# Walstad 55g Natural Planted Tank UPDATED: 1/9/12



## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Very nice plans, it will be interesting to see what the spectrum looks like with all the bulbs on.


----------



## wkndracer (Mar 14, 2009)

great introduction and watching for it to develop
planning well by the looks of what you're listing.


----------



## dundee (Sep 14, 2011)

2in10 said:


> Very nice plans, it will be interesting to see what the spectrum looks like with all the bulbs on.


Yeah, the nice thing about T8's is they are cheap and readily available so I can try a bunch of different combinations for little $$$.


----------



## dundee (Sep 14, 2011)

wkndracer said:


> great introduction and watching for it to develop
> planning well by the looks of what you're listing.


Thanks wkndracer! Your help is definitely appreciated!

Quick question - How many bags of Miracle Grow and Fluorite do I need for ~1.5" soil and ~1.5" cap in a 55 gallon tank?


----------



## BlueJack (Apr 15, 2011)

Nice start! Subscribed! I'm also running 3-T8's over my tank right now. I figured this might help you picking bulbs. 

In order from front to back

6500k-9325k-6500k (what I use currently)









6500k-6500k-6500k









9325k-6500k-5500k









5500k-6500k-9325k









Just for reference, the 9325k looks almost exactly like the AGA 8000k. Their spectrum's are almost identical.


----------



## wkndracer (Mar 14, 2009)

dundee said:


> Thanks wkndracer! Your help is definitely appreciated!
> 
> Quick question - How many bags of Miracle Grow and Fluorite do I need for ~1.5" soil and ~1.5" cap in a 55 gallon tank?


LOL this stumps me! Exactly how much? I keep the substrates in 5g buckets after rinsing and drying it. 

Plan on two bags but hold off on using a couple pounds for a 1" cap. 
Wanting 1 1/2" in a capping layer I'd get 3 bags.
Save the extra for when you need touch up materials for the cap.
Even without a burp / eruption of soil sooner or later you will need to add on to the cap after trimming or moving plants. 
Buying another bag of Flourite 2yrs. later the color of the crushed brick won't match LOL. 
I hold a large ziplock bag of gravel back when I set the cap.

Using MG it comes in bags marked in Dry Qts., 16qt. (17.6L) gives me plenty of material. 
After setting edge the dirt is added dry for about 1.5" when I have my palm pressing down firmly on it. 
It looks like a lot more before you press it down putting it in dry.
I have not used more than this to date. 1 - 1/1/2" seems to work really well for me.
This year setting up a tank I added the nutrient kickers used by the MTS crowd sprinkling a layer on the glass before adding the soil. 

Saw the comments you left in the Fraternity of Dirt thread and you're too kind :smile: Thank you.


----------



## dundee (Sep 14, 2011)

BlueJack said:


> Nice start! Subscribed! I'm also running 3-T8's over my tank right now. I figured this might help you picking bulbs.


Nice! I've started reading your spectrum thread... I should have read it before I bought some T8's at Home Depot. I just bought the Philips 5000k & 6500K they had. Not sure what model numbers... I'll check that later.


----------



## dundee (Sep 14, 2011)

wkndracer said:


> Using MG it comes in bags marked in Dry Qts., 16qt. (17.6L) gives me plenty of material.


Thanks, I just bought 24qt from Home Depot. I have a couple other tanks I can use it in...


----------



## dundee (Sep 14, 2011)

Ok so here's what we're working with:









The All-Glass 55g tank I bought new 5 years ago.
The Fluval 405 will be running on this tank.
The hoods and stand I got used on criagslist 5 years ago.
I'm going to get some glass cut to replace those ugly hoods.
The stand is solid wood and is showing some wear. So the plan is to paint it satin black to match the tank trim. I am also replacing the hinges and knobs with brushed aluminum parts.









This 29 gallon is my oldest tank. It's been everywhere with me. I have had it since 1995 I think. I'll initially just setup this up as a holding tank to age water. The water around here is pretty crappy. I also have a 20high and a couple boxes filled with random fish tank supplies. Oh and a Fluval 305...









I went to home depot!
- 2 Philips 48" 5000K T8s
- 2 Phillips 48" 6500K T8s
- 3 Bags of Miracle Grow Organic Potting Mix
- 3 Cans of Satin Black spray paint (for the stand)
- 1 package of 220 grit sand paper (to prep the stand)


----------



## 2in10 (Feb 8, 2011)

Planning seems quite solid. This should look like new when you are finished with it.


----------



## driftwoodhunter (Jul 1, 2011)

I can't get over how neat & clean your trunk is - lol


----------



## dundee (Sep 14, 2011)

driftwoodhunter said:


> I can't get over how neat & clean your trunk is - lol


Yeah I'm a little OCD about my car... =)


----------



## dundee (Sep 14, 2011)

Alright question time... What color substrate cap should I use? This is going to be a black background tank with a black stand... so black Fluorite? Maybe natural red mix? Maybe Eco-Complete? Hell... maybe pool filter sand? What do you guys think? I'm getting the itch to order more stuff! =)


----------



## londonloco (Aug 25, 2005)

I just spray painted that EXACT stand black for a 75g NPT I set up today. The guy I bought it from emailed me he wanted it back after he saw a pic of it painted black. You won't be disappointed, it turns out great. I used 2.5 cans, the last half of the can I used to spray paint the back of the tank. 

I went with some old mineralized top soil I had laying around, and capped it with Flourite Black. It took me no time to rinse the black Flourite, not anywhere as dusty as the brown Flourite. Water is a little cloudy, but not bad at all. 

