# My 55 gal. Walstad tank about 3 weeks in. Have some questions please HELP :)



## mihzyd777 (Jan 30, 2017)

Hello everyone,

I'm still somewhat new to all this and this forum. I started a brand new 55 gallon tank almost 3 weeks ago (Setup on 1/16/2017) using the Walstad method (No Co2, No Ferts, Nothing). Here is what I did and what plants, fish I have in it -

Also please see attached pics links here: https://www.amazon.com/photos/share/ZeMW6pkJJHKQAtOlap6mxGvKgN6JXowDzol2hN2xbm2

My 55 gallon Walstad Tank Setup:
1.5" inch Sifted Miracle-Gro Organic Potting Soil

1.5" Fine gravel

Added several pieces of Amaco Mexican Self-Hardening Clay before adding potting soil. Did it so red plants can get iron as needed, even though many say the soil alone has enough iron in it to provide plants iron needed for many many years. (kind of cheated) - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

4 - 20 watt Warmoon brand Outdoor LED Flood lights 6500k IP66 rated - (Custom mounted to 2 old 20 gallon tank hoods ) -https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GYE9LZU/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Lighting Schedule on Timer - On from 7am - 11am then Siesta from 11am - 2:30pm then Back on from 2:30pm - 6:30pm

Used Tap water from outside hose and about 8-10 gallons of filtered water from inside house. Tested both waters for Cholrine and is 0. Also PH around 7.2

Used bacteria from old 20 gallon tank and washed in into new tank once filled up

Driftwood and 3 large river rocks from neighbors garden

1 digital thermometer - Water holding steady between 77-78 degrees day and night - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Have a single 100 watt heater right now adding a 2nd 100 watt heater once I turn off my 20 gallon tank.

Sunsun 13watt UV filter system (Can be seen in middle top of tank going sideways) - Used to clear up algae bloom I had which made me nervous for about 2.5 weeks before I installed it. - [Ebay Link Removed] 13W UV Sterilizer w/ Submersible Pump Filter 150 gal Aquarium Fish Tank | eBay[/url]

SunSun 530gph Powerhead - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Penguin Bio-Wheel 150 filter system - Removed Charcoal filter and using Bio-Wheel and Bio-Sponge around the intake and that's it. Also keep water level up high so that it's spills and doesn't break surface and allow to much oxygen into water which would carry up and out Co2 from my understanding.

Plants:
I'm by far no expert so sorry for any misspelled or anything like that
2 Anubias plants tied to each side of driftwood and floating
1 bunch of Anacharis that I split up throughout tank and they TOOK OFF after only about 6 days of being planted
1 Rotala Rotundifolia Indica
2 Echinodorus Martii (Major) plants. I buried into substrate one on the left of the drift wood and one to the right.
5 Amazon Frogbit that already expanded into about 12 in about 1 week
2 Amazon Swords on back right and left of tank
1 bunch ludwiga that I also split up and looks to be doing well
1 java fern shoved between the 2 river rocks and not buried 
1 Reddish Amazon Sword (I think Flame) or something like that on far right mid section of tank
1 bunch of Java Fern tied to Driftwood in several places and really doing well since it starting growing after really dying back
1 2" x 2" inch carpet of Montecarlo (Really trying to make it, died back about 90% and now several new growths but can't be seen in pics)
There may be 1 or 2 plants I forgot but that's roughly about everything

LIVESTOCK:
2 Ghost Catfish
1 Long Finned Tetra (The partner died before I could move to new tank)
2 Rainbow Fish
3 Rasporas
5 Nirate Snails
6 Amano Shrimp
1 Gold Shrimp
1 Blue Shrimp

I think that's everything So here are my questions if anyone can provide guidance I'd really really appreciate it!

1.) You see my water is a yellowish/brown color. Is this from tannins? Is it ok if I don't mind the color? How can I clear it up or if I don't do anything will it clear after how many weeks? Also afraid it's making water to dark to prevent light from penetrating down low.

2.) My water test today (2/1) came back as the following after tank has been up for 3 weeks now - Added fish about 3-4 days after setting up (Good right just want to be sure ) ? See attached pictures of test results. 
PH Ranges from 7.2-7.6 
Ammonia - 0
Nitrites - 0 
Nitrates - 0
Phosphates - Not tested but need to get it tested
Didn't get water hardness test because LFS didn't have one at the moment but if I were to get I would say probably between 2-5 so soft. Last week everything seemed to have peaked and I had some fish/shrimp/snails in there which worried me. My Ammonia was up around 0.50ppm and Nitrites were at 0.25ppm and Nitrates were at 5.0ppm which had me worried and I didn't want to do water change so I cheated and added a capful of Prime that was about 1 week ago from today (2/1). Nothing else has been done since then.

