As an aquarist who's been keeping aquariums for a very long time, your videos are excellent. The videos have a to-the-point introduction and clear objective. You obviously took the time to craft a logical and focused scope and sequence of the informational content. I am an instant subscriber. Keep up the great work.
When I started fish tanks, I started them with the Walstad Method. This was three years ago. Since then, I continuously adapted the method. I switched from floating plants (cause they just suck lol) to tropical plants that sit with their roots in the aquarium water. Best filter ever, they grow huge, it looks amazing and the fish and shrimp love the roots as a hiding place and a place to spawn. Proper aeration is also really important, one time my fish in one tank almost suffocated at night. Since then I have either air stones or pumps with an air tube in all of my tanks. The only thing I'm still struggling with until today is murky water. Not all the time and not every tank. It seems to "jump" from tank to tank, every time I finally manage to get the water clear again in one tank, another one starts to become murky. I tried more plants, less plants, adding an additional layer of sand, adding extra filtration, but I'm still unsure about the cause. But nevertheless, I would never use any other method than the Walstad Method cause I just love the principle of letting nature do its thing. There is so much I learned from this in my three years of fish keeping. Really love your channel, you're a great teacher! Maybe you could do a video about planaria sometime in the future? To me, they are like the murky water. They just keep coming back and I really don't want to use poison to get rid of them. I know they don't really harm my fish or shrimp, it's just quite hard to control their population and prevent them from hitchhiking to all of my tanks. And I really wonder if maybe the murky water and the planaria are somehow related. Greetings from Germany, I'm looking forward to future videos!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart! I had to learn all this the hard way with my first Walstad style tank in May...two months before this posted. 😭 My stagnant box of water improved immediately after adding a small sponge filter. Why don't more channels like yours explain that this is important? They all just set up their tanks with the only "tech" being a light and lead us all to believe it worked out miraculously that way. I suspect many of these, if not all, actually did use a sponge filter or airstone between their set up videos and the "two months later" update videos, showing perfect Walstad setups humming away happily with perfectly balanced life. Sorry for the rant, you' re doing God's work my friend.
@@drea4195 Thank you so much for the comment Drea, I'm really glad you found my video useful, and I totally agree with you. I really try to be concise and comprehensive, giving all the info I think that can be helpful to people who are encountering problems, rather than just making it seem like it's super easy.
Hi Very nice video. I have walstad 60 liter aquarium for 1 year now. I started with 3 santimeter soil cover with 3 santimeter of fine (3 mm) gravel. Then planted heavily with fast growing root plants , but not floating plants because the first 3 months I want lot of light 16 hours a day. At that point to make the plants grow fast I added CO2 by add yeast to a bottle of water with sugars and attach air stone. (No more then 1/4 bottle otherwise the stone will be filled with yeast. !!!) The plants grow very fast but algae started. So I add few snails to eat the algae. But I also add java moss which effectively kill all algae. Since then for more then a year I have no algae! I add a sponge filter and air stone and thermostat heater. on 27 Celsius. And start to cycle. I added some fish dry food for 1 month and check that ammonia level is zero. BTW the snails are not multiple more then few because of shortages in food. I add fish after 6 months from start. 6 Siamese algea eaters for begining, and give them vegetarian food. Stopped the CO2 and reduced light for 4 houres at morning and 4 hours at night.(Automatic) I added other fish and shrimps. It is one year aquarium now. All fish are happy and no algae!! I add water only to compensate vibration.with anti chlorine. The water are Cristal clear. 😊
@@FishtankTwink So i heard that that eventually the nutrients in the soil deplete and the sand cap prevents fertilisers and fish poop from sinking through and replenishing the soil...how does one get around this?
Walsted method combined with modern equipment makes the dream. I got a 55 gallon 2 inch of soil and 4 inch of sand. In my soil layer I used potting soil, sprinkled some osmocote plus, and organic fertilizer this made it packed with nutrients so the 4 inch was necessary. For light I didn't want to drop 500 on Kessel so I baugh 4 60w led flood lights at 6500k. For plants I'm using pearl week and all around the edges like a wall is water wisteria. 2 tidal 110 for flow mostly but I do have some filter media. This tank has been running for 3 months now and I have a nearly complete carpet with a dense wall of wisteria. I think my fishes are happy because they are lively. This tank is my 6th try at no water change aquarium and I am proud to say I have never done one aside from top off. No heater the flood light keep the tank at 80f and I'm also using the walstead fiesta method 5 on 7off 5on 7off for light periods. Every new tank will be set up like this with the only difference being plant location and maybe species. I do love me some pearlweed carpet and wisteria 😅
@@princescdk3107 I'm the same way when it comes to wisteria and dwarf sag haha, can't get enough. Sounds like this tank of yours is going to stay successful, good job!
I tried exactly what you are doing, and hopefully it works for you, but I wont try again without a filter. Heavily planted tanks with dirt (some of mine dont even have sand caps at all) work great. The one time I tried no filter no water change it went about 3 months then one day everything was just dead. I wont throw away any more livestock attempting to reinvent the wheel when a $25 HOB filter fixes all these "problems" with Walstad method.
@6:30 regarding circulation. In dianas book (mines was the pdf version) it was infact mentioned that the use of a filter to move water can be used. I dunno but the no filter aquarium has been highly romantizied that people are convinced that is what makes it a walstad tank. Pages 183 - 184 and even mentioned the use of HOBs and Canister filter (for bigger aquariums)
Exactly! It's a common misconception that Walstad method = no filter. As you mentioned, she talks about using various filters within her book. I think people often misinterpret the heavy use of plants + low bioload as her saying "you do not need a mechanical filter", but that's simply not true. It is possible to go filterless, sure. She has some shrimp bowls like that. But "no filter" is not a requirement for the Walstad method.
