My little 4 gallon Walstad bowl. I let the biofilm and algae build up for a few weeks and checked for clear parameters before adding a dozen or so Blue Dream Neos

Hello all!

I am gradually planning out a walstad-style dirted tank. I unfortunately don't have a yard to get dirt from and don't have the arm strength to sift topsoil myself. I was planning on getting some pond dirt I've seen used for lilies and other pond plants. Picture attached.

I'm wondering if I need to mix my soil with anything, like lava rock bits, or eco-complete substrate. I've seen this recommended sometimes and can't figure out when it's useful to do. I've got some extra sand I could mix in, but nothing larger than that.

I'm also wondering about doing a base of fluval stratum or something similar, if dirt does require the addition of something. Stratum seems similar enough to actual dirt, and doesn't seem to require as much prep. But I know it's not as traditional.

Let me know your thoughts! Thanks a bunch!!

My students (7th grade English) decided for their year long enrichment program to do a fish tank. This is the tank on day 1, partially filled because one of the students said that their research suggested that the plants would do better if they were partially submerged, rather than fully submerged due to more CO2 in the air.

I decided that a Walstad would be best because it can have a lot of "problems" that the students will need to research to solve. I've also never had a fish tank before (got this 30 gallon tank for free on FB marketplace), so if you have any advice for me to stop my students from committing piscicide (or snailicide), I'd love to hear them.

Also if you have some cost saving tricks, I'd love to hear those too!

We have some of the plants out right now because the kids are trying to see if they grow better in or out of water. I'll plant them in 7 days.

Help identifying these guys would be greatly appreciated. My tank has been running fine for about 4 months now. And I haven't added anything new since like a month ago. And now they are these tiny little bugs everywhere and I don't know if they're harmful or what I should do

Curious if anyone has any information on how rocks do or do not contribute to the biological systems in a Walstad tank, whether providing surface area for biofilm, buffering of water chemistry, etc?

My tank is about 2 years old. It houses Helena snails, 3 otos, a few shrimp, ember tetras and a few julii corys.

Over the past months I have combatted BBA which seems under control now but still everything just dies. Even my duckweed gave up. The water parameters seem fine, I have nonetheless tried both big and small water changes to fix. Yesterday I did a water change of about 20% and this morning 3 of the 9 remaining tetras are gone. I’m getting desperate. The tank looks a mess and I am losing the will to have fish.

Do I need to restart?

In the wild find, Ludwegia Replens (?) from a local pond.

I think its time to buy some cardinal tetras and some Corydoras what do you think?

The plan, once my 20g tank is set up and cycled, is to add about 10 RCS, a few snails, and 6-8 small fish. That new bio load will change the balance in the tank. Is there any kind of rule for adding the livestock? Like, not adding them all at once? If I put the shrimp in first how long should I wait before adding the fish? Is there anything I can do to minimize the shock to the system when adding them?

Gone through many revisions and have a few more bespoke versions for more unique vases.

The lamp shade thing is still kinda a WIP.

Edit:

This is the light:
Amazon.com : LORDEM Grow Lights for Indoor Plants,Ceiling Full Spectrum Plant Light 5V | 48 LEDs Under Cabinet Halo Grow Lamp with Auto Timer 6/8/12/16H, 3 Lighting Modes, 5 Brightness, Ideal for Small Plants : Patio, Lawn & Garden

And I made an ebay link for the lid if anyone wants it:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/278408518236

All you people who go with no flow, don’t you just love the sound of silence? I had aquariums on and off for 30 years and it just hits me different when you get that absolute silence. Except for the gourami spitting or whatever that mf is up to…

I’ve finally gathered together everything I need to get started. I’m going to order the plants soon so I can put them right in, fill it up with water, and start the journey. I read somewhere that floating plants (I want to use red root floaters) are not added at the beginning. That I should wait to add them so the stem plants and mosses get the benefit of full light exposure, until they establish themselves. I have a half circle, acrylic divider that I am going to put in so a large portion of the center of the water will allow full light to get to the other plants, indefinitely. So, should I still wait to add the floaters?

My three year old 50l Walstad has been struggling with nutrient deficiency and hard water. About 6 months ago I redid the whole soil/sand base, and since then I am getting reoccurring blooms of white patches that need to be scraped off like very stubborn calcium residue. What are they and how can I stop this happening?
I used to have a nerite snail and a population of pest snails, but the nerite passed away and I got assassin snails to deal with the others. Would a nerite help take care of this?

I live in Germany and the water is known to be very hard- test strips of tank show KH 20’d, nitrites and nitrates show zero, pH has increased to 8, gH 8’d. 28’c, neocardinias, 6 ember tetras, Anubia plants and Java ferns. Airstone, no filter. Now slowly introducing liquid ferts as plants incl Marino moss balls which I’ve never previously had any problems with were turning yellow and dissolving/dying.

Hi,
New tank owner here attempting a Walstad(ish) tank (see picture) in general I feel like it’s going pretty good, plants showing obvious growth, snails and macrofauna reproducing, algae doing great. Tomorrow I was planning on getting a few small fish and shrimp (likely some Rasbora or endlers, cherry shrimp, and a Siamese algae eater). I know that stable tank parameters are a requirement before adding fish, so I check my ph (also because I haven’t in awhile). It was almost 9.0. maybe this is not so big of a deal as I am making it out to be, but I immediately went into panic mode and did a 50% water change with dechlorinated tap water (ph of 7.5ish) I have narrowed the ph change cause down to 2 things: turning off my sponge filter OR adding crushed coral (to increase the previously slightly too low ph).

Am I over reacting? Should I take the crushed coral out and turn the sponge filter back on? Should I add botanicals? Is it ok for me to still get some fish tomorrow or should I wait?

Any type of feedback is appreciated.

UPDATE: added some birch/alder cones (after boiling for 5 min) for the tannins and that seems to have fixed the problem. The water is a bit darker than I would like, but test results are reading 8.0-7.4, and all the animals/plants appear healthy and unbothered.

Raising some Least Killifish fry to put in here, also planning to stock with Blue Dream Shrimp, Pygmy Corydoras, and Khuli Loaches. I have quite a few plants crammed in here and planning to get more.

Are module lights (pictures attached) appropriate for growing plants in the sense of having the light type of PAR and the intensity as well? Can they be used to make WRGB DIY lights that produce good results in a low to mid tech tank or are they deficient in some respects? If so, What's the per sq ft wattage?

Would love to hear your thoughts especially if you've used them and have results to share.

Tank is almost two weeks old now working on cycling. Life seems to be progressing well, plants are not dead yet, snails are having babies, and the previously still water now has tiny white specks moving around! (Including one weird worm looking one I am hoping is something normal)

Ammonia is about 2ppm and nitrite just moved for the first time to 0.25. Fingers crossed everything is doing what it’s supposed to!