mouselock

I have a couple of the Eheim Aquastyle 24l tanks, which have dimensions of 10.8 x 10.8 x 12.5 inches. I'm looking to set the tanks up in the Walstad method primarily because I want to lower the maintenance, but also because I'd like to stock enough to have a small school of fish and that's probably near the top of the bioload possibilities without the additional help of the plants.

I've never actually done a planted tank before, though, so while I have an idea of what I'd like in the system, I don't know if it really qualifies as "heavily planted" enough to promote enough nutrient uptake. I intend to start with a soil base and an eco-complete cap (will adding eco-complete with its' nutrients inject too much nutrient mix into the system?), and then an ideal planting would be something like 1-2 anubias nana, 3-6 nana petite, a red tiger lotus, 5 or so clumps of corkscrew val, and then some ground cover (HC I'm thinking or maybe microswords, maybe 3-4 2" pots split up over the otherwise unplanted substrate).

The issue is that stocking specifically like this is reasonably expensive and I don't want to just flush money away. Is this likely to be a reasonable level to establish the plants first, or is it a bit low? I get that I can just up the carpet species to try to help with uptake, but I'm worried the 7W LED may not be strong enough to keep HC down at the surface and I don't have much use for the nana petite if the HC grows up higher than that.

Anyone have a feeling for how much planting I should have in a square foot (roughly) of surface area to have few issues with starting the tank? Should I scrap the specific plant plan and just buy one of the generic "starter package" of plants, plant whatever takes my fancy, and then plan on tearing it down in 6 months or so once I see how it goes and replanting then?

nomad

Mouse,

I have dressed tanks with anywhere from a 25% to 50% area coverage and let the tank "grow in." There are two main reasons I do this, cost and getting the right plants for the tank (conditions). Although I don't have a ton of experience I certainly have a few plants that consistently do well for me; my guess is that my outcome is based on my water parameters and the light fixture I've used.

I have not used eco-complete as a soil-cap but I don't think it would be too much. I always have floating plants in my tanks to help keep algae at bay while the soil stabilizes. I mention this since I'd imagine the issue you'd run in to would be algae due to excess nutrients.

I would suggest using as much variety as you can as an experiement, some will die and other will flourish. After that you will have a good idea of what works and from that you can work on 'scaping.

So basically my opinion is, plant what you like and can afford. Plants will grow in and propagate. Don't fear ripping out under performers and replanting.

Michael

Welcome to APC!

When looking at a heavily planted tank from above, only 25-30% of the substrate should be visible; the rest should be covered by foliage. There is flexibility in this, of course. Very fast growing plants that abosrb lots of nutrients quickly do more to establish the tank than slow growing species.

What I suggest is getting the plants you really want, and also buy extra fast-growing stem plants. (These are usually the least expensive.) Plant everything knowing that you have the option of taking the fast growers out later if you want. You might want to get two species of fast growing stems--as Nomad points out, some will thrive and others won't. Having two species of fast growers gives you some insurance.

Eco Complete has micronutrients, but not much in the way of macronutrients. Using it as a cap over soil would not be a problem. Another commercial substrate that works well as a cap is Flourite. Both Eco Complete and Flourite have high CEC, which is a good thing for the entire life of the tank and is better than an inert gravel.

One mistake that beginners often make is using too much soil. For small tanks like yours, a layer 1/2" to 3/4" deep is plenty.