This is exactly what I'm trying to create. May I ask, what type of light are you using? I'm wondering if a couple of 15w LED bulbs (1900lm and 6500k) would be ok for my little 6 gallon tank.
Walstad herself never advocates no water changes. She says that benefit of an NPT (her term for walstad style tank) is REDUCED maintenance, not NO maintenance. She even advise for frequent water change for a new setups. Only after the tank stabilises you can cut back on the water changes.
It's not something I've ever used. I always prefer to try and find the cause and then act accordingly. Generally speaking most issues I get are simply down to insufficient maintenance when I'm busy. Fortunately because the tank is so mature, it tends to bounce back very quickly once things are corrected. :)
@@aquaticsbynature I had to strip down the tank as all my plants started dying off and the Corrie's were not happy. We have had water problems here in Hampshire and I think it was that. That's why I have put the carb in the filter for a few days.
Sorry to hear that. Sounds like something stagnated, maybe too much organic material in the substate? But there are infinite variables, especially with new tanks settling down. Everything gets easier with time and appropriate healthy plant mass. Good luck. :)
Hello! I have been watching some of your videos! I love your tank! I was wondering if you trim the crypts? They are nice and bushy and don’t grow so tall like other ones. 🤔
Thank you :) The bulk of the Crypts in this tank are an old clone of Cryptocoryne wendtii which I've had for probably over 30 years now. Whilst it will grow taller, it's not a particularly tall growing clone. That said I do occasionally trim them down when I feel it's needed.
Thanks for the idea :) Once we get into the autumn, I will have more time to make videos once again. I have several new tanks to set up, and there's a good chance that cyano will appear somewhere along the way. It tends to like new tanks, but not really established ones like this. :)
Thank you for your question. Generally speaking I only find snails beneficial, however one species (Lymnaea stagnates) can sometimes chew new growth. So I try not to introduce these, although they do tend to eventually find their own way into my ponds. But hopefully by then the pond is well established so their impact is limited.
@@aquaticsbynature thank you, that is what I have done. Base layer is pond dirt then a mixture of gravel and finally sand for the Corrie's. I plan on using plants that send down deep roots or like sand.
Thanks for the question. Nothing special really, I just dropped them into a corner where it was difficult for the fish to get to easily The rest is history really. :)
Have you ever had problems with cyanobacteria? How can they be avoided? I set up a new tank following the principles of a 'natural aquarium,' and I've noticed a small spot that I think might be cyanobacteria. I'm not sure if it is indeed cyanobacteria, but I'm concerned and want to do everything I can to address or prevent the issue. What would you recommend I do?
This tank always has Cyanobacteria in it, but it stays permanently below the substrate line just against the glass. In my experience it's just one of those things you sometimes get in a new tank, but once a tank becomes truly balanced it simply goes away. Time is the greatest healer of these things, and once a tank is a year or so old I've never really had any issues. With no water changes, lots of healthy plants, reasonable circulation and gas exchange it simply can't compete :)
Fun Isn't it :) I do occasionally get the odd lemon tetra baby survive, but I think the tank is too crowded at the moment for any to survive naturally.
While skimming can be useful, I've never found it terribly effective, simply because it doesn't address the cause, just the symptom. So I always try and treat the cause first :) Fortunately its not normally a difficult fix, and was totally clear the next day, once I addressed the flow issues.
It’s been a while since I’ve watched your videos but it’s so nice to listen to someone who knows so much about aquaria and balance. Hope to see more videos from you coming soon
Been I while since I’ve been back here but I have a really bad issue, I have a group of neon tetra that are just always sick, I can’t do anything I feel like I’m stuck with them. Because of that the neon tetras keep dying, they die and it causes my plants to die, then my other fish begin suffering. What should I do? I can’t just get rid of them
Sorry to hear you're still having issues. Fish dying shouldn't cause the plants to die, so I think that part is just coincidence. But it does make sense that unhealthy neons could carry something which could affect other fish. Sadly many imported neons arrive rather unhealthy, and very often these things are very difficult to diagnose let alone cure. Assuming your water quality is good, which is definitely worth throughly checking, especially ammonia. but it sounds like you have a very poor batch. In circumstances like this I would normally use a high powered Ultraviolet steriliser to stop the spread of things. But this is an expensive option and will not cure sick fish. It simply stops the spread of most things.
