# Aquarium 60 liters - walstad method



## duff77 (Jul 28, 2018)

Hello everyone, beautiful forum and beautiful section
it's my first message that I write here, but I've been following you for some time

I wanted to show you my aquarium with the Walstad method, I tried to apply a bit of aquascape
I used 2 cm of universal soil, mixed with volcanic lapilli, over 2 cm of inert sand
then I used volcanic rocks scoop up in nature for decoration






PLANTS: rotala rotundifolia, helantium bolivianum, cryptocoryne lucens and wendtii, willow moss, riccia fluitans (as a floating plant), anubias nana

Plant growth is rather slow, but continues
especially the rotala rotundifolia grows well, the other plants grow but slowly ... especially the helantium grows and stolona, but grows rather small

I think of the lack of potassium, even if I have hard water I think it is the most lacking macro in the soil ... moreover the book says that potassium is mainly taken through the leaves

what do you say I try to add potassium nitrate?

hello and thanks for the attention ... I will bring updates on the development of the tank


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

Welcome to APC! Very nice bilingual video.

About the potassium, are you seeing symptoms of potassium deficiency (holes in older leaves)? How long has the tank been set up? In my experience, Walstad tanks rarely develop potassium deficiency until they are several years old.

If it is a potassium deficiency, try potassium chloride or potassium gluconate. These will not increase nitrogen which might encourage algae.

One other note, you need more plants. Walstad tanks depend on plenty of healthy plants for stability, especially when they are new.

Please keep us updated.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Thanks for posting about your new adventure.

I agree with Michael. You need more plants, especially fast-growing plant species, not fertilizers. 

Rotalia rotundifolia and Riccia are the only good growers I recognize. Cryptocoryne require a long time to get growing; Anubias are just a hair better than plastic plants.


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## duff77 (Jul 28, 2018)

Hello, thank you so much for your interest
thanks Michael
Diana is an honor for me, I read your whole book ... thank you for writing it 

In fact, not known potassium deficiencies, to tell the truth there are not even algae, not even a thread  ... I thought of potassium because in the book Diana writes that plants prefer to absorb it from the leaves ... and in the water there is certainly little potassium because I have never fertilized

the only problem is a rather slow growth, especially dell'helantium bolivianum ... which also grows small ... that's why I thought of the shortcomings

in reality, however, I also reflected on the acidity of the soil. I used a rather acid soil (ph 5-6) and I did not insert calcium in the ground because I read only after this possibility

Could it be what creates shortcomings?
I made many other preparations with the walstad method and where I inserted calcareous sand the helanthium bolivianum seems to grow better

anyway soon I will put an update, the video is 2 months ago and the plants are still grown and I'm happy with how the aquarium is coming ... having spent very little

Question for Diana but also for the others: to control the color of the water it could not be useful to put active carbon directly in the bottom?

thanks again to everyone 

PS: sorry for my English ... I use a translator, I'm Italian


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

duff77 said:


> I also reflected on the acidity of the soil. I used a rather acid soil (ph 5-6) and I did not insert calcium in the ground because I read only after this possibility
> 
> Could it be that what creates shortcomings?
> 
> I made many other preparations with the walstad method and where I inserted calcareous sand the helanthium bolivianum seems to grow better.


You could be right! Perhaps your tank is deficient in hardwater nutrients, especially the all-important nutrient calcium. It wouldn't hurt for you to add more of that calcareous sand to the substrate. Or you could add a mesh bag of it to the filter.

Let us know if this helps.


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## duff77 (Jul 28, 2018)

dwalstad said:


> You could be right! Perhaps your tank is deficient in hardwater nutrients, especially the all-important nutrient calcium. It wouldn't hurt for you to add more of that calcareous sand to the substrate. Or you could add a mesh bag of it to the filter.
> 
> Let us know if this helps.


perfect thank you so much Diana, I will try and I will put an update of the aquarium

Sorry if I insist, what do you think of the activated carbon in the bottom, could you help with the amber water? would keep the doc in suspension and "imprison" it in the bottom ... you think it can lead to some side effect over time

hello thanks again


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## kafkabeetle (Oct 11, 2011)

I'm not knowledgeable about activated carbon and don't use it, but my understanding is that it has to changed out to remain effective. So I think you would want to use it in the filter or someplace else where you would have access to it to remove when it's "full" and add more fresh.

I work at a health food store that sells food grade activated carbon and I know it is important not to consume it with certain medications because it can absorb and remove them from your body. I would also be concerned that you wouldn't be able to remove it if you ever needed to medicate your fish.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

If you put activated carbon under the substrate, and want it to act as a filter, you need to use an undergravel filter to circulate the water through it. That type of filter doesn't work very well in a planted aquarium. And, as kafkabeetle pointed out, you have to replace the carbon often to keep it effective. To work as a filter the carbon has to be easy to replace about every two weeks.


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

I have used carbon in the filter to remove tannins that stain the water, which sounds like what is happening in your tank. As Hoppy says, putting it in the substrate won't work in a Walstad tank, but putting it in the filter does. Don't use carbon any longer than you need to because it can also absorb plant nutrients from the water. A few weeks should be enough.

You can also remove the amber color by frequent large water changes.


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## kafkabeetle (Oct 11, 2011)

Very nice video! It has me wondering if this is the standard method of planting that others use. Looks like you got a nice neat result, whereas I always assumed it would be messier to add the sand cap before the plants, especially with light colored sand.

What I normally do is add the soil with just enough water to barely cover it. Then I add plants, then once I have everything where I want it I secure everything down with sand. I've always gotten a good result but seeing this...my usual way seems like needlessly complicated lol. I have to eyeball where hardscape items will be when planting and add them later for example. And I end up needing to dust sand out of the crown of some of my plants that may have ended up a little buried (and I just pulled em up to the right height).

