Diana Walstad: The Ecology of Planted Aquarium - A Review by Father Fish
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 มิ.ย. 2024
- Diana Walstad has brought the foundation of fish keeping into the current age. She demonstrates with laboratory science, the importance of using soil in an aquarium. This was a vital component of the hobby until the advent of marketing strategies that overturned generations of effective fish keeping.
Father Fish reviews Dr. Walstad's extensive research, demonstrating the value of her commitment to soil in the aquaruim.
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FATHER FISH is an advocate for natural aquariums. His research over 25 years provides a wealth of information about the creation and maintenance of natural aquariums.
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Chapter:
0:00 Teaser
0:27 Ecology of Planted Aquarium
1:10 Allelopathy
1:26 Bacteria
2:15 Plant Nutrition and Ecology
2:30 Substrates
3:13 Aquarium Setup
4:56 Earlier Aquariums
5:25 Benefits of Low-tech Aquarium
5:52 How Plants Benefit Aquarium
9:55 Promoting Plant Growth
11:51 Problems of Deep Substrate
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I'm a huge high tech aquarium advocate, tons of water flow, high light, massive amounts of CO2 and recently you have motivated me to start a low tech aquarium that I can just enjoy and view nature in.
Hi Father Fish! I'm from the Philippines. I've been watching your videos almost every day, and I would like to say thank you because I've had great aquariums thanks to your videos.
I finally went full nature, Father Fish style after many years leaning towards it slowly. I have a stand with a 20 long on top and a 20 tall on bottom, both have about an inch of pure, rich yard dirt capped with about two or three inches of river bank sand. Plants and snails and I’m eventually going to add a few small fish. The water is crystal clear and I get more compliments on them than any fake looking tank I’ve had before. They are so peaceful and literally like having a slice of nature in your home.
Wow back then , it seems this type of process was almost extinct!! The big money corporations no doubt had a hand in this 🤔🧐
I have only ever set up 3 aquaria, a 20 gallon long,a 5.5 gallon,and a 3 gallon. All 3 have followed this method and all 3 have crystal clear water with clean paramaters. No water changes,rarely have to feed my fish.
THEY MUST LOOK LIKE SHIT LMAO
How do you know when it’s the right time to add additional food?
@@GeorgeW-uc8ng it's better to just replenish on a consistent basis than to wait and see what happens when there isn't enough food in the tank. I just dump dead leaves in. I had a routine that I would dump them in my tank every Friday,but I stopped doing that and my tanks are obviously suffering
@@GeorgeW-uc8ng I don't really feed my fish any flaky fish food. I let them eat the little bugs that come on the leaves. My fish go crazy after a new batch of leaves
@@AntiquatedApe What kind of fish you have and how many? Where do you get your leaves? What plant or tree? Thanks
Learning about the wasltad method completely changed the game when it came to the way I kept my fish. Thanks father fish for being one of the ones who stays true to what Mother Nature wants for all of our fish
Diana gave us hobbyists great insight in how it all works. No o.c as times goes on insights will be refined and deepend. But in my mind she is one of the greats. Yes even for those that only do hightech.
Father fish and Diana has helped me create 2 units of 5 gallon paint bucket "aquarium" biotope, so far so good, even the frog came and make their foam nest, now fishes has unlimited tadpoles tails to eat as they'll regrow them. Haha. Enjoyed Diana's scientific approach to explain her ideas.
Father fish you've helped the community with your videos, keep up the good work, God bless you and family!
Your videos make me love fish keeping again. I cant wait to try my first soil aquarium now!
Thanks father fish for another great video which is more helpful than most others on you tube firstly it's about plants in an aquarium which all my tanks are now fully loaded with
What an amazing book i need to get a copy!
I learn good things from each of your videos, many thanks and GOD bless you 🙏 😊
Happy Friday from Ireland Father Fish!!! Happy Weekend 🙏🐠🐟🐡
Just to say. It Halloween. I going to be a cyclist. I wearing my 30year old Sean Kelly team PDM jersey…I use to ride. He was one of my favorites
@@wildbill4138 I used vitamin C to get rid of it. FF, mentioned it in a video. 1000mg ascorbic acid tablet when I originally filled, then I do top ups with mineral water
The aquariums featured in your videos are so nice.
