filterless planted tanks

[wks]

Hi kelstorm and vinz, I would like to share my experience on my setup.
a) 1.5 ft tank
b) 1 X 36W PL light(duration:10hrs)
c) Aquatic compost bought from Far East Florist (use 1 bag)
d) Aquarium gravel 1 inch thick
e) Internal filter flow rate 60l/hr
f) Plants are mainly crypto, hygrophila & blyxa aubertii
g) 4 x platys, 1 x ghost shrimp & some ramhorn snails
h) Located at balcony, so far no algae.
i) Feeding 3 times a week.
j) pH 7.2, kH 4~5
k) Change water once every 8 weeks. Other times just add water.
l) No CO2 system. Only use Seachem Excel. No fertilizer at all.

[hoppinghippo]

I was at farmart today and I bought one of those huge blue rectangular basins used to showcase plants and all for only $38 at this shop selling lots of aquatic plants. I plan to have a filterless pond with floating plants and lilies and a few fishes like koi, goldfish, mollies. have set it up and hopefully it'll work!

[Simon]

keep us posted hipo

[LeAnne]

how big? i'm interested [:0]

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On 2/10/2002 1:12:06 AM

I was at farmart today and I bought one of those huge blue rectangular basins used to showcase plants and all for only $38 at this shop selling lots of aquatic plants. I plan to have a filterless pond with floating plants and lilies and a few fishes like koi, goldfish, mollies. have set it up and hopefully it'll work!
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[Simon]

here is my 1 1/2ft filterless, without C02, light source from window




plants mainly echinodorus except for the java moss at the top of the mangrove root

fishes, include, double sword guppies?, A. Rotkeil, A. Alenquer or A. Tefe frys, 1 C. sterbai

[vinz]

WKS

Hey cool... I'm using the Aquatic Compost from Far East too. I was wondering if I was the only one. You're using an Eden filter?

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On 2/9/2002 10:58:23 PM

Hi kelstorm and vinz, I would like to share my experience on my setup.
a) 1.5 ft tank
b) 1 X 36W PL light(duration:10hrs)
c) Aquatic compost bought from Far East Florist (use 1 bag)
d) Aquarium gravel 1 inch thick
e) Internal filter flow rate 60l/hr
f) Plants are mainly crypto, hygrophila & blyxa aubertii
g) 4 x platys, 1 x ghost shrimp & some ramhorn snails
h) Located at balcony, so far no algae.
i) Feeding 3 times a week.
j) pH 7.2, kH 4~5
k) Change water once every 8 weeks. Other times just add water.
l) No CO2 system. Only use Seachem Excel. No fertilizer at all.


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[kelstorm]

simon.. do up like that.. how much.. dun need lights.. best.. hahaha..

[vinz]

Simon,

Nice Wood.

[Simon]

thks vinz, got it from H20..

kel, sorry, all those r spare 'parts' kekekeee.. dunno how much I paid..

tank(FOC)
gravel(5kg of dennerle)
plants(FOC)
mangrove root ($20+)

[wks]

vinz, I'm just using a taiwan made filter. Bought it at Nature.

[kelstorm]

simon,
for a filterless tank.. how many fishes or shrimps can i put inside?.. me thinking of having

1) otos (2)
2) corys (3)
3) yamatos (5)
4) cardinal abt 10 (can keep them?? if not, what u recommend???)
5) any other nice and small fishes u can recommend or is it too much already???

[Simon]

shrimps up to u, otos abt 1/2 for every foot, cory good to have if there is plenty of uneaten food.. cardinal is up to yr liking since they r decoration fishes

[kelstorm]

but can the filterless tank support it or not? can the cardinal survive?? i know corys can breathe by going up to the surface..

[wks]

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On 2/12/2002 11:07:52 PM

simon,
for a filterless tank.. how many fishes or shrimps can i put inside?.. me thinking of having

1) otos (2)
2) corys (3)
3) yamatos (5)
4) cardinal abt 10 (can keep them?? if not, what u recommend???)
5) any other nice and small fishes u can recommend or is it too much already???
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kelstorm, IMO there are too many animals if u are keeping a one foot filterless tank. I will only go for 1) & 2) only.

[kelstorm]

me planning to keep a 2ft tank.. now.. is it too much then?

[coryfav]

Hi, just for your info - I was quoted $19 for a 2-ft tank in B69 Toa Payoh.

Looks like the best price in town...?

[wks]

kelstorm, for filterless tank the risk of ammonia poisoning is very high. Try to keep fish and other creatures to the minimum.

[kelstorm]

wks,
will it help if i plant tons of plants to solve the problem?

Coryfav,
yes it is.. what brand is it? is it near the bluebox factory?

[vinz]

Kelstorm,

I assume you've read the articles I linked to. According to those, the plants will absorb the ammonium and nitrates. However, they can only take care of so much. There is no hard and fast rule as to how much fish with how much plant as it all depends on many factors, so I don't think anyone here can give you a straight answer on the number of fishes except to share the details of their own setups. Each persons tank is different due to differences in plant selection, lighting and CO2.

Since we want the plants to absorb the ammonium and nitrates, I'm thinking that we should maximise usage of plants that take in a lot of nutrients from the water column, such as floating plants and stemmed plants, riccia, java moss, java fern, etc.

Also you would want to create conditions that will allow the plants to maximise absorbtion of nitrates. Read Control of Algae in Planted Aquaria. Lots more info at The Krib and Aqua Botanic.

Pruning and replanting will be a pain cos when you do that, the absorbtion rate of the plants will drop quite drastically.

In a filterless planted tank, the bio-load has to be low to moderate. You will have to experiment by increasing the number of fishes gradually over weeks and months to allow the plants to adjust to the increased nutrients. I would suggest keeping it really low.

[Simon]

jus to keep ammonia low, have floating plants, riccia.. reduce feeding and water change regularly