Does anyone familiar with Walstad method?
She mentioned by using the combination of dirt and gravel substrate at the start,
I was thinking isit possible to use ada soil in replacement of dirt as the kind of soil she used, dont think can be found here.
I use soil regularly in both my low tech and high tech scapes. Many soils can work well, but soil tanks can be harder to manage as a whole....Originally Posted by rubbersandal
This is a low tech scape without Co2. I do dose the water column with ferts though
Im not using ADA soil but i believe they will last for about 2 to 3 years depending on your set up. If you have a low tech low light setup then I guess there would not be a huge demand on nutrients and it will last longer.
My tank is using soil and sand,it is about 5 years now without changing it,i just charged it with root tabs yearly and so far so good.I do believe you have to replace the ADA soil once their time is up because they will breakdown into unattractive mush. So back to your question whether to use ADA soil in replacement of dirt, i dont think it is a good idea but there is no harm for trying..and keep us updated..
The soil and gravel mentioned in walstad method are just normal garden soil and gravel, you can get those from most local gardening centers or plant nurseries (ie. Far East Flora, JM, Island, Greenwood Florist etc)
You can even dig up a patch of soil from a garden and use it too, just that it may need to be checked and washed to reduce the chances of hitchiking pests introducing into your tank.
Most people who use garden soil for their tanks do so mainly to save cost.
Using ADA aquasoil is a good alternative, it costs more than garden soil but you'll be using a product thats already designed for aquarium usage and the choice for aquascapers around the world. It contains the right soil conditions, pH buffering ability and lots of rich nutrients to grow aquatic plants. Thats why so many people use it.
I guess if you are using ADA aquasoil without Co2 injection or ferts, then its basically no different from just running a low tech tank.
Not sure if you are trying to follow the walstad method exactly step-by-step or just using some of the concepts, but either types of soil and substrates can be used. Just factor in their characteristics when setting up and maintaining the tank.
Thanks everyone and xiao zhuang that's a nice scape u got there.
And Urban Aquaria I'm following walstad method as close as possible except the soil part.
If is not too much trouble can you provide the steps?
Yup I'm reading walstad book as well but is not easy to follow when comes to steps or it just me.
er....need your help if u familiar with her method thanks.
Well, while i do have Diana Walstad's book too and it does contain alot of useful info on how a planted aquarium works, the basic setup and care techniques are pretty much the same as the majority of planted tanks using soil substrates. Its basically what most of us would just term as a "low-tech planted tank" nowadays.
If you want to follow the walstad method exactly... it just means no Co2 injection, no fertilizer dosing and just low-moderate lighting (which is basically like most low-tech setups). The concept is based on just feeding livestock to generate natural waste, which beneficial bacteria in the filter and soil convert to nutrients for plants to use, and the plants just use those nutrients and light and whatever natural limited Co2 in the water to grow. At the basic level, this same process occurs in every low-tech planted tank anyways.
The overall growth rate of plants in such setups will naturally be slow (as with all low-tech tanks, due to the limitation in Co2, light and nutrients) and certain higher demand plants may not do so well in such conditions, so you'll just have to factor that in and manage your expectations.
The reason I'm following her method is even at long period of time without water change the water quality n clarity is still there. Some aquarist even have their fish breeding. Of cos not all but some aquarist blindly followed her method without having the knowledge or using wrong kind of soil (contents of soil) failed to expectations.
That is why I tried to follow as close as possible. Particular Garden soil she mentioned because of the characteristics and plenty of plants able to create natural eco system produce co2 etc in the water.most importantly as I mentioned less water change.
So by using ada African soil instead, I hope it won't matter too much. Oh one more thing she mentioned 1" soil followed by 1" gravel n start planting tat means have to plant in at least 1" deep to reach soil?
Chose it's method cos the fish I'm getting cannot withstand water change have problem adapting new water perimeter namely channa.
Just be aware that it doesn't necessarily mean that if you follow the walstad method exactly and use the recommended gardening soil and gravel combination and plants, the tank will magically have clear water and no need to do water changes. If the bio-load is too high and the filter and plants can't handle the waste produced or the parameters are unbalanced, the tank will still become dirty and toxic. During my early days in the hobby many years ago, i also tried the walstad method in some of my tank setups too, some worked well, some no so well.
At the end of the day, its all still down to basic proper aquarium setup, care and maintenance. I still incorporate many elements and techniques from the book in my current low-tech and high-tech tanks too.
A healthy tank is alot more than just based on the soil and plants only, there is a very delicate balance to maintain in order to achieve the optimal conditions. I do find that it can actually be quite a challenge to keep such conditions in a natural way because you don't have the extra help of technology and products. You'll have to work with alot of natural variables instead, like how much to feed the fishes in order to produce waste to provide nutrients for the plants... feed too much (too much excess nutrients) or feed too little (not enough nutrients). Alot more trial and error required. It gets tricky especially when issues arise like the tank starting to grow lots of algae or the plants starting to melt, solving those issues within the limitations of natural methods do tend to be more difficult.
Anyways, if your objective is to not do as much water changes because you are keeping sensitive fishes (and your main focus is on the fishes), then at its core you'll just have to make sure the tank filtration and plants can more than handle the livestock's bio-load and waste production. If not, you'll still have to do more water changes and do more filter/tank cleaning to maintain safe water conditions.
