Plants I grow in my 28 year old, low tech, no water change, no fertiliser tank. Part 1.

An overview of the three oldest plants in my 28 year old naturally balanced aquarium.
Link to part 2 of this 3 part series… • Plants I grow in my 28...
Link to part 3 of this 3 part series… • Plants I grow in my 28...
Link to pruning video… • Pruning talk. My 28 ye...
Link to how to plant a Crinum video… • How to plant an onion ...
Set up in 1995, this low tech (Walstad inspired) aquarium has been in continuous operation ever since. It has only had a handful of water chansubstrate has never been cleaned or disturbed (no siphoning, gravel vacuuming etc) It runs entirely at natures pace, with no additives, no fertilisers, no CO2, no chemicals etc. Many of the plants in this aquarium were planted back in 1995, and continue to thrive until this day.
The only things that are added to this aquarium are fish food and water.
If you’d like to know more about my naturally balanced, no water change, unfertilised aquariums, I’d be eternally grateful if you’d subscribe and give me a like.
And if you’d like to help this channel grow further, and reach more people, please share.
Learn more about this aquarium here (full playlist) • Low tech (Walstad insp...
But most importantly enjoy your aquarium, don’t be a slave to it.
Thanks for watching.

[@FatherFish]

EXCELLENT I appreciate your channel development. Getting to know you is vital for learning what you have to teach.

[@aquaticsbynature]

Thank you so much Father Fish, much appreciated as always. I’m slowly getting my head around making these videos……so many videos I want to make :) So hopefully over time everyone can get to know me and my tanks much better.

[@LvlUp.]

" enjoy your Aquarium , dont be a Slave to it " ... Thank you for your wise words. 🙏👍

[@aquaticsbynature]

Thank you, I’m glad you like my accidental catch phrase :)

[@phili799]

I agree Lou, this man has a lot to show us, it's another curve on ecology behind glass and reminds us of how much we have yet to discover about this fascinating topic.

[@aquaticsbynature]

Thank you so much :) Enjoy

[@GlassBoxDiaries]

Been waiting for this video since I first found your channel! Thanks for making it :)

[@aquaticsbynature]

Thanks, so glad you enjoyed it. I’ll work my way through the other plants in this tank in future videos :)

[@jeffkane4391]

Thanks for sharing. I am looking forward to the next one 😊

[@aquaticsbynature]

Thank you so much, lots more to come :)

[@Caliban071]

So much personal detail on all plants discussed. This channel is making great strides and deservedly so.

[@aquaticsbynature]

Thanks, I wasn’t really aware I was doing that 🤔 Too much stuff going around in my head lol.

[@pandora881]

Excellent information. And the behind the scenes look at how you trim the plants is very relaxing, thanks!

[@aquaticsbynature]

Thank you so much 😊

[@stevensanders7262]

Great video!

[@aquaticsbynature]

Thank you :)

[@kenrooke9047]

Nicely done. The more i view this setup the more questions I come up with. What’s below the waterline for substrate,stocking levels,feeding regimen,temperature,aquarium size,type of water for topoff and as no fertilizer is used is the fish food and the fishes waste the only element driving the system. Maybe you are already planning on addressing these issues if so forgive me for getting ahead of things. Keep up the great work.

[@aquaticsbynature]

Thanks again Ken. Yes I do certainly want to gradually cover every detail of this tank. Trouble is every video I do, makes me think of another three I need to do lol. Nice problem to have I guess :) Definitely enough to keep me busy anyway, and that’s before I start on new projects. 🤔 Watch this space as they say.

[@kenrooke9047]

@@aquaticsbynature brilliant James. I am on standby lol😃

[@gallardo20000]

That crypt is beautiful, I have yet to find one like yours, my own crypt brown doesn't have that look. Your crypt has a two-toned serrated leaflet which is such a nice texture dynamic.

[@aquaticsbynature]

Thanks 🙏 I don’t know for sure, because it was planted so long ago, but it might be Cryptocoryne wendtii ‘rubella’ . But don’t quote me lol.

[@notamoose231]

Lovely

[@aquaticsbynature]

Thank you :)

[@LushSaltyAquariums]

Cheers from Chicago! I don't know if regulations exist in places (probably for outside systems) but L. Sessiflora is pretty easy to find in my LFS. I love it like you do :)

[@aquaticsbynature]

Interesting thanks, that’s good to know :)

[@danielgamingpc4090]

Good video! i subscribe!👍👍👍

[@aquaticsbynature]

Thanks, and welcome to my little world of the balanced aquarium.

