# Advice for Walstad tank with as few water changes as possible?



## kwirky88 (Jul 18, 2014)

I'm looking to set up a small (less than 30 gallons) Walstad tank at the office. The reason why I'm considering a Walstad tank is that we don't have our own sink at our office, instead sharing a common bathroom facility with all the other offices in the building and it's impossible to fill buckets in the washroom. Plus the water coming from the automatic taps is warm, making it impossible to throw it straight in the aquarium. Hence the idea of a Walstad: few water changes required.

Any advice on how to go about setting up a Walstad that will be tailored towards few water changes? I don't mind all the other maintenance, it's the water changes that I want to avoid.


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## Aquadawg (Aug 18, 2012)

Avoiding water changes will eventually cause your nitrates to build to dangerously high levels and cause serious algae problems as well. There is no way to avoid this long term. I would pick another office ornament, look into a nano (6 gals or less), or* look into an aquarium maintenance service*. They usually can bring their own water.


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## AGUILAR3 (Jun 22, 2013)

There are a lot of members here who claim to do minimal to no water changes on their tanks. I'm talking about only topping off or 4-5 WC's a year max.

If you plant heavy(75% of the surface) and keep your fish stock low, I don't see why you couldn't keep a low maintenance tank. Just make sure you get a filter with good biological filtration.


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## Aquadawg (Aug 18, 2012)

AGUILAR3 said:


> There are a lot of members here who claim to do minimal to no water changes on their tanks. I'm talking about only topping off or 4-5 WC's a year max.
> 
> If you plant heavy(75% of the surface) and keep your fish stock low, I don't see why you couldn't keep a low maintenance tank. Just make sure you get a filter with good biological filtration.


Ticking time bomb for most


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## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

AGUILAR3 said:


> There are a lot of members here who claim to do minimal to no water changes on their tanks. I'm talking about only topping off or 4-5 WC's a year max.
> 
> If you plant heavy(75% of the surface) and keep your fish stock low, I don't see why you couldn't keep a low maintenance tank. Just make sure you get a filter with good biological filtration.


+1 and I am one of those members

From the start, add some floaters and some emergent stem plants like Mint Charlie, Creeping Jenny, Water Sprite, Hygrophila Corymbosa.

Starting out with an 'active', slow release, high CEC substrate like AS Amazonia helps to keep the maintenance down also. You also get a leg up if you use some lava rock in the tank: extra area for biological filtration.

Do plan on fertilizing the tank lightly, 1 - 2 times a week, reversely proportional to the fish load / feeding.

Don't knock the idea if you haven't tried it yourself. 

v3


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## tattooedfool83 (Mar 15, 2013)

Ive had a 10 gallon dirted aka walstad method that has no filtration, no heater and is powered by 2 cfls for 12hrs a day and hasnt had a water change in 8-9 months, it has a huge population of tiger endlers and pygmy cories in it.


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## Qwe (Jul 8, 2013)

I have a 29 Walstad that hasn't had a water change in almost a year with 0 nitrates, nitrites, and ammonia... It's absolutely filled with emergent growth, floaters, and the substrate is covered with plants. But it's lightly stocked with guppies and least killies, with a few bumblebee gobies and an amano shrimp.

If you know of the method, I'm guessing you read her book? Basically just follow her directions towards the end of the book to set up a Walstad tank. The only thing she doesn't go over is I think the high CEC cap for the substrate, to help keep the nutrients longer.


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## BruceF (Aug 5, 2011)

The easiest way is to limit the number of fish and keep the tank well planted. Dwarf Sag is a great plant for this, but any plant that grows well and needs minimal care hygrophila, crypts and the like.


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## philipraposo1982 (Mar 6, 2014)

Aquadawg said:


> Ticking time bomb for most


Sorry but your wrong. Do more research.


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## alex009 (May 21, 2011)

You'll probably want to keep the fish to a minimum. Like a 20 gal with one centerpiece fish or a few small tetras. Wouldn't recommend livebearers as they will overpopulate the tank. You'll also need a plan for water top offs. 

