Low-tech (non-CO2) tanks post your pics!

[joe]

Some update to my cherry shrimp tank

Tank has been torn down

[amidala]

Tank has been torn down

*Gasp* Why?? Your moss is still doing fine in our tanks!

Hmm... unless you're upgrading to something bigger and better?

[TanVincent]

Fauna:
1 pair of Betta falx

Flora:
Anubias barteri, Anubias barteri v nanas, Anubias congensis

Specifications:
8 inch cube, no light, no filter, no CO2, no fert

[Fei Miao]

Nice and super low tech, the b. falx would feel at home

[K11]

Hi, just to join in the crowd of low-techs.

Here's my messy low-tech shrimps tank.

Specs:
Tank: 34x22x27cm curve corner glass tank.

Lighting: 1x11w PL 7hrs/day.

Temperature: ~26.5 - ~27.5 degree celcius w/2xDIY 8cm DC fan.

Substrate: 2.17" black gravel w/ADA Amazonia + JBL base fert.

Filteration: DIY canister filter.

Liquid Fertilization: LushGrow Aqua & Micro fortnightly dosage.

Fauna:
2 x Otocinclus affinis
~20+ cherry shrimps

Flora:
Taiwan moss
Java fern
Windelov fern
Nanas






The whole setup



The residents






Pardon for all the lousy pics as I neither have the skills or equipment for it.

[Justikanz]

Ahem... K11, nice tank, nice plants, nice scape, nice inhabitants and nice pics!

[K11]

Ahem... K11, nice tank, nice plants, nice scape, nice inhabitants and nice pics!

Thks for the compliments, I really need more exposure, just started planted one year ago. Have been browsing through whole of Aquascaping forum section to come up with this.

[Plantbrain]

for a low tech tank, u definitly need a very rich substrate...i.e quite some depths of base fertilizers coupled with gravel....

Actually this is quite the myth.
It can help if you prefer no/less dosing maintenace for the first few months, but that's hardly "maintenance". You might only dose once a week for example and it's not a critical dosing routine either.

If it was, then the substrate and fish food only method for ferts would not work either...............

I have several non CO2 tanks with a 1" layer of Onyx sand and mulm from another tank.

I'm not sure what is meant by very rich, I'll assume NPK............but the thing that is most important is the bacteria which cycles the waste into plant nutrients, not the substrate as the source of nutrients.

After a few months, any substrate is depleted of nutrients and most of the nutrients/if not all come from the water column(fish food inputs) and mulm that has built up.

I've had no issues starting up non CO2 tanks without rich substrates by simply adding a little bit of ferts once a week.

Hairgrass, Gloss and other so called harder plants do very well.

Regards,
Tom Barr

www.BarrReport.com

[Plantbrain]

Tank has been torn down

Means you can try something new is all

Try Blyxa japonica this time.
It's shorter and brighter green in non CO2 tanks but does do well.
Get in there with scissors and tweezers once every 2-4 weeks and prune some also, you can shape things like a CO2 enriched tank, it just takes longer and takes less work.

But........that same work last much longer as result!!

Think about that when working on a non CO2 scape.


Regards,
Tom Barr

[juggler]

My 2 month old low-tech cube tank. Some crypts melted initially but now slowing growing back. Comments most welcome.

Thought of adding about 10 Boraras some time later. Is it too much?



Dimensions: 30x30x30 cm
Lights: I think it is a 10W study bulb (10 hrs/day)
Filtration: Nil
CO2 injection: Nil
Substrate: peat moss & soil topped with gravel
Parameters: not measured
Fertilisation: 1 drop trace once in a while.
Water change: Nil. Top up only.
Water temp: air-con room
Plants: java fern windelov, various crypts
Bioload: 1 otos, 5 scarlet badi badi

One year on...
The tank suffered a bacterial bloom a year ago killing all fish. I added Sagittaria early in the year to keep the substrate oxygenated. Now the inhabitants are 3 Sparkling Croaking Gourami. They breed once in the tank -- no success though.
It's been slightly more than a year now. Grown pretty wild with the Sagittaria over running the Crypts but no trimming done yet! Same old routine as above.
I feel quite satisfied that this is the most maintenance free tank I got.

[Star-flog]

Fauna:
1 pair of Betta falx

Flora:
Anubias barteri, Anubias barteri v nanas, Anubias congensis

Specifications:
8 inch cube, no light, no filter, no CO2, no fert

Planning a 8" cube tank too, interested to know your set...no light how the plant survive ?