[@williammcdowell6257]

Thanks again, great content and the new microphone is a big plus. Interesting you don't replant the top 50% of a cut stem plant, certainly that is what the 2hour Aquarist & George Farmer recommends, and I certainly find for Bacopa, Pogostemon, Ludwigia, Hygrophila, and Hydrocotyle species, that the lower stems fade after repeated pruning. I find Limnophila sessiliflora a challenge to keep in an aesthetically pleasing condition over time. Tendency to either overtake a tank or grow spindly and without that compact look you have, maybe my injected CO2 plays a part. Your Crypts look fantastic and are definitely winners in most tanks, though in very high light algae may grow faster on crypt the leaves than the leaves themselves, but generally 'doers' as Monty Don would say. Crinum I haven't tried but will now. In a CO2 injected tank lilies tend to grow too rapidly for my liking and I went on a three week holiday once and came back to a four foot tank completely overwhelmed by a red lily species. I find Sagittaria works well as a carpet plant, but Eleocharis is very challenging it needs lots of light and CO2 and is vulnerable to algae, Cladophora taking hold - it is really a marsh plant of course and does well in a propagator! In my experience Vallis and Hornwort can be used with Egeria to create a really easy no CO2 tank if the light, filtration and nutrients are nicely balanced and with these plants no need to inject CO2, ideal for classroom, hospital type setup but strangely rarely used in such contexts. Tap water does vary in many ways across the British Isles and it varies locally, across the year, I suffer from high Nitrates in my tap water towards the end of the summer most years, though this past summer the rainfall was high and the ground water sources held up so my tap water didn't this year spike in Nitrate. You mentioned rain water previously for top ups. I have tried that, off a greenhouse it worked well, but not off the house roof, pigeon poop created water rich in Phosphate. Keep up the great low stress, low cost, low ego work please.

[@aquaticsbynature]

Wow tanks, that’s quite a summary :) You can certainly replant the tops of Ambulia to great effect, I just prefer the magical mystery of where it might pop up next. :) One of the reasons I like Ambulia so much is unlike the other plants you mentioned it doesn’t get weakened in the same way if you just cut it. I guess this is because it runs and therefore produces new roots on its own. Interestingly I think it actually grows best in low tech tanks. I’ve seen a lot of very leggy plants in high tech tanks lol. Thanks again

[@williammcdowell6257]

That makes sense, I found no injected CO2 easier when young and had water from off the granite mountains, I suspect that water that isn't too hard and has some level of natural CO2 is partly why MD fishtanks gets away without injecting CO2. Your style however, in terms of tank set-up and psychology suits me better. Thanks again. Che@@aquaticsbynature

[@adamek1xd]

Im in love with limnophila sesiflora, just got IT to grow bushy after 8 months in tank. IT needed some diy co2.

[@aquaticsbynature]

Wonderful isn’t it….what’s not to like :)

[@frankvermeulen4621]

I seem to remember Crinum natans and Nymphaea lotus being a popular combo in "Dutch Style" tanks, back in the day; they would put them quite close to eachother. The best Crypts (don't remember the type, though) I ever had were in a smallish tank with rough gravel, which would be writhing with Trumpet (?) snails. Both Crypts and snails were very dark brown. My current patch of L. sessiliflora needs a trim as well. I think the longest stems in there are close to a metre in length. 😅

[@aquaticsbynature]

Thanks Frank. Funnily enough this tank started life as something of a “Dutch style “ tank, so that may have been my original inspiration for the Crinum :) There are so many Cryptocorynes sold by Dutch nurseries these days, many are incorrectly named, but most will do just fine. Certainly lots to choose from, but most will end up brown under aquarium conditions.

[@williammcdowell6257]

I ran a two foot crypt only tank for about three years with no problems at all, and no injected CO2 and with hard water, a little pond soil under play pit sand, a low wattage warm light an impeller driven but small internal filter and corydoras and tetras, and yes, lots of Malaysian trumpet snails. Thanks for the observations ref. 'Dutch style' with the Crinum, got me thinking. The only plant I personally have had establish in larger pea sized gravel successfully has been giant Vallis, which will grow even in a three foot tank to around 8 feet, it grows to the far side, turns on the surface and repeats, my local shop used to love taking the unwanted specimens and gently humiliating me by pointing out the plants when held by the bottom of the roots were about twice my height! My friend who ran the shop was about a foot taller than me.

