Walstad tanks

evut

evut

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Eva
I've been very happy with how my tanks turned out and wanted to post these photos as an advertisement for the Walstad method. All tanks are set up in a similar way and with the same plant species. All tanks have a sponge filter and the two bigger ones also an air stone. The large tank suffers a bit with algae, the other two barely get any. The biggest tank is currently uninhabited but our four tylos are growing fast and will move in soon from the small tank.

The plants (not 100% sure about all names):
Ludwigia (palustris and repens), Amazon sword, Hygrophila (polysperma, difformis, angustifolia and salicifolia), Ceratophyllum, Cryptocoryne (wendtii and beckettii), Vallisneria, Sagittaria natans, Crinum thaianum, Aponogeton longiplumosus. The island sections of the large tank have Tradescantia and Hydrocotyle.

90l tank, lighting 1x25W T8, 8 Cynops pyrrhogaster
(after heavy pruning of the Ludiwigia in the right half)
file_4823.jpg



60l tank, lighting 1x15W T8, 4 Tylototriton verrucosus
file_4822.jpg



200l tank, 2x30W T8, future home for the tylos
file_4821.jpg
 
Do you use sand or small gravel for your substrate on top of the soil? I have really fine sand and it is a pain to keep it from getting messy. I really like your tanks.
 
I use slightly coarse sand. I originally used play sand in the first tank I set up like this, and had to change it because it was kind of like thick mud, not very good.
 
Those are beautiful, Eva, and i bet you barely have to do any maintenance!
 
How do you decide how much plant matter will provide adequate water purification?
 
I just planted the tanks heavily, no scientific decision making was involved... I just followed the advice I found in articles about the Walstad method.

Rodrigo, thanks for the compliment. I do small water changes every couple of weeks, hoover a bit, pull out algae in the big tank, and clean water marks from the glass. I'm sure I could get away with less cleaning but I like my tanks nice and tidy.
 
evut said:
I use slightly coarse sand. I originally used play sand in the first tank I set up like this, and had to change it because it was kind of like thick mud, not very good.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that has been my experience as well with my current sand. Are you using pool filter sand then, or is it some other type?
 
Up with the walstads! Can't wait to set up new ones as soon I moved.
 
Beautiful tanks! I've had great success with the Walstad method myself in tropical tanks, but I have had a hard time getting plants such as ludwigia to grow in my cooler water 12- 18c. What temperature are your tanks? And how do you get the warmer water species to survive cool caudate friendly temps?
 
The big and the small tanks for the tylos are quite warm - 20-22˚C, the 90l with the C.pyrrhogaster moves between our front room in summer (20-22˚C) and the kitchen in winter (currently 16˚C). That's close to the lowest temperature I am able to get it to. The plants seem ok with it so far, hopefully they won't start dying. We don't live in a very caudate-friendly house so I've been very limited with the species I can keep and it's a bit of a hassle moving tanks and trying to cool them in the summer.
 
awesome tanks, makes me wanna be on of your newts :)
 
evut said:
The big and the small tanks for the tylos are quite warm - 20-22˚C, the 90l with the C.pyrrhogaster moves between our front room in summer (20-22˚C) and the kitchen in winter (currently 16˚C). That's close to the lowest temperature I am able to get it to. The plants seem ok with it so far, hopefully they won't start dying. We don't live in a very caudate-friendly house so I've been very limited with the species I can keep and it's a bit of a hassle moving tanks and trying to cool them in the summer.
Click to expand...

Very nice tanks. They provide a lot of inspiration. :D

Do you have a specific brand for this type of sand? Also, how many inches of soil/sand do you use? I would like to put a few inches to prevent the soil from coming up, but I also read not to suffocate the roots, and that too much sand also prevents the nutrients from reaching the roots as well.
 
could you repost the pics please? they aren't working for me and I'd really like to see them.

Thanks!
 
Thanks for the nice comments, everyone.

Jasper & kwarzym:
The sand I've got in the two smaller tanks is Unipac aquarium sand (two types, can't remember which ones), sifted to remove larger stones that could cause impaction and mixed with some plain aquarium sand. The large tank has BD aquarium sand (plain light coloured sand, doesn't compact).
The tanks have about 2.5cm soil, topped with about 1cm sand. I tried to plan the tanks well and didn't put any soil where nothing is growing - under dishes, filters, stones etc., under the island area in the big tank which is too shady, and also around the edges.
 
Awesome tanks! I also use & appreciate the Walstad method for several years already. I'm currently working on a new setup, but winter has come and most of the plants grow a little slower at 15-18'C.

I would like to put a few inches to prevent the soil from coming up, but I also read not to suffocate the roots, and that too much sand also prevents the nutrients from reaching the roots as well.
Click to expand...
The roots have no problems with growing deeper, even in bigger tanks where near the background the substrate is even 20cm high (8 inches) the plants grow the roots down to the bottom glass.
 
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