My First Journal!

[Tu13es]

I'd been considering starting a second tank with my spare 10 gallon tank. Since shrimp are generally considered much less of a load on a tank, I figured I'll use those. I wanted a tank that'd be pretty easy to maintain, and someone mentioned I should set up the tank using Diana Walstad's method, so I did some research and had at it. I already had a spare Aqualclear 20 filter and a light. So, I went and grabbed some Miracle Grow Organic soil, some gravel, and a canopy for the tank.

For plants, I've got a chunk of my anubias nana, a green crypt, and various smaller pieces of java fern and java moss. I also bought a plethora of other plants to split between my two tanks - those should be here later this week. I moved my DIY CO2 over to this tank until I make a second one for my 29gal tank.

I've never done a journal before (hell, this is my second tank ever) so I figured I'd give it a shot. I'm still not sure if I'll end up with shrimp or some type of fish. But plants first!

Here are a few pics:

 

[hakova]

Nice start Tu13es! The water looks a bit cloudy though. Are you going to continue planting, or is that it? I am no expert, but you may have more algae problems if you do not plant heavily according to what I have been reading.

 

[Tu13es]

Yeah, it's still a bit cloudy. I bought some pillow stuffing and crammed my filter full of it and it seems to be helping a lot.

And, yes, I have some plants on the way:

-Hygrophila difformis
-Ludwigia repens
-Hemianthus micranthemoides
-Najas guadalupensis
-Vallisneria sp
-Myriophyllum mattogrossense
-Cabomba caroliniana
-Ludwigia brevipes
-Rotala macrandra

 

[Tu13es]

Motherload of plants came today. Some quick pics I took:

It's super messy and the water's still quite cloudy - bacterial bloom? Hopefully the plants start to straighten out once they get rooted and start growing towards the light. Woot!

 

[lljdma06]

If you are indeed following the Walstad method, then DIY CO2 will not be necessary because the carbon is produced from the soil. If I am understanding the method well enough. I don't use it so, I'm just stating what I've read.

On the flip side, it's nice to see a Walstad type tank here, so keep it up. I look forward to tracking its progress.

llj

 

[Amunet]

Did you plant the anubias and java fern in to the gravel? You should really tie them to something. Their roots needs to have water flow through them, or they'll rot.

I've never heard of the Walstad method before, so I'll have to go and look that up

It probably is just a bacterial bloom, so I wouldn't worry about the cloudy water. it should go away on its own
Will be very exciting to see how your tank progresses!

 

[Tu13es]

If you are indeed following the Walstad method, then DIY CO2 will not be necessary because the carbon is produced from the soil. If I am understanding the method well enough. I don't use it so, I'm just stating what I've read.

On the flip side, it's nice to see a Walstad type tank here, so keep it up. I look forward to tracking its progress.

llj

Yeah, ideally I will be able to get rid of the CO2, but for now I just wanted to get everything rooted and growing well before I move and I figured the CO2 would be the best way to do so.

Thanks!

 

[lljdma06]

You also have to watch your fish closely and be prepared to do waterchanges for the first few months or so until everything settles. Afterwards, you'll be home free and can fully neglect the tank as Walstad intended. The organic matter in the soil can do some pretty funky things to animal life. Just saying be careful, you're probably already aware.

llj

 

[lljdma06]

Did you plant the anubias and java fern in to the gravel? You should really tie them to something. Their roots needs to have water flow through them, or they'll rot.

I've never heard of the Walstad method before, so I'll have to go and look that up

It probably is just a bacterial bloom, so I wouldn't worry about the cloudy water. it should go away on its own
Will be very exciting to see how your tank progresses!

You tweak with your tank too much, Amunet, you couldn't handle the months of inactivity. Walstad in a nutshell...

1. Soil substrate - becomes the source for CO2 and nutrients as the compounds leach into the water column. I have seen it often capped with either sand or gravel though. A soil with no added ferts, so no Miracle grow enriched soil or things like that. Look for organic soil or something similar.
2. Around 2WPG of standard T8 tubes with a little actual sunlight mixed in. Actual amounts will vary with new lighting systems.
3. Very few water changes, like once every 6 months, or when you do a heavy prune or rescape. This may not be so initially, as the soil will do some funky things at first.
4. Plant densly and let the plants filter for you. Some Walstad tanks do not have filters. others employ powerheads to circulate the water or filters.
5. No nutrient dosing - fish poop and extra food take care of this.
6. Fish load - depends on the plant load. More densly planted, more fish, still not as dense as other methods.
7. Leave things be - so you usually eventually plant with things that can be left alone. Stemplants are often used initially though, then you replace with different plants. We are not scaping here, so you have to envision a scape that you plant with teeny plants a year down the road.

This is really, really general, and I am missing a few things to be sure. This weekend, I'll do some research and start the methodology section of PARC. I'll go into more detail then.

llj

 

[Amunet]

Oooh.. well that certainly sounds very interesting! I dunno if I'd be able to do it though. Afraid the fish would suffer or something *shrugs*
It'll def be interesting to see how this tank comes along

 

[lljdma06]

Oooh.. well that certainly sounds very interesting! I dunno if I'd be able to do it though. Afraid the fish would suffer or something *shrugs*
It'll def be interesting to see how this tank comes along

No the fish don't usually suffer, only if they are ignored while the soil is settling. I've seen some very nice Walstad type tanks and the fish do great, especially since they are kind of left alone a lot once the tanks are mature. No hands fidgeting around and shifting things about all the time.

llj