Quick question, just setup yesterday. Do I need to add more plants or will this be enough for the Walstad Method?

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should be enough, however if you see algae growing then add more plants / do more water changes

some nice looking plants there, the swords will definitely love the dirt, mine took over the tank, my dirt tank is only  nano. i literally planted across the whole substrate. Any chance of a plants list? i spotted crypts (is that wendti), amazon sword, hair grass, rotala. i'd like to know more.

I had some black beard algae issues in the first month or so as i was working out light intensity and photoperiod, i just ripped out the leaves that had it and went from there. are you running co2 or dosing at all? good call with the floaty plants, they fixed lots of problems for me, but i did see less pearling action because of them. interested to see how it develops, thanks for sharing

Honestly not sure what kind of crypts they are, java moss on the driftwood. Moneywort in the back right corner of the tank. Amazon frogbit and duckweed on the top of the tank. And water wisteria is in there as well. Nope, no CO2 or dosing, as I believed that is counteractive to the Walstad method. I have the stuff to dose but I don't want to get off the Walstad instructions. The frogbit's roots are getting very long, leading me to believe they are looking for more nutrients.

ah sorry, i thought that looked a bit like rotala. Yeah i read Walstad's book, an amazing read, really fascinating stuff, i just couldn't make the completely au natural bit work for me, i run diy co2 and an airstone at night. an airstone may do you some favours in the long run, gas exchange wise. did you go mineralised top soil or potting compost stuff? sorry about the million questions, what fauna are you thinking of?

No worries, glad someone actually interested in talking about it haha. I have Walstad's book, read some of it, most of the science bits are way over my head. I interpreted Walstad's method of using the Miracle Gro Organic Choice Potting Mix straight out of the bag, some people wet the dirt first but she didnt say anything about that. Also with the airstone, wouldn't that dispel a good amount of CO2?

yeah, it would but also some of the other nasty gases that can build up in such a nutrient rich substrate. i run my airstone on a timer when the lights go out. I'm running diy co2 on mine as well. the tank is ticking along nicely at the moment, i've posted pictures, i'd love to see what you think to them.

http://www.bookmasters.com/marktplc/00388Shrimp.pdf

This is quite a fun article. Some of the key points from Walstad's book without some of the more extreme science.

How do you feel about water changes with the walstad method?

Sounds like a solid plan with the airstone, I may have to look into a small one. Right now I have 1 betta, 2 otto catfish, 1 Tiger Nerite Snail and about 5 ghost shrimp in the tank. In regards to water changes, since this is a newly setup tank I am constantly checking ammonia levels. If they spike I do a 50-70% water change.

Going forward I am unsure about the 3-6 month water change, that may not work with nano tanks like mine. Are you doing the 5-4-5 lighting schedule that she outlines? Im gonna check your pictures now... Wow your tank update pictures look great. Awesome tank!

cheers mate, i'm running a six hour photo period, I have shy enough fish as it is without freaking them out with weird lighting schedules. definitely interested to see what would happen with the 5-4-5 thing though. I'd say be careful with water changes, 50 - 70% may be a little heavy handed, i do about 30% weekly, possibly 40%. i lost some RCS being heavy handed on my previous set up. 

Someone around here may have a better idea on the airstone business. seems to work for me though. how big is the tank?

Alright I'll scale down the water changes, lots of varying opinions on how much to do with a new dirted tank. I'm running the 5-4-5 lighting schedule right now. Heres an update on the tank, I added 2 more plants with good roots to soak up nutrients. They weren't labeled when I bought them, another sword type plant with rounded leaves and some long grass type plant, maybe Blyxa japonica?

Looking nice mate. I think blyxa is quite a complicated beast but I'm not certain. Think it likes high light and co2. Probably wrong though. Little and often in the early stages with water changes is your friend in the early stages of setting up, especially if you have critters in there. Big changes means big changes in chemistry, temp and all that

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