3.) My Amazon sword leaf I took close up of has burnt looking edges - Why? What can I do? Has new growth that is very light green see pics if you can.

4.) My fish are doing fantastic and love swimming around same with shrimp and snails working well. Can or should I add more livestock? If so approx. how many more and any recommendations on Walstad Tank safe livestock that won't kill my other fish/shrimp/snails or plants? I had a pleco full grown 4-5" I got rid of before I moved him because I heard he would tear up my planted tank.

5.) Noticed kind of medium build up of algae on back glass and little on front as well as on powerhead unit. I just added 3 out of the 5 more Nirate snails yesterday 1/31, and know I should probably get another 6 Amano shrimp and another 6 Nirate snails to help with this issue. Should I worry about this? Or should I clean it and do a water change?

To be honest I'm trying to follow Walstad method from her book that I have as close as possible - Cheating a little before of Filter unit installed and not just powerhead, but she talks about not changing water but 1-3 times a year and only 10-15% and no more as not not kill off the environment and accidentally removing nutrients that plants/fish are giving and receiving. As of now it's been 3 weeks and I haven't done a single water change? Do I continue this?

Again appreciate everyone's time reading my post and open to any/all suggestions with good backup info of why lol. Thank you ahead of time!


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

mihzyd777 said:


> Should I worry about this? Or should I clean it and do a water change?
> 
> To be honest I'm trying to follow Walstad method from her book that I have as close as possible - Cheating a little before of Filter unit installed and not just powerhead, but she talks about not changing water but 1-3 times a year and only 10-15% and no more as not not kill off the environment and accidentally removing nutrients that plants/fish are giving and receiving. As of now it's been 3 weeks and I haven't done a single water change? Do I continue this?


Wow, that's a lot of information, but much appreciated. It is good that you've got some plant growth.

I would definitely clean algae off the glass and do a water change. I would also add charcoal to the filter to remove the yellow color.

Your tank is in the critical startup phase. With all that sifted potting soil, there's a huge excess of nutrients and CO2 for plants. Thus, a little cleaning right now is warranted. While I wrote about limited water changes, that's mainly for an established where soil has settled down and plants are growing well. Right now all that decomposition of soil is flooding the water with tannins and nutrients. This may stimulate algae and give it the edge.

One trick you can do is to stab a pencil (or other sharp object) into the substrate around any plant that is not doing well. It could be that the soil around it is going severely anaerobic. If you get a big bubble of CO2 released, that suggests that you are doing the right thing. Like burping a baby. Stabbing the soil will bring a little oxygen into it and keep the soil from going severely anaerobic.

Once the soil settles down, you will see less yellow color, less nitrates, etc. But right now, those soil bacteria are going wild.


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## s2man (Nov 8, 2016)

Welcome to APC, mihzyd777. It sounds like you are off to a good start.


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## mihzyd777 (Jan 30, 2017)

Ms. Walstad,

First thank you very much for taking the time to private your valuable input on my build. It's an honor to receive a response from you and I strive to have my Walstad tank flourish under your instructions both here and from your book! 

I'm sure your busy so I will keep this short with a few questions if you don't mind:

1.) Should I add charcoal filter only until color has clear? In your book you mention that gradually within about two months, the terrestrial soil should stabilize, so do I keep it in there for a couple months and it won't hurt the tank by taking away the organic matter?

2.) Water change - How much do I do 10-15% and how often and for how long?

3.) My livestock levels - Can I add more fish and if so approx how many more? I wanted to add about 8 more fish and 6 more Amano & Nirate snails. Would this be ok?

I also noticed several brown spots on my anubius plants leaves. From what I read this seems to be Algae and to either let it go if it's not to bad or clean it using a h2o2 solution mix? What do you think?

Thank you very much again for taking the time to respond. I be will be sure to send updated photos of my tank as time goes on.

-Mike


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## mihzyd777 (Jan 30, 2017)

s2man thank you for the welcome appreciate it. Really looking forward to gaining knowledge from all of you to keep up my tank and be able to show you all my progress.


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

You're very welcome!

