INSANE PLANT GROWTH with NO CO2 NO FILTER | Step by step WALSTAD METHOD aquarium | EP1
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- čas přidán 28. 06. 2024
- Big thanks to Foo the Flowerhorn who was inspiration for this NO FILTER NO CO2 NO FERTS aquarium. This low tech aquarium setup was also inspired by Walstad method. As a substrate I used local organic potting soil that is a mix of black and white peat. Important is that the soil doesn't have any chemicals or pesticides. I removed big wood particles through the sieve and after that I left the soil in the water for 72 hours. During that time all the smaller wood particles and dirt remained on the surface. I placed 1 inch (2.5cm) of soil, 0.6 inch (1.5cm) of gravel and 0.4 inch (1cm) of fine sand. During next few weeks I expect the water to be cloudy and for sure soil will leach some tannins. I am starting with lighting period of 12 hours. With this much light it is recommended to add as much plants as possible (fill up more than 75% of substrate), fast steam plants and floating plants are the best choice. Although it is possible to place fish and other organisms on the first day (nitrifying bacteria are present in the soil), I have decided against it. There is always possibility of initial ammonia spike from the soil in case it was not capped correctly. If you are interested in making something like this read "Ecology of the Planted Aquarium" by Diana Walstad to fully understand this type of ecosystem from the biological and chemical aspect. Also check "Foo the Flowerhorn" who was basically the person that started "NO FILTER NO CO2 NO FERTS" aquarium trend.
00:00 Intro
00:16 Aquarium dimensions and volume
00:39 Foam mat
01:17 Aquarium background
01:36 Organic potting soil
02:28 Placing potting soil in the aquarium
02:59 Gravel
03:21 Sand
03:56 Red Moot root
04:26 Filling up with water
04:45 Poking substrate
05:31 48 hours later
05:42 Plants
06:56 Planting
07:54 Heater and water pump
08:10 Filling up with water
08:56 Final result
Aquarium - 45cmx27cmx30cm (18inx11inx12in)
Optiwhite glass 6mm | Tank Volume 37LTR | 10GAL
Soil - Organic potting soil (N:210 mg/l, P2O5:150 mg/l, K2O:170 - 390 mg/l, M: 100 mg/l)
Gravel - size 2-3 mm | Fine sand - 0.2-0.6 mm
Light - LED Power: 21W | Luminous flux 1950lm
Filter - NO | Water pump - YES
CO2 - NO
Heater - YES
Plants - Egeria densa, Bacopa caroliniana, Hygrophila polysperma, Limnophila sessiliflora, Hemianthus micranthemoides, Hydrocotyle tripartita, Anubias barteri nana, Cryptocoryne lutea hobbit, Elocharis parvula mini, Staurogyne repens, Salvinia natans
Instagram - / im_aquariums
Music - Epidemic Sound:
Lo Mimieux / Cain / courtesy of www.epidemicsound.com
www.epidemicsound.com/track/V...
Few days later? That looks like hell of a growth for only a few days...
Apart from that, I will follow this project in details as I am really eager to try this myself.
I think it was 10-15 days after. But the growth has been really amazing. The thumbnail is 3 weeks after. I will make whole video series following this aquarium.
@@IMaqua great! Looking forward to it. I am mostly interested in algae issues if any.
I think tank has been running around 4 weeks now. 12 hours light period. Algae 0. A lot of floating plants and 100% coverage of substance with the rest of plants. A lot of steam plants.
@@IMaqua you should make a time lapse! If it's not too late
@@sarahfehr4945 Unfortunately it is because aquarium is already 6 months late. But if you want you can follow the progress on the longer videos.
Yesterday,I also added the Limnophila sessiliflora in my aquarium😁
I love that plant. I really has amazing texture and the green is soooo green.
Now we're talking. I love walstad tanks. I have a small 5 gallon on my desk that I don't do anything to. Just have shrimp and snails and they keep it clean and the plants grow at a steady pace. Nicely shot video :)
I love them too, they kind of remind me of ecosystem with a lot of small inhabitants each with a role of their own. Diane Walstad book was amazing read and I love she didn't dumb down things in the book. Its a heavy read and I didn't understand some of the things; one more reason to read the book again.
I'm so happy I discovered your channel! I'm loving every vid so far! Keep it up :)
Welcome aboard!