@@FishtankTwink what i encountered with a filterless no flow tank was that detritus would get kicked up by the fish and land on the leaves. These were bacopas and somehow theynwould eventually stay stuck and cause the leaves to rot. I just got a simple small hobnand that fixed a.lot of issues. Also i made a video on my channel about that but its hard to convince.people.that a walstad does not mean no filter
Mine's been going for 6 months with only an airstone + 1 water change to dump some diatom algae 1 month in. After that I use that tank's water to start new tanks & I just top off with rain water. It's only 9 gallons but it's got shrimp, 2 guppies, 1 endler, 1 mystery snail, 6 rummynose rasboras & the last, surviving CPD. It's a holding tank for the rasboras until I get the 75 tank stand built & the new tank set up. It's also the "horny jail" for the rough, male guppies who can't behave in civilized, guppy society. =p
Great video! I'm starting a new tank soon, and it will be my second one using dirt. It will not be the Walstad Method, but these informations are so valuable. Its a great book, thanks for putting an image to visualize it properly.
I setup a natural aquarium, but not a walstad. her book is an amazing resource and I learned a lot from it. Something important I learned was her write up about carbon. I take all of my plant trimmings and dead fish and drop them into the filter to be broken down and then expelled back into the tank as mulm. I decided to not control the tank at all and let whatever happens just happen, and the tank will adapt. I had a snail population explode, then put in some plants and scuds started to eat the food source for the snails so their population was dwindling back. Now ostracods are everywhere and killed off all of the snail and scud population by eating their food. I leave my light on longer and they eat the algae and almost completely ate my mulm. Setup my aquarium in febuary. Stopped changing the water in may. Have not cleaned the filter in a month because the ostracods are consuming everything trapped on the intake sponge.
I use 1" organic potting mix, 1/2" black fllourite sand, and then 1/2" flourite gravel. The combo allows for the compaction, while providing me the gravel look I prefer. I've done this in 6 tanks with great success.
This was a great video! Super helpful and I love all of the scientific information. :) A lot of aquarium influencers had put me off getting duckweed because of how quickly it can take over, but I’ll definitely invest in some now.
Walstad method + canister filter+ airstone + fast growing plants = safe and perfect . . Running tank this way for 8 years without any problems . Fishes Are happy, shrimps are happy , plants are happy, I`m happy :)
My hygrophila grew so fast. It started submerged, but within a couple of months it was growing a foot above the tank. Unfortunately when it grew out of the tank it decided to drop all it's submerged leaves so it didn't look great inside the tank, but at least it's still highly functional.
@@kirbymullins9266 I agree, I love hygrophila plants but generally whenever they do start growing out if my tank is when I trim them back. I can't get enough of H. angustifolia or water wisteria
This isn't a Walstad question, but a general substrate question. I have a 75-gallon goldfish tank and this is the first one I've done that wasn't just gravel. I used volcanic soil (not knowing it has no natural nutrients) about 1 1/2" deep in the back dropping to almost nothing in front, a thin layer of gravel and a thin layer of sand. I have a wall of Amazon swords in the back where the soil is thickest and anubius tied to driftwood in front. I also have pothos clippings on top. After finding out there was no natural nutrients in the soil I added root tabs. My question is do I need to do anything more to stabilize what I have going on. The plants seem healthy 3 months in, but whenever I change filters the nitrites spike. Thinking the answer is simply not to change filters. I have 8 goldies (4 shubunkin, 2 fantail, a small moor and a small butterfly telescope), so there is a high bio lode if things get out of balance. Floating plants are only snacks for these guys.
@@rogerhuggettjr.7675 Yep so everything sounds good with your substrate and planting. You're correct on many fronts. If by "Changing your filter" you mean physically replacing the filter media/pads, then yes -- stop doing that. That's probably what is causing the nitrates to spike, you're removing the bacteria colony that processes waste. Your plants, especially that pothos, are sucking up the nitrates so also make sure you don't remove them as that's your only physical removal. If you want to clean the gunk from your filter pads/filter media (like if you have a Hang On Back filter), siphon some tank water into a bucket, and just shake the pads in that bucket water and dump it out. Don't replace with new sterile filter media, you want to always keep the old (and don't rinse your pads in chlorinated tap water either). Overall sounds like you have a good thing going in. Goldfish can be tricky bc they eat plants and produce waste, but seems like you have it under control. Don't worry about your substrate, it's still acting as a huge biological filter regardless if it has nutrients or not. Root tabs are fine! Hope this helps!
@@FishtankTwink They have chewed the swords in the corners but left the ones in the middle alone. I have a smaller 29-gallon with anacharis that I hear should grow like a weed and filters well. If it grows fast enough, I may introduce it to the 75-gallon and hope in can grow faster than the fish nibble it.