I could not thank you enough for getting me started on my low tech aquarium.
Very thankful
In all the years I've never found keeping an aquarium so easy then father fish method 🫶
nice one
Awesome informative, thanks Father Fish 😊❤👍
i distinctly remember this video as I had already used her method and purchased her book. Using her method i setup a 75 gallon in 2020 and then tore it down this August and converted it to the Father Fish method complete with the supplement package. Looking forward to your next video show casing your enhancements of her work.So fortunate to have stumbled upon these two titans of ecology and the planted aquarium.
I started my 75 a year ago using the walstad method with gravel. I have to restart it using the FF method because gravel is not working. How is your FF 75 doing?
@@philcarlino6942 honestly. I couldn’t be more pleased. Almost 3 months,not one water change. Feed twice a week once a day. Plants growing insanely especially the limnophilia sessiflora. Such low maintenance but great viewing pleasure.
Thanks for the reply. I haven't found that plant here in the States. Maybe it's a controlled species here in PA. But your comment is one more reason why I need to go ahead and redo my tank. I know it will be worth it. 75 gallons is just a lot of work lol. Best of luck and continued success with your tank!
@@philcarlino6942you’re welcome. Yes it is a lot of work but the end result is so satisfying. All the best going forward. 😊
i learned a lot thank you so much Father Fish 🐠
I can't wait for the next video.
I've been waiting for a video like this.
I have a big one and I've been able to keep it working outside without filter nor pumping, is so satisfying, I keep adding new fish and it works better everyday, first fish was added a month ago but I started working on it since July when I got it
Did you go Woodstock days back
Have you got harleys bikes,
You are rocking on and extremely
Educated ,most people have great
Minds,my mother is 75,, and doesn't
miss a trick,keeping me respectful
To elders,,
Hi father fish I love all you videos and I have learned so much my plattys had babies and thy are all doing fine with my fancy goldfish.
Father Fish is the best
Fabulous book! Thank you for the video!!!!❤
Because of you father, i built my own liw tech dirted tank thank you, love from 🇵🇭
Good health, godbless, long live 🙏🏻.
Just bought her thanks for the information.
I don't grow plants in the tank, I keep cichlids that dig them up.
However, I do terrestrial plants, riparium style out of the top of the tank. They grow like crazy!
Still maintain a deep sand bed in the aquarium which I have always advocated.
Thank you Father Fish!
yes
I believe you may be reviewing an older edition, though it’s mostly still relevant, just slightly reordered.
Great video! Does moss contribute to the benefits outlined here or is it mostly just pretty to look at?
Also, have you seen any studies on specific plants that would work the hardest to benefit the tank outlined in these ways?
A heavily planted tank in some fashion behaves like a pond . In my planted setup the pH shoots up high because of highly active photosynthesis. It goes about 8.5 . The only way I am able to bring it to sane level of anything below 7.8 is via co2 injection during light switch on time. I have less bio load , and don’t want to increase bio load . It is a 55 gal tank . Anything I can do where I do not need to use co2 injection? Substrate is soil capped by sand .
Saludos desde Colombia
I love your videos! I'm trying to convince my wife to let me get a small tank (45L). I'm trying to learn if it's viable to have no filter / no heater tank of this size (I don't really care about the cost, I just don't like alien stuff disturbing the "zen" of plants, fish and other living stuff). You have so many great videos that I'm sure I'll find my answer there.
I just learned that digestive infections that destroy fish scales are caused by pellets and the fish will die no matter how much you help it. That's why I implemented what Father Fish said
What type of pellets do I know to avoid, TIA!
How do you grow java fern and anubias without fertilizer in the water column when all your stem plants get nutrients from a deep substrate
Add fish
I think the best thing is to try the Walstad method. I was away from the fish hobbie for sometime, now i'm ready to start a 10 gallon fish tank . And will use the Walstad method. Let it settle, and let Nature take it's course, And if it works i'll be ready to upgrade to a bigger tank, hopefuly.
well, what do you know, i used to change water every week, but when i stop 3 months ago, the plant in my tank seems growing better.
