sophi
Okay, I THINK I may just be done with redoing my main tank for a while lol. My 20 gallon tall had completely gone downhill, I think mainly because the height of the tank wasn't allowing the light to reach the bottom, therefore killing off the majority of my plants. That, along with DIY CO2 problems and improper ferts just killed everything. I almost tore it down for good without wanting to redo it, but I put in way too much money and time for it all to go to waste.
So... I moved everything to a 20 gallon long, and went the Walstad Method! I wanted to make this really for anyone who was interested in trying a Walstad tank, because I wanted to show you my set up and post weekly updates! So hopefully some of you fine this interesting and helpful.
Basically, you start by dirting the tank. I chose Miracle Grow Organic Choice Potting Mix for this, and I put about 1 inch down. Then, I went ahead and partially planted any plants with large roots such as my swords and crypts. This made it a lot easier instead of having to jam them down into the substrate with tweezers. Once those were partially buried, I used my Eco-Complete from the last set up and gently layered about an inch as well. it's a bit tricky working around your planted plants so just be careful that you don't bury the leaves by mistake.
Once the substrate was down, I added the driftwood and went ahead and planted everything else. I'll list the plants at the end if anyone is interested.
Now, for lighting! I wasn't able to afford a new T5 fixture, so I chose to just stick with something simple and basic. I bought 4 clip on lamps from Walmart for $6 each, then bought Philip CFL 13W 6500k bulbs at Home Depot. That's putting me at 52W over my 20 Gallon, and 6500k is what you need for plants. I believe it's considered Moderate lighting, so we'll see how the plants do. I'm hoping this will be sufficient for the plants I have, but really it's an experiment. In total, I spent about $33 on the lighting.
Here's a picture of the tank finally set up. There will be no filter, since the whole point of the Walstad method is to create a natural ecosystem using the soil and plant as the biofilter. I have a powerhead to help circulate the water, and will eventually add a heater before adding the fish.
As you can see, the crypts on the left, middle, and right have all begun to melt. They always do this, but will eventually perk back up. The water also will get more clear in time. I'm curious as to how that will work since there will be no filter.
For the list of plants;
Left- , Amazon swords that have been trimmed down, Giant hair grass (leading to the back too),WendtiI Crypt, and a couple random stem plants I'm trying to revive.
Foreground - crypts and dwarf hair grass, which I really doubt will grow but it's my last try at this plant. If it fails, I'll switch the dwarf sag. Java fern is also randomly placed in cracks on the driftwood.
Right- more WendtiI Crypts, an Anubia, Penny Wort, Rotala (trying to revive) and a random stem plant (I believe it's some kind of Hygrophila)
Back - Giant Hairgrass, Water Sprite (you can't see it but it's on the far right) and some more Rotala.
I'm very nervous for the Giant Hairgrass, seeing that I've failed miserably at trying to grow the dwarf version. But yeah, this tank has a long way to go, but I'm super excited to see how the soil affects the plant growth. I want to make this into a log just to help others see the difference a dirted tank can make. I'm excited to see the results as well! Hopefully after the dreaded melting plants stop, I'll see some major plant growth. Only time will tell! I must say, I'm pretty happy with the layout... hopefully I can maintain it this time and actually grow some plants lol.
So... I moved everything to a 20 gallon long, and went the Walstad Method! I wanted to make this really for anyone who was interested in trying a Walstad tank, because I wanted to show you my set up and post weekly updates! So hopefully some of you fine this interesting and helpful.
Basically, you start by dirting the tank. I chose Miracle Grow Organic Choice Potting Mix for this, and I put about 1 inch down. Then, I went ahead and partially planted any plants with large roots such as my swords and crypts. This made it a lot easier instead of having to jam them down into the substrate with tweezers. Once those were partially buried, I used my Eco-Complete from the last set up and gently layered about an inch as well. it's a bit tricky working around your planted plants so just be careful that you don't bury the leaves by mistake.
Once the substrate was down, I added the driftwood and went ahead and planted everything else. I'll list the plants at the end if anyone is interested.
Now, for lighting! I wasn't able to afford a new T5 fixture, so I chose to just stick with something simple and basic. I bought 4 clip on lamps from Walmart for $6 each, then bought Philip CFL 13W 6500k bulbs at Home Depot. That's putting me at 52W over my 20 Gallon, and 6500k is what you need for plants. I believe it's considered Moderate lighting, so we'll see how the plants do. I'm hoping this will be sufficient for the plants I have, but really it's an experiment. In total, I spent about $33 on the lighting.
Here's a picture of the tank finally set up. There will be no filter, since the whole point of the Walstad method is to create a natural ecosystem using the soil and plant as the biofilter. I have a powerhead to help circulate the water, and will eventually add a heater before adding the fish.
As you can see, the crypts on the left, middle, and right have all begun to melt. They always do this, but will eventually perk back up. The water also will get more clear in time. I'm curious as to how that will work since there will be no filter.
For the list of plants;
Left- , Amazon swords that have been trimmed down, Giant hair grass (leading to the back too),WendtiI Crypt, and a couple random stem plants I'm trying to revive.
Foreground - crypts and dwarf hair grass, which I really doubt will grow but it's my last try at this plant. If it fails, I'll switch the dwarf sag. Java fern is also randomly placed in cracks on the driftwood.
Right- more WendtiI Crypts, an Anubia, Penny Wort, Rotala (trying to revive) and a random stem plant (I believe it's some kind of Hygrophila)
Back - Giant Hairgrass, Water Sprite (you can't see it but it's on the far right) and some more Rotala.
I'm very nervous for the Giant Hairgrass, seeing that I've failed miserably at trying to grow the dwarf version. But yeah, this tank has a long way to go, but I'm super excited to see how the soil affects the plant growth. I want to make this into a log just to help others see the difference a dirted tank can make. I'm excited to see the results as well! Hopefully after the dreaded melting plants stop, I'll see some major plant growth. Only time will tell! I must say, I'm pretty happy with the layout... hopefully I can maintain it this time and actually grow some plants lol.