I started one this summer with a 10 gallon.used an inch of sifted garden soil and 2 inches of sand, planted random plants in it, got 2 small hang on the back filters and 2 weeks later the parameters were decent so I added some tetras and I have only had one die so far at the start. Shrimp I have are also breeding well in there
Hi new to your channel here, I have a general question regarding my set-up. I have a 80gal tank(with 2inch aqua soil) and an under sump 80 gal tank with 3 chambers. The first two chambers compose of a floating k1 bed filter and the 3rd one is a heavy planted(with floating plants and 24/7 lights) set-up with a 4inches+ aqua soil. With that being said, is it too late to put a sand cap on the planted under sump? I tried putting sand cap on my 80gal set-up but my 3 oscars like to mess them up leaving the sand mixed with the aqua soil. The tank set-up is already a year old and I just only did 2 water changes(cycling stage) and have not done any parameter test. Do i still push to put sand caps on both set-up? Or just let them be? Thank you for your time! :)
I tried the Walstad method and it worked for 3 months. Then one day I came home and everything was dead. I have been keeping fish for years and most of my tanks are heavily planted with aquasoil or garden soil or topsoil from home depot. Dirted tanks are amazing. I have 10 amazing dirted tanks, every one has a HOB or canister filter and airstones or sponge filter. One time I tried without and it failed. I believe water flow and aeration are key to aquatic life and Walstad lacks both of these.
Great video. Subscribed to your channel. Would you recommend using something like fluval aquasoil instead of potting soil for the layer under the sand? Just seems like that would cause less chances of stuff leeching into the water.
@@johng1857 You absolutely can! You will achieve similar results with aquasoils. The only reason I am focusing heavily on potting soil is because it's cheaper/more readily available and stays true to the original Walstad method
@@RampartPh Thanks for the comment! Pothos are great when allowed to root in water because they can send their roots deep into the substrate, just make sure the stem/leaves are not all submerged. Lucky bamboo is fine to use, but is not actually an aquatic plant. I prefer pothos and let them root in my tank, easiest plant ever. Also, one note is that, the gases aren't deadly. It may smell like sulphur but doesn't cause great harm to your ecosystem. Some bacteria and plants are adapted to anaerobic conditions, but it can be a challenge. If you're trying to aerate your soil, any plants with impressive roots systems, like jungle val, stem plants, or pothos do well. Roots help move oxygen into the soil :)
Substrate wont explode,father fish clearly enfasize on having an anaerobic layer,he has like 10-15 cm substrate in hes aquariums....the first 3 minutes of the video is already wrong on many levels...the soil must not be in contact with the water...
I think all beginners can and should incorporate plants into their aquariums as their starting point, it just makes fishkeeping easier. However, I admit, a Walstad/dirted tank is more difficult because Step 1 requires getting the layered soil substrate just right before adding anything else. As a total beginner to fishkeeping, you can still achieve a heavily planted tank without soil. I recommend starting with whatever materials you have readily available, or are the cheapest for you to buy. If you only have gravel, use gravel alone. If you already have a bag of potting soil laying around, make a tiny base layer with soil and then add your gravel on top of it. -- The most important thing is that you must add plants -- even if it's just pothos and duckweed. Plants are the key to success in this hobby. Regardless of substrate type, beginners will struggle if they choose to NOT use plants.
Middle of the road is gonna be easiest. In other words, aquasoil, gravel or sand cap, tons of plants of all kinds (root feeders, floaters, epiphytes, riparian), and a sponge or hob filter. Don't forget a dose of beneficial bacteria, and plankton for a microscopic cleanup crew.
So, "@DrWyatt"… question: are you a gardener at all? Or a plant hobbyist, collector, houseplant enthusiast, etc.? 🤔 Just curious, when you say you’re into aquariums now, what you mean by "aquariums"… Like, what’s the first aspect you gravitate towards, plants, fish, or both? I say to do what I did ten years ago, and watch as MANY videos as possible. Like, in the morning, at breakfast, on breaks, at snacks, mealtimes, lol. Whenever you can get that awareness and knowledge in, do it. That’s what UA-cam really is so good for. To learn anything you want from other peoples trials and errors, which they willingly share to improve the global knowledge. On everything! Music, languages, and aquariums! Gardening, crafts, literally just watch aquascaping and fish videos all the time, and also start talking to online groups, forums, and visiting local shops. See what you like, what calls your name. Because just saying "aquariums" is a bit of a vague idea. 😆 If you don’t know anything about fish, that’s gonna have to be studied a bit. Same w plants, and tbh, plants come first anyway. In a good, properly arranged and timed setup. Most people would agree, buy all the plants you possibly can at first, so they can immediately start their work cleansing the water. You want the tank up and running at least three weeks, if not as long as possible, WITJOUT fish in it. The natural bacteria and natural "flow" has to get going before you introduce "higher" beings, like fish. Shrimp and snails though, they can be added early, if not immediately, to help kickstart that flow and bacterial development, adding their microscopic waste and also acting as plant cleanup crew... if you take a fish and put it in a one day old tank, I’m not saying it would die, but… it may get sick. Many more advanced species of fish are simply "harder" because they require seasoned setups. They can’t handle tap water fresh out the tap, or anything lacking in bacterial development. If that makes sense. Sorry if it’s TMI. Not saying you NEED planting experience to have planted tanks, but it helps. I know not everyone out there who has an exceptional planted tank is naturally a green thumb. In a way, aquatic plants are somewhat hardier than terrestrial plants but way more delicate in other ways.
I second that comment before mine… 👍🏽 It is very simple to achieve something beautiful & lush, and to do it basically overnight, with plants that don’t require soil or gravel at all (epiphytes), aka ANUBIAS!! 🤩 haha, the best genus ever. These plants are thick-leaved, don’t melt or get nasty or gross like some other aquatic species… when you first plant them. Many plants do this "melting" thing when they’re moved into a new setup, such as… your own! Haha. They aren’t dead though, but they will develop new roots and leaves based on your water and conditions. Anubias however, basically foolproof. Just use a rubber band and tie them to driftwood. Arrange it in the tank and you’re done. I mean, yes, the oldest leaves will wilt eventually, but they don’t go through a hardcore ugly phase when transplanted like others. Anubias as a whole are thick, durable. And they don’t want BRIGHT BRIGHT light either. Algae can grow easily on their big leaves if light is too high. They don’t require high light or soil. Therefore they’re the easiest in my book.
