# Possible to convert to a low tech Walstad tank



## MiniBlueDragon (Jul 13, 2010)

Hi folks,

I've been pretty happy with my current tropical tank for several years now with the following setup:

- Rekord 800 tank (110l)
- 2x 18w T8 tubes, one white light at the front and one plant grow at the back.
- Upgraded filter to Bioflow 600.
- Generic fine grained sand substrate.
- Various low maintenance plants (Vallis Torta, Anubia Nana Bonzai, Dwarf Hairgrass and previously had Swords, Cabomba, Java Fern, Vallis Spiralis).
- Dosing with SeaChem Flourish and Flourish Excel for the Dwarf Hairgrass.
- 1x Tiger Pleco, Pair of regularly breeding Kribs, 2x SAE's, 2x American Flagfish, 2x Black Neon Tetra, 2x Swordtails, 1x Albino Cory, 4x Ghost Shrimp, 3 Zebra Snails, Unknown number MST's

Ordinarily when I go through the process of re-landscaping my tank every few months I tend to do everything with the fish and inverts still in the tank still as it's never anything traumatic, however my latest idea of converting it to a Walstad type tank has confused me.

Is it possible to do that type of transformation without transferring the fish somehow and do I even have the pre-requisites to create a Walstad tank based on the above? I don't think I'm far off except perhaps in the watts per gallon area.

Thanks in advanced.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Your tank and equipment would be fine for a Walstad set up. You would be able to stop using the Flourish and Excel.

I foresee two problems. As you know, Walstad tanks depend on a soil substrate It will be very difficult to add soil to your current tank without taking every thing out. The only way I can think of is to freeze the wet soil first. Spread a shallow layer of it in a plastic container and put it in the freezer until it is solid. Then move some sand aside, put in a piece of frozen soil, then put the sand back on top of it. The frozen soil may float, so you will need to cover it quickly with enough sand to prevent that. You might also need to use some rocks to hold it in place, which could be removed later. I would do a section at a time.

The second problem might be your Kribs. Most of them dig when breeding, enough to disturb the soil layer in a Walstad tank and make a mess. Yours may not do this.

Please let us know how it turns out if you decide to proceed.

--Michael


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## MiniBlueDragon (Jul 13, 2010)

Thanks Michael.

If I was going to convert the tank I'd scoop out all the existing sand and then siphon out the remaining bits of sand with my gravel vac (normally used to clean the surface of the sand) and start with an empty shell for the landscaping. As with sand being added I'd assume there's a certain amount of clouding that would occur when adding the soil but I'm not sure how much and how it would affect the fish?

My kribs dig, dig and dig some more when they breed. My sand substrate is around 1.5" deep and underneath the coconut shell they call home they've dug out so much that the back of the shell is touching the glass base. I do try and re-level everything in between their breeding spells but lately it's been batch after batch of fry. Does that mean a Walstad is a no go for my tank if I have Kribs?


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

I don't think there is any way to add loose soil to a tank already filled with water without making a huge mess. And it doesn't sound like your Kribs are going to be compatible with a soil substrate. I hate to discourage you because I really like soil-based tanks, but it may not be the best option for you.


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## MiniBlueDragon (Jul 13, 2010)

Well that's a shame. I did think that perhaps the submerged bottle trick may help with adding the soil (filling a bottle with soil, letting it submerge in the tank for the air to escape and then flipping it in the tank to let the soil fall out, keeping the mucky water in the bottle) but I have no way to be sure so it's not worth the risk.

Maybe I'll keep that tank as it is with some plants that don't need nutrients and that will be happy with 1.24 watts per gallon of lighting. Any quick thoughts or best to browse the forum?

I can always get myself a nano tank and go El Natural with it too; I've been looking for an excuse to buy some Endler Guppies anyway (Kribs would eat them currently) 

EDIT: Just found a thread on here where it was said that kribs digging is not an issue in an El Natural setup (http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...2764-wet-thumb-forum-burrowing-fish-soil.html) - Any thoughts people?


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Boy, I hate to contradict Ms Walstad herself. Maybe all the kribs she knows are exceptionally lazy under-achievers. The kribs I know are all energetic little devils. Yes, the soil will settle if disturbed, but it takes time and the kribs will keep it stirred up.

I think this is an excellent reason for you to set up another tank! Maybe a breeding tank for the kribs, and a Walstad tank for the plants and non-digging fish.

BTW, I love kribs and wanted some for my tank. But I reluctantly decided that it would not work.


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## wi_blue (Apr 5, 2005)

I haven't kept kribs, so I'm sorry if this sounds too far out of the box. Couldn't one just not put soil under the location were the kribs' den will be. I mean if they only dig in the place that you designate as their home then I thank one could plan around that to minimize damage, or am I reading this wrong?


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## mudboots (Jun 24, 2009)

I've had cories do the same thing because I had some good live critters in the soil they wanted to eat. The "dust" always settled, but it was still a tad frustrating from time to time.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

"Couldn't one just not put soil under the location were the kribs' den will be. I mean if they only dig in the place that you designate as their home then I thank one could plan around that to minimize damage, or am I reading this wrong?"

This is going to sound like I hate kribs, and I don't--I think they are beautiful, entertaining fish. Very few cichlids can spawn in a community tank without eating the babies, fighting with each other, and killing every other fish in sight.

But they dig! Big holes! You wouldn't believe how much those cute little fish can dig. You have to be careful where you put rocks in a krib tank because they will dig under them and cause them to fall over. They don't just dig one den, they dig three or four until they decide they like one. Then they move the babies around to all the different nests. They re-arrange the whole tank if they feel like it.

