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Walstad 55g Natural Planted Tank UPDATED: 1/9/12

11K views 25 replies 10 participants last post by  night9eyes 
#1 · (Edited)
Latest full tank shot 1/7/12:


Original start of thread:
This tread might have a slow start since I'm very busy right now with work. Currently, I'm collecting parts for my 55 gallon Walstad tank.

What's a Walstad tank? Check out Diana's book for more details: Ecology of the Planted Aquarium: A Practical Manual and Scientific Treatise for the Home Aquarist

Basically, it's a low maintenance soil-based tank with no CO2. My personal theme for this project is going to be KISS aka "Keep It Simple Stupid" Not the band, I strongly dislike them, now AC/DC is a different matter and different subject for a different forum... =)

Moving on... Here is the basic outline for the tank:

Basic Equipment:
55 Gallon All Glass Aquarium
Fluval 405 Canister w/ DIY spray bar running only course foam. (Mechanical filtration & circulation only)
Marineland Stealth Heater (can't remember the wattage)

Substrate:
Miracle Grow Organic Potting soil
Flourite for cap.

Flora:
I'll get to that...

Fauna:
Defiantly Angels (I've been keeping them for 20+ years). Maybe Altums if I can find some...

Lighting:
OK so I've been doing tons of research into this area. And I initially ordered an All Glass Triple Tube T8 Florescent Strip, but it was on back order and I got impatient. So I changed my order to a 2x54w T5HO Hagen GLO with ZooMed UltraSun(6500K) and FloraSun(5000K) bulbs. I just received that today:



Very nice unit, built solid and is aesthetically pleasing, but I'm returning it because it's defective (turns on for 5 sec and shuts off). Plus it's too much light for this tank.

Remember the KISS concept? For what I'm trying to do I'd have to mount that light 12" above my tank and limit the photo period. Plus, mounted that high it would light up half the room too. So I'm exchanging it for the AGA Triple Tube:



Thanks PetSolutions!
With the AGA Triple Tube I can lay it right on top of the glass tops to reduce light outside the tank. I can also run three different bulbs for a nice spread spectrum. The plan is
- 1 Philips 5000K from Home Depot - cheap! =)
- 1 Philips 6500K from Home Depot - cheap! =)
- 1 AGA Full Spectrum 8000K (They come with the unit)

My other option was a single 54w T5HO, but then I would be limited to the spectrum from one bulb, so I think for my application the AGA Triple Tube T8 is the best choice... OK that's enough rambling for one post...
 
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#6 ·
Nice start! Subscribed! I'm also running 3-T8's over my tank right now. I figured this might help you picking bulbs.

In order from front to back

6500k-9325k-6500k (what I use currently)


6500k-6500k-6500k


9325k-6500k-5500k


5500k-6500k-9325k


Just for reference, the 9325k looks almost exactly like the AGA 8000k. Their spectrum's are almost identical.
 
#8 ·
Nice start! Subscribed! I'm also running 3-T8's over my tank right now. I figured this might help you picking bulbs.
Nice! I've started reading your spectrum thread... I should have read it before I bought some T8's at Home Depot. I just bought the Philips 5000k & 6500K they had. Not sure what model numbers... I'll check that later.
 
#10 · (Edited)
Ok so here's what we're working with:


The All-Glass 55g tank I bought new 5 years ago.
The Fluval 405 will be running on this tank.
The hoods and stand I got used on criagslist 5 years ago.
I'm going to get some glass cut to replace those ugly hoods.
The stand is solid wood and is showing some wear. So the plan is to paint it satin black to match the tank trim. I am also replacing the hinges and knobs with brushed aluminum parts.


This 29 gallon is my oldest tank. It's been everywhere with me. I have had it since 1995 I think. I'll initially just setup this up as a holding tank to age water. The water around here is pretty crappy. I also have a 20high and a couple boxes filled with random fish tank supplies. Oh and a Fluval 305...


