Unfiltered 55gal Community Garden

[Michael]

Sorry about the set-back. pH modifiers rarely work, and usually cause more problems because of fluctuating pH levels. A stable pH is more important than hitting a certain number on the scale.

Do some more water changes. Good luck!

[corsair75]

Silver lining to every cloud, the recent water changes have done a great job of clearing the tannins, and I probably got the best pictures to date of the tank. Setback or no, it's doing well overall. The fish seem fine thus far, and could have stood to skip a few meals anyhow. fwiw, these pictures are taken with the elevated NH3.

The right front corner with the rock pile has been replanted. Some anubias hastifolia, and a scattering of moss.



The samolus had been in decline, but is perking up with the addition of Excel. Maybe it just needed a push to get started. Malaysian trumpet snail cruising in the foreground. Can't say enough good things about them.



The whole left side of the tank is doing better with Excel. It was just sort of wallowing along before that. The new green growth on the dwarf swords is all in the last week. I cleared the wreckage of what was there before. Crypts are visible in the background, re-emerging.



Speaking of crypts, here's the other set. It's also the glass cat's favorite hangout.



The val has been going gangbusters. I pulled the moneywort I tried to float. The val just dominates too much real estate. It's also much better suited to the violent surface flow.



Finally!!!! A good shot of the Tinwini danios. The largest are barely an inch. I really like this color form.



One of the baby "blackberry" shrimp. I guess I should just call them Malaysian shrimp because the second (and more numerous) generation is brown.



I suspect with cutting out the pH junk and doing a few more water changes it will right itself in a few days.

[corsair75]

The ammonia is rapidly coming back under control and the probable solution was a little surprising. Aeration. At some point I stopped using the aspirator on the powerheads. I turned it back on and hooked up a small air pump for good measure. By morning the ammonia was down to .5ppm. For the last few days, NH3 has consistently been 2ppm before I got home and changed water. Today it's still .5ppm, which isn't perfect but it's a big improvement.

I'm surprised because the amount of surface agitation is pretty high. I'm not sure if the answer has more to do with O2 levels, or outgassing the NH3 from the substrate. I still see bubbles popping up every now and then, especially during water changes when the pressure drops. I laid down a thick layer of organic potting mix for sub-base. It's very possible it's over-rich and still breaking down after 7 weeks.

If that's the case, it makes an interesting point about water flow vs algae. Namely, if the soil is still actively fouling the water in a big way, I'd expect algae growth. Especially in an overstocked, overfed, immature tank. With no filters. There's not even floaters or stem plants for rapid nutrient removal, which is contrary to Walstad's methods. I've had minimal algae issues thus far. Take that for what it's worth...

[corsair75]

Ammonia problem is over. 48 hours of aeration and it all cleared up. I don't know what I learned, but I feel like I learned something.

[corsair75]

2/27/12



Smooth and steady for the last couple of weeks, with the ammonia staying at 0ppm. The plants are coming along nicely, the Val in particular! There are at least a half dozen new sprouts that have hit about 18" since my last post.

The right center area between the driftwood has been filling in well too.



The left side is still relatively weak, but it's growing. I placed one of the Val babies in the corner, but I'd like to give it a chance to do its thing before I add much more.



Tannins are accumulating again, and I think I'm going to experiment with tap water rather than RO. The well water and the tank share the same pH, though the tap is much harder. With the mega water changing that will be needed to clear things, it sure would be much easier to use the local supply. I'll do a few small water changes with the tap and observe the results.

[corsair75]

The tank is nearly 3 months old now and doing well.





The tank has been switched over completely to tap water, so all this stuff is growing in liquid limestone. The well water tests at 28.5 gpg, which is roughly 480ppm dissolved solids. Bubbling from the substrate is reduced, but still present. Occasional water changes are still required to maintain clarity.

There has been no resurgence of ammonia issues, and I'm starting to be able to dial back the aeration. The Val is popping up everywhere, and I have about 6 shoots to pull this weekend and take to the LFS. I'm having to keep on top of it now to prevent excessive shading of the other plants. The Anubias are filling in, and the Dwarf Sag is starting to spread as well. The only plant which isn't really doing much is the chain swords, which have remained stunted. Fishwise, I've added a few Yoyo loaches, which have been very successful at keeping the snail population in check.



The betta has grown pretty noticably since moving in from the 6 gallon he was in before. This is easily the most gregarious fish of the lot.



I'm curious to see if time, root growth and the MTS will further reduce the substrate bubbles. It would be nice if the water stopped turning brown too. Since the loaches were added, the substrate stays much 'cleaner,' so maybe there is some hope there. Overall I'm very pleased with how this tank has progressed.

[Michael]

Three to six months of age seems to the point at which Walstad tanks "settle down" and become very stable.

The tank looks really good! If you want to reduce shading from the valisneria, you can trim the ends of the leaves even with the water surface so that they do not curl over. You will see the cut end of the leaves, but the lower parts of the foliage will become dense. That may not be the effect you want, but it is an option.

[Rane]

Beautiful tank! Those Danios are cool looking. I've heard vaguely of the no filter method, but this is the first I've seen of a tank actually running that way. Looks great.

[corsair75]

Thanks for the kind words guys!

This tank has been an interesting experience. Seeing what is possible without filtration has been a serious eye opener. The turbidity is the only real remaining issue, though I believe that too will subside in time. The bioload is very large, and this is one of the most algae resistant tanks I have ever kept.

For anyone following along, I can say that these are my main takeaway lessons thus far

1) An inch and a half of soil is too much, especially if you don't mineralize it first.

2) NPTs are not inherently restricted on bioload nearly as much as you would think.

3) Water flow (8x/hr+) is absolutely critical

4) I've wasted a great deal of money over the years on canisters (better to call them nitrate factories!?)

[corsair75]

Hope eveyone had a great Easter!

Celebrated the holiday with a water change, and heavy prunning of the Val. Aeration is gone at last, with no ill effects. I also collected about a dozen young Java Ferns to place in a grow out tank. After a day to calm down, this is how everything looks.



The crypts are filling out more quickly now and are beginning to fill the gap. I'm more and more pleased with this area as it ages. There's a reflection of the new 20L there too. More on that later



One of the large anubias plants produced these over the last couple of weeks. Is that a precursor to a flower?



The tank is finally clear enough to see through longways. You can see the lamp through it anyway. I'm not sure how effectively you can maintain the clarity in a tank like this, but it's not nearly as troublesome an issue as it used to be.



There's a new batch of Malaysian shrimp in the colony. The snails have been culled aggressively by the loaches, but these guys seem ready to rise to the food supply.