@@ngysrun5011 as long as you're careful, and remove the tweezers slowly, you should be able to add root tabs without disturbing the sand cap. Relatively safe to do, just be slow and careful. Thicker sand caps are more forgiving!
In nature, there is no one with tweezers inserting root tabs into the soil. Your fish poop will be enough to supply the soil with nutrients, as fish poop contains N, P, K, all elements that plants can eat. Also, decomposing leaves from your plants will also supply nutrients. Root tabs can easily cause imbalances in nitrogen. Let nature do it's thing. I'm an ecologist studying this stuff as. grad student. Nature is king
@@AWY-LO Great question! If you use aquasoil, you do not need to cap it. Just keep in mind it has a very high level of nutrients so you want to make sure you have plants to use the nutrients so you don't have excessive algae growth. Also, I'm not saying you can't cap it -- you can cap aquasoil if you want to. But, most people who are spending the extra money on aquasoil typically want to see it in their tanks because it also looks cool
The title sort of infered that the Walstead Method sucks. The walstead method is fine. People doing it wrong is why it sucks. Aside from that, congratulations on going balls deep in Walstead.
Anyone have any sand recommendations for this method? I am VERY interested in using this method for my next tank setup, but I'm worried about getting sand that's too fine.
I do this and run a small filter on my 10 for some water circulation and filtering ofc but ive done small water changes my mistake was adding some gold fish they wrecked my plants took them out and now we wait lol
@@MAR_10-x5w Yes it is call giant duckweed but is not what I would call "giant" but it is easier to deal with than the tiny duckweed. It is sold online.
I stopped using soils and sand because the water is the soil , walstad and Father fish aint done nothing but talk and make books. LBR aquatics is the best to learn from roght now in my opinion
I have a stagnent tank and its doing very well so your info is not correct mr. If you have any living creatures in the tank than they will circulate the water enough.in a low tech set up fast moving water makes it more difficult for plants to take up nutrients from the watercollum.zero algea as well .and i use very fine beach sand to cup my soil.works very good .anairobic is nog a bad thing.
I’m really happy to hear your tank is going well, it sounds like you have a very balanced ecosystem! The information is correct because everything I’m presenting is from Walstad’s book “Ecology of the Planted Aquarium”, not personal experience. This video is aimed to help people identify and solve potential problems they may have in their aquariums -- I’m not saying there is only one correct way to keep these tanks. Also, I agree, anaerobic is not a bad thing in itself. But, it may be very different to what most beginner fishkeepers are accustom to (gravel-only tanks). For example, many ecosystems like bogs and marshlands thrive with plants and bacteria that are well adapted to anaerobic conditions. As mentioned in the video, fast moving water is not what I recommended or what Diana Walstad recommends in her book. Plants have better nutrient uptake in low to moderate flow conditions, per Chapter 6 “Plant Ecology and Nutrition”. Your tank is, ideally, is what Diana Walstad recommends. Movement from livestock does circulate water, therefore, your tank is not stagnant. It’s important to recognize Walstad tanks are not the easiest tanks for beginners to pull off and where one person may have success, others may find it very difficult. Thank you for sharing your experience!
not bad.
@@FatherFish !!! Wow thank you for commenting! I cannot believe Father Fish found and watched my video lol
@fatherfish and walstead are geniuses when it comes to fish keeping.
Your title is wild bro
I too prefer naturalistic aquariums, and I appreciate your clear and science-backed explanations. Keep up your excellent work!
@@GloryBe007 Thank you so much :)
„Balls deep in Diana Walstad” ☠️
As an aquarist who's been keeping aquariums for a very long time, your videos are excellent. The videos have a to-the-point introduction and clear objective. You obviously took the time to craft a logical and focused scope and sequence of the informational content. I am an instant subscriber. Keep up the great work.
When I started fish tanks, I started them with the Walstad Method. This was three years ago. Since then, I continuously adapted the method. I switched from floating plants (cause they just suck lol) to tropical plants that sit with their roots in the aquarium water. Best filter ever, they grow huge, it looks amazing and the fish and shrimp love the roots as a hiding place and a place to spawn.
Proper aeration is also really important, one time my fish in one tank almost suffocated at night. Since then I have either air stones or pumps with an air tube in all of my tanks.
The only thing I'm still struggling with until today is murky water. Not all the time and not every tank. It seems to "jump" from tank to tank, every time I finally manage to get the water clear again in one tank, another one starts to become murky. I tried more plants, less plants, adding an additional layer of sand, adding extra filtration, but I'm still unsure about the cause.
But nevertheless, I would never use any other method than the Walstad Method cause I just love the principle of letting nature do its thing. There is so much I learned from this in my three years of fish keeping.
Really love your channel, you're a great teacher! Maybe you could do a video about planaria sometime in the future? To me, they are like the murky water. They just keep coming back and I really don't want to use poison to get rid of them. I know they don't really harm my fish or shrimp, it's just quite hard to control their population and prevent them from hitchhiking to all of my tanks. And I really wonder if maybe the murky water and the planaria are somehow related.
Greetings from Germany, I'm looking forward to future videos!
