I just started a walstad jar, well except that I am using a nano sponge filter because I feel safer with the water movement and getting it ready for shrimp eventually. I know it looks terrible but it’s literally an hour old here. I don’t know why the water is cloudy, I rinsed the hell out of that sand. Oh well.
I used about an inch of organic soil that I sifted all the big pieces out of, the topped with an inch plus of black sand. Spider wood in the middle and a bunch of stem plants plus java fern and Monte Carlo in the front. Also I added a few pieces of water lettuce. I honestly have shit luck with plants so I am really crossing my fingers this little jar takes off. The light is an 8w plant light that I have dimmed to 70% right now and I set it for 8 hours a day.
If anyone has suggestions or tweaks I can make to improve my chance of success, I am interested.
by beepblurp
1 Comment
Just leave it alone, it’ll settle out over time. I know purists go lid on but lid off (or at least a gap for gas exchange) is a lot safer because your ecosystem will have access to consistent oxygen/CO2 input from the atmosphere. The plants, especially the floaters, will struggle without that CO2.
You’re not going to get much useful information until your environment matures a little – right now the plants are adjusting and the bacteria are colonizing the jar.
The most important ingredient is patience. Watch for a couple weeks, then test parameters. Get a sense of how it’s developing before adding or changing anything.