Larger tank volumes make a huge difference too, a smaller tank will not be able to handle bio-loads as well as larger tanks. Larger tanks with comparatively low bio-loads can go for much longer periods of time without water changes simply due to the larger water volume diluting any concentration of waste. Everything just accumulates at a much slower pace.
Do note that if you don't do much water changes, the total dissolved solids (TDS) will steadily increase over time, this is all the "things" accumulated in the water which are not removed from the tank. Gradual increases are usually okay for most hardy livestock as they can slowly adapt to higher TDS levels over a longer period of time, but any new livestock that are introduced into an older tank with very high TDS will need to be acclimated properly beforehand.
Btw, the walstad method of putting gravel layer on top of the gardening soil is mainly to keep the soil dust and particles from getting kicked up (gardening soil can be very dusty)... thats actually an old method used long time ago before proper dedicated aquarium soils were created. You have to keep in mind that her setup methods are quite "old school", the book was published in 1999.... its based on much older techniques and products. The aquarium hobby has come a long way since then.
If you are using ADA aquasoil, then its not necessary to cap it with gravel because those soil are designed for aquarium usage, they are not like normal gardening soil (the aquasoil are designed to be work and hold together better in an aquatic environment). If you look at planted tanks using ADA Aquasoil, none of them have any gravel layer on top.
Last edited by Urban Aquaria; 21st Jun 2016 at 16:27.
You pointed a lot of things that I have totally forgotten. And appreciate you elaborate on each n every point. Rite now I just need to stay focus.
Tank: 45x30x45
Filter: Eheim 2215
Media: Seaham matrix, purigen
Light: Aqualighter
Aeriation: Yes
Inlet Outlet: Borneowild Steel Pipe
Substrate: ADA African
Flora: Anbuias Java Fern and assorted rooted plants (not aware of the name)
Decor: driftwood
Fauna: 3xJuvenile Channa
Temperature: 28-29 degrees
Whole tank will b flooded with plants. Do you suggest I shld remove aeration and at least get seachem excel?
Plants especially Anbuias getting yellow as for lighting is only from 7pm to 1am
Your setup looks good... if you can fill up the tank with plants it would definitely help alot, and create lots of hiding places for the channas too. Anubias and java ferns tend to soak up nutrients slower though (especially in low-tech setups), so if necessary, you may need to add faster growing plants to soak up excess nutrient faster.
You can run both aeration and dose Seachem excel at the same time, the aeration will not affect the excel as its a liquid carbon substitute, not gas-based carbon.
Anubias leaves getting yellow is usually due to nutrient deficiency (the rhizome ran out of certain nutrient reserves, so it is taking back nutrients from the leaves). Shorter light photo-periods only slow down their growth rate, but with sufficient nutrients, the leaves will still remain healthy. You can try increasing the light photo-period abit more to increase their growth and nutrient take-up rate.
It might also just be due to old leaves or emersed leaves dying off too. Just trim off those yellow melting leaves, so that the plant can redirect resources to growing new healthy leaves.
The easiest and quickest solution to mitigate nutrient deficiency is to dose general fertilizers so that the plants can quickly replenish the nutrients it needs to grow new healthy leaves again. In my anubias tank, once their plant density and mass reach a certain point, i actually have to dose a surprising amount of fertilizers so that all their leaves maintain a healthy green color, if i just slack in fert dosing even for a week or two, i'll start to see leaves yellowing.
If you prefer not to dose fertilizers and want to wait for the livestock to generate waste instead to create nutrients for the plants (aka walstad method), then you'll have to wait for that process to happen. It'll take more time to see the effects.
I get what u mean now. Looking at it I think walstad method have to improvise with today's innovation to cut short time. Didn't realised her method was first introduced 1999 Will b gethin tropica stuff to kick it off or else by the time waitin for fishes to cotribute nutrients my plants will all b dead by then. Shld I get tropical plant growth premium rather than specialised?
Bought lot of plants which I didn't realised it wasn't meant for aquatic sigh.
Could u jump to this thread tat I posted queries on plants.
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...5-Will-it-grow
It will depend alot on your tank setup and how you plan to run it.
Having used both the Premium and Specialized versions before (i switched between the 2 versions depending on the tank's nutrient requirements)... i would say the Specialized version would usually be a better overall all-in-one fertilizer solution for planted tanks as it also contains nitrogen and phosphates (in addition to potassium and all the trace/micro nutrients), especially if your focus is to grow plants. Just keep an eye on the nitrate levels when using such fertilizers to make sure it doesn't increase too much over time. In addition, regular weekly water changes will be essential to clear out any unused nutrients.
If your focus is more on the livestock and less on the plants (or with less/lower demand plants in the tank), then the Premium version would be more suitable, based on the livestock waste production already generating ample nitrates and phosphates.
You can also look at Seachem Flourish Comprehensive too, its also an all-in-one fertilizer that contains abit of everything (including small amounts of nitrogen and phosphates), that can be a good choice for low-tech setups like yours. Its one of the fertilizers that i've also used successfully in various tanks over the years.
Thks urban will update u if the end result is successful. Getting excel n comprehensive at this moment
Use top soil + red clay + fertilizer(Osmocote plus) + compost (abit)
cover use small gravel
I'm A Newbie Pls Don't Flame Me
Thks takaco.
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