Dirt aquarium substrate predates every plant substrate known to have ever existed, a dirt tank is a cost effective way to have a planted aquarium. Aaron Talbot can verity this sort of way for setting up a planted tank, soil is nothing new in our hobby and has been used since aquariums were first invented. Since that time we have come up with new ideas for using dirt in the aquarium, Mineralized Topsoil for example was/still is one of the best ways for a dirt tank substrate, Miracle-Gro Organic Choice Potting Mix came into the planted tank hobby and is another good substrate choice for a dirt tank.
I've setup 55 gallon tanks with just organic topsoil without "mineralizing" it with good success, the fact is in nature aquatic plants use dirt as their "substrate". So it's only reasonable to do the same in the planted tank hobby.
By Aaron Talbot: http://gwapa.org/wordpress/articles/mineralized-soil-substrate/
Also WPG (watts per gallon) is an term that's outdated, and many aquarist no longer follow when it comes to lighting. With the introduction of PAR Photosynthetically Active Radiation it designates the spectral range (wave band) of solar radiation from 400 to 700 nanometers that photosynthetic organisms are able to use in the process of photosynthesis. PAR is normally quantified as µmol photons/m2/second, which is a measure of the photosynthetic photon flux (area) density, or PPFD.
So now how does a low tech/low light setup achieve success with healthy plants, it's simple because of light provided for the plants contains enough PAR for the plants to photosynthesize, meaning that the plants have enough light combined with enough nutrients to sustain healthy growth. Granted some people who have low tech/low light setups generally do not add fertilizers to their tanks along with no co2. But others follow EI dosing regime designed for low light planted tanks, and commonly use a liquid carbon supplement like flourish excel, or even metricide 14 as a substitute for excel.
So with the combined soil substrate, low light with efficient PAR, minimal fertilizer dosing, and a liquid carbon substitute a "low tech/low light" tank can be achieved no matter the the tank size, or tank dimensions.
I've setup 55 gallon tanks with just organic topsoil without "mineralizing" it with good success, the fact is in nature aquatic plants use dirt as their "substrate". So it's only reasonable to do the same in the planted tank hobby.
By Aaron Talbot: http://gwapa.org/wordpress/articles/mineralized-soil-substrate/
Also WPG (watts per gallon) is an term that's outdated, and many aquarist no longer follow when it comes to lighting. With the introduction of PAR Photosynthetically Active Radiation it designates the spectral range (wave band) of solar radiation from 400 to 700 nanometers that photosynthetic organisms are able to use in the process of photosynthesis. PAR is normally quantified as µmol photons/m2/second, which is a measure of the photosynthetic photon flux (area) density, or PPFD.
So now how does a low tech/low light setup achieve success with healthy plants, it's simple because of light provided for the plants contains enough PAR for the plants to photosynthesize, meaning that the plants have enough light combined with enough nutrients to sustain healthy growth. Granted some people who have low tech/low light setups generally do not add fertilizers to their tanks along with no co2. But others follow EI dosing regime designed for low light planted tanks, and commonly use a liquid carbon supplement like flourish excel, or even metricide 14 as a substitute for excel.
So with the combined soil substrate, low light with efficient PAR, minimal fertilizer dosing, and a liquid carbon substitute a "low tech/low light" tank can be achieved no matter the the tank size, or tank dimensions.