You make some of the best aquascapes I've ever seen mate! Keep up the phenomenal work! 👍
Thanks Lazarus.
Foo Flowerhorn is my first look many years ago aquascape, and is gone a few yaers ago. And he is my best channel i follow his aquascape no C02, No Fertelizer. i miss that channel
I watch the channel of Foo the Flowerhorn as well. I like his videos.
Wow it looks amazing 👏 can't wait to see how it progresses👍
Thanks.
Wow, you nailed it! I love everything about your video.
Thank you! Cheers!
Wow! What a beautiful and detailed video. Step by step, with clear description for those who want to replicate this idea. Well done and thank you for putting your effort into this video. I'm not going to look at more of your videos. Have a fantastic day.
Thank you very much! I even made a talking tutorial for this aquarium. Cheers
This is a very well made video! Appreciate the creativity. Thanks for sharing
Thanks.
Phenomenal
Thanks
ładnie
👍
Excellent video! I can really vouch for this method (I also add a couple of additives to the potting compost). Plants grow really well long term.
Fully agree. If you follow instructions from Diana Walstad and do it as per book you got yourself a longterm ecosystem with minimal maintenance.
@@IMaqua I've followed the Father Fish videos (which are based on Walstead). They have worked out pretty well. Stuck to easy grow plants and all good. Feel better that I'm no longer adding synthetic fertilizer to tanks.
I have watched few of his videos recently 👍
Join sir your all video good
Thanks John.
Debería usted tener más de 200000 suscriptores como poco.
I understand little bit Spanish. Entiendo, gracias.
Amazing and inspiring. May l ask for more details on that fine black sand ?
The brand is JBL Sansibar black. If you would like to know something else let me know.
Really enjoyed this video, would be great to see how it gets on.
Thanks Chris.
@@IMaqua you're welcome. I've just bought a big bowl with plans to do the Walstad method so watching as many videos as possible. Have subscribed too so I can see your future stuff. 👍
This will be a long term series, but I am also planning to have few more walstad setups in the future. Good luck with the bowl.
Nice work, I really enjoyed this video. Good Luck to you.
Thanks.
art
Thanks.
really want to do a walstad tank myself, but the challenge is when pulling out rooted plants later on, how to prevent the soil at the base from getting into water column?
With Walstad tanks the idea is to not do a lot of pulling of plants out. If you it will be a mess; especially if the potting soil starts leaching into the water column.
For better results add pond mud to the potting soil.
Thanks for the tip.
You showed which plants you got. I’m curious if that was enough to cover the tank or did you buy multiple quantities of each plant you showcased? Great video!
No it was not enough. I added approximately 2-3 pots of all the stem plants shown in the video.
I like it , jungle style 😉.
Its growing like crazy. I need to trim it weekly.
There is a name for what I did years ago 🧐 even my fish made it without food and no water changes for over a year 🤷♂️ my guppy’s turned back into wild form and I loved it.
👍
What in the world were they eating
@@chrisr4066probably the algae or some kinda particles
What is the purpose of adding 2 sizes of gravel to the organic soil? Thanks
First is gravel and second is fine sand. I added layer of fine sand because I was planning to add shrimps. The gravel is too coarse for them they like to sift through substrate so fine sand is much more suitable for them.
Hi, for walstad method, can I put red lava rock sand on top of the soil or the topping must be river sand/gravel only?
It is not recommended to add any hardscape (stones) on the soil in Walstad aquariums because there is a chance soil will develop gas pockets. If you want place stones on the bottom glass and add soil afterwards.
Hi, do u bake or heat treat the organic soil to kill microorganism before using it for aquarium?
No I don't do that because by baking it soil becomes useless and you kill everything in it. I just soaked the soil for few days before adding it to aquarium. By soaking it all the wood will remain on the surface and also soil will leach some of tannins.
Beautiful tank! May I ask where did you buy your plants?
I buy most of my plants from a few different webshops around Europe.
@@IMaqua Ty!
Is that vegetable oil for sticking on the background?! I need to know! I just found out it's a thing
Window cleaner.
the sesslifora looks leggy , mine also looks like that i dont know what causes that maybe lack of co2 (i also use walstad method) or too much lightning maybe someone has same experience?
If it looks leggy it is usually lack of CO2.
hi nice tank！ May I ask did u use dechlorinated water or just normal tap water?
