# First (real) attempt at Walstad tank - comments wanted!



## smmcgill (Oct 26, 2014)

Ok, here are some pics for anyone who's interested in my first real crack at a Walstad tank. It's a 10 gallon, with the smallest size Tetra Whisper filter, solely for water movement. About an inch of soil (cheap potting soil from a local garden centre), mixed with some fired clay gravel (similar to SafeTSorb), and capped with about 1/2" of Quikrete play sand (it's what I had on hand).

The pic showing the sloping soil: it isn't that thick! I used inert aquarium gravel to build up a hill and just topped with soil and sand. I put the soil down the side so you couldn't see neon rainbow gravel...

Suggestions? Comments? Would love to hear especially how I could have done better/improved, and what doesn't work, in your opinion.


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## smmcgill (Oct 26, 2014)

What, no one? Darn. I know the pics are awful quality, and I didn't clean the glass first. AND, my DIY aluminum foil reflectors are ghetto...


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## GadgetGirl (Sep 25, 2013)

Good start! Your pics are great! You need more plants though. I see you have fish in there. Has the tank cycled? Are you using mature filter media? How long has it been set up? Did you rinse / mineralize the soil first? Are you checking ammonia and nitrites? Keep an eye on that slope. The safest way to do a slope is usually with something like stacked tiles to avoid anaerobic conditions. 

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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

You are off to a good start. Some more plants would be a good idea. Your area of deep substrate might give you some trouble, but you can help prevent this by using some deeply rooted plants in that part of the tank. Examples are vallisneria (which you already have), cryptocorynes, or possibly one of the small sword plant species. Plants have the ability to move oxygen from the leaves down into the roots, preventing anaerobic substrate. Malayan trumpet snails also help, but to a lesser degree.

Good luck, and keep us updated.


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## smmcgill (Oct 26, 2014)

More plants?!? Wowza! After ready all the comments on new tanks ("More plants! More plants!"), I thought I took care of that and planted a ton, LOL. 

@GadgetGirl: I've got filter media in there from the tank I tore down, and have been checking water regularly; everything has been good (no ammonia, no nitrites), so I added my fish right away. I didn't mineralize the soil, but did rinse it a few times.

@Michael: Do you think the slope will be problematic even though there's still only an inch and a half of soil, with plain gravel underneath? I guess I'm trying to understand: is it the overall depth that's the problem, or the depth of soil itself?


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

It is the total depth of the substrate. With the soil layer over gravel, eventually soil will move downward into the gravel, creating the equivalent of a deep soil layer. This why it is better to use a solid object as the base of a slope or hill--nothing organic to decompose or become anaerobic.

That said, your total depth is not that great, and the size of the deep area is not large. With proper planting, it will probably be OK. Poke the substrate periodically with a chop stick, and look for bubbles coming up through the surface. As long as the bubbles do not smell bad, they are probably just CO2 and not a big problem. But if they start to smell like rotten eggs they are hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and that is a toxic gas.


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## smmcgill (Oct 26, 2014)

Here's an update pic, almost 2 weeks in. I forgot to take the pic BEFORE I did a big trim/prune last night... Everything is filling in well except the star grass, which I had to mostly pull out.


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## GadgetGirl (Sep 25, 2013)

Looking good! Seems like you're doing everything right. I too added fish right away since I was using mature filter media. I've never had any problems with ammonia or nitrites. 

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## smmcgill (Oct 26, 2014)

GadgetGirl said:


> Looking good! Seems like you're doing everything right. I too added fish right away since I was using mature filter media. I've never had any problems with ammonia or nitrites.
> 
> Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk


Thanks! I'm loving the wild, unpretentious look. Still some more pruning needed, but I'm afraid to cut away too much too soon, LOL.


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## GadgetGirl (Sep 25, 2013)

Wild and unpretentious! I love that description! 

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## Kerry (Sep 5, 2013)

It's looking good! It just needed a few more plants and some time to grow!


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## tomgndallas (Nov 13, 2014)

Very cool little tank you have there. Congrats and good luck


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## smmcgill (Oct 26, 2014)

Thanks for all the kind words!


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