Hey everyone! I'm totally a newbie here, but I've become obsessed with the Walstad Method and planted tanks. I just planted out a 10 gallon yesterday and would appreciate some advice. I've learned a ton by reading these threads the past few weeks.
I've got the Miracle Gro organic soil as she recommends, capped with sand and some gravel. Planted it out with Creeping Jenny, Anacharis, A bit of Cabomba, Java Ferns, Anubis, and pygmy sword. I'm floating Duckweed and a clump of water sprite that covers about 25-30% of the surface. And there's a Marimo moss ball. Note, I pushed the dirt back and put sand in front to get rid of the layered look which is why you can't see the dirt in the the front.
For light I currently have one 8.5" metal clamp light with a 13 watt CFL (equivalent to 60 watt) 6500K temp. It's clamped to a shelf above the tank and is giving light from the upper right side.
I moved my apple snail (Pomacea bridgesii) and pair of ghost shrimp from their bowl because I figured with that many plants and careful monitoring (I have the API Master kit), I could keep the water safe for them and the bowl they were in was over-planted, and I wanted the creeping Jenny out of it for the bigger tank.
So is this set-up sustainable? Should I add a sponge filter? I'd like to get more shrimp and add White Cloud Mountain Minnows for a full sub-tropical set up.
I've got the Miracle Gro organic soil as she recommends, capped with sand and some gravel. Planted it out with Creeping Jenny, Anacharis, A bit of Cabomba, Java Ferns, Anubis, and pygmy sword. I'm floating Duckweed and a clump of water sprite that covers about 25-30% of the surface. And there's a Marimo moss ball. Note, I pushed the dirt back and put sand in front to get rid of the layered look which is why you can't see the dirt in the the front.
For light I currently have one 8.5" metal clamp light with a 13 watt CFL (equivalent to 60 watt) 6500K temp. It's clamped to a shelf above the tank and is giving light from the upper right side.
I moved my apple snail (Pomacea bridgesii) and pair of ghost shrimp from their bowl because I figured with that many plants and careful monitoring (I have the API Master kit), I could keep the water safe for them and the bowl they were in was over-planted, and I wanted the creeping Jenny out of it for the bigger tank.
So is this set-up sustainable? Should I add a sponge filter? I'd like to get more shrimp and add White Cloud Mountain Minnows for a full sub-tropical set up.