Shaun85 Posted August 22, 2011 Report Share Posted August 22, 2011 Stand by and watch this space Am creating my tank tomorrow well remake it after i started cycling it normal way have decided to go with a Walstad tank in stead. Going to keep a journal some what of my progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fletch Posted August 22, 2011 Report Share Posted August 22, 2011 Can't wait. There are quite a few of us about to do the same, so it will be great to see how you go. Good luck. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun85 Posted August 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2011 Well i set my tank up this morning and it looked quiet nice however i have come home and it looks like the tank is full of smoke the water is all grey/white and visibility is poor lol. Due to the conditions all shrimp flightsh ave been cancelled until further notice. Advice please? I am kinda disheartened Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_95 Posted August 24, 2011 Report Share Posted August 24, 2011 I've never come across something like that before, what are the parameters? When you look closely does it look like little particles? Or is it a solid colour? What size is the gravel? Could any soil have escaped? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun85 Posted August 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2011 No Not soil, i did that this morning and water went brown this is actually grey. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_95 Posted August 24, 2011 Report Share Posted August 24, 2011 Try some filter floss in the filter overnight. If that doesn't work it's probably a bacterial bloom, it occurs sometimes in tanks that are cycling, never had it happen to me sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun85 Posted August 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2011 Hmmm i have shut off the filter will see what happens over night. My god it stinks too, i was thinking maybe the heater has cooked crap or something lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_95 Posted August 24, 2011 Report Share Posted August 24, 2011 That is really wierd, the water parameters might help. I would turn the filter back on, if it stinks you wouldn't want it to go stagnant, I have no idea what is going on here but if it stinks I wouldn't let it sit still.I would do a big waterchange too, dilute what ever is causeing this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pritch33 Posted August 24, 2011 Report Share Posted August 24, 2011 Please correct me as I dont know anything with the method allthough have used diy substrates but I thought this method should have a lot more plants in it from the start both root plants and stems to uptake nutrients from the water colum and substrate? You may find that you have a bit of a problem with both sediment from filling and the start of an algae bloom? both of wich could take up to a week or more to resolve, I hope less. Hopefully it will slowly improve over the next few days but I would suggest to run the filters as normal and as Matt has suggested run filter floss and keep us updated on the progress RayJust another quick one but how deep is the gravell substrate over the soil? and you could try adding some pond clear or something similar to that to see if it helps Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_95 Posted August 24, 2011 Report Share Posted August 24, 2011 There is a big mass of HM in there somewhere, that clump could be used to plant out the entire substrate lol. I've started my tanks with less and I usually fill it to maximum capacity of plants with in a week and have never expeirianced this. An algae bloom would be green. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pritch33 Posted August 24, 2011 Report Share Posted August 24, 2011 Sorry I ment bacterial as you mentioned, and that and sediment can look very similar. As for amount of plants reqiured to start, I would have thought that would depend on the anount of nutrients in the substrate and the thickness of the gravel over the top of the soil, how much leaches into water colum Just trying to throw some suggestions out there Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrefly Posted August 24, 2011 Report Share Posted August 24, 2011 The smell, to me, suggests bacterial bloom. Had this happen with my first NPT start up, suspect it was caused by the excess nutrients in the water column. Leave your livestock elsewhere for now as this kind of bloom seems to use up a lot of oxygen in my experience. Patience is your best bet honestly, leave the filter running but watch it for scummy build up. What kind of filter are you running, and is it brand new or 'seeded' with beneficial bacteria from prior use? Either way, water change or not it should settle itself in a day or two :) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun85 Posted August 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2011 gravel is probably 2cm's roughly deep over the mix and stuff/. Its a big failure thats what it is lol. Whats filter floss have never used it ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_95 Posted August 24, 2011 Report Share Posted August 24, 2011 It's a fine filter material designed to catch small particles from the water column. I feel really bad, I'm so sorry, I guided you with this method and it's gone pear shaped, I hope you can forgive me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun85 Posted August 24, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 24, 2011 filter is one that came with aquaone 320lol matt its all good its a learning experience Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pritch33 Posted August 24, 2011 Report Share Posted August 24, 2011 the 2cm of gravel should be enough to keep the substrate down unless you where a little ruff in filling the the tank, with a soil substrate you need to be fairly gentle in my experince as it can very easily be disturbed even through the gravel, there may have been a lot of very fine particles in your soil that have just seeped through the gravel The smell may be the bacterial bloom or ferts also seeping up from the substrate as suggested sit it out for a few days Shaun there is nothing wrong with the method used and I dont think you have done anything wrong as I said I have seen many people have different problems using diy substrates the same way, and there is a possibiltty that it may go through more stages as the tank matures. Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun85 Posted August 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2011 I got the sh^ts today and drained the tank and i dont know how the hell it got in there because i sifted the soil until it is very fine, but a worm was there and quite a big one. I didnt see him when i put the soil in as i did it by hand rather then tipping nor with the sifting. Unless he miraculously appeared when i was putting the soil out back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pritch33 Posted August 25, 2011 Report Share Posted August 25, 2011 Sorry but I think you are being a little impatient if you stripped the tank at this stage some things take time to achieve but hopefully you can sort out the problem? As for the worm It would not have been a major problem given that this is a natural setup, one dead worm equalls plant food? look forward to you trying again and hearing how things go Goodluck Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
forever_and_a_day Posted August 25, 2011 Report Share Posted August 25, 2011 I did something similar with my tank and i'm pretty sure it was all just really fine dirt for me. I put an extra filter pad in the top section of my filer and just kept washing that and also diluting the cloudiness with new water. good luck with what ever you try though, and keep us updated ^_^ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pyrefly Posted August 25, 2011 Report Share Posted August 25, 2011 Seconding the call for patience, Shaun. Got to give things a chance to sort themselves out, let the substrate settle and whatever plants you have in there to take hold. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul Posted August 25, 2011 Report Share Posted August 25, 2011 I remember reading somewhere that the substrate needs time to mature it's bacterial balance when establishing something like this. I recall reading that you should only put in enough water to cover the soil in the first ?week(s)? Then increase the water level. This will help prevent getting a bloom of stinky anaerobic bacteria from the substrate -which is what seems to have happened here. Maybe reduce the water level, put in an airstone and wait until it's not stinky before topping up the water level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt_95 Posted September 2, 2011 Report Share Posted September 2, 2011 Hows the tank going mate? Hope the plants are taking off in the tank Any piccies? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun85 Posted September 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2011 It went to crap so re did the whole tank came out alright however not a walstad tank anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Posted September 3, 2011 Report Share Posted September 3, 2011 What happened to the tank then... could the plants not be saved? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaun85 Posted September 3, 2011 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2011 I have most of the plants floating elsewhere as i am preparing my 3ft tank soon to be seen :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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