# Ecology of the Planted Aquarium by: Diana L. Walstad



## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Anyone have this book? Worth reading? Stupid question sort of.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

jrman83 said:


> Anyone have this book? Worth reading? Stupid question sort of.


I have not read it but have had it come up in research.

Sound like a beaslbob build *old dude

IMHO every aquariumist especially newbies should read it.


my .03


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Well....if that is all it talks about is beaslbob build stuff, I get enough of that on here, LOL. 

So it discusses NPT methods then, I guess?


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

jrman83 said:


> Well....if that is all it talks about is beaslbob build stuff, I get enough of that on here, LOL.
> 
> So it discusses NPT methods then, I guess?


Yeppers

Only the low tech type.

no co2, lower lights, potting soil in the substrate, infrequent to no water changes.


Kinda all sounds like a beaslbob build to me.

my .02


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Yea she uses potting soil instead of the peat,and her usual cap is pea gravel instead of sand.It does work,basically like the beasl build.The thing to remember is it must be balanced.I think here though you actually have bob to ask questions to,lol.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

I will probably go NPT for my next tank, but it will have fairly high light and CO2. Not a true NPT.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

IMO,its still a NPT.The plats are live after all.The difference is you are doing more work than others.I personally could not do the walstadt or the beaslebob,because I need the maintenance schedule.I want a pressurized setup for my two and better lighting too.


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

It is very well worth the reading. She goes into details of the npt. I have done them myself going by her methods. Using potting soil though it takes longer for it to stablize but it works wonders. She also brings up the fact that plants do need water movement and suggest powerheads or a filter with nothing in it just for water movement. The water movement does help to bring oxygen into the tank which is needed by the plants. Fish actually don't give the right oxygen that the plants need. They do a good job at fertilizing if there is enough fish in the tank, but these methods also require a light bioload so your ammonia levels dont get out of wack

You can usually find the book in libraries and I would recommend it to anyone planning on an NPT.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

majerah1 said:


> Yea she uses potting soil instead of the peat,and her usual cap is pea gravel instead of sand.It does work,basically like the beasl build.The thing to remember is it must be balanced.I think here though *you actually have bob *to ask questions to,lol.


I hope that's a good thing. *r2


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