Father Fish, I plan to set up a small pond on my back porch. Going to use your method. If I get pool sand, do I need to clean it first before adding it to the soil?
No need
this book seems to be impossible to find in the UK
Better.
Like this one.
Just to clarify, the book is not 20 years old. The 4th edition came out last year and references some recent research articles.
TWalstad published her book in 1999, 25 years ago. Since then it has been revised 3 times, in 2003, 2012, abd 2023. Each edition has updated previous claims. We are gratified that the current edition allows for the use of sand as a cap.
What does Father Fish think of putting plants into the tank that aren’t aquatic? Like, pothos, bamboo, etc? Where they hang (root only) into the tank?
I like it. Do not do much because my tanks are completely covered with glass.
@@FatherFish oh, thank goodness! 😅
I appreciate your time and education. Keep on rocking in the free world 🇺🇸👍🏼
Hi father fish! Thank you so much firstly for all these much needed educational content on natural fish keeping. Secondly, I’ve got a question. There’s small patches of something on my aquarium glass, looks like snowflakes kinda miniature structure. But when I bring anything near it inside water, it shrinks into a small dot. Then it stretches out again. What is it? Freshwater aquarium for betta with plants but no dirt. Thank you so much. I don’t even know what to google for. 😅
It also shrinks when the aquarium glass is knocked
Father, One question, when removing a plant does not make a mess in the substrate ?
Jiggle it a bit the shake the soil loose from the roots.
My god this is my first video im father fish channel ....that 40 mins video of ur review
It would be interesting to know why the hobby changed and gravel became the norm to use, was it just for marketing and making more money because the hobby was getting popular and that’s how all these other additives started being sold to people, or was it out of convenience because the old way wasn’t feasible for new hobbyists.
I tend to lean towards your first thought. I’m 70 and didn’t realize this was the OLD way. So it’s always been feasible but just got lost along the way as businesses seen an opportunity to cash in and introduce gadgetry and chemicals.
Would be so awesome if we could get "Diana Walstead reviews the Father Fish method" as well
Coming
Epic!!!
Hi Father Fish! I'm from india, huge fan of ur work. can you recommend what watt of light to use for 55 gallon aqauarium
100
Good day. Dear Father Fish, I would like you to answer me (if you have ever thought about it) whether zeolite could represent a useful component in the composition of the substrate?
Thanks in advance, and thanks for all the helpful tips from the previous videos.
Greetings from Serbia.
yes I have used it and like it
@@FatherFish Thank you so much, sir 🤩
Lovvvvvvvving iy
I’ve noticed since I’ve started feeding a little once a week that the fish waste is a different color. It’s a more dark color is that a good thing?
This is one of your older videos from your shop get video very informative get job thanks
Hi Father fish, I have a question, once our dirted tank has established, do we need to fertilize the soil? How and what are the ingredient? Do you have the video about this? Thank you ❤
discord.gg/father-fish-shoal
Thank you very very much FatherFish🙏
Good evening Father fish i just started watching your videos yesterday and bought a 15 gallon aquarium. I might have got overly excited but I did buy your AAA stem deal plants think 16 plants x5 my question is that to many plants for a 15 gallon tank or will it be fine?
Not too many. You will be surprised how well it will look.
HELLO WATCHED YOU FOR FEW YEARS NOW,,
YOU ARE LOOKING GOOD ,WISDOM TOO,,
I'M WEĹSH ,,KEPT FISH ALL MY LIFE ,,
THE ONLY CALMA WE HAVE IN HOUSE,,
THANKFULLY GOOD PEOPLE LIKE YOU
can help lost souls ,with truth ,SALT OF
THE EARTH,,GOD SAVE FATHER FISH,!
Hi I have been following you wonderful practical videos, I have a problem with hard scape drift wood in a new planted aquarium which is just a week old no fish added yet, I noticed gray fungus on drift wood which I hear treated 5 times boiling with salt, please suggest remedy for this, thanking you in anticipation ❤ I am from South India 👍🏼
It is a natural and normal condition that will not last long. Fish and inverts find it tasty. Add some fish.
