# My Underwater Jungle



## jackmilk (Jan 9, 2020)

Hi everyone,

I'm proud to share my second attempt at a Walstad set-up - done by the book.

This time, I decided not to over-worry about how it 'looks' (hardscaping, arranging things), and rather, focus on the core principles of what I understand a no-tech setup to be about (high concentration of plants to work as the filter).

(Funnily enough, my first attempt which you can find in the forum is actually thriving. Here is a photo I took yesterday. But I worry - and am kind of anticipating - things to die eventually die to the anaerobic gas build up probably happening.)

My process:


Using a 12 litre/3 gallon bowl.
I used Scott's Pure Organic Potting Mix (the Australian equivalent of Miracle Gro), sifted multiple times before being mixed with water to get out as many floaters as possible. Added 2.5cm to the bowl.
Purchased standard aquatic gravel in black and added 3.8cm.
Filled the tank with dechlorinated water (that was quite a pain to do, boiling 12 litres for 20 minutes and having to let it cool down to room temp).
I bought and used as wide a variety of plants as possible, as per the list of plants Diana recommends as well as Foo The Flowerhorn on YouTube.

Plant list:


Echinodorus Grisebachii
Riccia Fluitans, Rotala Bonsai
Rotala Rotundifolia
Coontail (Ceratophyllum Demerson)
Dwarf Hair Grass (Eleocharis Acicularis)
Narrow Leaf Chainsword (Echinodorus Tenellus)
Thin Vallisneria
Java Moss
Waterweeds (Elodea/Anacharis)
Frogbit (Limnobium Laevigatum)
Duckweed (Lemnoideae)

Here is how it look on Day 1!

Anything I should watch out for in the coming days/weeks?


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Beautiful to see! I don't see how you could possibly miss with this setup. I'd consider adding shrimp or tiny fish whenever (and if) you want.

As for dechlorination, if it's just chlorine gas (not the chemical chloramine), you could just bubble air through the water for a couple hours before adding to the tank. Or let it sit in a bucket overnight before adding to the tank. Or aerate it vigorously for a few minutes with an egg beater? (I never heard of boiling water to remove chlorine.) Traces (i.e., no chlorine smell) aren't that toxic and degas quickly, so you should be able to do a 10-20% water change without any manipulations beforehand.


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## zolteeC (Dec 26, 2017)

Your setup looks great. There are lots of plants from the start, so by-the-book all should be fine . I guess you use water with reasonable hardness, so not pure RO water.

I don't think you "should" worry too much about your first setup. That one also seem to have a healty plant growth which should prevent such problems you mentioned.


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## zahtar (Sep 29, 2019)

I really like your setup too! Despite preferring neat layouts, your approach is very tempting to try!

Is there a reason you don't treat water with products like aquatan, or biotopol? Their mixing ratio is 1ml/4lt so it will be very manageable for your bowl. That was the amount I was preparing when I was doing water changes in my 15lt tank (4gallons). I had a spare 4lt container, so filling it with tap water plus 1ml of dechlorinator with the syringe was very easy.


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## jackmilk (Jan 9, 2020)

Thanks for your feedback everyone! I'm really excited to see where this one is going.

The main reason I haven't used a water treatment for chlorine is because to be honest, I don't know enough about them. I also didn't know whether the chemical makeup of those products would throw of the balance of an all-natural tank. But it seems like it would be fine.

It's assuring to hear though that 10-20% water changes with no treatment should be fine. I probably won't bother.

Will keep you all updated over the next few days and weeks. 

Looks like I need to buy some shrimp soon!


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## jackmilk (Jan 9, 2020)

The bowl is in to its third week and seems to be doing really well.

Have basically 0 Ammonia, and no Nitrate or Nitrite.

So I've decided that tonight I'll be added 15 RCS and one Nerite Snail. Exciting!


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Very nice. This is the smart way to start out with an NPT.


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## jackmilk (Jan 9, 2020)

Well after a week with Shrimp, everything is going great.

I've noticed the occasional spike in Ammonia to 0.25, so I've started water changing with Prime dosed tap water every two days.

Haven't seen any dead shrimp though, and most seem to enjoy swimming around this little world.

Image here.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Looks like you are taking good care of your shrimp. The ammonia levels should decrease in a few weeks as plants and soil nitrifying bacteria kick in.

I would not be too concerned about 0.25 ppm ammonia. I think that many people are blindly equating ammonia toxicity towards fish with that towards shrimp in their cycling recommendations. The sensitivity could be wholly different.

In a quick look on scientific papers on shrimp toxicity, I don't see that ammonia is that toxic to shrimp.

For example one scientific paper: Long-term exposure (75 days) for some juvenile farmed shrimp (_Farfantepenaeus paulensis_) at 0.287 ppm ammonia caused reduced growth but there was no effect on survival. This was at pH 7.8, which would enhance ammonia's toxicity.

I'd love to see a scientific study on Neocaridina, but in the meantime your experience is helpful.


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## jackmilk (Jan 9, 2020)

One month update.

Everything is A OK.



















I did actually noticed some Vorticella growing which I'm confused about.

Removed the affected Dwarf Hair Grass and hoping it doesn't appear again.

Anyone know why this occurs?


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

jackmilk said:


> One month update. I did actually noticed some Vorticella growing which I'm confused about.


You must be a botanist to have identified the white fuzz on the hairgrass as Vorticella. This protozoa is a natural inhabitant, but apparently it can cause disease in stressed shrimp. Is this why you are concerned?

Attached is picture of shrimp infested with Vorticella. Interesting. Here's a link about diseases in shrimp with Vorticella at top of list.


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## jamesh5918 (Jan 30, 2019)

Beautiful job!


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## jackmilk (Jan 9, 2020)

It's been awhile since I made this bowl so I just thought I'd stop by and share a progress pic.

Everything is going swimmingly well. Plenty of berried shrimp and even some babies floating around.

Thanks for everyone's help once again.


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## zahtar (Sep 29, 2019)

Looking great! Your underwater jungle has inspired me to start a similar project in a much smaller bowl (about 4litres). I'v subscribed to your thread and watching updates. Have fun!


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