Thank you from the bottom of my heart! I had to learn all this the hard way with my first Walstad style tank in May...two months before this posted. 😭 My stagnant box of water improved immediately after adding a small sponge filter. Why don't more channels like yours explain that this is important? They all just set up their tanks with the only "tech" being a light and lead us all to believe it worked out miraculously that way. I suspect many of these, if not all, actually did use a sponge filter or airstone between their set up videos and the "two months later" update videos, showing perfect Walstad setups humming away happily with perfectly balanced life.
Sorry for the rant, you' re doing God's work my friend.
@@drea4195 Thank you so much for the comment Drea, I'm really glad you found my video useful, and I totally agree with you. I really try to be concise and comprehensive, giving all the info I think that can be helpful to people who are encountering problems, rather than just making it seem like it's super easy.
as someone who newly started an aquarium using walstad method this is very helpful and informative thank you
@@mirzuri I'm glad I can help :) Thanks for commenting! Walstad method tanks are my favorite kind
Hi
Very nice video.
I have walstad 60 liter aquarium for 1 year now.
I started with 3 santimeter soil cover with 3 santimeter of fine (3 mm) gravel.
Then planted heavily with fast growing root plants , but not floating plants because the first 3 months I want lot of light 16 hours a day.
At that point to make the plants grow fast I added CO2 by add yeast to a bottle of water with sugars and attach air stone. (No more then 1/4 bottle otherwise the stone will be filled with yeast. !!!)
The plants grow very fast but algae started. So I add few snails to eat the algae. But I also add java moss which effectively kill all algae. Since then for more then a year I have no algae!
I add a sponge filter and air stone and thermostat heater. on 27 Celsius.
And start to cycle.
I added some fish dry food for 1 month and check that ammonia level is zero.
BTW the snails are not multiple more then few because of shortages in food.
I add fish after 6 months from start.
6 Siamese algea eaters for begining, and give them vegetarian food. Stopped the CO2 and reduced light for 4 houres at morning and 4 hours at night.(Automatic)
I added other fish and shrimps.
It is one year aquarium now. All fish are happy and no algae!!
I add water only to compensate vibration.with anti chlorine.
The water are Cristal clear.
😊
Thank you SO much for making these videos. I bought Diane Walstads book but it's a hard read for me, you're like the cliff notes of walstad 🙏
Man, this was really good information. REALLY good and very well presented.
Thanks, I am a new channel so I really appreciate the feedback! I spent extra time on this video so I'm happy to hear you enjoyed it :)
@@FishtankTwink So i heard that that eventually the nutrients in the soil deplete and the sand cap prevents fertilisers and fish poop from sinking through and replenishing the soil...how does one get around this?
Walsted method combined with modern equipment makes the dream. I got a 55 gallon 2 inch of soil and 4 inch of sand. In my soil layer I used potting soil, sprinkled some osmocote plus, and organic fertilizer this made it packed with nutrients so the 4 inch was necessary. For light I didn't want to drop 500 on Kessel so I baugh 4 60w led flood lights at 6500k. For plants I'm using pearl week and all around the edges like a wall is water wisteria. 2 tidal 110 for flow mostly but I do have some filter media. This tank has been running for 3 months now and I have a nearly complete carpet with a dense wall of wisteria. I think my fishes are happy because they are lively. This tank is my 6th try at no water change aquarium and I am proud to say I have never done one aside from top off. No heater the flood light keep the tank at 80f and I'm also using the walstead fiesta method 5 on 7off 5on 7off for light periods. Every new tank will be set up like this with the only difference being plant location and maybe species. I do love me some pearlweed carpet and wisteria 😅
@@princescdk3107 I'm the same way when it comes to wisteria and dwarf sag haha, can't get enough. Sounds like this tank of yours is going to stay successful, good job!
I tried exactly what you are doing, and hopefully it works for you, but I wont try again without a filter. Heavily planted tanks with dirt (some of mine dont even have sand caps at all) work great. The one time I tried no filter no water change it went about 3 months then one day everything was just dead. I wont throw away any more livestock attempting to reinvent the wheel when a $25 HOB filter fixes all these "problems" with Walstad method.
@6:30 regarding circulation. In dianas book (mines was the pdf version) it was infact mentioned that the use of a filter to move water can be used. I dunno but the no filter aquarium has been highly romantizied that people are convinced that is what makes it a walstad tank. Pages 183 - 184 and even mentioned the use of HOBs and Canister filter (for bigger aquariums)
Exactly! It's a common misconception that Walstad method = no filter. As you mentioned, she talks about using various filters within her book. I think people often misinterpret the heavy use of plants + low bioload as her saying "you do not need a mechanical filter", but that's simply not true.
It is possible to go filterless, sure. She has some shrimp bowls like that. But "no filter" is not a requirement for the Walstad method.
@@FishtankTwink what i encountered with a filterless no flow tank was that detritus would get kicked up by the fish and land on the leaves. These were bacopas and somehow theynwould eventually stay stuck and cause the leaves to rot. I just got a simple small hobnand that fixed a.lot of issues. Also i made a video on my channel about that but its hard to convince.people.that a walstad does not mean no filter
Mine's been going for 6 months with only an airstone + 1 water change to dump some diatom algae 1 month in. After that I use that tank's water to start new tanks & I just top off with rain water. It's only 9 gallons but it's got shrimp, 2 guppies, 1 endler, 1 mystery snail, 6 rummynose rasboras & the last, surviving CPD.
It's a holding tank for the rasboras until I get the 75 tank stand built & the new tank set up. It's also the "horny jail" for the rough, male guppies who can't behave in civilized, guppy society. =p
@@MeanOldLady So ALL your male guppies are in there? Polite Guppy society IS horny.