Obviously, I'm having some fun with this. But I do know a number of people who decided that it was either the plants or the kribs, not both.


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## bartoli (May 8, 2006)

MiniBlueDragon said:


> Is it possible to do that type of transformation without transferring the fish somehow and do I even have the pre-requisites to create a Walstad tank based on the above?


Long ago I converted a 10g tank (with existing occupants still inside) to a Walstad tank. I simply added container aquatic plants to the tank and then removed the HOB filter.

May be you can take out the existing plants. Plant them using soil and gravels into various containers such as floating candle holder, low profile glass bowl, deep dish, clay pot, etc. Then put the containers into the tank and remove the existing filter.

Containers are not great for aquascaping. But very convenient for experimenting with soil types, re-placement, re-planting, or swapping out plants.

BTW, as a start, you can experiment with a planted container to see if your kribs' digging will cause problem.


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## wi_blue (Apr 5, 2005)

Michael, I don't anyone thinks you hate them. I was just curious if that was a viable solution that was being overlooked. Though I thank you for the laugh I have a vision of these little fish shovels, pickaxes, and jackhammers going to town in the tank. LOL.


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## MiniBlueDragon (Jul 13, 2010)

lol. You're not too far wrong to be honest. Historically I've had slate structures in the tank, I've built little alcoves and intricate structures for all the fish to swim around in and the Kribs have dug out every little nook and cranny they can to figure out where they wanted to breed (before settling on the coconut shell I created for them solely to breed in)

Currently their spawning is limited to only the coconut shell every time they breed so it's possible that this is their 'home' now and they won't touch other stuff. It's also possible that they know the tank now and won't dig elsewhere because nowhere else is good enough to breed but if I re-landscape and go Walstad that they'll start looking for new 'homes' and digging everything up again.

Anyway to summarise my thoughts I feel I have several options:

1. Stick with my current setup and replace plants when they look tatty. Make sure I buy low-light plants to keep them healthier for longer. Keep dosing Flourish and Excel.
2. Convert to a Walstad tank but be aware they the Kribbies could undo all my hard work.
3. Buy a separate tank (maybe for the desk in my home office) and use that as a Walstad tank.
4. Buy a separate tank and use that for the Kribbies, then convert my current tank to a Walstad.
5. Go with another idea that interests me, but which my bank manager/wife wouldn't be as happy with and invest in a CO2 setup and look at somehow upgrading my lighting.
I may be able to swap my T8's out for the Juwel High-Lite unit which will up my wpg from 1.24 to 1.93 wpg but I'm not sure if that's enough of an improvement to warrant the expense. It may be that I need to somehow figure out a way to change the entire lighting unit on my Rekord 800.

Either way I have some serious thinking to do.


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## JeffyFunk (Apr 6, 2006)

There was a recent article in one of this year's TAG titled: "Love Them or Loach Them: Diggers in the Planted Aquarium" by Adrienne Reinson Wilson (The article was about her loaches; she made no mention of experience w/ other digging fish). She raised the following points about how she kept her (digging) loaches in a soil-based planted aquarium: 

1 - Work w/ the fish, not against them. 
2 - Set up an area w/ no soil sublayer for the fish to dig in and limited or no plants (and sand for them to dig in and not hurt themselves).
3 - Set up an area w/ a lot of plants and larger gravel / stones in order to discourage to fish from not digging in that section. 
4 - She mentioned several plants that were well suited for her loach tanks including crypts, large swords, aponogetum (sp?). I think she tried the crinium sp., but found that the loached liked to eat the bulb. Floating plants like duckweed and riccia were also useful and enjoyed by the fish (for hiding/resting). I don't think she found stem plants to be good for the tank, but i can't remember (and don't have the article in front of me as i'm at work). 

Maybe kribs dig too much; I don't know as I don't keep kribs. But i do think this was an interesting article and would be a good reference to check out in your case and give you some ideas of things to try out. I like the idea of plants in containers, personally. Good luck and let us know if you have any luck keeping plants w/ your kribs.


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

Keep the bulk of the substrate as sand, but put plants that need richer soil in pots. Add some Osmocote (if it available to you) to the soil in the pots. Then some coarse gravel (big enough to stop the Kribs from digging) on top of the soil in the pots. 

Osmocote is a slow release fertilizer sold for gardening. It comes in several formulas. There is one that has trace minerals as well as the N-P-K that plants need.


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## MiniBlueDragon (Jul 13, 2010)

Diana K said:


> Keep the bulk of the substrate as sand, but put plants that need richer soil in pots. Add some Osmocote (if it available to you) to the soil in the pots. Then some coarse gravel (big enough to stop the Kribs from digging) on top of the soil in the pots.
> 
> Osmocote is a slow release fertilizer sold for gardening. It comes in several formulas. There is one that has trace minerals as well as the N-P-K that plants need.


Thanks Diana! We have Osmocote available here in the UK so that's great. I *think* I understand your description but just to be sure is this the type of thing you mean?

http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/716/elnatural.jpg/

Many thanks!

Also I've been reading the forum for a long while now but have had no luck finding anyone in the UK who's set up an El Natural tank. My biggest worry at the moment is that I'll buy the wrong type of soil and either get the pre-treatment wrong or just buy the wrong one completely and kill everything in my tank.  Does anyone have any idea of a specific soil I can buy so that I know what exactly I'm looking for over this side of the pond?


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