# Levelled Aquascaping in a Walstad Tank



## Aeon Mapa (Oct 15, 2013)

Hi everyone, I plan to set up a Walstad style tank for my Chinese Fire Bellied Newts. While looking up aquascaping ideas, I was attracted to the tanks with elevated plateaus. I would like to make some, and I plan to hold my substrate in place with either rocks or plastic sheets. My question is this however:

In those raised area, the depth of the substrate will easily reach 3, maybe four inches. If I do 3 inches soil 1/2 inch gravel with a little sand on top, will the soil become anaerobic? I was thinking about putting sponges, or maybe mixing the soil in the deeper portions with gravel to promote water movement in these areas. Would anyone know what the best route would be in this situation?


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## Yo-han (Oct 15, 2010)

No Walstad expert, but to be on the safe side you can always put down some inert gravel first untill you reach the depth you want. Than the normal layers.


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## GadgetGirl (Sep 25, 2013)

I can't remember where I read it. It may have been here. But somewhere I saw where someone used inert tile pieces to make levels.


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## GadgetGirl (Sep 25, 2013)

Here it is: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/showthread.php?t=73533 It is Michael's!


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## Aeon Mapa (Oct 15, 2013)

Thanks guys, I might go with river rocks or tile with gravel in the cracks, then some coarse sand, then topped by soil, which will be capped by fine sand. My one worry is that if I leave too many spaces under the soil, that it will eventually erode into these spaces and destroy the aqusacape. What if I do this? Fill the bottom of the plateau with large river rocks, then fill in the space with gravel. On top of that I put a flat sheet of plastic, over which I put the usual walstad substrates. Will that be alright?


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## tonnakpil (Jul 29, 2013)

Aeon Mapa said:


> Thanks guys, I might go with river rocks or tile with gravel in the cracks, then some coarse sand, then topped by soil, which will be capped by fine sand. My one worry is that if I leave too many spaces under the soil, that it will eventually erode into these spaces and destroy the aqusacape. What if I do this? Fill the bottom of the plateau with large river rocks, then fill in the space with gravel. On top of that I put a flat sheet of plastic, over which I put the usual walstad substrates. Will that be alright?


Sounds like a plan. But wouldn't that be too heavy for the tank? Please keep us updated, I'm planning on doing the same thing but am afraid that the tank wouldn't be able to support all the weight. A lot of paludarium owners use expandable foam to make a plateau.


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## atc84 (May 18, 2013)

water is the majority of the weight i think. each gallon is more than 8 pounds.


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## Kerry (Sep 5, 2013)

I don't think the weight will be a problem with the rock, but, pressure points could be. You can solve that by putting down a protective sheet of plexiglass or starboard or eggcrate to help distribute the weight and protect the bottom glass from dropped rocks...(!) 

Tonakpil, Love the suggestion for the foam! I'm also looking for ways to build a hill in my tank and never even considered foam...even though I used it in past DIY projects! The great thing about the foam is it can be carved!


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## tonnakpil (Jul 29, 2013)

Thanks Kerry, I got the idea from the paludarium forum. Check it out lots of brilliant ideas in there.


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## Kerry (Sep 5, 2013)

I'll check that out!


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## Skizhx (Oct 12, 2010)

deep rooting plants will help. I have some pretty deep soil (3-4 inches) in an area of one of my tanks. It's choked up with dwarf sag roots right down to the bottom. Showing no signs of anaerobic problems.


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## atc84 (May 18, 2013)

would the foam compress under the weight? sounds like a good idea for my next 10 gallon project...

has anyone used foam that could direct us to a product they prefer?


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## Kerry (Sep 5, 2013)

Use the black pond foam, not the yellow/white household types...sorry I don't recall the brand. The others can be used, but, can break down if not sealed first with epoxy. The pond foam holds up to ultraviolet due to the black colorant added and can be used straight from the can...no sealing needed. It is perfectly safe and is widely used by aquarists for everything from foam wall backgrounds, to plugging holes and what-not. I used it to make a rock wall background in my reef aquarium. It looks like shiney new lava after it is dry and is quite stiff and capable of holding quite a bit of weight. With my project, I didn't want the shiney-look so I pinched off all the surface and carved away the excess and ended up with a fine sponge textured surface. It looks just like the finer-pore prefilter sponges we use on pumps, but, it is closed cell foam and water will not pass through it. ...and that about covers my experience using pond foam, lol!

heres a Google search with lots of different brands...more available now..not like when I did my little project! 
https://www.google.com/search?sourceid=navclient&aq=&oq=black+pond+foam&ie=UTF-8&rlz=1T4TSNO_enUS497US498&q=black+pond+spray+foam&gs_l=hp..3.0l3j0i22i30l2.0.0.0.13386...........0.0tCmtefuCgw


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## ItsDubC (Jan 12, 2008)

I used stacked eggcrate cut to various sizes and ziptied together, and then filled w/ a larger-grain gravel to hopefully prevent compaction and anaerobic pockets. Then put my soil layer on top and finally my capping substrate.


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