Great video! I'm starting a new tank soon, and it will be my second one using dirt. It will not be the Walstad Method, but these informations are so valuable. Its a great book, thanks for putting an image to visualize it properly.
@@raimundosantana Raimundo! Thanks for the feedback, I'm glad you liked it and thought it was quality content :)
I setup a natural aquarium, but not a walstad. her book is an amazing resource and I learned a lot from it. Something important I learned was her write up about carbon. I take all of my plant trimmings and dead fish and drop them into the filter to be broken down and then expelled back into the tank as mulm. I decided to not control the tank at all and let whatever happens just happen, and the tank will adapt. I had a snail population explode, then put in some plants and scuds started to eat the food source for the snails so their population was dwindling back. Now ostracods are everywhere and killed off all of the snail and scud population by eating their food. I leave my light on longer and they eat the algae and almost completely ate my mulm. Setup my aquarium in febuary. Stopped changing the water in may. Have not cleaned the filter in a month because the ostracods are consuming everything trapped on the intake sponge.
I use 1" organic potting mix, 1/2" black fllourite sand, and then 1/2" flourite gravel. The combo allows for the compaction, while providing me the gravel look I prefer. I've done this in 6 tanks with great success.
This was a great video! Super helpful and I love all of the scientific information. :) A lot of aquarium influencers had put me off getting duckweed because of how quickly it can take over, but I’ll definitely invest in some now.
Walstad method + canister filter+ airstone + fast growing plants = safe and perfect . . Running tank this way for 8 years without any problems . Fishes Are happy, shrimps are happy , plants are happy, I`m happy :)
Sounds like a recipe for success!
8 years is great. What size tank and type of canister filter & media are you using? What is your maintenance schedule or routine?
Isn’t the whole point of walstad method no filter?
@@BriceTooNice Yes, no tech means no filter, no airstone, no co2 injection and no skimmer.
The title of this video is amazing. 👍👍
My hygrophila grew so fast. It started submerged, but within a couple of months it was growing a foot above the tank. Unfortunately when it grew out of the tank it decided to drop all it's submerged leaves so it didn't look great inside the tank, but at least it's still highly functional.
@@kirbymullins9266 I agree, I love hygrophila plants but generally whenever they do start growing out if my tank is when I trim them back. I can't get enough of H. angustifolia or water wisteria
Starting a shrimp tank using walstad and a small bubbler. I have peat at the base and will cap with fine gravel. Subscribed baaaaaaby ❤
@@roxymoron12345 Sounds awesome! Good luck with the tank, I hope for the best!!! Appreciate you :)
All caught up. Looking forward to future videos
Well explained as always. Thanks
Thanks for watching again :)
Great video Navin, I've taken some of the Walstad and Father Fish methods and have modified it to my needs.
I think that's the best approach! Learning from multiple people and choosing what's best for your tank/style. Thanks for the kind words!
Great explanation! Thank you! 🙌
Thank you Matthew, glad it was helpful! :)
Great glasses. (I have very similar frames). I enjoyed the video.
This isn't a Walstad question, but a general substrate question. I have a 75-gallon goldfish tank and this is the first one I've done that wasn't just gravel. I used volcanic soil (not knowing it has no natural nutrients) about 1 1/2" deep in the back dropping to almost nothing in front, a thin layer of gravel and a thin layer of sand. I have a wall of Amazon swords in the back where the soil is thickest and anubius tied to driftwood in front. I also have pothos clippings on top. After finding out there was no natural nutrients in the soil I added root tabs. My question is do I need to do anything more to stabilize what I have going on. The plants seem healthy 3 months in, but whenever I change filters the nitrites spike. Thinking the answer is simply not to change filters. I have 8 goldies (4 shubunkin, 2 fantail, a small moor and a small butterfly telescope), so there is a high bio lode if things get out of balance. Floating plants are only snacks for these guys.
@@rogerhuggettjr.7675 Yep so everything sounds good with your substrate and planting. You're correct on many fronts. If by "Changing your filter" you mean physically replacing the filter media/pads, then yes -- stop doing that. That's probably what is causing the nitrates to spike, you're removing the bacteria colony that processes waste. Your plants, especially that pothos, are sucking up the nitrates so also make sure you don't remove them as that's your only physical removal. If you want to clean the gunk from your filter pads/filter media (like if you have a Hang On Back filter), siphon some tank water into a bucket, and just shake the pads in that bucket water and dump it out. Don't replace with new sterile filter media, you want to always keep the old (and don't rinse your pads in chlorinated tap water either).
Overall sounds like you have a good thing going in. Goldfish can be tricky bc they eat plants and produce waste, but seems like you have it under control. Don't worry about your substrate, it's still acting as a huge biological filter regardless if it has nutrients or not. Root tabs are fine!
Hope this helps!
@@FishtankTwink They have chewed the swords in the corners but left the ones in the middle alone. I have a smaller 29-gallon with anacharis that I hear should grow like a weed and filters well. If it grows fast enough, I may introduce it to the 75-gallon and hope in can grow faster than the fish nibble it.
I started one this summer with a 10 gallon.used an inch of sifted garden soil and 2 inches of sand, planted random plants in it, got 2 small hang on the back filters and 2 weeks later the parameters were decent so I added some tetras and I have only had one die so far at the start. Shrimp I have are also breeding well in there
I also keep the top layer almost completely covered with water spangles and it’s in my windowsill so I don’t use my light much.
Great explanation! Thanks.