@@aquaticsbynature my water quality is definitely good, it gets tested every day and I’ve never had many issues, especially since I switched to a low tech planted setup. I goes it is just a bad batch then
If you leave things alone, generally they come to a natural conclusion. Rarely do you actually loose everything, its just survival of the fittest unfortunately. Sad to see none the less.
@@aquaticsbynature I guess, I did have to purposely kill one because of how ill he was, poor guy looked like a post spawn sock-eye, the others seem to be ok but as you said it’s just survival of the fittest sadly.
Thanks for the question. I see no reason why aqua soil wouldn't work long term, except that I think you'd need to cap it to prevent it breaking up over time and disappearing. It does tend to turn to dust and end up in the filter if not.
I'm interested in starting a Walstad style aquarium soon. I do have a pond in my garden but its a raised koi pond rather than a natural style one. Do you think there would be anything in there to seed my tank with micro creatures?
Thanks for the question. It always surprises me how life finds a way in these situations. You may have to look a bit harder but there will almost certainly be all kinds of critter in there. Especially hiding under things and in filters etc. Good luck. :)
I feel like decaying plants is good for the ecosystem because it’s extra food for microorganisms. I frel like there will be extra nutrients in the fish tank but will equalize over time. But that’s just me i just leave my tank alone and let nature do it’s work
Thank you for your comments. I would definitely agree that some decaying plants can be beneficial to the system, but in my experience you can still have too much of a good thing. And this tends to increase the chances of algal issues. But a lot of this depends on your aesthetic, the tank is no less healthy with algae, but personally I'd prefer not to have too much. :)
Thank you for your question. :) The room where this tank sits is quite a bright room, so the plants can easily sense the outdoor seasons by the intensity and day length. But also I only heat the tank to around 70F, so in winter it runs at this and in summer it will run quite a bit warmer. So basically that tank gets some quite distinct seasonal changes, from which it seems to react accordingly. :)
Beautiful aquarium! 😍 I have a question about managing tannins. My aquarium has been running for a year and a half without water changes, and I'm not sure how to reduce the tannin levels. Is there a natural approach to this without using chemical products?
Thank you for your comments and question. I've found that tannins will deplete over time naturally, providing you're not constantly adding to their source that is. As to how long this will take, as with most things nature has a different time scale to us. So it may actually take a few years. It's also worth bearing in mind that it will deplete faster under higher light levels. If there's one thing I've learnt over the 29 years of this tank, that's simple patience and basic stability will sort out most things.
You are spot on. Even in low maintenance setups we still need to service and clean our equipment. Good reminder and remember to use that good dirty water to for any houseplants or plants outdoors. They love it!
Thank you for your questions. Because of its age, this tank pre-dates what's commonly referred to as a dirted tank. Therefore there is no soil in this tank. Here's a link to a detailed video I made, which should answer all of your questions. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-t4ekYD_q5l0.html
I'm binging your videos and having a ball. I've come to see the aquarium as a whole to be the organism I'm taking care of, and while part of me wants to set up and see instant, fast, lush results, I'm more interested in the long game. Watching to see the overall health of the aquarium is making me happy, and it's much more stable than setups I've had in the past.
Thank you so much, I'm very glad you're finding my approach interesting. There's so much more to keeping aquaria than just looking after fish. Makes the whole thing so much more interesting, and engaging. Thanks again. :)
This is perfectly timed, as I'm seeing a light layer of algae growing over almost everything (no biofilm though, as the bubbler and circulation seem to be doing ok). I do water changes occasionally (mostly top ups with rain water though), and squeeze the filter sponges out from time to time, but my tank has definitely been neglected recently, and the filter hasn't had a good clean for a long time. The plants in my tank just dont seem to be growing. Some do well, others (that used to do well) just die off... Could this issue be causing the slow growth? I attached java moss to a piece of lava rock months ago, and its just stayed there, not growing at all, literally doing nothing.
