# Gone Walstad - my first tank, please advice?



## Molch (Nov 10, 2010)

Hi all,
here is my first Wlastadian tank, a 20 gallon, set up 2 weeks ago. I used Whitney Farms premium potting soil (1-1.5") and gravel from the Bering Sea coast (1-1.5"). The water level is about 3/4th up the tank to allow some aerial growth for plants. My observations so far:

- plants are growing like their butts are on fire. I have water sprite, Rotala rotundifolia, Ambulia, some Bacopa, java fern, crypt wendtis, and 2 Amazon swords (probably bleheri), some Wisteria and a couple stems of Shinnersia rivularis. And 2 Anubias nana.

- after two weeks, I see small amounts of green algae on the glass, some hint of green in the water and some algae fuzz on leaves of slow-growing plants like the crypts and java fern. 

- I started out with 50 watts daylight CFLs plus window light, which might have been too much and promoted some algae. I now reduced light to 1 20W tube of cool white and diffused some window light, and added charcoal to filter.

- added fish after 1 week. Tanks has now 12 neons, 1 betta, 2 corys and an otocinclus.

- am seeing a bit of ammonia (0.5 ppm) and nitrate (0.5 ppm). This worries me as the pH is around 8 probably due to CO2 depletion (original water has pH of 7.4 and alkalinity of ca. 150 ppm)

- Am doing partial water changes every 2 days until I see that tank has cycled. Fish are looking happy though.


OOf - this is fun, but much to worry about. Am I heading for a train wreck or is this all as expected so far?

pics show tank after setup, some detail with Neons, and left side of tank with Arctic sunrise (12 pm!) behind it.


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## Franco (Jun 25, 2010)

It is indeed nerve racking at first but it looks like you are off to a good start. You should have an NPT jungle in no time.
It sounds like you had too much light at first. All NPTs are different so you just have to tweak until you figure out what works.
The increase in pH shouldn't be from CO2 depletion but is more likely due to the gravel.
It took me a while to figure out why my tank wasn't cycling properly--the nitrites weren't going away-- so I added some duckweed and they sucked it right up in the first day and then the tank acted like it was totally cycled. You want your nitrates a little higher than 0.5 ppm to act as a buffer zone for nutrients so the plants don't starve. I shoot for 10 ppm in my tank but some people like it as high as 20 or 30 ppm. Its probably just that the tank isn't done cycling and once the biological filter becomes established your nitrates will go up. Adding plants with the aerial advantage really helps keep ammonia in check. It is a totally backwords way of thinking if you look at older aquarium books that say plants only use nitrate, when in actuality they love ammonia, like nitrite, and will use nitrates if nothing else is available.
How did you get your plants up there in the land where water only comes frozen? Shipped in or does the far north have fish shops nowadays?


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## Molch (Nov 10, 2010)

thanks - today, ammonia was down to almost zero but nitrites still at 1ppm. That tells me the tank is making progress toward cycling. Algae have not increased since I reduced light. Plants doing mostly well, but one kind of feathery plant (either a limnophila or a myriophyllum - dunno) kinda melted. That same plant does well in another one of my tanks with cold water though.

a question: my water sprite (C. thalictoides) is making many baby plants along older leaves. Those same older leaves then start browning a bit. How should I manage them? Cut baby plants off and let them float, or plant them?


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## dachewitt (Feb 28, 2010)

If you have nitrites that high with fish, you should do a water change or they will be injured. I would do 50% water changes every day or twice a day to bring the level down.

Debbie in MD


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## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

Letting some watersprite float is a good way to get a head start on the "aerial advantage" and will go a long way in knocking out ammonia and extra nutrients in the water column. You are off to a good start. Be patient with the tank, and in a few months you should have a trouble-free, maintenance-free, aquarium.