Hi new to your channel here, I have a general question regarding my set-up. I have a 80gal tank(with 2inch aqua soil) and an under sump 80 gal tank with 3 chambers. The first two chambers compose of a floating k1 bed filter and the 3rd one is a heavy planted(with floating plants and 24/7 lights) set-up with a 4inches+ aqua soil. With that being said, is it too late to put a sand cap on the planted under sump? I tried putting sand cap on my 80gal set-up but my 3 oscars like to mess them up leaving the sand mixed with the aqua soil. The tank set-up is already a year old and I just only did 2 water changes(cycling stage) and have not done any parameter test. Do i still push to put sand caps on both set-up? Or just let them be? Thank you for your time! :)
I tried the Walstad method and it worked for 3 months. Then one day I came home and everything was dead. I have been keeping fish for years and most of my tanks are heavily planted with aquasoil or garden soil or topsoil from home depot. Dirted tanks are amazing. I have 10 amazing dirted tanks, every one has a HOB or canister filter and airstones or sponge filter. One time I tried without and it failed. I believe water flow and aeration are key to aquatic life and Walstad lacks both of these.
Great video. Subscribed to your channel. Would you recommend using something like fluval aquasoil instead of potting soil for the layer under the sand? Just seems like that would cause less chances of stuff leeching into the water.
@@johng1857 You absolutely can! You will achieve similar results with aquasoils. The only reason I am focusing heavily on potting soil is because it's cheaper/more readily available and stays true to the original Walstad method
Great insights . But how about pathos and lucky bamboo plants? Are they of big help warding off deadly gases?
@@RampartPh Thanks for the comment! Pothos are great when allowed to root in water because they can send their roots deep into the substrate, just make sure the stem/leaves are not all submerged. Lucky bamboo is fine to use, but is not actually an aquatic plant. I prefer pothos and let them root in my tank, easiest plant ever.
Also, one note is that, the gases aren't deadly. It may smell like sulphur but doesn't cause great harm to your ecosystem. Some bacteria and plants are adapted to anaerobic conditions, but it can be a challenge. If you're trying to aerate your soil, any plants with impressive roots systems, like jungle val, stem plants, or pothos do well. Roots help move oxygen into the soil :)
Good vid, just be careful with too many floating plant because they can also reduce gas exchange between water and air
Substrate wont explode,father fish clearly enfasize on having an anaerobic layer,he has like 10-15 cm substrate in hes aquariums....the first 3 minutes of the video is already wrong on many levels...the soil must not be in contact with the water...
You got me interested in aquariums now. As a beginner, would you recommend a Walstad Method style aquarium or something else?
I think all beginners can and should incorporate plants into their aquariums as their starting point, it just makes fishkeeping easier. However, I admit, a Walstad/dirted tank is more difficult because Step 1 requires getting the layered soil substrate just right before adding anything else. As a total beginner to fishkeeping, you can still achieve a heavily planted tank without soil. I recommend starting with whatever materials you have readily available, or are the cheapest for you to buy. If you only have gravel, use gravel alone. If you already have a bag of potting soil laying around, make a tiny base layer with soil and then add your gravel on top of it. -- The most important thing is that you must add plants -- even if it's just pothos and duckweed. Plants are the key to success in this hobby. Regardless of substrate type, beginners will struggle if they choose to NOT use plants.
Middle of the road is gonna be easiest. In other words, aquasoil, gravel or sand cap, tons of plants of all kinds (root feeders, floaters, epiphytes, riparian), and a sponge or hob filter. Don't forget a dose of beneficial bacteria, and plankton for a microscopic cleanup crew.
So, "@DrWyatt"… question: are you a gardener at all? Or a plant hobbyist, collector, houseplant enthusiast, etc.? 🤔 Just curious, when you say you’re into aquariums now, what you mean by "aquariums"… Like, what’s the first aspect you gravitate towards, plants, fish, or both?
I say to do what I did ten years ago, and watch as MANY videos as possible. Like, in the morning, at breakfast, on breaks, at snacks, mealtimes, lol. Whenever you can get that awareness and knowledge in, do it. That’s what UA-cam really is so good for. To learn anything you want from other peoples trials and errors, which they willingly share to improve the global knowledge. On everything! Music, languages, and aquariums! Gardening, crafts, literally just watch aquascaping and fish videos all the time, and also start talking to online groups, forums, and visiting local shops. See what you like, what calls your name. Because just saying "aquariums" is a bit of a vague idea. 😆 If you don’t know anything about fish, that’s gonna have to be studied a bit. Same w plants, and tbh, plants come first anyway. In a good, properly arranged and timed setup. Most people would agree, buy all the plants you possibly can at first, so they can immediately start their work cleansing the water. You want the tank up and running at least three weeks, if not as long as possible, WITJOUT fish in it. The natural bacteria and natural "flow" has to get going before you introduce "higher" beings, like fish. Shrimp and snails though, they can be added early, if not immediately, to help kickstart that flow and bacterial development, adding their microscopic waste and also acting as plant cleanup crew... if you take a fish and put it in a one day old tank, I’m not saying it would die, but… it may get sick. Many more advanced species of fish are simply "harder" because they require seasoned setups. They can’t handle tap water fresh out the tap, or anything lacking in bacterial development. If that makes sense.
Sorry if it’s TMI. Not saying you NEED planting experience to have planted tanks, but it helps. I know not everyone out there who has an exceptional planted tank is naturally a green thumb. In a way, aquatic plants are somewhat hardier than terrestrial plants but way more delicate in other ways.
