can a planted tank be in natural light?

[kimberly]

I currently have a 58 gal tank that is empty. I am interested in doing a planted tank, but the best place I have for my 58 gal is in an area with a lot of windows and natural sun (south and west windows). Would this work or better to not try?

Kimberly

 

[Quake2player]

I'm a plant newb myself... but I presume you'd qualify as a "low light" planted tank if you chose to pursue it. Thus, you just need to pick and choose the right plants that don't require upgraded lighting and CO2 injenction.

If you do a word search on this forum for "low light plants", you'll get a wealth of threads with the right plant recommendations. Off the top of my head, you'd want to start off with:

Java Fern
Java Moss
Anachris
Hornwort
Wysteria

Some of the online stores that sell plants (aquariumplants.com) will even group "low lights" so you have a good idea what to buy.

By the way, since it's an "empty" tank, you might want to look into using a good substrate for plants such as fluorite or eco complete... might as well if you're starting from scratch. Fluorite requires A LOT of rinsing, so beware... I would've went with Eco Complete if any of my LFS had it. Of course, this is a budget decision too as you'll need quite a few bags for that 55 gal. I used 3 bags of fluorite for my 29gal.... hours of rinsing.

 

[jsoong]

Are you using all natural light or some artificial lights as well? Unless you have a skylight overhead, or have a lot of really sunny windows, you won't get good plant growth with just natural light, even with the so called low light plants.

Without vigourous plant growth, the excess light then grow algae .... not a good situation.

 

[czcz]

www.naturalaquariums.com has some people who've tried this. I've tried it in a 2.5g and have always fought green water and hard green algae with south-facing windows, supplemented with unnatural light. I used plants with fast growth (Anacharis, Hornwort, Java Moss), no dice. Now Im trying it in a 10g just set up (cycling with media from another tank). This time I'm using CO2 injection in hopes it helps the plants outcompete algae. Suggest you tread cautiously and have a dark background if needed, and be prepared to limit the light (curtains) if necessary. I'm not sure if a big tank will help your chances, but good to try if you're not hurting your fish (possible high temps from direct sunlight) and don't mind time needed to experiment, I think. HTH

 

[kimberly]

Thanks for the link. I will look at it when the toddlers are asleep tonight. I had thought to use additional lighting. I had fw fish in it for a while, but the algae was uncontrollabe. That was why I was wondering if plants would do better. Would you keep things like snails in there to help with the algae or do they tend to eat the plants instead?

Kimberly

 

[czcz]

I had pond snails and MTS in the 2.5g -- I think these snails are good if you keep population in check (I've watched a pond snail clean an anacharis leaf under magnifying glass) but people smarter then me consider them pests. Bridgessi (sp?) apple snails are said to be the only ones safe for plants (my apple snail isn't so flat as pics on applesnail.net, and leave my plants in another tank alive and well). FWIW, in my high light planted I've found otocinclus, cherry shrimp, and amano shrimp an awesome algae fighting crew, and are relatively low bioload. You would need small fish and plenty of cover to keep shrimp though. In new tank I don't plan on adding algae eaters until I know I need them, and then getting algae eaters by algae type if needed. This is probably the best course of action. HTH

 

[fisch]

You still would need additional light. A planted aquarium can thrive in this situation. Just make sure that you provide lots of plants to outcompete the algae from the start. You may want to check out Ecology of the Planted Aquarium by Diana Walstad. She sets up all of her tanks utilizing natural sunlight. You might want to check out the El Natural Forum at aquabotanic.com if you want to go this route.

 

[dr_girlfriend]

I second the book by Diana Walstad, its a really good reference for anyone interested in "natural" aquariums. And with any type tank you do you need to heavily plant it with fast growing plants at first to help outcompete algae until the tank is stabilized.

 

[BASSNMAN]

You might try covering the back and sides of the tank with a light proof backing. I use tar paper. It has a slightly textured flat black finish and looks real good with plants.