Life In The Walstad Tank

Life In The Walstad Tank
The Walstad Method is a natural method for making your own balanced aquarium that can be almost self-sufficient without the use of a filter and requiring fewer water changes. 
A "balanced ecosystem" has fish, other aquatic animals such as snails or shrimp and aquatic plants that support each other and will not require any added fertilization. This means both your plants and fish can thrive with little maintenance.
This method will allow you to perform less water changes because the aquatic plants will do the filtering for you.
Although, in order for your plants to thrive, they need ALL of their essential nutrients (not just the ones from fish waste). A Walstad tank provides plants with these nutrients through the use of potting soil capped with crushed gravel or natural sand as a two-layer substrate .
When setting up the tank, the two layers are used in the aquarium to prevent clouding.
Once the plants are established in the tank, their roots should spread through the gravel /sand cap and reach the soil where most of the nutrients are located. The soil will last long, continuously helping the plants flourish in their environment.
Although a filter is not necessary for filtration, circulation is important, eyspecially if you continuously experience biofilm in your tank. Biofilm prevents gas exchange and can eventually become harmful to your fauna and flora.
You can increase circulation by using an air stone or filter in order to allow water to flow throughout the tank. If you have a nano tank, circulation is a must in order to disperse all nutrients and CO2 to all the plants. The filter runs during the night in this Tank and is switched off during daylight hours.
If you're planning on setting up in a smaller glass jar, a filter or air stone may not be necessary, as can be seen in the Ecosphere videos on our Channel.
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