Thanks for your comments. One of the things I've always found is that tanks tend to slip down hill when you neglect then for too long. This can be for many reasons, but reasonably regular filter maintenance and constant plant removal seem to be the most important. In my tanks anyway. It's quite normal for certain plants to stop growing as these tanks mature, its basic survival of the fittest. The important thing is to alway run with the ones which do well for you. Growth is king :) You may find one of my early videos useful to explain this a little better. I put it out last Christmas Day and its called An aquarium is for life not just for Christmas :)
Air stones can be incredibly useful for getting rid of or preventing surface gas exchange issues. But I prefer using powerhead, because they're much quieter and don't cause lots of limescale deposits all over my lights etc.
Try adding some horned nerites, they're like little lawnmowers of algae and all the ones I kept seems to "refrain" from laying those eyesore white egg capsules unlike other nerite species that I kept before.
I love all nerites, but for some reason it seems to be difficult to get healthy horned ones here. As to the egg capsules I really don't mind them personally. :)
I've actually changed my mind somewhat on flow rates in recent years. I used to favour very low rates not much more than once an hour, but today I aim for something around 3 times an hour. But like so many things in this world it's not a simple as that. Another video I should probably make lol.
First let me just say I *adore* this tank, and your approach to aquariums. There is one important area where my approach is very different. When I get any signs of buildup (either mulm OR a loss of media flow), I just add more filtration media. My reasoning is that the bacteria populations will adjust to whatever the organic inputs are, and they will always eventually break down everything -- but only if their bottleneck is not surface area (nor oxygen). Dollar stores sell garden netting, pot scrubbers, etc (not lava rock nor ceramic, those have poor surface-area). Even a modest food container crammed with this stuff will give enormous surface area. I don't use canister filters (they're an option but expensive, and some are leak-prone). I made some cheap DIY behind-tank-sumps that use a simple overflow and a cheap Nicrew pump. Or a HOB breeder box wirks great, you can fit lots of pot scrubbers in there. Past some point, the biofiltration is too much to clog (for a fixed amount of daily feeding). That's my take on such issues, never clean filter media -- just add more!
@@haithm49 I edited my comment to be a bit more specific, but I learned to make little container-sumps, they can sit beside or behind the tank. Another option is to buy a hang-on-back breeder box, but instead of an airstone you hook up a small pump. Those HOB breeder boxes overflow back into the container, and have MUCH more capacity for media than most HOB filters. If one of my tanks has any buildup, I just add something like this (in addition to whatever filtration is already there). At some point the feeding is inadequate to grow enough biofilm to clog all that surface area. Then you can kick back and never clean media again! 🥳
Thank you for your kind comments :) I think there are many different approaches that can be made to work in these situations. The ones I've evolved into over the years are simply the ones that are easy and practical for my kind of aquariums. Because of the design of the tanks I favour, it's not possible to add extra media etc easily.
My issue is nitrates. Currently at around 80ppm. My tank is only around 8 months old. Very heavily planted 33 gallon, and fairly heavily stocked with nano fish. The rumy nose are still vibrant as well as the chili rasbora, which I gather they wouldn't be if in danger. Also, there is no algea anywhere, just high nitrates. I am uncertain if I should be doing constant small water changes. I've just been letting it ride...
Thanks for your comments. Nitrates can be a bit of a concern in relatively new tank, but generally speaking I find that providing you have a relatively deep and undisturbed substrate this will improve over time. That said, one of the biggest things I find, is that without constant plant export from the system substrates alone aren't generally sufficient. Plant export is king. :)
Great update James. I really must come back to you with an update on my algae woes after the cheap osmocote fertiliser disaster I caused. Your help was invaluable. But ……
And to think there are folks that think "no water changes = to no maintenance" Right on the spot. It's nice to have this kind of content because it makes us aware that no matter how low maintenance a tank may be, there will always be some maintenance
Thank you, very nicely put. You're absolutely correct, there is no such thing as a no maintenance tank. Easy maintenance maybe lol. But you still have to keep an eye on things. :)