[gregorsamsa]

1.5ft just set up.

lapis over base fert, 30 watts FLl, HOB filter.

hopefully the crypts will crawl all over the place and look like a nice carpet

[brianclaw]

Thought I'd add to this thread...
Here's my tank -



Size: 18" x 12" x 12"
Water Volume: 10 gallons
Light: 36W(2x18W)PL
Substrate: Seachem Onyx Sand
Ferts: A few drops of LushGro Aqua(if I remember) weekly
Filtration: Zoo Med 501 Turtle Clean Canister Filter
Flora: E. Tenellus, Taiwan Moss and Frogbit
Fauna: 10 Black Neon Tetras, 1 Dwarf Puffer, 1 Black Molly, 2 Ottos, 1 Hara Hara, 1 Badis Badis and (at last count) 5 Cherry Shrimps.

[niko]

A standard 55 US gallons tank (48 x 14 x 18 inches).
No CO2
110 watts of CF's, 10 hours a day
No ferts of any kind
Water changes - tap water, 40% once every 2 to 4 weeks

Granted the Hygro needs to be shaped better and fed a little more Iron but since I rarely see and maintain that tank I consider it a success. It's completely algae free, hands off, only feed the fish (if you want )

--Nikolay

[willie]

Yeah those are commonly known as mini pellia though they do not belong to the pellia family Check it out below

hello, i am new to planted tank, recently my tank got some of the snail tat is seen in the picture.... will it do any harm to my plants, like having them for breakfast, lunch and dinner????

thanks,
willie

[budak]

My 1 ft x 20 cm x 20 cm tank.




This setup is nearly 3 years old. I used a very thin layer (less than 1 cm) of Lonestar gravel and added small driftwood with attached Windelov fern, normal Java fern, Anubias nana, Anubias nana petite, and mosses. The floor consists of layers of mosses, pellia and crypts (wendtii and parva). Also Najas indica and Blyxa aubertii, hornwort and duckweed.

Only a 13W PL light is used. No filters, base fert, Co2. I do weekly fresh tap water top-ups to replace evaporated water, and occasional partial water changes.

Fauna: cherry shrimp, small unidentified shrimp, Boraras merah, Boraras brigittae, Boraras uroplthalmoides, Ottocinclus, Paros. ornaticauda.

The Japanese AquaJournal Vol. 117 is focused entirely on Nano-Tanks!!!

[Justikanz]

Mine!



1ft cube, set up since November 2005. 9W PL light, no CO2, filtered by a HOTB filter, but the flow had been impeded badly by a sponge at the inlet to protect potential shrimp fry. Substrate just normal aquarium gravel...

Fauna: Cherry shrimps, Red-nose shrimps, Tiger shrimps, Nerite snails, 1 x khuli loach that cannot be removed now...

Flora: Java moss, Willow moss, Pelia, Pennywort, Hornwort, Blyxia japonica and Marsilea quadrifolia.

[niko]

Another non-CO2 tank of mine. Tank is about 14 days old. Probably the easiest set-up ever - rocks wrapped in Java Moss, and no substrate. The rocks in the back have to be propped higher for a better look.

Tank:
10 gallons

Equipment:
Hang on back filter (about 50 gph, with no filter material in it)
DIY canister filter (made like this CO2 reactor, mechanical and biological filtration, run by an in-tank Rio powerhead)
30 watts of Normal Output fluorescent tubes, 10 hours a day.
50 watt heater

Fertilizing:
Potassium to at least 20 ppm.
Magnesium
Iron/Traces
A few ocasional drops of NPK fertilizer, but never exceeding 0.5 ppm N or P.

Water changes:
1/3 of the tank volume 2 times a week using 80% RO + 20% tap water for KH/GH of 1-2.











The fish are Oryzias sp. which I find to go very well with the simplicity of that tank - clear water, semi-transparent fish with glowing green-blue eyes, and dark green moss.

--Nikolay

[juggler]

I wanted to keep emersed Echinodorus but they kept drying out when I forgot to water them. So I used betta tanks to house them and made these. To keep the water free of mosquito breeding, I kept these cheap bettas. There's moss to keep them happy. No CO2, no fertilising, no filter, no water change (top up only), and only sunlight from the service balcony!

[juggler]

Here's a 2-footer in the office. Started more than a year ago. Trimmed once so far to remove excess moss. I guess the cool temperature helped a lot.



Filter: Eden 301
Plants: Xmas Moss, Anubias and Java Fern on driftwood.
Fish: Boraras Maculatus, Cherry Shrimps and Yamatos
Light: 2x18W FL
Regime: no fertilising, no CO2, top-up water only.