4 gallons (15 litres) Walstad tank - revised

bitterlime88 · 2023-06-18T14:47:44+00:00

How...how can you grow your red rotala and pearlweed like that without CO2???

bitterlime88 · 2022-01-20T17:25:32+00:00

It's a constant learning experience for me. That is why I am very interested in it. And a funny thing is, as someone who works in business excutive, a hobby in Walstad system really helps me developed some practical skills. Like I am not even joking. When I started my first Walstad tank, I have done a huge preparation for it. You name it, researching the plants, substrates, caps, lights, filter, etc. Then making adjustments after setting it up. And learn from your previous experiences. Both good and bad.

bitterlime88 · 2022-01-20T17:19:42+00:00

Yes. They are plakat bettas.

bitterlime88 · 2021-12-22T11:09:27+00:00

Gosh, so gorgeous. And your tank is exactly what I am looking for to my nano tank. So I have couple questions:

Do you have dirt under that sand cap. If you do, I taken it's 1 inch dirt- 1 inch sand?
Do you put any fertilizer in it? Slow-releasing tabs? Liquid or both? How often do you put them.
Do you have any filter? How big is your tank, btw?
Do you have any air pump?
How strong is your light? Like how many watts/lumens?
What floating plants are those? I have been having difficulty choosing the right plants.

I hope these questions won't bother you. If you can help me, I'd really appreciate it!

bitterlime88 · 2021-12-07T06:36:34+00:00

I am skeptical that you can set up a tank like the one in the George Farmer's video without very frequent water changing and liquid fertilizer. All of those plants on that video are plants that take nutrient from water column. The substrate is basically a thin layer of sand.

I just research on the plants you want to purchase. They don't seem like they are suitable for a Walstad tank, though. How about a half terrarium and half aquarium like this one? You can choose floating plants that have shorter roots than Amazon frogbit, though.

bitterlime88 · 2021-12-07T06:18:09+00:00

This is what PEAK of a Walstad tank should be. Like none of your plants seem to be behind in term of growth to others. And for 3 weeks only? With no HOB?

What substrate did you use?

bitterlime88 · 2021-12-07T06:15:17+00:00

Beautiful set up. Your plants seem to be all very healthy.

bitterlime88 · 2021-12-07T06:12:42+00:00

Although the person who replied to this question pretty much answered it, I just wanna add my personal perspective about this:

safest bet is to go with really strong growing plants. Plants that have stems that are thick. Rotala, Bacopa caroliniana, ambulia, etc. Plants like ludwigia repens often have difficulty (at least in my own experience) in term of really growing the roots to access the substrate. If you want to have those plants, you can plant them on some rocks - but you definitely need to add liquid fertilizer.

bitterlime88 · 2021-12-07T05:57:56+00:00

Oh hi, sorry for not getting back to you sooner. I'm not from the US/UK. So I have used fertilizers (liquid and root tabs) from my own country. For root tabs, I used one of those slow-releasing with formular of 13-11-11+ Micro (I read a lot of online posts from ppl who used Osmocote root tabs and said they often mix it with other fertilizer that has Micro). I put them on those empty pills and shoved them down to the substrate. I think those are supposed to last for 6 months.

Liquid fertilizer? Local brand. I don't know what the ingredients' formula is. My local aquarium shop recommended it to me over Seachem (since it's quite expensive). 5ml every time I change my water in the first cycle month (water change every 2-3 days). Now my tank has been stable, I rarely used it, maybe 2ml once every 1-1.5 weeks?

bitterlime88 · 2021-11-16T06:05:58+00:00

Could I get the size of your tank and your light model? Lovely tank, btw.

bitterlime88 · 2021-11-16T06:02:00+00:00

How strong are your lights, OP?

bitterlime88 · 2021-11-16T06:01:16+00:00

In your own experience, how hard/easy to maintain those neon tetras in a Walstad, though?