I use tap water with the addition of dechlorinator. I use Seachem Prime.
hi thank u so much for the reply that is what I wanted to do also thanks a lot !
You are welcome.
Hi I finally got all the things needed. I started watching and wanting my own walsted method tank since foo the flower horn start his tank. It has been years, and now your videos. I really love how u design the tank and the colors matched so well. I am starting it tmr(today here in Singapore) hopefully everything goes well! I still kind of worried as the book says PH level and hardness should be a bit high, here in my country I only got ph level around 5, gonna measure the water with substrate again… not sure if this kind of ph will it affect anything… I brought some oyster shells too…
And also maybe following your design as reference, really sorry to be a “copy cat” I am so new to this method and aquascaping, I just hope everything goes well for the first time. Thank u🙏🥺
I have hard water and my tap water pH is around 7.5. I read somewhere that below certain pH level (cant remember was it 5 I think?) nitrogen cycle cant even be established because of low pH but since my pH is OK I don't have experience with that. I also read book written by Diana Walstad and it definitely helped me to better understand certain things. But nothing is better than real life experience. Good luck with your tank.
Please do follow it if it helps you. I am glad I can be an inspiration.
@@IMaqua thank you! I hope the oyster shells and plants will do some work for the ph 🤓
Good luck with it. Me on the other hand would love to lower my pH but my GH and KH are both relatively high so its basically impossible to go below 7.3.
I heard others say that Pearlweed grows like crazy, and can quickly overrun a tank. What's your experience with the Pearlweed?
I wouldn't really say it will overrun tank but you need to stay on top with the trimmings. If you let any steam plant grow and don't cut it for a month or two it will overrun tank. In this particular aquarium I am doing weekly water changes and at the same time I trim the plants. I love Pearlweed because it gives that bushy growth. Update of this tank is on Friday so feel free to check out that video. In my personal opinion big YES for Pearlweed.
Nice setup
Thanks 👍
Very nice! What's the name of the gravel and of the used sand, please?
Thanks. The brand of the gravel was Aquael and the Sand is JBL dark sand.
@@IMaqua thank you very much!
You are welcome.
Plants u have used initially are emerged or submerged form?? Pls reply
Submerged.
So you are planting in into the gravel? That is such a high layer of sand + gravel.
Yes in the gravel. It may seem like a high layer but it is only 1 inch (2.5cms).
What did you sprinkle on the silicone
Aquarium sand.
Amazing. How about water changes after the initial setup?
New video will be out soon and in it I will mention water change and why I performed them. If I am not mistaken it was 50-80% 2x per week (first 2 week). After that it was 1x per week 50% (next 2 weeks). After that I reduced gradually water changes to 1x per week 50% and finally 1x per week 30%.
@@IMaqua Thanks!
You are welcome.
@@IMaqua I believe you are not dosing with liquid fertilizer.
That is correct. No ferts at all. Thats the whole idea behind this setup. The plants will take up all the nutrients from the substrate and water column. So far plants are growing like crazy and I need to do weekly trimmings.
We need a handsome betta in it now. Please do it
Well not now...but lets say it will come in the near future. At least thats the plan.
Please, why do you use 2 types of gravel ? Otherwise thanks for update, after foo the flowerhorn end the series im glad to see new path.
I hope we will start a new series soon. I used gravel plus sand just because I some extra at home. I mean you can do with either and it will be ok. If you decide for gravel only the layer needs to be thicker and if you decide for sand only the layer need to be thinner.
@@IMaqua i used 3cm of 1-2mm gravel/sand i hope Its will be ok. Its third try of walstad metod, last 2 fail. No grow, green and smell water.
That should be fine. Make sure to plant heavy from the beginning. A lot of plants.
Can i use MIRACLE-GRO POTTING MIX?
I don't have that potting soil where I live at.
If you turned that mat sideways you could have cut two sheets and got another tank the exact size! 😂
Thanks. Actually this one was so cheap and I had a lot of it so I was trying to get rid of some.
What light are you using and what light cycle?
I started with the light cycle of 12 hours and didn't touch anything since the beginning. It appears to be perfect for this aquarium. This is first aquarium where I didn't get a single algae even after many weeks since I made the aquarium. Of course all that is thanks to the huge planet mass inside. I wouldn't be so brave to try 12 hours light cycle on my other aquariums. The light I used is Cichiros LED.