On another note, those really messy walstad tanks with yellow water and plants growing all over the place might not be the best for a public office environment as its not the most aesthetically pleasing for many and may not contribute (or even take away from) the look of a professional environment -if youre worried about that sort of thing. Not saying you cant have a nice scape with an NPT it will just require some foresight and planning.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

Easiest top off: Buy 2 gallons of distilled or RO water. Add as needed, and when they are empty take them home to refill. Using distilled or RO will minimize the mineral build up. 2 gallons is easy enough to carry, and most tanks will be OK with just that much top off, if you keep them covered.


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## Aquadawg (Aug 18, 2012)

philipraposo1982 said:


> Sorry but your wrong. Do more research.


Philip and OVT, 

There is no doubt my opinion is not a popular one on this thread. I have done the research *and* parented a 20g Walstad tank, so I do speak from research as well as actual experience. I just wasn't pleased with the overall results I achieved. I almost lost the entire tank twice and was only saved by massive water changes each time. Eventually I tore it down in favor of my more successful methods. Again to all who disagree, this was only my experience.

Bump:


OVT said:


> Don't knock the idea if you haven't tried it yourself.
> 
> v3


Much respect OVT. Please note my response above.


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## AGUILAR3 (Jun 22, 2013)

alex009 said:


> On another note, those really messy walstad tanks with yellow water and plants growing all over the place might not be the best for a public office environment as its not the most aesthetically pleasing


WTF??? Walstad method doesn't mean you neglect your tank and let it go to sh!t. Keeping a messy tank has nothing to do with the Walstad method. I have a dirted tank (2 WC in 6mo) and the water is crystal clear and not overgrown one bit.

Truth be told, I've seen far more messy non-dirt tanks than I've seen Walstad dirted tanks.


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## AGUILAR3 (Jun 22, 2013)

Aquadawg said:


> I almost lost the entire tank twice and was only saved by massive water changes each time. Eventually I tore it down in favor of my more successful methods.


I think you just had some bad luck if you almost lost an entire tank twice.

14mo ago I had no clue what a planted aquarium was. (20 yrs w/saltwater+ monster fishkeeper) I saw a 4min video on dirted tanks , bought some miracle grow and set up my first tank with absolutely no research. 14mo later and its still running with same dirt, substrate, plants and light.

IMO, sometimes, too much research is your worst enemy. Information overload :hihi:


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## BBradbury (Nov 8, 2010)

*Low Maintenance Tanks*

Hello kw...

You can emerse Chinese Evergreen in the tank. Attached is a picture of one emersed in a 38 gallon sized tank. The roots are under the water to take in nitrogen produced by the dissolved fish waste. So, the water is always pure. There is some evaporation, because the plant eventually grows above the tank, so it has to be open. This one also has aquatic plants growing. The more land plants, the fewer the water changes or no water changes.

B 








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## Aquadawg (Aug 18, 2012)

AGUILAR3 said:


> I think you just had some bad luck if you almost lost an entire tank twice.
> 
> 14mo ago I had no clue what a planted aquarium was. (20 yrs w/saltwater+ monster fishkeeper) I saw a 4min video on dirted tanks , bought some miracle grow and set up my first tank with absolutely no research. 14mo later and its still running with same dirt, substrate, plants and light.
> 
> IMO, sometimes, too much research is your worst enemy. Information overload :hihi:


Maybe it was because I tried the dirted method on a salt water tank LOL!


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## lochaber (Jan 23, 2012)

Set it up with some quick-growing plants that you periodically harvest (floaters are great), and don't overfeed, and you probably won't have any problem with nitrates.

If you poke around on here, you'll notice a lot of people are actively adding nitrates to their tanks, because the plants are absorbing all the ammonia/nitrates.

As to the yellow water, you can just toss a bag of purigen in the filter, that stuff is pretty awesome at keeping the water clear.


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## philipraposo1982 (Mar 6, 2014)

At 60% stock my tank will destroy all my nitrates in a couple days and remain bottomed out until I dose a hefty portion of potassium nitrates. At 100% fish load I now feed daily and don't have to dose nitrates no longer. The added fish load plus increase feeding provides my tank with constant nitrates.

Its all about finding the right balance.


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## AGUILAR3 (Jun 22, 2013)

Aquadawg said:


> Maybe it was because I tried the dirted method on a salt water tank LOL!



What? Salt and dirt don't mix? :hihi:


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