Build Beginnings

This is to be my walstad tank build blog.

My fiancé and I have recently moved and painted and now its time for the aquarium!

I have been doing some digging and have found the "walstad method" which I think has been known in other names for a long time. Anyway, I am intrigued and excited to dirt the tank!

I will be posting pics and perhaps video of the build process, and I have never dirted a tank before so I am open to comments and suggestions.

I think the ultimate goal is a lush tank with blue rams (microgeophgus ramirezi), or a black knife ghost fish if Jess gets her way...

We are toying with notions of a mountainscape with the driftwood we have(pics didn't turn out too well, will try to improve and edit**).

Now, on to the build options;plan still formulating.

Tank 48long, 20high, 12wide and dirty.

Tanks needs some attention. Some hard water stains from when we had it running before we moved. The substrate before was just decorative gravel. Later we got the itch for live plants and tried the root tabs thing and fertilizer doses. It went well until a fishsitter incident somehow led to an evil cabomba empire!

Substrate: Miracle gro organic soil, red clay, sphagnum mixture as a base layer, thinking approx. 1.25 inches deep. Next layer is .25 inch fluorite and then a .75-1 inch fine gravel topper. I believe this mix will give me good nutrient/mineral elements early with long lasting and high CEC materials when the organic decomposition slows down in about a year or so... from what I've read any way.

"Possible" Plant Species:

Hemianthus callitrichoides as a carpet plant, might be known as Baby Tears?

Echinodorus horemanii

Hygrophila polysperma and/or difformis

Heteranthera zosteraefolia

Alternanthera reineickii

Ludwigia repens

Anubias nana

also need to take a closer look at "trident" or "lace" Java fern and maybe something like a "red tiger lotus"

Lighting: I'm a little concerned here. The canopy has a 40Wballast, narrow bulbs. I know the walstad method does not demand a lot of light, but I have not read the book. Any helpful comments regarding lighting would be appreciated. I am somewhat handy and am thinking about diy mods to the canopy as the whole light/ballast box is separate from the canopy. What level of wattage is ideal?

I want to look into what I can do to get closer to 2 w/g without spending a lot of cash. Also curious about peoples thoughts on red vs blue spectrum.

Fish species: blue rams or black knife.... eventually... maybe.

To start with, we are pretty settled on a pair of bristlenose plecos, and a few corys of some type. Need to research the Corys. Beyond that, we have not settled on other species

Here is where I would also appreciate feedback. How often do I change the water? How big/frequent are the water changes? When do I add fish/bioload?

Pics and updates to follow. Comments and general knowledge sharing is appreciated :)

Here is an intro video show the tank and my lighting, which may be a problem?

http://youtu.be/W6cX2LyrGXE

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Comment by Robert Jango on May 27, 2013 at 12:12am: Check out this interview with Diana Walstad:

http://www.aquarimax.com/2013/02/27/aquarimax-episode-153-interview...

Her method includes no water changes and a very limited number of plants and fish. Very few people actually adhere to the method, but her book has been so influential because it explains in perfectly simple detail what happens in an aquarium from an ecological point of view. She can do this because she's smarter than other people. Period. A famous Einstein quote applies here, "If you can't explain something simply and clearly, you don't understand it."

I would never use her method, (I breed difficult fish) but I wholeheartedly recommend the book. I think she was the first person to recommend using dirt in an aquarium. Dustin worships her. Presently Diana is working on the new outbreak of Tuberculosis around the world.

About water changes:

The more the better - ten times a day if you want! Most fish come from rivers where the water is constantly being refreshed. I would say an absolute minimum of once every two weeks.

About plants:

Plants like all the things all our fish hate - nitrogenous waste, ammonia, minerals, Co2. You can have a dirted tank, but it will be a delicate balancing act. In the wild most of favorite fish do not live alongside plants. They thrive in clean, acidic, rainwater which is poison to most fish and plant species. I love plants but stick mostly to floating species like Water Sprite and Water Lettuce. I do have some large specimens in flowerpots.

Here's another qoute from someone I can't recall, "If you want to learn about Kansas you have to go to Kansas. In other words, its great that you're researching and planning out your tank. but you won't really learn anything until you do it. There will be lots of changes and lessons along the way.

Comment by BradnJess on May 27, 2013 at 1:19am: The public Library here is going to try to inter library loan Walstad's book for me. I'm looking at lighting now. Weighing pros/cons costs/benefits of diy vs whole fixtures. Thinking maybe Aquatic Life's 2 x 48" t5 ho 108w fixture might be just what I need and it competes with diy costs as it comes with what I think are pretty good bulbs.

Thanks for the comment Robert. I know I have lots to learn in the doing, but that can be th efun part... so long as nobody dies :)

Comment by BradnJess on May 27, 2013 at 1:20am: oh and I already found your other post regarding the Walstad interview. I enjoyed it.

Comment by Robert Jango on May 27, 2013 at 6:41am: If you can give the tank a little sunlight each day the plants will thank you. And even though Rams (and most fish) are crepuscular, they like to dart in and out of the sunlight to show off their colors. Knifefish are nocturnal - I think.

I wouldn't spend a lot of money on lights. The source of light is absolutely irrelevant. As long as you have a 6500K color spectrum and about 5 to 40 lumens per square inch of surface area ((lowlight/highlight) you're all set. All the talk about exciting, new technologies (LEDs, T-3s, etc) is for suckers with $$ to blow - and there are a lot of them out there. Remember that more light will reach rooted plants in a low sided tank and that fish feel more secure underneath floating plants.

If you want high CEC I wouldn't go with a gravel cap (0 CEC) but rather clay pebbles, flourite, eco-complete, or something like that. You can get a 50lb bag of clay pebbles known as "Oil-sorb" at an automotive supply store for about $5. It is also sold as non-clumping kitty litter or Turface. Make sure the Kitty litter has no chemical additives.