# Presentation and First Walstad experience.



## lsantagostini (Aug 24, 2018)

Hello all, my name is Leonardo and i am from Argentina.

After reading two times the book of Diana im very excited for doing my first experience.

Im planning of doing it on a recipient of 17x17x21 cm. using garden soil from the farm of vegetables (at this moment im unable to do a test of minerals and metals, but i will try to do it).

Im thinking using all or any combination of this plants:

Ceratophyllum demersum
Lemma minor
Azolla 
Najas Guadalupensis
Bacopa caroliniana
Ludwigia Sp. Mini Super Red
Hemianthus glomeratus
Didiplis diandra
Eleocharis Parvula

And put some Palaemonetes argentinus (im thinking of not using heater for this first experience); but i dont know about de convenience of putting some fish inside.

The (mini) tank will be facing indirect sun light. Attached the pic with the final location of the (mini) tank. In fact it is a cookie jar.

I have one strong doubt and is the height of the garden soil and the height of the peeble.

Thanks so much for reading and for any advice you can give me.


----------



## zolteeC (Dec 26, 2017)

lsantagostini said:


> I have one strong doubt and is the height of the garden soil and the height of the peeble.


I see some pebbles on your picture next to the glass. If you plan to use those, then to me those pebbles appear to be a bit too large. I'd go for something smaller.

Other than that I'd follow the standard recommendation which is around 1" soil capped with 1" gravel. If you want to be fancy, you can try to avoid putting dirt right next to the glass, but in such a small container this may be difficult.


----------



## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Bienvenido a APC! Lo siento, mi espanol es muy malo.

For a very small aquarium, use 1 cm of soil and 2-3 cm of gravel (pebbles). Is Palaemonetes argentinus native to your country? If so, you do not need a heater.

Buena suerte.


----------



## lsantagostini (Aug 24, 2018)

Thanks @Michael and @zolteeC Yes, those peebles are quite larger, ill try to find smaller ones.

Michael, thanks for your words in spanish, what a nice welcome !

I will try adding about 1 cm of garden soil and 2 of peeble. Yes Palaemonetes argentinus is native from my country.

Muchas gracias amigos. thanks so much folks!


----------



## mysiak (Jan 17, 2018)

I doubt that you can fit in all the plants in such a small tank.  Personally I would go with Najas due to easy maintenance, fast growth and quite nice jungle effect (shrimp will appreciate it), then some small "carpeting" root feeder which doesn't mind being shadowed (Cryptocoryne sp.?). And use few stems of Bacopa/Ludwigia as emersed growth (Brazilian pennywort looks great as well).


----------



## lsantagostini (Aug 24, 2018)

Nice idea mysiak, as necomer to walstad, there is a lot to learn. But sounds fantastic.

Thank you so much !


----------



## mysiak (Jan 17, 2018)

Looking forward to seeing the result. Small tanks are always challenging, but maybe even more rewarding and fun. 

I didn't see you mentioning artificial light - are you going to use a lamp, or rely solely on the sunlight from the window?


----------



## lsantagostini (Aug 24, 2018)

Hello Mysiak, this cookie jar will go at the side of a big window, and also the office has CFL tubes in the roof, so in working hours will have natural (indirect sunlight) and artificial.

In fact my plan my plan its a little bigger, i want to get experience using this cookie jar, and months later i want to set up a bigger one, maybe 60Lt at home so i can move from my actual high tech to my natural one =)

Thanks for your response Mysiak


----------



## mysiak (Jan 17, 2018)

The reason why I'm asking - plants will be probably fine with such setup, though you won't see much. I have a very similar jar sitting on my window (just water full of Najas and couple of snails) and if I want to see what's inside, I have to use a flashlight or pick it up and position it "just right". You will most probably appreciate additional light source directed from above, so you can watch your little creatures


----------



## lsantagostini (Aug 24, 2018)

Ok, thank you for your advance, i think it can get fantastic =)


----------



## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Those pebbles in your photograph are much too big. In my book, I recommended *small* gravel (~2 mm) or sand.

For this container, I'd use 2 cm of soil and a 1 cm of sand or small gravel. You could scatter a few pebbles here and there to hold the plants in place, but I wouldn't make a layer of those pebbles.

Good luck!


----------



## zolteeC (Dec 26, 2017)

You named quite many plants, I do not think all will fit in such a small container.
So you will have to select some of those.


----------



## lsantagostini (Aug 24, 2018)

Thank you Diana for your kind advice.

I suppose the next week i will start it.

Yours, Leonardo


----------



## lsantagostini (Aug 24, 2018)

Yes, just because of that i was wondering if which plants to put inside the jar.

if you want, you can tell me what plants you put in this jar.

yours, Leonardo


----------



## Kai Witte (Jan 30, 2006)

Hello Leonardo



> using garden soil from the farm of vegetables (at this moment im unable to do a test of minerals and metals, but i will try to do it).


I'd be very weary to utilize soil from any non-organic farm: Very likely to be contaminated by pesticides as well as too many nutrients!



> Im thinking using all or any combination of this plants:
> Ceratophyllum demersum
> Najas Guadalupensis


These are similar and more like submersed floating plants - I'd opt for the less "heavy" Najas (the shrimp will love it, too).



> Lemma minor
> Azolla


I'd skip any real floating plants for this tiny tank.



> Bacopa caroliniana


Probably the only plant from the list that is likely to crawl out of the jar and to put on a good flower show. In a building (especially when heated) dry air might pose a challenge though - Bacopa monieri should be a bit hardier and more forgiving.