[@lmSheep]

I LOVED my limnophila sessiliflora. I changed tanks and unfortunately this was one of the plants I got rid of and I really regret it. I love how you can see the leaves open and close when the light is on and off :( And it never shed like the damn hornwort. It is out of stock everywhere around me now, could never find it again

[@aquaticsbynature]

Yes it’s a wonderful plant :) Your comment about hornwort made me chuckle, as I’ve recently relegated it to primarily new tanks only. Good luck with your search to recover the good old Ambulia, I’m sure it will turn up eventually.

[@chir0pter]

Your Crinus natans looks like it likes fast-flowing water, probably for gas exchange, which its thick but crinkled leaves also attempt to enhance. Perhaps it would have grown a bit faster with some flow?

[@aquaticsbynature]

Yes, excellent observation. This plant has always been at its best when I’ve had a reasonable amount of flow in the tank. :) I’ve actually just replaced the pump in this tank for a slightly more powerful one, so it’ll be interesting to see if it suddenly puts on a growth spurt :) And maybe it’ll even flower in February if I’m really lucky!

[@tannerbroadwell5488]

I have a 20 gallon that i’ve left pretty much undisturbed for 6 years but i do find that my kripts melt back a little every year so I add root tabs about once a year and they bounce back. I’d love to know how yours are looking so healthy without adding any fertilizer for so many years!

[@aquaticsbynature]

I’ve found over the years that if I prune regularly it largely prevents overcrowding and subsequent melting. And as far as fertiliser is concerned I simply feed my fish well and regularly. :)

[@moonbear897]

hello, thanks for another interesting video. What do you do with the ambulia stems when you remove them? Can you replant them? I've just put some in my tank so would be interested to know.

[@kenrooke9047]

Ambulia stems you just cut and replant. Once mine start curling at the top and shading out the plants below I snip them about 6 inches down and replant or give away.

[@aquaticsbynature]

Thanks, pleased you found it interesting :) I generally throw them away as I have it in most tanks. But yes you can just poke them into the substrate and they’ll grow every time :)

[@PhilipMouchtaris]

How do you keep the tiger lotus in check? Many recommend to not let it hit the surface because it can take over the tank? Thanks :)

[@aquaticsbynature]

Thanks for your question. I simply only allow it to have 3-4 floating leaves at a time. So just pinch off old leaves when a new one appears. I’ve always found that if you don’t allow them to have floating leaves it weakens the plants and they often fail to reappear the following year. So I try and let them grow as naturally as possible.

[@pimneij2219]

hey, are these Cryptocoryne wendtii full grown? or do you prune them before the leaves get to max size? Thanks gr pim,

[@aquaticsbynature]

Hi, thanks for the question. They’re about half grown right now. I tend to only prune them when they become too tall. When the time comes I’ll make a video showing exactly what I do.

[@jwdd4073]

Would you mind sharing how you achieved that textured 3d black rock background?

[@aquaticsbynature]

Thanks for the question. The backing is just a Juwel aquarium structured background that was fitted back in 1995. It’s obviously weathered quite a bit over time because I’ve never cleaned it, but I like it that way. :)

[@jwdd4073]

@aquaticsbynature It looks really good. The patina makes it all the more natural.

[@janl7078]

Another informative, relaxing and inspiring post. Thanks so much for sharing. I'm finding plant selection to be a hit and miss situation. More than half of the types I've added so far have perished. My tank set up is about a month and I'm still figuring out which plant types will survive.. Was that the same for you at the start? Also at what temperature do you keep your water?

[@aquaticsbynature]

Thanks , appreciated :) Finding the right plant combination for any new tank can be tricky, especially if it’s your first natural aquarium. So don’t be disheartened, it’s not uncommon. It’s made all the more difficult these days because so many of the plants sold today don’t really make good aquarium subjects . Try as many old favourites as you can….things like Amazon swords, vallis, hornwort, ambulia, water sprite, Sagittaria, Elodea, guppy grass, Floating plants, cryptocoryne. Temperature is currently only 70 degrees to keep heating costs down :(

[@williammcdowell6257]

You might find you have more success with plants sold primarily for the pond, assuming you have enough light and you are not driving out the very limited CO2 in a Walstad tank with air stones. Father Fish uses air driven filters, I can grow Egeria and Hornwort and Guppy Grass with such filtration, but other plants generally need more CO2 - hence Walstad doesn't use airstones etc. Hope that helps.

[@janl7078]

@@williammcdowell6257 Thanks for the tips. I'll check local garden centres that sell pond plants come Spring. I do not use air stones. I use a HOB filter.

