# setting up 20 gal Walstad



## redmary51 (Mar 17, 2011)

Hello everyone. I am new to this forum. I have had fish for a few years now and have decided to set up a Walstad planted tank. It is a 20 gal high? (approx. 24" x 12" by 15"), 30 watts of 6500k light and it will be in a southern window. I have a Fluval 104 cannister filter and a 50 watt heater. (The filter is currently running, so I will not have to cycle the tank.) I have Miracle Grow organic potting soil and gravel for the top. 

I have the following plants ordered that will arrive next week: water sprite, hortwort, 5 saggitaria subulata, 5 Italian Vallisneria, cryptocoryne wendtii, moneywort, java fern, red ozelot sword, rotala rotundifolia and a few foreground plants they are going to add to the order. I also have a bronze crypt and some wisteria that will go in there.

I have a few questions, and probably will have more as I go.

Do the plants get planted all the way into the dirt at the bottom or just into the top layer of gravel.

Her book says a moderate fish load. What is moderate for a 20 gal planted tank? I am undecided on what fish to put in it. I would like a couple dwarf gouramis and a school of something else - maybe rasboras. If I am lucky enough for the plants to grow and become emergent, I want fish that will not jump out.

How do snails and shrimp fit into the bioload? I have not had them before.

Thank you in advance for any suggestions or advice.

Mary


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## Old Salt (Aug 11, 2009)

The plants get planted just as you would terrestial plants, do not bury the crown of the rooted plants. A moderate fish load for a 20 gallon tank would be no more then 15 inches of fish. Snails and shrimp would have a minimal impact on the bio- load of the tank.


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## boringname (Nov 11, 2010)

My guess is a moderate fish load means sticking to the one inch of fish per gallon rule.

One inch of snail counts for more than one inch of fish. Shrimps have so little bioload you don't even have to worry unless your getting a crazy amount of shrimp.


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## redmary51 (Mar 17, 2011)

Thank you for your answers.

Mary


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## JamesHockey (Nov 10, 2010)

Pix!?!?!?!??


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## redmary51 (Mar 17, 2011)

I got the tank set up yesterday. It was pretty cloudy at first, but looked much better this morning. I hope to get some fish after work tonight. I will try to get some pictures taken and figure out how to post them.


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## wkndracer (Mar 14, 2009)

:icon_redf Just saw the thread today. Your first post said you have gravel for the capping material. Is that common aquarium or round river gravel? If so I would suggest acquiring some sand. Only add enough sand to help complete your cap filling in between the rocks. This will need to be added a small amount at intervals as it works down over time.

I would stock lightly starting out and wait on shrimp, snails etc until the soil settles into a submerged state of decay and becomes stable. Dirt tanks can start out with a few bumps on water quality.

Ozelot swords can get pretty big so consider center placement. Water sprite rooted in my tanks also becomes a monster that I trim back so it doesn't hog all the light. Planting a 20g tall can be a bit tricky as it will get crowded very quickly.

Having Diana's book in hand starting out is fantastic.

Please start a journal and help convince others just how easy a dirt tank is to maintain. roud:

edit forgot!!!! @5 current posts WELCOME!~!


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## redmary51 (Mar 17, 2011)

Thanks for responding. I am very new to planted aquariums, so I'm full of questions. I have been reading everything I can find, and this site has been very helpful. This Walstad method sounds much easier and cheaper when there is no need to fertilize, etc.

I received so many plants that I felt like it was getting crowded just trying to plant it, but after things settled down, it looks pretty good this morning. I thought I was ordering one plant, but some of the plants were bunches (I guess I should have realized that), so I had a lot more than I expected. They had to substitute my Crypt Wendtii, so sent me 2 Crypt Lutea and a free Crypt Spiralis. I do also have a 50 gal that I am planting (no soil yet), so it got some of the overflow.

Maybe I goofed up. I put the Sword just to the right of center, but the Water Sprite is in the back right corner. Hope they don't crowd each other.

I mixed very fine aquarium gravel (about BB size) and some very small round rock-type gravel. Why would I need sand and what kind of sand?

As far as stocking, the filter had already been running, first on this 20 gal and then temporarily on the 50 gal, so I was hoping to not have to worry about cycling. I was hoping to get a couple opaline gouramis to start with. I understand I am likely to have an algae problem at the beginning, so when/if that develops, I will get some nerite snails and shrimp, but I heard the gouramis might attack shrimp???.

As far as a journal, I started a pen and paper one, just with the date and what I planted so far. I took a couple of pictures last night when the water was very cloudy. I thought I was going to have to do a water change soon, but it looked much better this morning. I will take another picture tonight. 

It was such a mess at first, I thought I would regret it, but it is looking much better. I had a lot of debris float up when planting. It was really hard to see where I had things planted. I skimmed the big stuff with a net and found out that I was able to catch some of the fine stuff that collected around the edges of the top with a paper towel. Would regular potting soil do that too?

My lights are 2 18" strips of 15 watt 6500K. I have one pushed to the left edge and the other pushed to the right edge, but it is a bit of a pain because I have to lift one out of the way to open the top. I was thinking about clamp lights with spiral cfl bulbs. Any idea whether the wattage that counts for aquariums is the wattage used or the comparison wattage of illumination you get with incandescent bulbs, and how many watts should I get for 2 clamp lights?

Sorry about the length of this. I get carried away sometimes.

