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No tech nano

T

Tilly123

New Member
Joined
8 Mar 2024
Messages
7
Location
Kent
Morning all,
Thanks for accepting me to the group I'm looking forward to getting back into the fish game and hoping some of you can possibly give me some advise.

So previously I've kept many tanks from a full blown reef to a large cichlid tanks however this time I want to keep things small, cheap and simple.

The sort of thing im looking at doing is a small nano cube possibly about 30 to 40 litres but full ecosystem style. (I love the thpught of nature doing its thing without to much human intervention) So a dirt base, lots of plants (almost overgrown jungle style) plenty of snails and shrimp, a few tiny fish (or possibly a pair that would breed) and zero filter!! (The scary bit lol)
I want this tank to be very low maintenance so I can just enjoy it growing without spending a lot of time messing about with it.
I also want to try my hand at raising and feeding a lot of live food to the tank.

Now my main worry is the no filter bit, I'm used to using big external filters such as Oase or Eheim. I've seen no filter done a lot on youtube videos, but is this just done for the video, or can it be a long-term thing with good success of just using plants??

Thanks in advance guys, any help would be great
 
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AlecF said:
water change water change water change water change water change water change water change water change water change water change water change water change water change water change
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Hahaha 😆 when watching some videos people were saying plenty of water changes to start with however once plants had grown in they were only doing about 40% once or twice a month??? Is this right
 
I have a lot of sympathy with wanting as little tech as possible, but in my experience a bit of water movement is really beneficial. I have small tanks which are heavily planted, no CO2, very little interference, but I run small sponge filters. If your main reason for not wanting tech is to avoid lots of maintenance, you don’t need to do much to a sponge - I give mine a squeeze every 4-6 weeks* outside the tank in water I am changing.

(* optimistically……)
 
This has a very tiny sponge filter and I very rarely bothered with water changes. Definitely seemed to suffer without the water movement. But all epiphytes, I haven't tried the dirted thing yet.

I built a no filter shrimp bowl for my parents, which ended up looking like pea soup, but heaps of shrimp in there. Not sure it's something I'd want to look at that much! Again, no dirt though
1000001020.jpg
 
With a aquarium that size you have to intervene to some extent, water change would be needed every so often. As said above water movement in the form of a sponge filter ,whether it be air driven or small motorised one like APS sell for a fiver, is all that's needed and mechanical and bio filtration is taken care of without the needed for large filters external or internal
 
A small internal filter for biological filtration and water movement is always beneficial, especially in a small volume tank. It will help with stability and overall tank and critter health. It will also help keep things simple and low maintenance.

If you want a thriving invert or live food community, best to try and establish that first and then add a few small fish. Of course this would work best in a larger tank. It’s more stable and paradoxically could prove less troublesome and lower maintenance.

Below is one of my favourite examples

tuncalik.com

Biotope in my study, a low-tech natural aquarium - tuncalik.com - Natural Aquariums and Sustainable Life

Like natural garden ponds this aquarium has no filter, no heater, no artificial light, no electrical equipment at all. It is a silent aquarium, a piece of real tranquility. It receives natural sunlight directly from the window. The temperature may … Continue reading →
tuncalik.com
 
Thanks for the advise guys, I've used small internal filter filers in the past but never a sponge filter.
What would be the benefits of a sponge filter over an internal??
 
Tim Harrison said:
A small internal filter for biological filtration and water movement is always beneficial, especially in a small volume tank. It will help with stability and overall tank and critter health. It will also help keep things simple and low maintenance.

If you want a thriving invert or live food community, best to try and establish that first and then add a few small fish. Of course this would work best in a larger tank. It’s more stable and paradoxically could prove less troublesome and lower maintenance.

Below is one of my favourite examples

tuncalik.com

Biotope in my study, a low-tech natural aquarium - tuncalik.com - Natural Aquariums and Sustainable Life

Like natural garden ponds this aquarium has no filter, no heater, no artificial light, no electrical equipment at all. It is a silent aquarium, a piece of real tranquility. It receives natural sunlight directly from the window. The temperature may … Continue reading →
tuncalik.com
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Thanks Tim,

The videos I was watching online did just that and had what looked like a thriving community of live food which was basically food on tap for the pair of sparking gouramis. It's was amazing to see there sort of natural hunting of these small live foods.
 