I second that comment before mine… 👍🏽 It is very simple to achieve something beautiful & lush, and to do it basically overnight, with plants that don’t require soil or gravel at all (epiphytes), aka ANUBIAS!! 🤩 haha, the best genus ever. These plants are thick-leaved, don’t melt or get nasty or gross like some other aquatic species… when you first plant them. Many plants do this "melting" thing when they’re moved into a new setup, such as… your own! Haha. They aren’t dead though, but they will develop new roots and leaves based on your water and conditions. Anubias however, basically foolproof. Just use a rubber band and tie them to driftwood. Arrange it in the tank and you’re done. I mean, yes, the oldest leaves will wilt eventually, but they don’t go through a hardcore ugly phase when transplanted like others. Anubias as a whole are thick, durable. And they don’t want BRIGHT BRIGHT light either. Algae can grow easily on their big leaves if light is too high. They don’t require high light or soil. Therefore they’re the easiest in my book.
I used play sand for mine and get those crazy big bubbles all the time😭 what type of sand brand do u use and recommend? Pool sand?
@@devdabral257 I recommend "Black Diamond Blasting Sand" or pool sand;:)
I am concerning when the soil runs out of nutrient. What can we do? adding root tab to the soil, but it will disturb the soil right?
@@ngysrun5011 as long as you're careful, and remove the tweezers slowly, you should be able to add root tabs without disturbing the sand cap. Relatively safe to do, just be slow and careful. Thicker sand caps are more forgiving!
@@FishtankTwink thanks for this clear explaination 🙏
In nature, there is no one with tweezers inserting root tabs into the soil. Your fish poop will be enough to supply the soil with nutrients, as fish poop contains N, P, K, all elements that plants can eat. Also, decomposing leaves from your plants will also supply nutrients. Root tabs can easily cause imbalances in nitrogen. Let nature do it's thing. I'm an ecologist studying this stuff as. grad student. Nature is king
What if you use aquasoil do you still need to cap it?
@@AWY-LO Great question! If you use aquasoil, you do not need to cap it. Just keep in mind it has a very high level of nutrients so you want to make sure you have plants to use the nutrients so you don't have excessive algae growth.
Also, I'm not saying you can't cap it -- you can cap aquasoil if you want to. But, most people who are spending the extra money on aquasoil typically want to see it in their tanks because it also looks cool
The title sort of infered that the Walstead Method sucks. The walstead method is fine. People doing it wrong is why it sucks. Aside from that, congratulations on going balls deep in Walstead.
this guy is too self aware to make fun of
If i use 2 inches of soil for 55 gallon, i should also use 2 inches of cap?
If ever i only use 1 inch of soil, should i use 1 inch of cap sand only?
Nice information
Thank you!
Do you have any vids on father fish?
make a video on non dirted tank please
Anyone have any sand recommendations for this method? I am VERY interested in using this method for my next tank setup, but I'm worried about getting sand that's too fine.
Awesome youtube moniker
I do this and run a small filter on my 10 for some water circulation and filtering ofc but ive done small water changes my mistake was adding some gold fish they wrecked my plants took them out and now we wait lol
Duckweed will never go in my fishroom. That plant is relentless and spreads to other tanks easily. Ill stick with frogbit for my floaters.
Just add co2 and plenty of surface agitation. watch it all balance out nicely. The plants need it to grow fast and suck up the soil nutrients.
followed
@@ArchangelHornet greatly appreciated!
I used rainwater as got no nutrients in.
-If i do this, i would at least use a pump (doing saltwater)-
Do people heat their walstad tanks?
you say you dont care, but you cant refute there are plenty of no filter aquariums which are doing well
Embrace the quack, lol
Man, my lazy ass can't love duckweed
Hahahahaha, it can definitely be a love-hate relationship
There is a larger duckweed and I find easier to control and so many other floating plants or even houseplants with just their roots in the water.
@@jonisolis9645 does it exist or is it just frogbits?
@@MAR_10-x5w Yes it is call giant duckweed but is not what I would call "giant" but it is easier to deal with than the tiny duckweed. It is sold online.
I stopped using soils and sand because the water is the soil , walstad and Father fish aint done nothing but talk and make books. LBR aquatics is the best to learn from roght now in my opinion
Father fish is the master he does everything perfect. ❤ just follow him if you want to change your life
Clickbait AND sexism in the title... not watching.
I have a stagnent tank and its doing very well so your info is not correct mr. If you have any living creatures in the tank than they will circulate the water enough.in a low tech set up fast moving water makes it more difficult for plants to take up nutrients from the watercollum.zero algea as well .and i use very fine beach sand to cup my soil.works very good .anairobic is nog a bad thing.
I’m really happy to hear your tank is going well, it sounds like you have a very balanced ecosystem!
The information is correct because everything I’m presenting is from Walstad’s book “Ecology of the Planted Aquarium”, not personal experience. This video is aimed to help people identify and solve potential problems they may have in their aquariums -- I’m not saying there is only one correct way to keep these tanks.
Also, I agree, anaerobic is not a bad thing in itself. But, it may be very different to what most beginner fishkeepers are accustom to (gravel-only tanks). For example, many ecosystems like bogs and marshlands thrive with plants and bacteria that are well adapted to anaerobic conditions.
As mentioned in the video, fast moving water is not what I recommended or what Diana Walstad recommends in her book. Plants have better nutrient uptake in low to moderate flow conditions, per Chapter 6 “Plant Ecology and Nutrition”.
Your tank is, ideally, is what Diana Walstad recommends. Movement from livestock does circulate water, therefore, your tank is not stagnant. It’s important to recognize Walstad tanks are not the easiest tanks for beginners to pull off and where one person may have success, others may find it very difficult. Thank you for sharing your experience!