Could you address filtration in the fitted, planted aquarium?
I use sponge filters
Goat!
After seeing your videos I have converted my two tanks into planted tank, I did not have all the ingredients of making the dirt but I took some soil from aquarium shop because where I live, getting soil which is not treated with pesticides or fungicide is a bit difficult, so I mixed some compost in the coarse brown gravel looking soil that the shopkeeper gave me and added to the existing small amount of gravel that I had in the fish tank and then put 2 inch of sand and lot of plants and added back the water and fish that I had removed in big buckets. I wanted to ask that my aquariums had pothos roots growing in them, should I let them be or remove them from the tank now? Pls advise, it will be a great help. Also where i live we don't have frosen blood worms available so what would you suggest feeding bettas? Is freeze dried tubifex worms a good option?
The roots will be fine. They may grow. Dried tubifex is better than flake. Go for it. You are doing great. Keep it up.
@@FatherFish thank you so much, all these years everyone I seeked help from told I need to invest huge amount of money and time in a planted tank and still I may not understand and it's extremely difficult to maintain, I really wish I could have come across your guidance videos before...thanks again, now it feels right
Baba çok değerli bilgilerin için çok teşekkür ederim. Acaba bu tür akvaryumda su değişimi yapılıyormu ? Eğer yapılıyorsa kaç günde bir, ne miktar , dip suyumu yüzeysel su değişimimi .? Naturel çeşme suyumu ?
Evet suyunu değiştirebilirsiniz. Türkiye'den hoş geldiniz
@@FatherFish Teşekkür ederim
Hi father fish I have a 20 gallon tank with sand.I have plants I try to keep up with cleaning.I must not being doing it right.My sand substrate smells like rotten eggs.My tank water smells ok.I’ve been slowly removing the sand and doing water changes.Changing my filters every week.I do have a sponge filter I leave alone for bacteria.I didn’t put soils in because I was a novice.I have 1 snail 14 neons 3 Cory cats .I have many plants.But my sand smells bad in one part of tank.Should I keep removing the sand in small amounts until it’s gone.I wish I did a soil tank but I didn’t.
Hi father fish,seen people trying too keep live daphnia ,but most say they need too almost completely change the water almost daily too stop population from crashing,none are using aeration or filtration,there method seems fruitless tbh.Would water aeration and possibly a small sponge filter remedy this,too avoid excessive water changes too maintain good population ,cheers
Do you use heaters in youre tanks and is composts (bedding plant soil) good enough tia
Yes. I use heaters. I have a formula for the soil: discord.gg/father-fish-shoal
Thank you mate keep up the good work
Dear father fish,
Many says octocinclus is a peaceful and friendly fish..
I'm not aware of the gender but i have 2 otos in 8 gallons of my tank..
One of them seems very dominating and don't share food (cucumber slice, guard slice, etc) with other octocinclus and other molly and guppies..
It literally chases the other oto all around the tank.. I feel like it's warning the other and protecting the food.. and not allows other fish (molly 5 pairs, guppy 2 pairs, small gold fish 1 pair) to nip on the food..
Is this normal sir?
Where to buy her book ❓️😊
Available on line
@@FatherFish thank you 😊
I have a concern. I don't have soil substrate, only cleaned sand, I have a lot of Anubias plants and other plants that can grow without being planted on substrate. Do I still benefits from the plants benefits mentioned? Do I necessarily have to add soil substrate to have a balance ecosystem or I can do just fine the way I am doing it. I only stick to plants that can grow on wood, rock, or floating without being planted.
Yes you can but with very few and small animals, because anubias and ferns are super slow and would not absorb nutrients fast enough to combat algae, i would encourage you to see more videos of father fish and see in detail the whole process that it is to hace a dirted aquarium.
@@todosmekieren thank you for the information. I'll look into it.
