Moon

While I haven't heard of this incarnation of natural aquariums I have been keeping what I call natural aquariums for many years. I use a special potting soil mix that I make up my self covered by three to five inches of fine sand. I prefer black sand like "Tahitian moon sand" but any kind of sand will do. My potting soil consists of ground up lava rocks, ground into four like dust and sand sized particles. organic pet, earth worm castings and ground up oak leaves. Here are the mix ratios

2 parts ground lava rock
1 part earth worm castings
4 parts composted peat
1 part ground leaves

I put down a layer of this about one inch deep and cover that with about a layer of fiberglass screening. then I put down one quarter inch of whole oak leaves. I then cover that with my sand. It works great and all my plants grow great. Next time I start up a new tank I plan to add about 1/4 part coral sand with the bottom mixture.

I grow not only a lush layer of plant growth but I also grow swamp trees trimmed back like bonsai with the foliage out of the water. The tree roots make for an interesting effect in the tank. Trees are also heavy feeders and draw lots of nutrients out of the water. I have also grown moist soil trees with the roots hanging in the water with the trunk and foliage out of the water. I also count the animal inhabitants of the aquarium when I say natural. I like to keep lots of small fishes and freshwater invertebrates like shrimp, crabs, and various snails and clams. There are lots of unusual invertebrates out there. All we have to do as hobbyests is to ask for something other than the common everyday snails and such we have seen all our lives. There are snails that look nore like marine snails than the smooth boring snails we have seen over the years, freshwater limpets as much as one and a half inches across, as well as many different types of shrimp, crayfish, and crabs. A natural aquarium should have as many different animals as possbile and they should all be small along with small fish. These small animals along with as lush plant growth allows the veiwer to see something different everytime they look with something coming out of hiding all the time.

TigerLilly

wow. that sounds great! I'd love to see pictures if you have any.

dymndgyrl

I love the idea of swamp trees. What varieties can you use? Do you take seedlings from the wild? And how do you anchor the tree in the tank?

Would love to see pics, too.

TeutonJon78

I think mangrove plants will grow in the aquarium. I'm not sure about pure freshwater though. They should grow in bracking water. I know that some SW people grow mangroves out of their sumps for filtration.

Moon

I don't have any photos right now, the floppy I had them stored on failed and I haven taken any new ones yet. sometimes I get seedlings from teh wild but I also grow from seeds. From seeds is really the best way to go, it mkaes it easier to trian the roots. Mangroves can live in both fresh and salt water, I like cypress and water tupelo the best. my trees have just taken on new leaves for the spring so they really look good. i am still training them so most of these leaves will have to go and a new crop of leaves will come back. many of the snails I want can be seen on this site. http://en.sademetsa.net/snails.php, it is a great site with netrites and abalone snails, Pachymelania byronensis looks really good too. I haven't found any of these snails yet but I am looking. the hardest animals to track down is the crab Amarinus lacustris. A dsecription can be found at this site. http://www.crayfishworld.com/nz.htm. this crab is listed in New zealand but is common in other parts of it's range. I am setting up a new tank and I will get photos of both the set up and the trees as they are planted. If anyone can help me find the inverts i listed here please let me know.

TeutonJon78

I would love to get my hands on some River Nerites. Some people have reported having them reproduce in freshwater.

benjavan

The only reason you dont see mangroves in freshwater environments is because of their slow growth rate. They get out-competed in freshwater. In saltwater, they have no competition.