Mary


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## wkndracer (Mar 14, 2009)

No apologies plz unless you get rude LOL, forums are all about questions and learning. The soil will release chemicals sometimes overwhelming the water column is why I recommended light stocking at first not the cycle issues as found with any new tank. If the capping material is too large the soil can find its way up through, mucking up the water. Play sand or pool filter sand helps fill in the gaps. With tiny BB size gravel it may not be an issue.
The journal I was referring to is a web thread like this one linked.
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/low-tech-forum/86457-55-gallon-low-tech-soil-sub.html
It was started when I set up my first soil based tank and includes what I used and the events as they occurred. Tank was filled on 4/30/2009 and is currently still setup and tracked here on the forum. Less posts these day’s because it simply is there full of weeds and fish not causing any trouble. The active threads for me are on the systems that change or are added too.

I suggest you think carefully when placing your plants because that is one of the trade offs. Once the roots are in place it is a HUGE mess to remove a plant.

HTH (hope this helps)


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## redmary51 (Mar 17, 2011)

Thanks again. I will think about the online journal.

Maybe I'll add a little bit of sand to play it safe. I believe what you say about moving things since I had such a mess when planting in the first place. I am already worrying about thinning things out if they actually grow and multiply.

Thanks also for spelling out the hth because I don't text and am new to planted tanks, so the abbreviations and acronyms sometimes leave me in the dark.

Since you did not respond about the lighting questions, does anyone else out there have an answer regarding wattage of cfl bulbs? I haven't been able to find anything here on the forum.


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## wkndracer (Mar 14, 2009)

if you wanted a reference link
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/p...-glossary-terms-faqs-useful-links-search.html


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## JasonG75 (Mar 1, 2011)

wkndracer said:


> The journal I was referring to is a web thread like this one linked.
> http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/low-tech-forum/86457-55-gallon-low-tech-soil-sub.html


I bet there are tons of GREAT Threads like these out there that ought to be dug (no pun inteded) back up. Keeping this one for the up coming weeks.

THANKS


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## redmary51 (Mar 17, 2011)

Thanks, I had found that and printed it for my reference. Something I have run into that I did not find on the list is PAR. I know it has something to do with lighting, but . . .


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## JasonG75 (Mar 1, 2011)

redmary51 said:


> Thanks, I had found that and printed it for my reference. Something I have run into that I did not find on the list is PAR. I know it has something to do with lighting, but . . .


 
Here is a nice little discussion on lighting, I use it for reference from time to time, make sure though ...you read it ALL

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=73446


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## redmary51 (Mar 17, 2011)

Ok, so I read it all, but most of it went right over my head. I have T8 on one tank and T12 on the other. When I plug in the depth, width and length and divide the lumens of my lights on the 50 gal tank, I get 40. Then again, T8 and T12 still go by wpg?? If so, I have 60 watts on a 50 gal tank -- still low, but I was advised on another forum that was all I needed for low light plants.

I tried the formula with the cfl bulbs I bought thinking I might be able to use them on the 20 gal. Walstad tank that I just set up. They have 490 lumens and the tank is 14 deep, 12 wide and 24 long. If I used 2 of them, I believe it comes out to 15? Is that right?

I'm feeling way out of my league here and pretty stupid.


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## williemcd (Mar 25, 2011)

It's approaching 6 a.m. where I'm at and just found this forum as I was heading to bed. I spent a month doing a Walstad tank and amazed a few of the regulars of my fish club that had been at it for dozens of years. UNFORTUNATELY.. it was a tank I was prepping for a "For Sale".. to go up to a bigger tank.... but.. the new owner growing flowerhorn's say's he's never had a better substrate mellow out as quickly with a new set up. 1.5 inches of potting soil that had been sterilized, covered by the same amount of pool filter sand. PFS has granuals of about .45 - .55 mm which is perfect for water/oxegyn.. exchange. without the fear of poop getting into the substrate.... After only two weeks of the plants being in this environment, I was amazed at the root development when I pulled them for the sale.. 
More to come if your interested but .. my dogs will be waking me in just over an hour!.. Bill in Richmond, Va.


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## RobertPlant (Mar 9, 2011)

RE:I'm feeling way out of my league here and pretty stupid.

Hey...I thought I was that thread starter!
No worries - the folks here are more than forgiving & extremely helpful.
Someone had suggested to me to use fluorite to cap the soil...as sand was too fine & would allow poo to rise.
Hell - I couldn't even find soil yesterday , never mind fluorite.I have Fluval sub in Flora tank kit I purchased, but find it so light that I have a hard time planting ANYTHING - I may use the "drill a hole in slate chips" method I read on this morning to get things to stay put.
Have subscribed to your thread to see progress - best of luck!


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## JasonG75 (Mar 1, 2011)

redmary51 said:


> I have T8 on one tank and T12 on the other. When I plug in the depth, width and length and divide the lumens of my lights on the 50 gal tank, I get 40. Then again, T8 and T12 still go by wpg?? If so, I have 60 watts on a 50 gal tank -- still low, but I was advised on another forum that was all I needed for low light plants.
> 
> I tried the formula with the cfl bulbs I bought thinking I might be able to use them on the 20 gal.
> 
> I'm feeling way out of my league here and pretty stupid.


 
Don't feel stupid...Lighting is really one of the most complicated part of the equation because it is one of the most critical and delicate parts.

You see what's making it more complicated in your scenario is the CFL's. I am all for saving money and DIYing but when it causes heachachs I'd rather SKIP OUT.
Honestly I would look into T5NO fixtures, because they are NOT HO and you can control it a little better. You see this is the chart that I love so much and it is really simple


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## wkndracer (Mar 14, 2009)

while the posted chart was hosted on monsterfish I believe it's reposted from Hoppy's thread.
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/lighting/105774-par-vs-distance-t5-t12-pc.html
CFL thread there too.

:icon_roll credit where it's due


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## redmary51 (Mar 17, 2011)

Well, wkndracer talked me into doing a journal, so if anyone is interested, I started one. Mary's 20 gal Walstad.


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