Sorry for the poor audio quality at times. Some of you may have noticed I did turn the tank around before filling it up. I had to turn it around to put some of the equipment storage closer to the wall side of the stand.
I have been dabbling with Aquariums part of my life, since I was at least 10 years old, with mostly 10 gallon gravel tanks, and had some small level of success with fish but never had a long-term means of keeping fish for more than a few months. When my kids were younger they wanted to have fish and so we tried to start one up even though I hadn't had one in 20 years, and it was a disaster. I spent the next 15 years trying to "catch up" and learn from my mistakes.
After watching the Father Fish channel I've learned more about proper fish care in a few weeks than I have in almost 40 years off and on of owning aquariums and talking to local fish tores (LFSs). So I started researching how to set up a tank using his method of using the "Walstad method" of setting up the substrate with his formula as a supplement to the dirt and sand on top instead of gravel. I've used some slight alterations based on what I had around the house but you can either watch his channel for the formula he uses, or purchase it from his online store. Information below.
Also, I've tried a method on how to disguise the dirted substrate so that it's not visible from the aquarium. Using boards cut to just within the interior of the glass, leaving about an inch, you can fill the inside of the box with the dirted substrate, and then fill the outside with sand, remove the wood, and then fill in the gap with sand before adding more sand and aquascape. I tried this and it apparently worked well.
Here's all the info from the video:
-Tank: 55gallon kit purchased at a "big box" store. I'm not using their supplied filter. Instead using a bubble filter purchased online. Bubble stone (not mentioned in video) was added after filming.
-Sand: Acquired from the South Tow River in Western NC. 5 gallon bucket was used, I would gather more upon retrospect. I did have pool sand (of which I used about maybe 3-5 lbs) to fill inside the box atop the dirt, then applied the Tow River sand on top of that.
-Driftwood: Acquired from nearby Tennessee River in East Tennessee lake. Soaked in a tote for a few weeks prior to adding to tank. Washed off with a hose to get mud/dirt off prior to adding to aquarium.
-Plants: Purchased from Father Fish store:
father-fish-aquarium.myshopif...
-"Sand scoop": Amerimax Gutter Scoop from Home Depot - less than $5 USD
-Board info: 96" 1x5 board, for a 55gal tank I had it cut into 2 44" pieces, and the 8" piece that remained was one of the end caps. I had a spare 1x3.5" board that I cut for the other end cap and used to complete the dirted box container within the tank. I would not leave the wood inside the tank as it would rot and it's probably pressure treated lumber. Taped with heavy duty painters tape to keep the mud inside the box.
-My dirt formula:
-8 cups Peat moss
-4 cups Manure compost
-4 cups Potting mix (non-fertilized)
Supplement:
-1 TBSP Epsom Salt
-1 TBSP Bicarbonate of Soda/Baking Soda
-1 TBSP Garden Lime
-1 TBSP Rejuventate Plant Food (optional)
-1 Handful Diotomaceous Earth
-1 Handful Earthworm Castings
-1/2 Handful Osmokote
-1 Small Handful Blood Meal
-1 Handful Bone Meal
These are approximate measurements and you can adjust if you feel you need to add more/less. I wouldn't change from the base dirt formula.
Father Fish uses a slightly different ingredient setup and this can be adjusted for different sized tanks. Your mileage may vary and my formula may not be suitable. I make no guarantees this is going to work but I will document the progress for future videos. I plan to document this, warts and all.
Mix the Potting mix, Peat moss, and Compost manure into a bucket, then add the supplement and mix, take out the larger pieces of dirt, twigs, sticks, rocks, etc. Mix in enough water for the consistency of making a mud pie/mud ball. No standing water. Put the water in well throughout the mix and making it malleable.
Put 1" of soil in tank first, (inside the wooden box) capped with at least 2" of sand (inert) on top of the dirt. 3" of substrate total.
Place plants approximately 1" deep into the sand, do not penetrate the dirted substrate as you will 1) burn up the roots and 2) cause an imbalance in the water that will take a while to clear even with water changes. The roots of the plant will get the nutrients they need as they burrow deeper into the sand.
I recommend Father Fish and his Shoal for learning more about this method (and aquatics in general):
RU-vid: @FatherFish
Facebook: groups/fatherfishaquariums/
Discord: discord.gg/GdakStEjAy
Moonshine: Sugarlands - $20 USD - RIP Jim Tom Hedrick of Robbinsville, NC, near where this Tow River sand came from.
-Music: "Dreams" public domain courtesy Bensound.com
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5 окт 2023
