Diana Walstad Natural Planted Tank

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Well, seein' as how it has been 3 days, I figured I would update. Just checked water params and it seems as though seeding the tank and generously planting led to an instantly cycle! No ammonia or nitrite with a temp. holding steady at 77*F. Not much growth yet, but I guess it will take a little while for the plants to really take off.

I also haven't had any signs of algae, but I may start doing some weekly/bi-weekly water changes to avoid excess nutrients.
 
Update

Well, been very busy the last month so I am just getting around to updating. The NPT is coming along very nicely. There was a moderate outbreak of thread algae (not sure why, but ALL of my tanks get thread algae), but it starved itself out and there is only some GSP starting to show. I am probably going to prune for the first time tomorrow since the wisteria has grown to the water's surface and the anacharis is finally growing well.

I apologize for the crummy picture quality, having problems getting a good, clear one.
 
adadkins1 said:
Well, been very busy the last month so I am just getting around to updating. The NPT is coming along very nicely. There was a moderate outbreak of thread algae (not sure why, but ALL of my tanks get thread algae), but it starved itself out and there is only some GSP starting to show. I am probably going to prune for the first time tomorrow since the wisteria has grown to the water's surface and the anacharis is finally growing well.
Click to expand...
lookin good :)
 
Just wanted to give one more update:

Pruned my tank back on the July 24th and went on vacation. Got back yesterday evening. In just over a week, my wisteria grew about 2 inches :eek:. I am officially a huge proponent of the Diana Walstad Planted Tank. I haven't done many water changes since the tank was set up and the nitrates are really low, almost 0.
 
Cool. I'm on my second "NPT"...it's more of a pseudo NPT because I'm not doing Walstad step by step, just soil, no ferts and no CO2 :-D.

Looks good.
 
Thanks.

I am astonished at how well it is finally doing. Just wish she didn't look so cramped in the tank.
 
Very cool tank, don't DW tanks normally only have a powerhead for water movement instead of filtration and the plants use the ammo and such as plant food? I was thinking of doing something like this my empty 10 gallon.
 
Yeah, but you don't have to be filter-free. I'd feel weird not having a filter. There shouldn't be a consistent source of ammonia; DW only emphasizes that some species of plants are very good at consuming/converting ammonia when present in the tank...she also has a paragraph or two on how ammonia can do harm to plants. The soil, fish waste and fish food all provide nutrients.
 
Technically you aren't, but I agree with Marconis. I feel the filter is very handy at getting some of the dirt out of the water columns as opposed to no filter. Though the filter on this tank is only a trickle most of the time since strainer is clogged on a normal basis.
 
Marconis said:
Yeah, but you don't have to be filter-free. I'd feel weird not having a filter. There shouldn't be a consistent source of ammonia; DW only emphasizes that some species of plants are very good at consuming/converting ammonia when present in the tank...she also has a paragraph or two on how ammonia can do harm to plants. The soil, fish waste and fish food all provide nutrients.
Click to expand...

Ah that makes a little more sense, I have only done a bit of light reading on the subject. Looks like i have a new research project!
 
I highly recommend her book. I'm reading it little by little and in pieces, but it has been very helpful.
 
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