How to Set Up a Walstad Method Tank - Dirted Tanks for Beginners 

Absolutely you can. Planting advice would be to use planting tweezers and be careful not to move laterally too much when doing so. Good luck 👍

Blake's Aquatics Amazing. Thank you!

@@BlakesAquatics I lower the water level to below the planting level (I design my scapes with this in mind) and keep spraying the plants while planting the new ones. It's extremely important to not let them float to the surface in these tanks, so I usually weigh them down with a just large enough stone that matches the scape otherwise (I don't like covering the dirt with either sand or gravel, it just travels through with time as you stick more plants in and you need to keep adding and it reduces the volume available to soil, just yiesh). I'm also extra, so I leave the top of my dirt naked in one of my tanks (it's super lushly overgrown, albeit not with low plants), it's the weirdest challenge 😂 In my glass lotus vases I cover the dirt with filter balls

Right

I got a 10 gal tank at Petco for I think $10. I believe it was on sale.

I got a used 55 gallon for $30 on Facebook. No scratches, no issues. I also got a 30 gal and a ten gal, plus two heaters, 3 light bars, three HOB filters, and two air pumps for $50. I kept the 30 gal tank and sold everything else separately for about $280. Fish keeping is a cheap hobby, if you are patient

Right wtf at K mart? Where am I at right now? Frfr

@@ZanesFacebook yeah I got my 25gal w a stand, equip. Light, filter, heaters, cleaning brushes and 7 fish for $200 thx 2 FB too !

how much dirt did you put?

@@imalemon1050 About 2 inches of organic compost topped with about an inch of fine dark gravel, also added some clay in the soil to provide extra iron and nutrients for the plants, about a fist full of plain cold drying natural clay from a craft shop spread about in small chunks.

@@gardian1701 im setting up my other dirted tank in a coulpe days im going to give the clay a shot. did you mix the clay with the dirt?

@@imalemon1050 I just spread it around in small chunks, from a fist full, the roots should find it, didn't want the water getting cloudy. Make sure it's natural cold drying moddeling clay though. Another thing I wish I'd done while setting up was to plant loads of capeting seeds about half cm under the fine gravel and grew them up in about a cm of water before adding fish. My tank is only 28 gallon so you might want to use a quantity to suit your tank.

@@gardian1701 i haven't tried a carpeting plant yet but ill take your tips into considerations whenever i do want to try it. Thank you so much!

It's far easier in the long run, cheaper and less faffing about with fertilizer and co2

@@gardian1701 So many times the natural way is best. In the long run , like you say , it`s actually easier and once established and balanced , there really is not much to do at all.

Thanks Mary, it is an intimidating process at first so I tried my best to clear up what works and doesnt

@@BlakesAquaticsyou did a great job and I hope this encourages so many more people to try it ❤️🙏🌿🐟🌱

Good luck!

Glad it was helpful!

Its just really fine so very dusty to clean, compacts down in the tank and creates more of a mess than other sands. Its fine if thats what you already have but if i were recommending one to buy it would be filter sand instead

this one is from bunnings, australia. perlite is fine but just be aware that it floats, so best to either sift it out or put a strong cap on. best of luck!

Good luck 👍

Osmocote and potting soils for aquarium is asking for blue green algae and hair algae. But..if it works for you..

@@StanTheObserver-lo8rx never had a drama or heard of anyone else having a drama..

@@Anonymous-aussie wow,100% success and nothing went wrong with the combo of bright lights,soils,ferts,fishes and filters?..whoa. Congrats. I never would have guess everybody has the knowledge to get it right everytime..or even part.

@@StanTheObserver-lo8rx guess ya gotta dive in and have a go rather than observe 👌😉

Hi Rachy, glad to hear it. The sand is from Clark Rubber and is called unicorn sand. I personally wouldn't risk sand sifters like geos, rams or apistos in a dirted tank because they might disturb the cap too much and flood the soil into the tank. In a non dirted tank yeah I have geos and apistos in with this sand with no issues. Cheers

@@BlakesAquatics Thank you

Haha awesome cheers

I use pool filter sand

If its legal to do so you can collect from a beach or river, just be sure to rinse thoroughly. Alternatively pool supply store sell sand fajrly cheaply meant for sand filters on pools. Thats what i use

Time and patience . You won`t regret it in the long run. Good luck.

how did it go?

@@sproggi cool. my fish is still alive.