-Dave


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## Franco (Jun 25, 2010)

After my tank settled in and is now maintenance free I'm finding myself bored. lol
This is what I always wanted, a tank that I didn't have to constantly baby and all I want is for a problem to arise that I have to try to figure out. The first month was so nerve racking/exciting. The wife had the idea for me to put a tank in the future nursery for the babies underwater themed room so I'm getting amped up again. She said it has to be gaudy and full of resin tank ornaments though. puke


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## potatoes (Jun 25, 2010)

dachewitt said:


> If you have nitrites that high with fish, you should do a water change or they will be injured. I would do 50% water changes every day or twice a day to bring the level down.
> 
> Debbie in MD


+1, nitrites are harmful to fish. Floating plants will help as well, but in the meantime I would definatly do some water changes


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## Molch (Nov 10, 2010)

thanks all - I did do water changes, and ammonia has gone to 0 and nitrates are also down to about 0.5. Fish look happy so far...

when you do disconncet a baby water sprite, what then? Should it be left floating or does it need to be rooted eventually?


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## Franco (Jun 25, 2010)

You can do either. For some reason watersprite wont grow floating in my tank so I have to plant them. Now I have more than I know what to do with.


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## mfgann (Nov 10, 2010)

Do the plants soak up nitrites? I have an NPT that the ammonia stayed <1ppm, but the nitrites spiked and pegged the API kit at 5ppm every day I tested it. They've finally dropped to 0.25ppm, but I'd assumed that the plants were soaking up ammonia and nitrates, but not the nitrites.

It is a 10G with wisteria, najas, pennywort, pellia, red ludwigia, dwarf sag, corkscrew val and a little dwarf hairgrass. It also has duckweed floaters.


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## Franco (Jun 25, 2010)

Yes plants will use nitrites. Their preference goes from ammonia to nitrite to nitrate. Remember that if you are using a water conditioner that neutralizes ammonia, nitrite, or nitrate it will still show up on the test kit even if it is neutralized.


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## Molch (Nov 10, 2010)

well, now the nitrite and ammonia are both at zero and nitrates about 5 ppm. I do see a bit of algae here and there - how much agae is "normal" ? 

Also, the Bacopa australis is looking odd: it makes lots of new side shoots from leaf axles, but the older leaves at those points go brown and die. Is it crying for help or just adjusting?


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## Molch (Nov 10, 2010)

an update: everything growing fine; the Vals and Sags and Ceratopteris have conquered the back of the tank. The amazon sword was looking a bit anemic and transparent, but after I added DIY CO2 (yeah - I cheated) - it cme right back to life. Crypts and Anubias are growing.

Most of the Bacopa kinda died, but one sprig of it has miraculously taken off and made a raft of floating branches at the surface. There are now hardly any algae; maybe a few hairy ones on the older leaves of the amazon plant...


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## theaznguy808 (Dec 9, 2010)

I'm using those same lights on my 29g! 

I also got the larger fixture size up( something like 10.5 inches) and put a Y attachment inside so I can put two CFLS in.

So I have 4 x 26 watt cfls in, Daylight 5500k (incandescent 100 watt equivalent in lighting [smilie=q


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## Molch (Nov 10, 2010)

this tank has come a long way and is currently doing great. Here two pics: the day of set-up and after 8 weeks.

the amazon sword has grown huge. The Rotala and Val is growing faster than I can clip them. I took out the root w. java fern and planted E. tenelllus instead. The Marsilea in the left foreground has returned from the dead and is now spreading.


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## Franco (Jun 25, 2010)

Lookin good! What did you use to diffuse your DIY CO2? I'm thinking about trying it out on one of my NPTs just to see what happens but I don't want to invest any money in it if I don't have to.


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## Molch (Nov 10, 2010)

Franco - I use a 2 liter soda bottle w. yeast and sugar, and I made a diffuser with an airstone stuck inside a Hagen Elite mini filter as shown in this thread.

The CO2 supply is not really strict El Natural....I call it a Walstad-plus tank


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