# New Walstad tank



## mcbaby (Mar 16, 2010)

I've been thinking of redoing my ten gallon ala natural. I own _Ecology of the Planted Aquarium_ and have had tanks with soil in the past. My only difficulties probably had to do with the nitrifying filter I used. I learned through research that the filter probably caused the imbalance that eventually crept up but old habits die hard. I now want to start from scratch with my smaller tank and just study the results.

I'm going to go shopping for a neutral soil and find some sort of shell or coral to add. I live in the Pacific Northwest and we have very soft water here so need something to balance hardness. I also have some flourite (substrate) that i purchased for a planted tank years ago. wondering if that would be good to mix with my gravel that I place over the soil. also curious about wpg. what amount would be good for this tank? its not close to the window but gets a little mid day. I have two light strips each with a 15 watt bulb but thinking 3wpg too much. Any suggestions would be welcome.
Michael


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## Red_Rose (Mar 18, 2007)

Hi Michael,

I could be wrong but I think that Diana doesn't recommend adding Flourite to these types of set ups. All you need is the soil, gravel and crushed coral or oyster shells for your soft water.

As for lighting, both of my tanks are 10 gallons and I have 2 wpg in both tanks(two 10 watt CFL bulbs for each tank) and they are doing very well. The one tends to get a bit of sunlight during the summer but both get indirect sunlight during the day so 2 wpg for your new tank should be more then enough.


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## mudboots (Jun 24, 2009)

Red_Rose said:


> Hi Michael,
> 
> I could be wrong but I think that Diana doesn't recommend adding Flourite to these types of set ups. All you need is the soil, gravel and crushed coral or oyster shells for your soft water.
> 
> As for lighting, both of my tanks are 10 gallons and I have 2 wpg in both tanks(two 10 watt CFL bulbs for each tank) and they are doing very well. The one tends to get a bit of sunlight during the summer but both get indirect sunlight during the day so 2 wpg for your new tank should be more then enough.


Ditto on the 10 gallon wpg. I have a 10 gallon set up a little better than 2/3 water and about 1/3 open for some emmersed growth. I use the same watts and all is well, though I acutally had to add Salivinia to my setup because I was getting algae (less gallons).

Oddly, moving down to a 3 gallon picotope at work, I have 18 watts over it for a whopping 6 wpg (though set fairly high) and it is doing well, but over my 125 I can't run more than 1.25 wpg (T5-HO) without an algae bloom.


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## Wunderkind (Dec 14, 2004)

Hey Mudboots, do you think the WPG has to do with what some people say about WPG breaking down in smaller tanks?

Rex Grigg has an interesting writeup on it.

http://www.rexgrigg.com/mlt.html


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

mcbaby said:


> I'm going to go shopping for a neutral soil and find some sort of shell or coral to add. I live in the Pacific Northwest and we have very soft water here so need something to balance hardness. I also have some flourite (substrate) that i purchased for a planted tank years ago. wondering if that would be good to mix with my gravel that I place over the soil. also curious about wpg. What amount would be good for this tank? its not close to the window but gets a little mid day. I have two light strips each with a 15 watt bulb but thinking 3wpg too much.


It's good that you're trying to increase water hardness.

There have been some reports of Fluorite causing water turbidity, plus you don't need gravel additives when you use soil. That said, if you want to use Fluorite I recommend doing a Bottle Test (my book, p. 138 ) to see whether the additive will cause turbidity.

As to lighting, 3 wpg might be fine if the tank is heavily planted, or you have floating plants. If you don't have that many plants, I would start out with one 15 watt bulb. As the plants start to fill in and shade each other, you could try adding the other 15 watts. A 10 gal is so shallow that 15 watts goes a long way.

Make sure that the plants get at least 12 hr of light per day.

Good luck!


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## wkndracer (Mar 23, 2008)

I use Flourite in all my tanks (including the natural 55g) as I like the look and size of the grain for rooted plants. While I use it I feel like Seachem is a bit deceptive in they're promotion. They even state that Flourite is a fired clay product. It's mostly inert and well rinsed I've had no issues with turbidity. My belly button must be showing as my opinion is plain to see. Flourite is more or less finely crushed brick. (but I luv it  )


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## mcbaby (Mar 16, 2010)

My heavens... Thanx for all the good advice everyone. I was delighted to hear from you Diana. I love your book. Have had it for a few years but haven't had time to truly absorb it. Now it seems fresh and new. I'll get crackin and keep everyone posted on my progress. 

PS: almost forgot.. Was wondering if a tank this petite needs water flow such as a small powerhead or should I leave it as is?


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## mudboots (Jun 24, 2009)

Wunderkind said:


> Hey Mudboots, do you think the WPG has to do with what some people say about WPG breaking down in smaller tanks?
> 
> Rex Grigg has an interesting writeup on it.
> 
> http://www.rexgrigg.com/mlt.html


Absolutely. What helps to confuse matters even more is the different lighting options (relative efficiency of a given bulb and fixture). Lots of trial and error, but the wpg rule certainly gives someone an easy starting point without getting so techinical that it drives folks away from the hobby.


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## wkndracer (Mar 23, 2008)

WPG is a wonderful grenade with respect to power range but following the KISS principle 5K to 10K or full spectrum lamping must be included for minimum knowledge on lighting a planted aquarium.

I used Rex's site leaning on it heavily starting out. The information is in a straight line from start to finish covering all the basics.


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## wkndracer (Mar 23, 2008)

mcbaby said:


> I also have some flourite (substrate) that i purchased for a planted tank years ago. wondering if that would be good to mix with my gravel that I place over the soil. also curious about wpg. what amount would be good for this tank? its not close to the window but gets a little mid day. I have two light strips each with a 15 watt bulb but thinking 3wpg too much. Any suggestions would be welcome.
> Michael


Using flourite mixed with pool filter sand to a depth of 1-1 1/2" over 1/2" of Miracle Grow Organic Choice with a t8 15w plant grow bulb on a 10g tank. All Glass light fixture. Crypts, sunset hygro, java moss/ferns, micro swords, generally all low light plants do fantastic in this set up. The only filtration I have is the smallest (gph) power head I could find with a sponge filter designed for reverse flow UG plates. Creates nice circulation in the tank discharging into a DIY little spraybar.


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## mcbaby (Mar 16, 2010)

wkndracer said:


> The only filtration I have is the smallest (gph) power head I could find with a sponge filter designed for reverse flow UG plates. Creates nice circulation in the tank discharging into a DIY little spraybar.


Do you have a pic you could post?


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## wkndracer (Mar 23, 2008)

*Awful tank at the moment*

Awful looking tank at the moment :sad:
I let it get completely overgrown.Tore out most all of the tangled stems and planted just the tops. The back of the tank hides the heater on the left and the power head filter on the middle right behind java fern and Suesswassertang 'clumps'. Rinsing the filter sponge the fern comes out of the tank with it because the roots have attached to it.
I use RO for my tanks because my water is a mess from the well. CaCO3 and Mg were used resetting the water two days ago after the tear out so the Ca is still blanketing the tank. Shouldn't post a picture LOL It looks embarrassing right now. 
The hood is also a Perfecto not All Glass (oops earlier) using 15w GE Plant & Aquarium bulb.


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