# Diana Walstad's



## Angie (Dec 4, 2005)

Does anyone here have a true Diana Walstad's method tank?


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## Spudgunman (Jan 11, 2014)

IMO that is a bit of a stretch question as even her tank "method" evolves. However the inspiration for my tank is my neighbor who has a true tank to the spirit of the method ( dirt, plants, lower light technology, slow growth, no ferts, noco2, no carbon filters, no large water changes, no weekly fussing)


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## Michael (Jul 20, 2010)

One of the beauties of Walstad's method is that you can start with it and have success, then adjust it to your personal goals. For example, I follow almost all of the recommendations, except I like to keep more fish than Walstad suggests. Therefore, I add relatively large biological filters and somewhat higher circulation. It gives me the extra bio-filtration needed with higher stocking rates.

Everything else is exactly as described in her book: soil substrate, low to medium light, dense planting from the start, infrequent water changes, no CO2, no fertilization.


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## junebug (Aug 5, 2013)

I have two "true" walstads (as in true to the idea anyway). Dirted, no ferts, heavy planting, low bioload, few water changes and very low maintenance. They are my two favorite tanks


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## turtlepower129 (May 21, 2013)

I think mine is one. I did just update my lighting though, so I have a lot more light than I used to. The winter is very cloudy in Indiana and my plants stopped growing. I am using window light as she suggests to do. I was using a 17 watt T8 over my 20 long and I upgraded to 3 watt x 14 leds. I have a dimmer so I don't run them as bright as I can. I had the pleasure of talking with her at a presentation she did in Indianapolis last November so I will say I'm sure mine is in the spirit of her method. If you have a chance to see her presentation live do so because she went through things that aren't in her book.


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## TropTrea (Jan 10, 2014)

Completely true I would say I would not want it. From everything I have seen about her method it is low cost low maintenance, which is very good. However with this you have trade offs especially when it comes to your fauna population. You become limited by the varieties of fish that you can keep as well as the density of the fauna in your tank.

There maybe a few around but I think they will be very rare. However a combination of some of her ideas that have been modified with the addition of CO2, or more elaborate filtration systems I think are more common.


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## old 97 (Jul 25, 2011)

I believe this tank meets Walstad criteria
+Seven years - going strong


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## turtlepower129 (May 21, 2013)

I should add that I love not having to do water changes. I haven't changed any water since my tank was 17 days old and it is 5 months old now. My fish eat like champs cause I feed them lots and lots of food. I don't keep the glass very clean so I'm not doing that work. My biggest hassle is pouring a half gallon of water in it every other day. I am all for using her method. I do love the beauty of some of the other styles of tanks that are high maintenance, but I don't think I will ever want to do all the work to keep a tank like that. If someone wants a low maintenance tank the Walstad Method is the way to go in my opinion. I keep hearing about people not being able to stock their tanks with very many fish. In my 20 gallon long I have 7 zebrafish, 2 ottos, 3 pea puffers, a couple of amano shrimp and a SAE that I am going to gift away because he is getting too big. I think my tank has plenty of fish in it for me to enjoy. Cheers


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## usgetata (Dec 29, 2012)

I setup this tank followed Diana`s method. I did many experiments with this tank (different plants, co2, oscoto cap, fish & shrimp). 2 months ago i decided to put it back to the basic so i stopped co2 and had not change water since. Plants grows slower but now shrimps are multiplying. 









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