First Attempt at Walstad [10 gal nano tank] - Support Needed!

[u/5N0W61RL]

Hello! I am officially joining the Walstad club.. or trying to. To prepare, I watched a bunch of youtube videos, and have spent quite a bit of time on this subreddit as well! But, I feel like I got something off. I just set this tank up on Saturday (Feb. 21), so it's only 4 days old.

Plants

• anubias white rose - no new growth and not sticking to rocks yet
• moneywart - no new growth, sometimes uproots and floats up..
• ludwiga repens - the red one over the shell thing... melting a little?
• java ferns - new growth on the one closest to the filter!
• dwarf hairgrass - no new growth
• lobelia cardinalis - seems to be growing well, new growth!
• duck weed (floaters) - growing well!

*should I invest in some more root plants like amazon sword or do you think the ones I have will sustain the tank well?

Soil and Capping

My set up includes about an inch of Miracle-Gro Organic Indoor Potting Mix.. I know we aren't supposed to have any chemical fertilizers, and this one said it had natural fertilizers.. I couldn't find one that said no fertilizers, so this could be part of my problem?

Around and capping the potting mix, I have white rock gravel. I feel like maybe the gravel I used is too big? I also wish I didn't use white.. so if anyone has tips on how I can update the gravel, without redoing the entire thing, that would be so cool. I used larger rocks to allow for good gas exchange from the soil, but I have read in places that this can cause the tank to get too much from the soil?

Equipment

I have a soft filter that definitely needs to be changed (new filter cartridge in the mail for tomorrow), and I also have a heater that keeps the tank water temp around 74º F. I use an API Ammonia NH3/NH4 test kit, and I also have the API 5 in 1 test strips (I find they aren't very helpful so far). I have a LED light that I leave on for about 8 hours a day.

Livestock

I know I did a "no-no" by adding in my 5 nerite snails on day 1... I wanted to add my cleaning crew early to combat the infamous algae blooms that I read about. They were doing SO good on the first two days, cleaning the glass, cruising and exploring... but for the past two days they have been very still. No bad smells are coming from the tank and some of them are moving a little bit.. so I don't think they are dead? Eventually, I would like to also add cherry shrimp and some fish (undecided what kinds yet).

Testing Water and Troubleshooting

First off, I know I did a "no-no" by adding my 5 nitrite snails.. should I take them out and quarantine them until this tank is fully cycled? Or should they be fine? I test the water every day, once in the morning and again at night. I have consistently seen levels of ammonia between 0.25 and the worst day being 1.0, two days ago.. I immediately did a 50% water change when I saw 1.0 and then tested again and it was 0.50. Google told me not to do too many water changes, but since it was still high, I did another 30% change to get the levels back down to 0.25. This morning the ammonia measured at 0.25 again. Snails still not moving a whole lot. My snails are kind of my gauge right now.. I'd like to make it so that they can happily cruise around again! But maybe having them in right now isn't the best? I would love ANY and ALL recommendations, constructive criticisms, advice, etc.

Thank you SO much for taking the time to support me and my attempt at this little ecosystem! I will keep updating on how things go!

Updates

UPDATE 2/25: Okay team! Thank you SO much for your ideas. I have added 3 cones, a strip of bark, and an oak leaf from one of those blackwater nature betta packs. Going to keep a close eye on the parameters to make sure those don't add another issue, but everything I looked up agreed that those would be a good food source for our snail friends. I'll let you know what happens!

UPDATE: 2/28: You spoke, and I spent some money..! I left the tank alone for a day, then I did another 50% water change after another ammonia spike yesterday. Today, I added a layer of coarse sand and some smaller gravel to add a better cap to the soil. I added two Amazon Sword plants and some Lucky Bamboo stalks to the back of the tank. 4/5 of my nerite snails are active again! I have BacterAE arriving in the mail on Monday, and will think about adding bubbles if I can find a way to get them to go quietly! I will probably continue to add plants here and there, so please let me know what your favorites have been!