for a quick look daily and full liquid reagent testing before water changes.....

Once mature and the soil has started its life underwater...water changes will be 3-4 yearly at best......The water changes on NPT soil based are limited by design....these are as close to a complete ecosystem that you can create in a closed system-but they do need some care...just limited...

No added ferts, CO2, low/mod light, easy care low tech...and lots of fun....
The biggest problem I have with my NPT-if you can call this a problem....massive/fast plant growth.....laffs.....

Great systems-but not for everyone-they do have their own set of problems.....

This NPT had been running for near 5 years before I decided to re-do it.....water prams on the day I broke it down was 0ppm on ammonia, nitrite, nitrate-due to the mass amount of plants-I rarely if ever have nitrate levels in my systems-this is not uncommon with heavy planted tanks....Live active growing plants are great biological filters....

Thanks......Laffs....right now in the house- I have over 1 ton of water sitting on the East side of my house-along with table and chairs-great place to have morning coffee and watch fish....better than TV....lol.......
I would love 240gal tank.....that would be awesome to setup in the house...I have a 250gal outside (it leaks) that I use in the warmer months and 150gal stock tank down at the corral that I use for grow out in the summer....not counting....anything that hold water has something aquatic-be it plants, fish, invert or culturing food for the fish.....not ready for cold weather....seems to come too fast and last too long....lol.....

Getting really good growth on the plants and have trimmed a few and had to thin out the water lettuce already....I added about 30 male guppies and 8 more young Bettas-the BN plecos are getting ready to spawn again-the RCS are multiplying and looking good-
Only had to make 2 water changes since setup-but I plan to make one today since I need to top it off anyway and it is nice outside so I can have the door open to drain in the yard without freezing...lol....

I am really liking the pool filter sand...this is the first time I have used it-usually use playsand to cap the dirt/soil-the pool filter sand is larger and brighter..I like that....now I am looking at my 75gal....the bronze crypts have taken over...still looks good....but it needs a change.....

I really expected it to stink a lot worse than it did since this was the tank that I had a lot of trouble with-I had used sand that I had harvested from one of my stock ponds to cap the soil layer and it caused massive silts and I had to add a layer of gravel to get it controlled....so the total substrate layer was well over 41/2 inch and you could see the anaerobic spots on the outer edges...but I kept it running for near 5 years without any health problems-I did have a few problems with rosette plants that would rot-the vals and sags I started with I had to replace and plant the new ones higher and a bout with BGA the first year...but other than that-no problems...well..except the silts did a number on the filter and that was off for about a year or so...but the naja, moss and hygrophilia grew in masses and non-stop BN pleco spawning......and this was with maybe....6-8 water changes over that 5 years it was running......by design they need limited water changes...you can't get away with this with regular substrate or just sand setups..... plants or not...the soil is alive and what helps to recycle DOC's along with the active growing plants.....

I really expected rotten egg smell that would knock your head off...but it didn't- a slight sulfur smell-more like the bottom of an over watered house plant and it must have not been too toxic because the next day I fished out a few more RCS..it took me 2 days to tear it down...lol.....makes me think twice about tearing the 75g down and starting over...lol......but I sure like the end result of the 55gal this time......

And then when I was getting ready to place the new light bulbs in the light strip.......disaster......a cat knocked the new bulbs over and they Exploded everywhere......what a mess...glass all over the place...had to stop what I was doing-clean the glass and vacuum the floor.........so I had to wait another day to replace the old light bulbs since its nearly 30 mile round trip to town.....

My marble crayfish loved it...they got a lot of the snails and unused plant pieces...lol.....