I went to home depot!
- 2 Philips 48" 5000K T8s
- 2 Phillips 48" 6500K T8s
- 3 Bags of Miracle Grow Organic Potting Mix
- 3 Cans of Satin Black spray paint (for the stand)
- 1 package of 220 grit sand paper (to prep the stand)
 
#15 ·
I just spray painted that EXACT stand black for a 75g NPT I set up today. The guy I bought it from emailed me he wanted it back after he saw a pic of it painted black. You won't be disappointed, it turns out great. I used 2.5 cans, the last half of the can I used to spray paint the back of the tank.

I went with some old mineralized top soil I had laying around, and capped it with Flourite Black. It took me no time to rinse the black Flourite, not anywhere as dusty as the brown Flourite. Water is a little cloudy, but not bad at all.

Good luck with this tank...
 
#16 ·
Thanks man! Yeah I really didn't feel like spending more $$ on another sub par aquarium stand. So, I figured I'd just clean this one up a bit.

BTW I just ordered 3 bags of Flourite. I went with 2 bags of Original and one bag of Black. I considered doing all black to match the stand, but I don't think that looks very natural. I think the 2 to 1 ratio will look better.

Now I better get that stand ready!
 
#20 ·
I like the idea of a Walstead set up, but I find on a visual level they are often uninspiring. Still there is hope.

The only thing I would have questioned with your setup proposal is the amount of light you are planning to use on only a 55g aquarium. Without co2 input that seems a little too much imo.

Better with either 1x 54w T5 or T8s.
 
#22 ·
Surprise!

Surprise! You guys probably gave up on me... but I've been working in the shadows. I've done quite a bit of work on the tank.

The tank has been running since around October 1st. I just added the angelfish last night. They are from AngelfishUSA. I have 11 Green Glitter Peruvian wild tank bred juveniles. I'll be setting up another tank soon for them as they will out grow this tank in about 6 months.

I also have 6 fat cardinals and 2 ottos that have been in the tank for about 2 months.

Anyway here are some pics. I need to mess with the camera a bit to get better photos.


Full tank shot.


Left side. Peruvian wild tank bred juvenile angelfish.


Right side. Jumbo cardinal tetras


Center view


Driftwood


Ludwigia Repens.

More details to come....
 
#23 · (Edited)
Here are some older pics I took during the setup process. I have more I'll post later.


This is the old stand I got on Craigslist 4 years ago. In this picture I have removed the hardware and doors for sanding.


Stand after sanding with 220 grit.


After the first coat of stain black. I had to sand a drip on the right and respray.


This is the light I'm using on my tank. It is an Aqueon Triple Tube T8. I returned the Hagen Glo (2xT5HO) for a few reasons:
- 2xT5HO was too much light for a non-CO2 tank
- Didn't want to hang the light above the tank to reduce PAR
- T8 bulbs are cheap at Lowes/Home Depot


Here's a shot of the reflector. A single non-parabolic polished reflector. Nothing fancy. I actually love the simplicity of this light. I ran it side by side with the 2xT5HO. Visually, I would say its just as bright but less focused light. I would say it's somewhere between a single T5HO and a dual T5HO in terms of PAR, but I don't have a meter so that's just a guess.


This is why I bought this light. Cheap bulbs. I can by T8s at Lowes or Home Depot for $3.50. Beat that. I will replace one bulb every 4 months. This means at any given time the average bulb age is 4 to 8 months. Here is the current setup:
- Philips 5000K
- Aqueon 8000K
- Phillips 6500K
Have I mentioned I love this old-school light? :icon_cool


Here is my old 29 gallon that I'm using for filtering and aging water. The Fluvals are being leak checked in this picture. The 405 is now on the 55 gallon. I might stop aging the water... I just dont trust the water around here. When I first moved to Melbourne, FL a few years ago I lost all my fish. They use treated lake water here. In Gainesville, FL we had water from aquifers that I had no problems with... I probably don't need this step because I use Prime, but I'm still worried.

Anyway... I have more pictures of the tank setup somewhere else that I will post later.
 
#24 ·
Haven't been on the site as much lately either. (life :smile:)
Plants look good, angels look healthy so it doesn't get much better (imo) congrats on a nice setup.:proud:

Any bumps along the way since the October setup?

liking the look
 
#26 ·
I also haven't been on the site much lately, but as a fellow central FL I had to comment and say, the tank looks great! And yeah, I am also a little partial to angels as my 90 is full of um too ;) Keep up the good work!
 
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