Good luck with this tank...


----------



## dundee (Sep 14, 2011)

londonloco said:


> I just spray painted that EXACT stand black for a 75g NPT I set up today. The guy I bought it from emailed me he wanted it back after he saw a pic of it painted black. You won't be disappointed, it turns out great. I used 2.5 cans, the last half of the can I used to spray paint the back of the tank.
> 
> I went with some old mineralized top soil I had laying around, and capped it with Flourite Black. It took me no time to rinse the black Flourite, not anywhere as dusty as the brown Flourite. Water is a little cloudy, but not bad at all.
> 
> Good luck with this tank...


Thanks man! Yeah I really didn't feel like spending more $$ on another sub par aquarium stand. So, I figured I'd just clean this one up a bit.

BTW I just ordered 3 bags of Flourite. I went with 2 bags of Original and one bag of Black. I considered doing all black to match the stand, but I don't think that looks very natural. I think the 2 to 1 ratio will look better.

Now I better get that stand ready!


----------



## 10gallonplanted (Oct 31, 2010)

I just tore down my walstad tank today, I got so tired of crap collecting on the leaves.


----------



## dundee (Sep 14, 2011)

10gallonplanted said:


> I just tore down my walstad tank today, I got so tired of crap collecting on the leaves.


Well shoot... I better return all this stuff. I can't deal with that! j/k :icon_smil


----------



## 10gallonplanted (Oct 31, 2010)

Lol! I tried everything though. More circulation, shrimp, and otos. I think part of the reason was from using sand that i didnt rinse.


----------



## sanj (Jan 11, 2004)

I like the idea of a Walstead set up, but I find on a visual level they are often uninspiring. Still there is hope.

The only thing I would have questioned with your setup proposal is the amount of light you are planning to use on only a 55g aquarium. Without co2 input that seems a little too much imo.

Better with either 1x 54w T5 or T8s.


----------



## dundee (Sep 14, 2011)

sanj said:


> I like the idea of a Walstead set up, but I find on a visual level they are often uninspiring. Still there is hope.
> 
> The only thing I would have questioned with your setup proposal is the amount of light you are planning to use on only a 55g aquarium. Without co2 input that seems a little too much imo.
> 
> Better with either 1x 54w T5 or T8s.


Sanji,

You must have misread my post. I'm using 3 T8s. I returned the dual T5HO fixture.

I'm starting to think about plants/aquascape now. Got any suggestions?


----------



## dundee (Sep 14, 2011)

*Surprise!*

Surprise! You guys probably gave up on me... but I've been working in the shadows. I've done quite a bit of work on the tank. 

The tank has been running since around October 1st. I just added the angelfish last night. They are from AngelfishUSA. I have 11 Green Glitter Peruvian wild tank bred juveniles. I'll be setting up another tank soon for them as they will out grow this tank in about 6 months.

I also have 6 fat cardinals and 2 ottos that have been in the tank for about 2 months. 

Anyway here are some pics. I need to mess with the camera a bit to get better photos. 









Full tank shot.









Left side. Peruvian wild tank bred juvenile angelfish.









Right side. Jumbo cardinal tetras









Center view









Driftwood









Ludwigia Repens.

More details to come....


----------



## dundee (Sep 14, 2011)

Here are some older pics I took during the setup process. I have more I'll post later.









This is the old stand I got on Craigslist 4 years ago. In this picture I have removed the hardware and doors for sanding.









Stand after sanding with 220 grit.









After the first coat of stain black. I had to sand a drip on the right and respray.









This is the light I'm using on my tank. It is an Aqueon Triple Tube T8. I returned the Hagen Glo (2xT5HO) for a few reasons:
- 2xT5HO was too much light for a non-CO2 tank
- Didn't want to hang the light above the tank to reduce PAR
- T8 bulbs are cheap at Lowes/Home Depot









Here's a shot of the reflector. A single non-parabolic polished reflector. Nothing fancy. I actually love the simplicity of this light. I ran it side by side with the 2xT5HO. Visually, I would say its just as bright but less focused light. I would say it's somewhere between a single T5HO and a dual T5HO in terms of PAR, but I don't have a meter so that's just a guess.









This is why I bought this light. Cheap bulbs. I can by T8s at Lowes or Home Depot for $3.50. Beat that. I will replace one bulb every 4 months. This means at any given time the average bulb age is 4 to 8 months. Here is the current setup:
- Philips 5000K
- Aqueon 8000K
- Phillips 6500K
Have I mentioned I love this old-school light? :icon_cool









Here is my old 29 gallon that I'm using for filtering and aging water. The Fluvals are being leak checked in this picture. The 405 is now on the 55 gallon. I might stop aging the water... I just dont trust the water around here. When I first moved to Melbourne, FL a few years ago I lost all my fish. They use treated lake water here. In Gainesville, FL we had water from aquifers that I had no problems with... I probably don't need this step because I use Prime, but I'm still worried.

Anyway... I have more pictures of the tank setup somewhere else that I will post later.


----------



## wkndracer (Mar 14, 2009)

Haven't been on the site as much lately either. (life :smile
Plants look good, angels look healthy so it doesn't get much better (imo) congrats on a nice setup.roud: 

Any bumps along the way since the October setup?

liking the look


----------



## Storm (Aug 7, 2011)

Very nice! This tank turned out great.


----------



## night9eyes (Jan 12, 2011)

I also haven't been on the site much lately, but as a fellow central FL I had to comment and say, the tank looks great! And yeah, I am also a little partial to angels as my 90 is full of um too  Keep up the good work!


----------