@@IMaqua Thanks for the quick response! Awesome tank mate :)
Next week I will publish journey of this aquarium during first 15 days. See you there in the comment section 👍
how log the nutrients in the substrate will last?
This aquarium is almost 2 years old and the plants are still growing nicely.
@@IMaqua ok. i have asked same question in other channels,,,they are telling me 1 year, good for yours!
And after nutrients depleted, what....? make another setup?
thanks!
@@alexherrera3918 I suggest you read the book; I made another talking video on that topic. czcams.com/video/W3sjzwbu3BM/video.htmlsi=NEl5GuJAwnvJSR7M
The soil should get nutrients from overfeeding the aquarium and fish poo. For how long? Forever....I guess. But I can't provide you with a clear answer because this aquarium has been running for only 2 years.
Can you please tell me where you were able to find such a small wave maker / air pump, all of the ones I'm finding have GPH way too high for my 10 gallon :(
I think this one was Oase 300. And it is perfect for this aquarium because you can adjust the flow.
@@IMaqua The one that goes up to 80 gallons? LOL I just mean the small plastic piece you've got for water circulation
The name is Oase OptiMax 300. It is their smallest water pump and when set to minimum flow can be used even in 5 gallon tank.
Official flow on their site is 300 l/h but that is max, when you set it to minimum flow its a lot lets. I guess that's around 80 gallons.
@@IMaqua I ended up grabbing the Eheim 350 surface skimmer, it's pretty slow on minimum, my shrimp are able to deal with it
what are the tank dimensions?
45x30x30cm
Anubias in the substrate?
Anubias is attached to the wood.
What potting soil did you get? Where can i get it
A potting soil that is easy to source here in Croatia. I don't know where are you from?
@@IMaqua USA
@@firedogz7355 unfortunately I live in Europe and can't help you.
Or can we use potting soil mix?
Yes you can just make sure there is no pesticides in it.
@@IMaqua bro you have insta i need some help if you don't mind
I can give you "general guidance" here. In depth assistance and help with your aquarium is available only to my Patreon members.
Can we use any potting soil?
Yes you can just make sure there is no pesticides in it.
Try to use black earth (topping) soil, just simple soil & wood chips. Nothing with any of that white fertilizer etc. in it. Cheers
That's fine I would just advise taking the wood chips because they will leach tannins badly and stain the water a lot. Also wood chips will float and its gonna be a mess. But other than that what you suggested will work perfectly.
How you maintain for first month 😅
I made a video recently about this aquarium czcams.com/video/W3sjzwbu3BM/video.html
Can i do this with my *Garden Soil* (clean and separate the big gravel), combine with gravel and sand on my house ? And without lamp ? Bcs i don't have yet for Aquascape lamp and the plants i use will be low light low Co2
Plan on using just 2 type of plants bcs my tank size only 30x20cm.
Yes you can. You don't need aquarium light but you do need some kind of light (LED) otherwise the plants won't grow. Garden soil can be used but be warned that you don't know what you are introducing into the aquarium.
@@IMaqua thanks a lot for replying, i'll get Led Lamp then for the Aquascape. For the substrate it's best using like in your video then ?
@@darkerpath yes you can use potting soil. It is readily available in garden center and it is very cheap.
@@IMaqua Got it, big thanks for the huge help 🍻
@@darkerpath hope you will enjoy your aquarium. Cheers
“Few days” why you 🧢⁉️⁉️⁉️🤣
🙄
I dont really like egeria densa as it's a shit fast grower 😂 i'd rather put bunch of polysperma lol
Well since I dont have filter in that aquarium I need fast growers. I did put few polysperma and they are growing painfully slow.
yes the root growth isn't very fast.
But
I like egeria when it's a really long one stem, kinda looks like a serpent!
and also my tank is overrun by this crazy hungry plant! hahaha
Yes it can grow very very long. But I guess it depends how fast you trim the plants. I do it weekly and keep it under control.
So much wasted foam mat
Nothing goes wasted. The rest of the mat will be used for other things.
@@IMaqua I'm sure it will :) It does look like the tank could have been rotated 90 degrees, and moved to the edge of the mat, leaving you one big unused piece. Probably wouldn't have looked as good in the video, tho ;)
The piece I bought was 2 meters by 1 meter so I have extra mat. But it will come in hand for something.