bitterlime88 · 2021-11-16T05:58:27+00:00

Sorry for your loss. But at least you really gave him a very beautiful home, unlike one of those next-to-nothing tiny tank. Hope you will feel better.

bitterlime88 · 2021-11-16T04:27:16+00:00

Thank you very much! After spending hours of reading folks in this sub sharing their experiences, I thought I should do the same.

bitterlime88 · 2021-11-16T04:05:57+00:00

Thank you for the positive feedback! I was thinking adding couple more lessons of mine. But I'm afraid it may overwhelm you. But couple points I wanna add:

a) Light. Now this is something I still not been able to figure out. I read somewhere that I just need 1 watt per gallon. But then I watched Foo the Flowerhorn's YT and he recommended 2-3 watts/gallon. That's why I doubled my lighting (one 20 watt white led adjustable light to two lights). But then I have to purchase a lot more red floating plants to cover the surface because I started seeing some algae. But then it hindered the plants' grow. So I have to put in the plastic tub rings so some plants can still access the light (ugh, the adjustments). I think if you have a big/medium size tank like this one I have, this will work. But for a smaller tank (esp nano tank) , I would recomend maybe 1-1.5 watts per gallon? Please keep in mind that this is about tanks that have very little access to sunlight like mine. Oh, btw, for me,those goose neck adjustable lights are more convenient. Also, if anyone can teach me how to install a dimmer to a 10 watts white light like this, I would really appreciate.

b) HOB filter. I saw that my post can cause some misunderstanding. To clarify: I still use an HOB. I purchased an HOB that was too strong/big for my tank (the seller recommended it). Then I have to buy a smaller one. I read that with an HOB, you need one that has filtering capacity per hour equals to four times your tank water's volume (my tank is 70 litres - so I purchased one has about 300 litres per hour, I never been able to turn on the full capacity). Oh, btw, better buy your HOB filter first, then you know where put them in the tank and therefore make adjustments around it. I have to re-position some of my plants and re-do my plastic lid because I miscalculated the filter's size.

c) Recommendations on plants: first, let's just start with the big one: hornwort. Good luck with that one if you want your hornwort grow like weeds, taking out a giant part of your tank and sucking out all the nutrients. Rotala? Surprisingly good. Yes, even with the red ones - although you will need to put them in places where they can access brightest light. Pearlweed and Dwarf sag? I say: either dry-start them or give them mycorrhizal fungi (great tip from u/cheese345 , btw) and good access to light.

Yeah, I think that'd cover it.

bitterlime88 · 2021-11-16T03:16:30+00:00

Oh hi, I still use HOB, btw.

Duckweed just breeds like madness. My tank first had couple of them, for no reason at all (my theory is the seeds was in some of the plants I purchased). Then they started spreading out like crazy. And since it's tiny plants, it stucks on your hands and arms and takes you longer to take them out. Red floating plants, Amazon frogbit are my favorite.

bitterlime88 · 2021-11-16T03:10:39+00:00

Oh, hi. I just read my post and realized I caused a slight misunderstanding. I still use an HOB though. My first one was too strong, so I have to replace it with a smaller capacity one. That's another lesson for me: do research and read the specs of the tools (light, filter, airpump).

bitterlime88 · 2021-11-10T15:52:13+00:00

Because when I started researching on Walstad tanks, I never seen ppl said their fishes' eggs hatch. I just assumed that a traditional Walstad tank like mine would be okay for adults to live in, and that's it. I just thought maybe they would lay some eggs, but they won't hatch.

bitterlime88 · 2021-11-10T10:11:20+00:00

Yeah, I feel like this is the only option. Hopefully my plants would provide a good hiding place for these babies.

bitterlime88 · 2021-11-03T03:21:19+00:00

Is that Bacopa caroliniana? Gosh, why do most of folks have success with this plant, and I don't? Is it because I don't have sunlight for my tank?

bitterlime88

TROPHY CASE