50g Walstad Build

[rkilling1]

I am by no means a Walstad expert, but isn't that a lot of light for this type of tank? I thought Walstad tanks were rather low light.

I have her book and guess I should start reading it.

 

[JRMagno]

I am not even a novice, this is my first Walstad build. I have not read the book either, I heard it was very scientific so I figured my best bet was to learn from others.

I have heard so far to do low to medium and this is just a little over 2.4 Wpg I figured if I need to I can cut the photosynthesis period down to 6 hours.

I fought over the 96 or dual 36s and decided the 96 would be better for now and the future

 

[JRMagno]

Financial delay tank will not be up by the week. I got everything delivered this weekend (minus the light)

Still need to:
Get a 4X18in piece of glass cut for a cross brace.
Build a spray bar for my powerhead
Get lights in the mail
Build a fixture for the lights
Buy and mineralize soil
Buy black sand
Order all the plants

Obviously it would be cheaper and better to buy from hobbyist but with the amount I'm ordering I think buying from live aquaria and aquarium plants will be easiest so they all arrive on the same day.

I want to add a bunch of MTS on start up day, but I'm not sure on how many I should? I know they populate like crazy, but have no idea on numbers. I was thinking 30 for starting, what do the more experienced think??

 

[JRMagno]

So due to money issues everything is pushed back again in the meantime I thought I would try to get the scape figured out. I plan to have a rainbow shark, 2 blue rams and some other bottom dweller (not sure yet) and I know they all need hiding spots or they become territorial. I want an all natural effect and do not want odd shaped rock caves or PVC. Here is what I have so far
















Please excuse the towels! The driftwood has a big cave and the rocks have 3 caves in the front and one in the back. What do you think???

Rocks still need to be cleaned, vinegar tested and soaked in hot water.

 

[JRMagno]

Continuously learning here, guess it's a good thing I wasn't ready to set up the tank today. With close to 50% of my floor space taken up with rocks and DW what do you think is the best way to avoid pockets in the soil? should I place rocks and large DW on ceramic tiles and the surround with soil and sand? or is this too much of real estate taken away from plant space for this method?

 

[Aquatic_Adam]

I wish I had a good answer for you. I only did a 10g as my biggest Walstad and that was lots of plants. MTS will burrow and cause the bubbles to diffuse but I'm not sure how far below DW and rocks they will go

 

[JRMagno]

The more I research it the more I think I will take your original advice predfan and try this method later with more research and a smaller tank

 

[Aquatic_Adam]

The more I research it the more I think I will take your original advice predfan and try this method later with more research and a smaller tank

I know that you have had some financial setbacks on is tank, but if you wanted it really planted you could use Flourite instead of the Walstad method

Sorry to hear that you don't want to do it anymore. I know that it became a hassle for me in just a 10g.

 

[JRMagno]

Yea, thats what I'll end up doing. But now my powerhead is useless and I have to buy a canister filter I'm just going to tough it out with DIY co2 to save money. This will give me more freedom for a more textured/sloped substrate.