Hmm...live and learn...


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## duff77 (Jul 28, 2018)

kafkabeetle said:


> Very nice video! It has me wondering if this is the standard method of planting that others use. Looks like you got a nice neat result, whereas I always assumed it would be messier to add the sand cap before the plants, especially with light colored sand.
> 
> What I normally do is add the soil with just enough water to barely cover it. Then I add plants, then once I have everything where I want it I secure everything down with sand. I've always gotten a good result but seeing this...my usual way seems like needlessly complicated lol. I have to eyeball where hardscape items will be when planting and add them later for example. And I end up needing to dust sand out of the crown of some of my plants that may have ended up a little buried (and I just pulled em up to the right height).
> 
> Hmm...live and learn...


Hello, I saw your vase, really beautiful ... a show!
I also set up some vases, maybe I'll ask you for advice by opening a related topic ... they're not as beautiful as yours, even if the plants grow quite well

Yes I like to try to be clean in the preparation and I feel good putting the sand right away ... but when it is planted then you have to be delicate and determined ... otherwise you risk making a slaughterhouse 
I was wrong to place the rocks, I would have to put them before the soil and sand, but being small I hope they do not create problems (anoxic areas)

With regard to activated carbon, we know the classic use, but many in my part often use it in the bottom, trying to retain excesses precisely of metals that would create tocssicità in the ground
As far as I know there are many doubts about whether or not coal releases what it initially held back ... some say that with time it releases what has held back ... who says that it does not release anything at all
I never understood who's right? 

This is why I wanted to experiment with the activated carbon in the bottom ... hoping that it retains the precious DOC in the bottom, instead of eliminating it with water changes.

In the end, if I have not misunderstood the DOC is liquid humus, right? and it has a CSC power that would then bind to itself the nutrients ... and the activated carbon in turn retains the DOC

Wrong theory?
thank you all... I probably can not explain well because of my bad English: rolleyes:


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## kafkabeetle (Oct 11, 2011)

duff77 said:


> kafkabeetle said:
> 
> 
> > Very nice video! It has me wondering if this is the standard method of planting that others use. Looks like you got a nice neat result, whereas I always assumed it would be messier to add the sand cap before the plants, especially with light colored sand.
> ...


Thanks! I'd like to see what your working on and I'm sure others would as well, if you wanted to start another thread about your vases.

I actually planted a tank this weekend with the sand cap placed before the plants and it was like a miracle...so much easier than the ridiculous way I have always done it lol thank you for giving me the idea in your video!


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## duff77 (Jul 28, 2018)

it's a pleasure to have been useful 

ok I also gladly insert the vase I'm working on ... I'm glad I found this section of the forum completely dedicated to this method


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## duff77 (Jul 28, 2018)

here is an update of the aquarium after about 3 months






At the moment it is very hot, the aquarium is in a garage and there are about 30 degrees perennial: p
As soon as the temperature drops a little I will make a water change of about 40%
then I will fertilize with a little potassium, bicarbonate or nitrate

this is because despite everything is fine, the growth of plants is quite slow, especially the seedling from pratino (helanthium bolivianum) that also grows small

The "strange" thing is that despite the slow growth of the plants there are no algae of any kind ... this makes me happy : D: D

The aquarium has a t5 of 13 watts on about 50 liters ... the light is enough because the aquarium has a height of only 30 cm

then there is a small mechanical filter

tell me what you think
soon new updates


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## kafkabeetle (Oct 11, 2011)

That's how I like my tanks honestly! Slow growth + little algae = super low maintenance! That's what "balance" looks like to me...including my level of exertion as part of the equation, if I gotta prune all the time that feels out of balance to me lol


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## duff77 (Jul 28, 2018)

kafkabeetle said:


> That's how I like my tanks honestly! Slow growth + little algae = super low maintenance! That's what "balance" looks like to me...including my level of exertion as part of the equation, if I gotta prune all the time that feels out of balance to me lol


I fully agree, in fact I like slow growth ... I just want to unlock the map from lawn ... that can also grow fast ehehehehe

In fact, I used to make more aggressive aquariums, with fast growth of the plants ...






certainly the aquariums are beautiful, but I had to prune every week ... not for me


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## zolteeC (Dec 26, 2017)

duff77 said:


> At the moment it is very hot, the aquarium is in a garage and there are about 30 degrees perennial: p
> As soon as the temperature drops a little I will make a water change of about 40%
> then I will fertilize with a little potassium, bicarbonate or nitrate


I would not mess around with liquid ferts at this stage, your tank is only 3 months old. Think about it, the soil you put in should even support regular terrestrial weeds for 3 months... Submerged growth is usually slower then terrestiral weeds.

Anyway, likely potassium will not hurt (depending what you dose), but with nitrate I'd be more careful... are you planning to add KNO3? For me, when I experimented with it it has just triggered algae in NPTs (of course it is not really an NPT any more if you have to dose liquid ferts very often)...


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## duff77 (Jul 28, 2018)

Hello, thank you very much for your intervention
I do not know if I will use nitrate or potassium bicarbonate ... at the moment I will look at the values of kh and no3 ... and I will decide which salt to use

Generally potassium is always a deficient element, if I'm not mistaken even Diana in the book says something about it, potassium is lacking both in the soil and in the feed ... moreover, always writes the walstad, potassium is mainly taken from the column of water and not from the roots
this is why the idea of integrating potassium, even on the basis of small manifestations on plants that seem to be potassium deficiencies

Thanks again for the advice, soon an upgrade


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