Self sustaining tank?

[molliwopp]

Most planted tank owners don't clean waste

Well my other points still stand. It would be difficult for even a professional keeper to set up and the way the OP explained it in his first post leads me to believe he has limited experience. Im sorry but its a disaster waiting to happen if you ask me.

People with planted tanks will generally clean what they can if theres exposed substrate. If they have a carpet of plants covering the whole bottom then yes ok.

 

[Florio]

Well my other points still stand.

Lol we'll obviously it's not ideal but I really believe this could work fully planted.

 

[Mrs.h2012]

Most planted tank owners don't clean waste at all, just change the water.

This includes my self and I'm 7 months strong.

Ummmm... I have a planted tank and I clean what waste I can during every water change.... I'm sorry but I just don't see how this could be healthy for the inhabitants of your tank. If your not willing to do the work required then you shouldn't have a tank. I started with a 10g tank (now have a 55g) and a water change on my little 10g took no time at all. Maybe 30 minutes at most.. And when I was doing maintenance on my 10g, I was actually doing a fish in cycle and doing water changes every day... I was pregnant and I managed perfectly fine. Assuming your tank is cycled you only need weekly water changes. Weekly water changes on a 15g won't take long at all. I really hope you don't try this.

 

[Fresh2o]

What I think the OP is trying to achieve is a proof of concept based on living things providing the sustenance for other living things in a balanced setting. Conceptually it sounds like it could work for a short while; with the proper lighting the plants should remove the nitrates, the shrimp and snails are scavengers, the fish are basically cannibalistic (not sure if the shrimp will breed). However, the two things I see going against this is the small volume of the tank (this is not a pond where volume will correct for a lot of things) and the lack of fresh nutrients that come from water changes and additives. Other chemicals besides nitrates will build up and the plants may not necessarily remove them. This may work for short while but things start to go bad, it may go bad quickly and not end well.

This reminds me of the those experiments I used to see in the old science books and encyclopedias. As Old Scales mentioned, we have learned a lot since then.

Passionate responses are natural when the word experiment and fish are used in the same thread on a forum such as this one. Apply the same concept on a dog or cat forum and someone will be contacting PETA. This is an interesting query and you certainly got some responses out of it (when I start a thread I am lucky to get maybe one response).

Now if you were to perform daily testing and set limits (such as the experiment ends when the ammonia, nitrites, nitrates reach certain values) and record your findings, then something might be gained from this venture.

 

[Oohitsae]

I think that if you tried doing a walstead method tank this would make more sense.

With walstead method, if you plant the tank very heavily, water changes can be reduced to about 1x every 4-6 months, other than fill-ups.
Fish become fertilizer for the plants, plants produce o2....but I dont think your shrimp could produce fast enough to keep the fish fed, might still need another food source..


From my researching the walstad method, its the closest thing you can come to a complete eco-system inside of an aquarium.

(((Sorry if someone else already mentioned this, I didnt read through all the pages!)))

 

[jetajockey]

This kind of setup does have some potential to work but it also takes a ton of understanding and careful planning to do efficiently. The biggest key is having a rich substrate to keep the plants thriving. Snails or small shrimp can be sustained by microfauna and algae growth, but only to a certain extent. Because there isn't an abundance of available food their growth and reproduction will be self limiting. That's the point to where I'd stop, because adding fish or larger food chain critters makes no sense if the smaller inverts down the chain aren't getting enough sustenance to maintain a healthy and increasing population.

In a bigger tank this is more feasible, but in a 15 gal you are very limited if you aren't adding supplemental food.

 

[Oohitsae]

Yeah, you might be able to get away with only shrimp or snails, but with fish it's going to be near impossible to not feed. There's nothing in the plans that could produce fast enough to make a steady food supply for the fish. Unless you find a 100% vegetarian fish, but I've never heard of one unless you go for an oto or something, but then you would be defeating the purpose the shrimp have

 

[BBradbury]

Self Sustaining Tank

Hello M...

It can definitely be done. Aside from topping off the water in the tank, due to evaportation, the tank in the attached pics requires no water changes, no mechanical filtration of any kind and the plants need only room light.

The tank is a 20 gallon, with roughly 30 Fancy Guppies. The plant roots take in all forms of nitrogen produced by the fish, so the water is always pure, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites and 5 ppm nitrates. At least these were the readings a couple of months ago when I last tested the tank water.

The plants need to be trimmed, or they aren't quite as healthy. These are getting a bit large for the tank. The plants are Aglaonema Gemini and Cutlass and some philodendron.

B

 

[TheCommunityCichlid]

Your ghost shrimp won't reproduce unless the tanks brackish, then you can't have guppies or at least they won't eat. You will still have to feed and change water. Yes the plants help but won't remove all the toxins and eventually everything will die. It is impossible to create a completely self sustaining environment in an aquarium. You have to take in consideration that a lake has water flowing in it constantly otherwise it would just dry up same with a pond and any body of water. It's near impossible to recreate this in such a small space. Save the effort and create an awesome traditional tank

 

[Berylla]

Has anyone read this thread at the Planted Tank about a self sustaining aquarium? It's a great read and this guy has achieved it wonderfully.

Tom's Bucket O' Mud (semi self-sustaining aquarium)

 

[gravereaper0]

15 gallons is too small for something like this. You'd need lots o room for plants, substrate, and you need surface area for beneficial bacteria (driftwood, decorations, etc) if you have enough plants you might not need an oxygen source but you'll still need lots of water movement. And an army of cleaners. Not saying its impossible but definitely not in a 15g

 

[FreshObsessed]

Usually self sustaining tanks are the humongous tanks that are so big and heavily planted and lightly stocked that the little ammonia that is produced is eaten up right away by the beneficial bacteria.

15 gallons is a different story..not saying it's impossible...probably a little challenging though. Especially with guppies being such prolific reproducers the tank would get over stocked pretty fast.
On the other hand, I'm sure Ghost Shrimp would be able to survive in a 15 gallon that was heavily planted. They produce such little waste.