> Ludwigia Sp. Mini Super Red
> Hemianthus glomeratus
> Didiplis diandra


One of these will suffice; IMHO the Ludwigia will nicely complement the Eleocharis and Najas.



> Eleocharis Parvula


This will nicely cover (and also utilize) the soil. If you try the dry start method, you can get away with 1/2" soil and just a thin cap of sand: Just keep the soil wet until the Ep establishes itself and starts to cover most of the surface (start with the initial plants in the middle and wait till runners have covered the sides); then add a bit of sand to any open spots, add additional plants, and top of with water...


----------



## lsantagostini (Aug 24, 2018)

WOW thanks for your reply and tips.

i decided that Najas Guadalupensis, Eleocharis Parvula and Ludwigia will go in the (mini) tank.

I will post some pics about the progress.

Thanks again, Leonardo


----------



## lsantagostini (Aug 24, 2018)

Well well well..... After looking for plants, i have started the cookie jar project. 

The setup is ~2cm of soil mix earthworm humus and natural bark compost and ~1cm of inert sand.

Plants: bacopa caroliniana, eleocharis parvula, ludwigia mini red and limnophila sessiliflora.

Attached first days pics.

Thank you all for all your kind responses.

Yours, Leonardo


----------



## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Bowl is just as pretty as can be. Good luck with it!


----------



## zolteeC (Dec 26, 2017)

lsantagostini said:


> Well well well..... After looking for plants, i have started the cookie jar project.
> 
> The setup is ~2cm of soil mix earthworm humus and natural bark compost and ~1cm of inert sand.
> 
> ...


Please, keep us updated on your progress .

Isn't some of the plants Elodea Densa? If so, that afaik does not have emers form, so it may be having hard time to fit in such a small glass.


----------



## lsantagostini (Aug 24, 2018)

dwalstad said:


> Bowl is just as pretty as can be. Good luck with it!


Thank you so much Diana !

Wow Diana Walstad is talking to me, cant believe it !!! =)

Tomorrow i will post som pics of the cookie jar. Its going perfect. Much better that i expected.

Kind regardds and thank you for your words.

Leonardo!


----------



## lsantagostini (Aug 24, 2018)

zolteeC said:


> Please, keep us updated on your progress .
> 
> Isn't some of the plants Elodea Densa? If so, that afaik does not have emers form, so it may be having hard time to fit in such a small glass.


Hello zolteeC, i have to say, wow this forum is an amazing forum. Thank you for your follow up.

Tomorrow is the one week birthday of the cookie jar, so i will post some pics, and maybe one video.

Plants are going fantastic, have some snails, physa, i think. And yes is very relaxing to have this jar at work.

zolteeC again, thank you so much!

Leonardo!


----------



## lsantagostini (Aug 24, 2018)

Hello all, cookie jar is doing really great ! It is a relaxing pleasure to have it at work.

I have attached pics day to day (i keeped the date on the name of the pics, so you can see how was growing).

Plants are going fine, and i have a lot of photosynthesis. Video uploaded to youtube =)

As i said earlier, thank you so much, to all of you, for your kind advice and words. Its a handsome forum.






Yours, Leonardo


----------



## mysiak (Jan 17, 2018)

Looking great. I was surprised to see plants pearling without direct sunlight (in my bowl tank as well). I didn't expect filtered light from windows to be strong enough..


----------



## lsantagostini (Aug 24, 2018)

mysiak said:


> Looking great. I was surprised to see plants pearling without direct sunlight (in my bowl tank as well). I didn't expect filtered light from windows to be strong enough..


Hello mysiak, its fantastic ! When passed the 13:00 local hour, it start to pearling like a high tech.

Im wondering when its the right moment to put some shrimp in. Would you like to share a pic of your bowl tank ?

Thanks,
Leonardo


----------



## mysiak (Jan 17, 2018)

If your parameters are right (no ammonia, no nitrite and low nitrates), you can put shrimp in it. Mine survived unexpected nitrite and nitrate spike with no harm, but I definitely wouldn't recommend doing it.

Mine semi-journal can be found here, I didn't attempt any scape after the restart, but it's slowly getting my favorite jungle look..so I'm happy


----------



## lsantagostini (Aug 24, 2018)

mysiak said:


> If your parameters are right (no ammonia, no nitrite and low nitrates), you can put shrimp in it. Mine survived unexpected nitrite and nitrate spike with no harm, but I definitely wouldn't recommend doing it.
> 
> Mine semi-journal can be found here, I didn't attempt any scape after the restart, but it's slowly getting my favorite jungle look..so I'm happy


It looks amazing ! =D>=D>=D>


----------



## lsantagostini (Aug 24, 2018)

Hello all, this is my two week old cookie jar.

As far as i can see, all plants are doing great. I have 3 physa snails and ludwigia mini (the one that is located in the middle, has some leaves are dying, i suppose that some root was damaged when i planted).

Kind regards !

Leonardo


----------



## lsantagostini (Aug 24, 2018)

Ok, values are getting good for putting life in it. So it comes, for me, one important question.

I want to put some shrimp with a fish. But i couldnt find some fishtu put inside the jar.

Any clue?

Yours, Leonardo

PS: This jar is not heated.


----------



## lsantagostini (Aug 24, 2018)

Well, i found a new inhabitant and could make a video. But... i have no idea what is.

some can tell me what kind of inhabitant is? Cant take a photo because its impossible to stay quiet.


----------