Tilly123 said:
Thanks for the advise guys, I've used small internal filter filers in the past but never a sponge filter.
What would be the benefits of a sponge filter over an internal??
Click to expand...

Tim Harrison said:
Love those little fish. They’re highly intelligent and very entertaining to watch. Some folk, including me, have had trouble keeping them with adult cherry shrimp. Others haven’t.

Post in thread '60l tank is ready...sparkling gourami or something else?'
60l tank is ready...sparkling gourami or something else?
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The video I was watching had them breed quite regularly which would be fantastic. Not sure if they are difficult to breed or not
 
I will say that I tried and failed to do a no tech dirted tank. I did a dry start that went well, but when I filled it I got the worst algae I've ever had and no amount of water changing helped. I struggled for a couple months, but eventually relented and added a tiny HOB and was able to turn thing around, but man, it was bleak for a while. I later switched to a sponge filter with no problem when the HOB developed an obnoxious rattle, though the tank was a few years old at that point and very, very stable.

I know it's not impossible to do it with no filter, but it's much easier to screw up than I was led to believe. I'm still not totally sure what I did wrong, but I can attest that a small amount of water movement makes a huge difference.
 
ElleDee said:
I will say that I tried and failed to do a no tech dirted tank. I did a dry start that went well, but when I filled it I got the worst algae I've ever had and no amount of water changing helped. I struggled for a couple months, but eventually relented and added a tiny HOB and was able to turn thing around, but man, it was bleak for a while. I later switched to a sponge filter with no problem when the HOB developed an obnoxious rattle, though the tank was a few years old at that point and very, very stable.

I know it's not impossible to do it with no filter, but it's much easier to screw up than I was led to believe. I'm still not totally sure what I did wrong, but I can attest that a small amount of water movement makes a huge difference.
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Seems to be the general advise that a small filter will make a huge difference so thanks for the advise.

Can I ask how did your plants grow with the dirted base??
 
Hi all,
Tilly123 said:
Thanks for the advise guys, I've used small internal filter filers in the past but never a sponge filter.
What would be the benefits of a sponge filter over an internal??
Click to expand...
If it is powered by an air pump you have some "extra" oxygen, but the main advantage is that you can have a much bigger sponge for biological filtration.

Cheers Darrel
 
Tilly123 said:
What would be the benefits of a sponge filter over an internal??
Click to expand...
I've never used an internal filter, but sponge filters are very handy to have around in general. I have a backup air pump that can be run on a power brick during power outages, or act as a portable filter/aerator if I need it. My everyday air pump is a button style one that is small and pretty quiet.
Tilly123 said:
Can I ask how did your plants grow with the dirted base??
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I'm a big fan of using dirt. It can be a bit of a wild ride in the beginning (I recommend frequent water changes and fast growers to get through this period) and it can be messy to uproot stuff, but I still prefer having a rich, high CEC substrate over trying to manage all plant nutrition via the water column, and over the long term it houses all the bacteria whose respiration I rely on for carbon. In her book Walstad recommends a 1-2mm particle size for the cap and IME it really is the sweet spot if you can get it - nice to plant in, just enough pore space for waste to work it's way back into the soil.
 
Hi all,
@Tilly123 Diana Walstad recommends some water changes and water movement herself now. We have a thread <"Walstad revises">
ElleDee said:
My everyday air pump is a button style one that is small and pretty quiet.
Click to expand...
You can get air pumps with a <"piezoelectric ceramic plate"> that run via USB etc - <"What air pumps do you use, how long between service, how long between replacement?">.
dw1305 said:
but the main advantage is that you can have a much bigger sponge for biological filtration.
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Probably should have <"put in a picture">. If you want to go <"fancy"> you can get <"Czech air-lifter arrangements"> or use the Envobee <"Aquael Pat Mini Filter"> and sponge etc.

cheers Darrel
 
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