# [SETUP] My First attempt at a Walstad (40g breeder)



## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

I wouldn't bother adding any other source of ammonia to the tank. The soil will produce a lot of ammonia just on its own. Good start to a walstad. Just keep doing water changes daily for the first week. It will help a lot with the nutrient release.


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## LightMatter (Jan 4, 2021)

minorhero said:


> I wouldn't bother adding any other source of ammonia to the tank. The soil will produce a lot of ammonia just on its own. Good start to a walstad. Just keep doing water changes daily for the first week. It will help a lot with the nutrient release.


Thanks for the feedback! Yea, it was a dumb idea to add additional ammonia. As of today, I am reading 3ppm Ammonia. I've only done a couple water changes so I am going to start doing them daily for the next few days.


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## carseatdust (Dec 23, 2020)

Well done on setting up the tank, and good luck with the next days and weeks. I'm excited to see how the build comes along, and what issues you do/don't run into with just the powerhead and so on. Did your plant bundle include some floating plants? These might be helpful for competing with algae in the early stages.

Bump: Woops, I see you've already posted about floaters that elsewhere! Nevermind.  Look forward to the next updates.


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## LightMatter (Jan 4, 2021)

carseatdust said:


> Well done on setting up the tank, and good luck with the next days and weeks. I'm excited to see how the build comes along, and what issues you do/don't run into with just the powerhead and so on. Did your plant bundle include some floating plants? These might be helpful for competing with algae in the early stages.
> 
> Bump: Woops, I see you've already posted about floaters that elsewhere! Nevermind.  Look forward to the next updates.


Thanks! Any suggestions on the floaters?


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

LightMatter said:


> Thanks! Any suggestions on the floaters?


If your surface doesn't have much movement red root floaters are pretty. I have had mixed success with them. I prefer giant duckweed (not regular duckweed), which grows easily even if there is a little current on the surface which most of my tanks have.


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## LightMatter (Jan 4, 2021)

minorhero said:


> If your surface doesn't have much movement red root floaters are pretty. I have had mixed success with them. I prefer giant duckweed (not regular duckweed), which grows easily even if there is a little current on the surface which most of my tanks have.


I only have minimal/moderate surface movement from a small submerged powerhead. Does giant duckweed become a nuisance like standard duckweed? I'm going to avoid frogbit because I don't want super long roots. I love the look of the Dwarf water lettuce roots, but they might end up being too long as well. RR floaters, Salvinia Minima (Water Spangles) and Giant duckweed might be my best bet.


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## monkeyruler90 (Apr 13, 2008)

its going to look great once it all grows in!


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## carseatdust (Dec 23, 2020)

No specific recommendations! I have been living with small duckweed for a while, and would recommend something else  If you need to use something temporary for algae reasons while waiting to source your salvinia or what have you, you could float hornwort or wysteria in the water column.


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## LightMatter (Jan 4, 2021)

carseatdust said:


> No specific recommendations! I have been living with small duckweed for a while, and would recommend something else  If you need to use something temporary for algae reasons while waiting to source your salvinia or what have you, you could float hornwort or wysteria in the water column.


Thanks for the feedback! I think I am going to grab some RR floaters and giant duckweed!


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## carseatdust (Dec 23, 2020)

Great! Look forward to seeing how they work out for you


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## LightMatter (Jan 4, 2021)

Well, we are having a bit of a family emergency and need to travel from the house for a few days. Here's hoping it doesn't crash before I get back!


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## annadromeda_galaxy (May 21, 2018)

Sorry to hear you've had a family emergency. I am several months to a year away from setting up my own tank, but your setup is practically identical to what I'm planning! I'll be following to see how it grows in. Great work so far!


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## x0769 (Mar 17, 2014)

Looks good, hope to see more updates! I've had my Walstad setup for about year and a half and it's fish and plants are loving it.


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## Basementfishtanks (Jan 29, 2021)

I like the walstad method I’ve done a couple tanks this way. My most recent one I had set up for about 3 years with minimal water changes. I love it! I’m big on a more natural set up. For filtration I only ran a Hamburg matten filter with a pump which isn’t fully walstad I guess but worked great! Right now I’m playing around with dirt under a deep sand bed. Congrats on your first walstad set up sounds like your off to a good start good luck!


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