Father fish , i have a small aquarium only 4 gallons , very deep substrate , ( plant substrate wich is peat extract and clay roman gravel mixed with sand ,and aqua soil) only two which cloud mountain minnows. The problem is the plants keep melting .
discord.gg/father-fish-shoal
Are you reading from the fourth edition?
no. This is an older video, published before the most recent edition. the areas covered, however have not changed.
I filled up the water 💦 for my tank and now some of the soil is mixed with the sand
Is this a problem?
My shrimp are more active in the water area now
Gotta be careful not to disturb the substrate when filling the tank. Add a sponge filter. Should be OK.
@@FatherFish i have a sponge filter since the beginning
I believe Mother-nature rules and to follow nature by example is awesome. I love gardening, insect life, wildlife , flowers and beauty all around us. Diana Walstad is awesome and ahead of her time !! I made the mistake of using a potting mix under my sand which kept bubbling ( I cleaned it, made a mud-pie and added it to the bottom of my small tank ) ... and, of course capped it with 2" of sand which I cleaned. My tank got a healthy bio-film as I let it sit 2 weeks before adding snails. The snails did fine...2 weeks later I added Neo-caradinas and they all died, sadly. Because the substrate kept bubbling aggressively, I think an ammonia-spike occurred. I re-set my small 3 gallon tank with Organic potting soil ( NOT MIX ) . Did you ever discern between the two ??, you did say add dirt, any kind. Anyhow, I just want to learn and grow in this hobby as a natural-outlet and to relax watching a healthy tank. I have been stressed out watching shrimp suffer ( just a few, but... I want them to thrive and be happy ) . What do you think about the fish and aquatic wildlife being ordered through the mail ???, I know they suffer because when they arrive they are weak . My daughter ordered beautiful green tetras from Petco.( many close by shops, so she thought they did not have-to travel long) BUT, turns out...they don't disclose 3rd party and they were sent from Taiwan !!! All of them arrived dead !!! Sad and shocking and should be against the law ! What are your thoughts mail-order fish, snails, shrimp and all the other unfortunate traveller ??
Joiin us is the Shoal: discord.gg/father-fish-shoal
😊
Where do you find soil that doesn't have water treatment plant refuse in the soil of waterways!!??
almost everywhere. Waste water treatment plants must meet rigid standards. It is not common for a well run system to have degraded effluent
OMG Padre Pez. The Dobsonfly you wanted to see. I saw one yesterday in one of my aquariums. About an inch long under the water. I thought it was some giant insect, far too big for my small tank so I transferred it to an outdoor pond thinking it would mess with my small tank. I realise now that it is probably a dobsonfly. I will never find it outside again. They must have an ‘intermediate stage’ which you do not see on photos online. It had legs but no wings, like a giant dragonfly nymph. Ugly looking thing. Did not look like a fly whatsoever. Next time I see one I will get footage.
Amazing.
@@FatherFish got him just now. As luck would have it I was about to throw out this mini outdoor pond and start over. He does not appear to bore into the mud anymore but stays on the surface. Not sure what to do now. I need to do some HARD THINKING. Cup of coffee. I will put him in an observation tank today till I work it out. If I am right he will probably be like this for only a couple of weeks before he becomes a fly? Will post a video on my channel very soon. When you see him you will understand why I evicted this guy. I think I know where I got him from. He came in the detritus of a tank I have just set up called ‘Dawn’. Will definitely put that detritus wherever I keep him. I was worried he would eat all the bugs in the tank which is why I removed him. If he is not a fly he is certainly a strange creature.
@@thesolaraquariumDobsonfly larvae are called hellgrammites, and if it's a long buddy with six legs, a spiky body, and a pair of grasping pinchers that's definitely one. They're ambush predators that feed on mayfly larvae and such. Make great fish bait, and I loved looking for them in rivers as a kid.
Edit: Google says they stay as larvae for several years, but if it's actively leaving the water it may be attempting to pupate, which it needs to do out of the water on a nearby rock or log.
@@thesolaraquarium Post it on Discord DM to me discord.gg/father-fish-shoal
This will never work with fancy goldfish, especially orandas and ranchus
It will if done correctly.
I have goldfish and a turtle and only do water changes every 2 months? Ands thats just to be safe it really didnt need it.