I think you need to judge when you can level off on the cleaning. That said, I have added my thoughts after your questions:

_1.) Should I add charcoal filter only until color has clear? In your book you mention that gradually within about two months, the terrestrial soil should stabilize, so do I keep it in there for a couple months and it won't hurt the tank by taking away the organic matter?_

Ans. Not a big deal here. A little yellow color never hurt anything. I would just add it and keep it in the filter. The action of charcoal doesn't last all that long, because its air pores get clogged up pretty quickly and then it doesn't do anything more than gravel.

_2.) Water change - How much do I do 10-15% and how often and for how long?
_
Ans. I would do a big water right now, maybe 30-50% and then add the charcoal to the filter. A couple weeks after setting up one of my tanks, the fish were having problems (listless, not eating), so I did one big water change and added the charcoal. That took care of the problem.

3.) My livestock levels - Can I add more fish and if so approx how many more? I wanted to add about 8 more fish and 6 more Amano & Nirate snails. Would this be ok?

Yes, IF the tank is taking off--plants growing well, no ammonia or nitrites, etc. One thing I like is that you have a UV filter to control fish diseases upon adding new fish. I have had better luck filling up the tank with livestock in the beginning than trying to add new fish to established tanks.

_I also noticed several brown spots on my anubius plants leaves. From what I read this seems to be Algae and to either let it go if it's not to bad or clean it using a h2o2 solution mix? What do you think?_

Ans. This could be metal toxicity, H2S toxicity, etc. I would just leave the Anubius alone unless you're sure its algae. Can you scrape it off?

Finally, I would add that you set up this tank with 1.5 inches of an organic soil. That's a lot of organic matter decomposing. In essence, you are "mineralizing" the soil in the tank itself.

I think the most important thing you can do is to make sure that the soil is not going severely anaerobic. Gently poking substrate with a pencil/chopstick may sound silly, but it introduces oxygenated water into the soil layer. You could do this every few days. If the substrate releases bubbles when you do this, then you are doing a good thing for the plants--keeping a severely anaerobic substrate from injuring their roots with H2S, fermentation gases, oxygen depletion, etc.

Be consoled by the fact that these are all temporary measures during the critical startup phase. Once those swordplants take off, you can relax.


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## mihzyd777 (Jan 30, 2017)

Ms. Walstad,

Thank you again for taking your time to help not only me but everyone on this board out. Please see my responses and questions below:

1.) I added my charcoal filter back...not doing much after 2 days but I think I need to buy a new one and replace the old one....that is ok right?

2.) I performed a water change before you responded and only did about 15-20% max. Sounds like I have to change more. How often can I change it out and should it be the 30-50% each time until clear or ?

3.) I poked a sharpened pencil around both of my Amazon sword plants and and a couple of other places (one little bubble in all the poking) and no big bubble came up...so is this good or bad ?

4.) How many Nerite snails and Amano shrimp would you add to a 55 gallon is there a rule of thumb here?

5.) I'd love to put in a carpet plant, my lighting is probably around medium if I were to guess. Any good suggestions of safe, low maintenance carpet plants that stay nice a low (below 3" preferrably) that works well in my tank?

Thank you again very much for your time and responses.

-Mike


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

You could change to fresh charcoal, but I don't see this as a priority. The substrate seems to be behaving okay, gently releasing CO2 for plants but not in huge bubbles. This sounds good.

In the long run, smaller carpet plants will probably have trouble competing with the larger plants. In the meantime, you can try HC (_Hemianthus callitrichoides_). Although I've never tried them, those moss balls look interesting.

That said, I think you can relax about your tank. You've done an ideal setup. Congratulations! Advice from others at this point would probably be as good--if not better--than anything I have to add.


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## mihzyd777 (Jan 30, 2017)

Thank you Ms. Walstad for all the great info! Tank is doing well!

Also I'm open to hearing from anyone that is part of the site to help me out going forward. So please don't be shy 

I do have one small issue that I need help on. Both my anubias plants have green spot Algae on them...how do I resolve this. About 2 -3 leaves have it on each plant. 

I currently have the lights on 4 hours then siesta for 4 hours then on again for 4 hours. The Anubias plants are tied to the side of my driftwood and maybe they are getting to much light? Is there anything I can do other than move them? I already planted Anacharis behind it that is growing like crazy and hoping that it can someone help shade the plants.

Open and welcome any ideas that can help...will this kill the plant or is it just more of eye sore type of thing? 

Thanks!


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## s2man (Nov 8, 2016)

Can you just rub the algae off with your fingers?

Personally, I don't mind a _little_ algae. Hey, its a Natural tank  My bristlenoses keep the leaves fairly clean...


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