Advice on nano shrimp tank without filter/aeration

[derk]

Hi guys, I was wondering if any of you have experience on building a nano shrimp tank without any filter/aeration/water-change. (Actually I know Cherries Lover has a 2/3 ft tank like that, but I wanna try a small one)

So the only inputs would be Light + Food.. Maybe if this one survives, I may dare to try one with no input of food, just light.

Eventually, I want to progress to building a closed ecosystem (i.e. sealed, air-tight environment) with only way of control of parameters using amount of light inputted.

So I've been thinking through this and the following are some parameters and candidates to meet these requirements.

1) Since no aeration, the only oxygen source has to be from photosynthesis, thus the plants has to be low maintenance.

Candidates: Java Fern, Blyxa Japonica, Algae Ball
(anyone knows the O2 production capability of these plants?)


2) No filtration, thus Nitrites/Nitrates have to be converted/absorbed by BB and plants. Again, need to choose good candidates of plants.

Candidates: Java Fern, Blyxa Japonica, Algae Ball
(Same as above to multi function and not overcrowd tank)
(anyone knows the N-Compounds absorption capability of these plants?)


3) No water-change, thus have to keep Nitrate level low.. Thus I've decided to keep the bioload as low as possible, thus not putting any oto or fish, just purely shrimp tank.


4) Food source for shrimps. As feeding should be minimal to reduce fluctuation of N-Compound levels, I guess I should have a food source for the shrimps.

Candidates: Algae Ball, Java Moss, Taiwan Moss, Flame Moss
(I'm more towards Java/Taiwan Moss as they are easier to maintain, but afraid Java Moss grows too fast and crowd tank though, so maybe just stick to Taiwan Moss)
(I'm not sure of viability of Algae Ball as food source as the micro-algae that the shrimp eat might not grow on it?)


5) Miscellaneous additions: 1 Horn snail (regular pond/ramhorn snails already sure to be present), Floating Frogbit to soak up N-Compounds, Japanese Hairgrass for aesthetics.


Alright, when I start on this, I'll try to upload photos of progress!

[marle]

this might work, but the only drawback i am worried about is that yours is a nano setup. For nano setups it might need aeration. For a 3 ft tank or above, i am fairly confident.

[torque6]

its is always difficult to maintain stable water parameters in nano tanks, although its is clear you know your tank chemistry. I have a nano tank, and it switches PH too often and loses water through evaporation too quickly, and when you add water, it again affects PH and temperature..

marle is right, bigger tanks more stable, i intend to upgrade from 3g -> 5g later on.

[derk]

Heh.. seems like nano tank would probably be too small for this purpose.. I've actually got myself a 30cm tank from NA a few days ago to experiment with some stuff I'm building..

Maybe the 30cm tank might work slightly better.. I might also add aeration( but prob no filter as I want a "clean" look in side the tank (and right now no funds to get an external canister filter)

Thanks again for the advice guys.. You've all been really helpful!

[Sunfire]

Don't think it'll work... need filtration.

I don't think low maintenance and shrimp keeping works.

[derk]

Heh.. Yea, seems like from the feedback, I better not try this tank without aeration/filtration.

Instead, since I already bought the 30cm tank, I made a waterfall for it(doubles up as aeration device too) and currently using a small sponge filter inside the tank as well (hid it behind my java fern)..

Probably going to use this tank to start an apisto pair, hopefully it's not too small..

I've attached a pic of it if any of you are interested to view..

[Sunfire]

This is slightly OOT but you know that sealed biosphere in the SSC (singapore science centre, now called Science Centre, Singapore) had Malayan trumpet snails and some very tiny shrimp in it. So we know that no matter what, if you really wanna do a closed ecosystem, trumpet snails are the way to go! (they are quite amusing to watch, esp when they come out in numbers)

And by the way, don't do a waterfall mate, because your plants would suffer from low levels of co2.

Besides, the plants give out oxygen too.

[zoothefreak]

Ya I've seen the ecosphere setup too apparently if you get the parameters right you can replicate it... problem is I dont think the especially hardy hawaiian red shrimps are available here? or does anyone know where to get em???

http://www.eco-sphere.com/home.htm

[Fuzzy]

I do not advocate trying to to this.
Ecospheres are a lie, they are not functioning eco systems. The Hawaiian Red Shrimp enclosed within are starving and being poisoned to death.

Read more here: http://www.petshrimp.com/hawaiianredshrimp.html

These shrimp are only rarely available locally, but they are not cheap, and when I say they're not cheap I'm not kidding. You do NOT want to be torturing them to death this way regardless of price though.