# Crypt growth - Walstad vs Gravel with fertilizer tablets



## jlfkona (Dec 15, 2013)

Here is a picture of Cryptocoryne wendtii green that has been growing for about 2 years in my "classic" tank in which I use fertilizer tablets.










The same plant in my Walstad that has been planted for about 2 months. Same size tank and same lighting schedule.










I think I will be removing / moving the crypts in my Walstad. They are definitely not a front of the aquarium plant. 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Yo-han (Oct 15, 2010)

I think this will apply to most plants. Walstad is just a rich substrate, plants will love it!


----------



## f1ea (Jul 7, 2009)

Yeah, Crypts and Echinodorus seriously take off in Walstadt tanks.


----------



## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

What substrate are you using in the Walstad tank? 
Do either tanks get water column ferts? Carbon supplements? 
Are the fish (or other livestock) loads similar? Or, are they fed the same amount of fish food?
Are the water change schedules the same? 
In the gravel tank, is it possible that the substrate tablets are dissolving too fast, and the fertilizer is gone sooner than you think? (removed from the tank via water changes.)

I have had different results from Valisneria in gravel vs other substrate. Many years ago I was getting away from gravel and moving toward finer substrate. Vals grew just fine in the gravel and the finer substrates. The difference in growth seemed to be related to light (the sunny end of the tank had better growth). All tanks had pretty high stocking levels, and 50% weekly water changes to keep the NO3 low. 
No fertilizer tablets. I did add potassium and iron to supplement the fish food as fertilizer, and I added a low dose of Excel. (Vals are said to be sensitive to Excel, but they seem OK with a low dose).


----------



## mik778866 (Nov 13, 2014)

jlfkona said:


> I think I will be removing / moving the crypts in my Walstad. They are definitely not a front of the aquarium plant.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Hi. How would you do that without making a mess in this set up?


----------



## jlfkona (Dec 15, 2013)

Diana K said:


> What substrate are you using in the Walstad tank?
> Do either tanks get water column ferts? Carbon supplements?
> Are the fish (or other livestock) loads similar? Or, are they fed the same amount of fish food?
> Are the water change schedules the same?
> ...


Thanks for the questions.

The substrate in the Walstad tank is organic soil, a small amount of oyster shells topped with black diamond.

I do not use any water column ferts or carbon supplements on these tanks. I do fertilize some of my other tanks. Though I am moving more and more of the tanks to Walstad method.

The load is higher in the gravel tank. The Walstad tank is home of a betta and a couple blue rilli shrimp. The gravel tank has blue rilli shrimp and maybe 6 endlers. I feed 4-5 betta pellets in the Walstad tank and a pinch of small fish pellets in the gravel tank. Same brand different formula.

Water change schedule is different. In the Walstad - I change the water about every 3 months or so since it has been established. I periodically check the water parameters and they are very good. The gravel tank gets water changes about every other week to every third week. It does have more top offs.

The lighting schedule is the same. The gravel actual gets more direct natural light.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## jlfkona (Dec 15, 2013)

mik778866 said:


> Hi. How would you do that without making a mess in this set up?


Here is the picture of the redo.










It was a bit messy. I carefully pulled out the crypts with the plant tweezer. Then I trimmed and replanted the tops of the Alternanthera Reineckii. Then I did a major water change sucking up the most of the dirt that came up. I decided to add some more of the Black Diamond Blasting Sand over the front area where I pulled out the crypts. Now for the other plants to fill in again....

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

The Crypts in the gravel tank look like the leaves are cupped. This may suggest some nutrient deficiency. Higher light makes the plants try to grow faster, so they demand more carbon, nitrogen, etc. Whichever of these runs out first is the nutrient deficiency the plant shows. 

The pic in the last post is nice- those Crypts were indeed hiding the rest of the tank. They would have made a nice background plant.


----------

