HotTunaCartel

So back in January I started a Walstad tank... I used a few youtube videos to set it up and was all excited. By the time February came around I started to see algae buildup. I ended up added a fish (guppy) and shrimp in March and by the time May came around it was so filled with so much algae that it killed almost all the plants in the tank... UGH! By the time May came around we were in full force getting out garden ready and all the seedlings (400+) hardened off. The tank took a back seat for a while. Coming back to it in June I figured I would do some research and see what the issue is. I thought it was light so I started adding floating plants but that didn't help, even the roots of the floaters were being coated in algae. I ended up watching a "father fish" video on how he does walstad tanks and it finally popped in my head, the nutrients from the soil were leaching into the water through the gravel. DUH! I pulled everything out, sucked most of the water out and added sand; replanted and OMG everything has been great for a month now. https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzXZUs

Unbelievably the growth has exploded in some of the plants after removing co2. For whatever reason the tannins are being removed by something... Have only done one water change in the last few months and it was only 5 or so gallons yet the water is very clear (might have to add some rooibos tea) I started reducing feeding to once per day around 5pm and the hair algae has died back quite a bit. I never minded it but to have it looking natural as opposed to 4-5in long is nice. The shrimp have exploded, I probably have 40 or more now, need to start thinking about giving them away to people as I've seen 2-3 pregnant shrimp and they have been hiding somewhere today so I'll probably have even more in the next few days. A night shot with the fluval moon lights on

I did until I got them. Now they are all uncovered. I don't mind topping off either. I have enough duckweed that it completely covers the top so I'm not worried about anything jumping out.

@Jawjagrrl thanks for the reply. I did get red root floaters for my walstad tank but I think I added them too early and they melted away due to no nitrates. I know a lot of people don't like duckweed due to the intense growth; but I garden a lot and dry them out and use them in my compost or in favour of seaweed fertilizer.

I ended up get water lettuce from a local place and they sent Salvinia Minima as well. Going to try them in all the tanks and see what happens. I do have a nice slow flow so hopefully the water lettuce does not get wet.

I have a question for you as I'm really enjoying the pictures you included. Are there different types of water lettuce or can I just google "water lettuce for sale"? Thanks

@ange @AndreaW Thanks for your responses, I'm not sure why I'm not getting email notifications anymore which is why I didn't respond back sooner. I would definitely like to mix and match, the covering has really helped all the inhabitants of the tanks feel safer.

I just got duckweed about a month ago for my blackwater tanks and walstad tank. I would like something with longer roots and was wondering if I can add frogbit to the duckweed naturally or if I would have to make airline tubing rings for the different floaters? Thanks

Forgot about this, was doing a short timelapse and totally forgot my phone while I was cooking dinner https://imgur.com/a/x5swU7S

Thanks so much Thank you

I ended up going back to a blackwater tank.... The hightech worked great for the first few months but couldn't get algae under control. Not sure if it was too much/not enough co2, lighting, macro nutes or even food (the harlequins eat like absolute monsters) . Anyway, I slowly turned it back to blackwater and within a week the algae (black hair) started dying back and turning white. Removed a lot of the larger plants that were taking over the left side. Plus... I really love the blackwater look on the big tank. Can't wait for people to ask why it looks dirty lol

@Torrey Thanks! I was thinking that as well, I'm not sure there is enough light for them either. The blackwater has gone away over the last 6 months just due to the leaves disintegrating and the peat really doesn't do much. It wasn't that hard to boil it down, just set a timer for 20 mins, checked and then went another 20 mins. I wish I would have taken a video of when i put it in, was like dirty chocolate milk look as it started to mix.

I do have some "chunkier" tetras in there with larger bellies but not sure how to sex them.

When I had it dark in the past I was trying by keeping the lights low in the morning like @Cory video he has about that. I just put in frogbit a few days ago so I'm excited to get the roots going to offer some breeding areas

hmm that would be interesting, it going to be months before I boil more leaves but maybe someone else that has blackwater tanks can try that.