[@williammcdowell6257]

Thanks, I find many HOB too small in capacity, but All Pondsolutions HOB-500 Aquarium External has decent capacity and is cheap - I cut out the grill on a basket or two to get bags of Phosphate absorbing resin into the canister, I run two on separate tanks, now for over a year, cheap, cheerful and effective. Best wishes.@@janl7078

[@aquaticsbynature]

Another subject I need to make a video or three about lol

[@CharlyLeyenda]

How has silicone lasted 28 years? The current tanks are lucky to last 10 or 15 years before repairing any problems in the joints. This thing about the natural aquarium has made me remember a documentary about The Earthing Movie, and how, when connected to "earth" that is, touching the literal earth, it produces an exchange of electrons and that generates a natural reduction in inflammation in our cells. Recommended to watch, it's here on KZbin. In this case we use soil in these methods, in the documentary, they put two plants and one is connected to the ground by a cable, the other without the connection, and the plant without connection dies faster and grows less, the other does not die. and grows more in general. Here the aquarium is not connected to the natural land per se, it has land, but could part of the same phenomenon apply? The doubt has arisen in me.

[@aquaticsbynature]

Thanks for your question etc. I find it a little strange that you’re getting issues with silicone on tanks which are so new :( I know of many tanks that are well over 40 years old without issues. It does make me wonder if some tanks aren’t made using the correct grade of silicone. Or are just poorly made in the first place. Thanks for recommending that documentary, I’ll give it a look, it sounds really interesting. I’m sure there’s still an enormous amount about plant biology that we don’t even know exists. Which is one of the reasons I like to run long term, ultra stable systems. One of my main philosophies is simply to create a substrate that resembles nature, and then leave it undisturbed for as long possible. The theory being that with time, and stability, many of these natural processes will eventually come.

[@jonisolis9645]

I did see a Aponogeton Natans Bulb for sale. But is that the same as a Crinum natans?

[@aquaticsbynature]

No it’s a very different plant. Nice but very seasonal in growth,

[@blanchepillai6402]

Could you please advise me on whether to use sand or gravel as a cap ? And if sand then will beach sand be ok

[@aquaticsbynature]

Hi, thanks for your question. In my experience you can use almost anything for a cap and have a successful aquarium. That said the coarser the substrate you use the deeper it needs to be to help prevent too much leaching initially. So I’d go for either 2-3 inches of sand or 4 inches of fine gravel. I wouldn’t recommend beach sand though as it will probably contain lots of shells which will increase the pH. hope this helps :)

[@terryduclos2457]

Hi tech phone tripod 👍🙌👏👏👏🥳🎊🎉

[@aquaticsbynature]

lol, I’m still using the same format, except I’ve upgraded to cartons of chickpeas now :)

[@terryduclos2457]

@@aquaticsbynature Love it! That’s epic👍And the way you run your tanks is just Awesome!🙌 Well done 👏

[@aheimsvensson1573]

Didn´t know that juwel made these type of aquariums and juwel filter 28 yers ago;)

[@aquaticsbynature]

Yes they’ve been around a long while, but I think they first came to the U.K. in 1994-5. As I know I was one of the first shops here to stock them :)

[@jovictor]

7.40 that must be the rarest fish in the world. Plz tell me you named him quasimodo 😮.

[@aquaticsbynature]

Lol, it’s always been a bit bent, but now it’s old it’s far more exaggerated. But you know how it is, it always seems to manage to photobomb my videos :)

[@ashikrafi290]

How many gallons and how many fishes are there in your tank ?

[@aquaticsbynature]

Thanks for your questions. The tank is about 180 litres (40 gallons) not allowing for gravel. I guess there’s about 50 fish in the tank plus lots of shrimps and snails etc.

[@samharrison3994]

found a natan after the first search 🤘

[@williammcdowell6257]

Ebay or one of the big suppliers? I have found that like Guppy Grass, easy plants are not always available in the shops, more money selling folks, repeatedly, pots of Micranthemum.

[@aquaticsbynature]

Nice find. Out of interest what country are you in ?

[@williammcdowell6257]

Good question, I'm in England, Berkshire, so really hard water, but grew up in Belfast with lovely soft water from the Mourne mountains - though not ideal for live bearing fish, in my teenage years in the 1970s tetras did really well in my tanks and Indian Fern was easy to grow floating. @@aquaticsbynature

[@samharrison3994]

@@aquaticsbynature UK 👍🏻

[@grgurvugdelija1718]

Hello

[@aquaticsbynature]

Hi :)