@@Allknowingkeith awesome 😁

compost i believe should be fine as long as there are definitely no chemicals or pesticides in the mix. The other consideration would be that compost is extremely rich, so you would only use a very small amount.

some liquid fertiliser is always good for floating plants

2.5cm / 1 inch dirt, 5cm / 2in sand in a big tank 👌

@@BlakesAquatics thanks mate, tomorrows lockdown project. Next for now find one of your dry start methods

Gday, the tank is still running and thriving with shrimp. You can see an update in my fishroom tour video pinned to the channel page

@@BlakesAquatics Thanks

Sure

I'd be rinsing beach sand pretty heavily before using it in a freshwater setup. You'll also want to remove as many shells as possible. Shells will increase the calcium (hardness) and alkalinity (pH) of the water over time.

I dont no but an air stone would be a good idea for some surface agitation

Sorry im not sure, these are from kmart Australia

Ive since moved house and packed it up. Latest update would be in my fishroom tour ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-huIGAig_9j4.html

Hey Richard, it is still running and has grown in very nicely. It will be in my full fishroom tour

@@BlakesAquatics thanks Blake! Good timing with your reply, I set up the tank yesterday, pretty much as per your video! Oh, I heard you will be doing a interview thingy with Riko at some point - looking forward to it! You're quite popular over here in the US/Canada!

Oh thanks thats so nice to hear 😄 i think the US is my biggest % of subscribers at 30% or so 💪. Yeah Riko is a good guy how could I say no

@@BlakesAquatics if you think of it, casually drop in the phrase "scooter pootin'" when you're telling him a story -- chat will explode!

@@richardmaccarthy101 🤔 is this some kind of trap haha ill have to google

Welcome

depending one which shrimp the problem might be changing too much water. shrimp generally prefer lots of smaller waterchanges spread out rather than one big one.

Yah, don't change too much water. Try doing a 5-10% water change every day instead of a large/medium each week. Key is stability in the parameters. Experiment to find something that works for you. I have a 60l shrimp tank and I change maybe 3 liters each day. Takes only a couple of minutes and it won't shock the shrimp. Be careful to match the temperature. At least fairly close. But when you do small water changes the parameters/temp won't change too much either way. My shrimp is breeding like crazy.

The ph will be buffered slightly lower, depending on peat content in the soil, but as long as you have a good solid cap it should be steady and slow and most fish will easily adapt

Thanks wondered my self . I’m guessing don’t over do how much soil n to heavy fert’s

@@cheveburkinshaw860 100%

Yes absolutely

Yeah absolutely thats a great idea especially if collecting yourself

@@BlakesAquatics How about those organic potting soil that's bought from retail, do u need to bake the soil before putting it into the aquarium?

Fish can be kept in these tanks but they need to be well established and stocked lightly

@@BlakesAquatics Wow! Didn’t expect an reply so quickly. Thanks!

Plants immediately fish 4 weeks

Yep i believe so 👍

It might contain high phosphates that could lead to algae

@@BlakesAquatics thanks for replying!

Its a bit too porous in my opinion to properly cap it

@@BlakesAquatics ok, thanks!

Thank you 😁

And where did you get it from?

@@gafam8500 hey mate just the cheapest organice potting mix from bunnings

Thanks

Yeah going well mate ill have to do an update on it

I never do, it makes it all swollen

Thanks Blake. 👍 I also used dried soil & capped it with sand ....so just wondered if I did it wrong.

Under the sand? I did that on purpose so I dont see it

@@BlakesAquatics did u put the soil under the sand? I couldn't see any black layer

@@ricwhk yes I did, i said in the video I put sand around the edge so that you dont see the soil though. Its everywhere except the edges

@@BlakesAquatics I see. Can you then put water ditectly from the tap with chlorine? No fish of course. Will the chlorine destroy nutrient in the soil?

@@ricwhk the chlorine wont destroy any nutrients it will just stop bacteria from growing

Hey mate yeah there should be a banner under the video screen linking to the site

@@BlakesAquatics nope didn’t come out on the banner only the shrimp 🦐 one came out

@Aquatic_Amigo i had a look and its not on the store anymore Ill have to get it back on there

Hey Hunter, just from Kmart, though I am in australia

@@BlakesAquatics thanks. All the tanks here in U.S. have those big black rims and the rimless ones are expensive. You can take them off, but it’s really difficult and sometimes it breaks the glass, so I usually just leave them on

@@wave._.hunter yeah its an interesting one. We only have rimless tanks

Haha yeah grass is always greener on the other side 🤣 id trade them for $1 per gallon sales in a heartbeat

@@BlakesAquatics that's fair I just really wish we had kits so nice 😂

When was this? Thanks 🙏

@@BlakesAquatics ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-JSLq9aczEz8.html

@@WhiteCloud746 thank you

Indeed

lol

So nice of you to say.. have a great day