Walstad method with Monster Fishes?

[Viick]

Hi, I am currently starting a new 100G(60x18x20) tank using the Walstad Method-Miracle Grow-Organic..Also added Peat Moss-As I wanted
the water Soft and a bit Acidic-for the fishes which will be inhabiting in it..And posting my progress/results here so I dont fall of the wagon
haha

If your in success with this method, Please Share some pics or refer to your thread-Thanks!
Need help,After reading and having the tank currently in progress of cycling

What should the starting parameters check at? How do you know the tank has cycled?

For a carpet like look, What would be best? for low minimal lighting

 

[Fat Homer]

^ What sort of lights are you using in your current setup? Coz depending what lights your using, you maybe limited in your choices of carpet plants...

Also, any preference on the type of carpet you're looking for? i.e. taller grass type carpets, close to substrate carpets?

 

[Viick]

^ What sort of lights are you using in your current setup? Coz depending what lights your using, you maybe limited in your choices of carpet plants...

Also, any preference on the type of carpet you're looking for? i.e. taller grass type carpets, close to substrate carpets?

Thanks for the reply,

This is what I need your help in, As I have placed this tank by the window-Daily light and with the calculations of currently running PAR? im in the medium to Low Spectrum..as I am planting this tank for nocturnal fishes which will have dark spots to hide if needed

But the goal is LED with specific spectrum phasing effect..Im doing a bit research on a DIY(Will be posting that soon/when the partial components arrive) on how many and which rgb color's to get for full lumen spectrum
saw on ebay a couple LEDs which i can build a tape like attachment to the tank..but the lighting is still in work in progress..also as there are no fishes in it yet.

I like the look of Dwarf hair grass/Dwarf baby tear..What do you suggest?
Please do suggest what Im doing wrong, This will be my first planted tank

 

[Fat Homer]

I mean i'm no expert at plants as i'm still some what on the learning curve myself, but if you can work out how to create the natural light cycle using different LED bulbs you could possibly yield some very good results... lately i've been seeing a LED light fixture over here by a brand called Xenith that recently created an LED light fixture for planted tanks (there old version was for S/W tanks). So it might be worth looking into the specs of that light to see how you could maybe DIY one your own version, as that light fixture isn't exactly cheap, and is only really suitable for tanks that are approx. 20" long and probably no more than about 16" tall... anything over that length and the light doesn't seem to reach the sides too well from what i've seen in the store displays...

As for the carpet plants, i'm not sure how successful you'll be growing the dwarf baby tears using LED lights or using a low light situation, as they normally are quite demanding plants that require high light, and Co2 to thrive, so depending on the size of the tank, and the strength of the LED it may or may not work? since the only time i've seen them grown under LED's is on really small cube style tanks that don't exceed around 10" X 10" X 10".

The Dwarf Hair Grass in theory should be much easier going, since personally, i'm having no problems growing Dwarf Hair Grass with 2 T8 Bulbs at around 20" up, Co2 and ferts, but my Baby Dwarf tears are really taking their sweet time filling out (as expected) even with the lights on for about 10 hours a day...

Anyway, hopefully this info will able to give you a start on what to look at for your research, since as i said before, i'm still on the learning curve myself just trying things out and asking plant experts at the stores for advice...

You could even try PMing WyldFya, he seems to be pretty knowledgeable when it comes to plants and maybe able to offer some more solid advice...

 

[joe jaskot]

Not a good idea to place a tank by a window. Unless you can control the amount of light that the tank receives, you will get algae growth.

 

[Deathinnumbers]

If h want carpets than u gonna need t5 anything less u will have a hard time. Since its a new tank dry start them first for about a month. When u dirt the tank don't forget to cap it with atleast 1" thick +

 

[MyGiants]

Myself I don't use any dirt or soil in any of ,my planted tanks. I think to many people think there plants are going to grow better with it. Like some miracle ingredient that makes plants thrive. You don't need it just plain natural sand or gravel will work just as good maybe better in the long run. At some point you might want to rearrange your setup and once you start to move the substrate around your going to have a big cloudy mess. I prefer clean natural gravel with some sand mix and lots of root tabs. High lighting with co2 and your set.

 

[Fat Homer]

Myself I don't use any dirt or soil in any of ,my planted tanks. I think to many people think there plants are going to grow better with it. Like some miracle ingredient that makes plants thrive. You don't need it just plain natural sand or gravel will work just as good maybe better in the long run. At some point you might want to rearrange your setup and once you start to move the substrate around your going to have a big cloudy mess. I prefer clean natural gravel with some sand mix and lots of root tabs. High lighting with co2 and your set.

Well, i guess you using root tabs is the equivalent of people using aquarium soil...

Also, certain brands do come with stuff that are beneficial for plants to grow better...

So all in all just depends on which direction you want to go in i guess, although since i've never used sand to grow plants except for anubias, i cannot say how well it would work with trying to grow something demanding like say a HC carpet? Especially since i think you have to replace the root tabs every so often?



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