Low Maintenance / No Water Change Tank

[BBradbury]

Low Maintenance Tanks

BBradbury,

At what point do you think the plant will start pulling nitrogen and you can remove the filter you have in there? I'm interested in seeing how well the plants can "filter" the water on their own. Very interesting concept!


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Hello Rad...

Apologies. The thread has gotten much larger than I thought. Earlier I said, I'd run a similar, but smaller tank with the "Ag" plants. That tank ran for two years with no water changes and no filtration other than the roots of the plant emersed in the tank water. The plant eventually outgrew the tank and I had to move all the fish.

I have no plans to remove the small filter. But, I certainly could. I just wanted to make use of a tank I was given and was still interested in the idea of a "no water change" tank.

I know the plant works, it did for 2 years and the fish were fine. I kept Fancy Guppies in there and they bred normally.

B

 

[JRT83]

So I guess I missed the part where he recommended this setup for new hobbyists. Bradbury himself is usually very pro-water change, this is just a thread to document his low-maintenance setup. Not sure why you found it as a reason to attack him and the rest of the forum?

Just ironic that a "low maintenance/no water change" thread is in the "Getting started" section.... Getting started would seem to be more for the newer hobbyists.

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[BBradbury]

Low Maintenance Tanks

Hello JRT...

Could be in this section or the planted tank section. I just chose a section I thought fit.

B

 

[MMantelli]

I have a dirted 40b I havent changed the water in in over 6 months and only have a spinge filter in i dose pps-pro and test the water frequently I inly have a few small fish and a bunch of snsild to feed my asassin colony in there the dead shelld add calcium back into the water but there happy I sested today and got
Ph 7.4
Ammo 0
No2 0
No3 10
Phos 3
Dkh 7

I test everything once a month but the no3 and phos I do weekly due to pps pro dosing
I actually just recently upped the dose on my no3 it kept bottoming out. So it is possible but u wanna use fish u dont mind loosing at first(just incasek)

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[PB_Smith]

Yes Sir clean water is a must. It curra more problema than any one medication in the market. I do 50% on all 6 of my tanks every single week and anymore the only tanks that get tested regularly are the planted ones and thats because I dose pps-pro my others get tested once a month.

I have a dirted 40b I havent changed the water in in over 6 months and only have a spinge filter in

 

[Sk3lly]

Haha lol


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[MMantelli]

I know it sounds like an oxymoron but it is just a nursry tank I do spot vaccuming and clean the filter monthly theres only a few glofish in it to keep it cycled but its virtually maitenence free

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[Fishobsessed7]

Any updates


Fishobsessed7

 

[BBradbury]

Low Maintenance Tanks

Hello Fish...

No changes really. I added a small Chinese Evergreen to the tank. Will see how the water chemistry does. Am letting the fish tell me how good the water is and so far, the Livebearers are growing and appear healthy. Have lost track of time. May be a couple of months now without a water change, just topoffs 2 to 3 times a week, so the Evergreen's roots remain under water.

The plants seem to be thriving in the high oxygen environment and constant source of nutrients from the fish and a bit of Seachem's Comprehensive I dose every couple of weeks. The Hortwort has completely covered the surface of the tank and is growing toward the gravel bottom despite the surface agitation from the air stones.

Thanks for asking.

B

 

[Fishobsessed7]

That's good


Fishobsessed7

 

[Brookster123]

Sounds exhilarating! !!!#!!!!

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[Delapool]

How's it all going? Any changes?

 

[BBradbury]

Low Maintenance Tank

How's it all going? Any changes?

Hello Del...

The tank is still running well. No water changes, just top offs. Removed the filter media from the internal filter. No more mechanical filtration. Kept the filter running for a bit more aeration, though. No more water testing. The fish are my testers. Just keeping an eye on them. They seem active and healthy. A nice crop of Guppy fry, since I feed every other day. The Aglaonema plants are very large now, one covers half the tank on one side. The Hornwort has completely covered the surface of the tank and is roughly 6 inches thick in some areas. Plenty of room for hiding the females and the fry.

Did have a bit of an issue with some beard algae, but I keep it cleaned out and the Duckweed is going crazy. I clean it out about weekly.

Thanks for checking in.

B

 

[Delapool]

Wow, excellent news

 

[tommyk]

Hi B any update on this tank, would love to see another few pics of how its progressing


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[BBradbury]

Low Maintenance Tank

Hi B any update on this tank, would love to see another few pics of how its progressing


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Hello tom...

Haven't taken any pictures of it lately. Still running though and have too many Guppy fry to begin to count. The surface of the tank is now completely covered with Hornwort, so that could account for the high fry survival rate. There's a lot of places to hide. A little while ago I took some fertilized Corydoras eggs from another tank and put them into this tank. Can't tell if any hatched, too much growth in there. The tank is 55 gallons and is roughly half full, so I may see a small Cory one of these days. Not sure if the water chemistry is close in the two tanks, if not the eggs won't hatch.

The aquatic and land plants thrive in the dissolving organic material that collects on the bottom material from the spent Hornwort leaves. The leaves dissolve and fertilize all the plants. I never need to use commercial ferts.

The Aglaonema's roots are now growing into the substrate and the leaves have grown up to the strip light. No water changes since I set everything up, months ago and the fish are my water testers. Apparently, the high number of fry tells me the water chemistry is fine, despite never changing the water. Just top offs to replace the water lost to evaporation.

Thanks for checking. If I remember, I'll snap some shots of the tank and put them on this site.

B

 

[tommyk]

Looking forward to seeing it. I toyed with the idea myself a couple of time but unfortunately I'm short on space.
Pothos vine is another low light house plant that mops up nitrates in a similar way.
It all seems to be about balancing the amount of waste to what the plants can use.
I was hoping I had struck a balance like that in my display tank as the nitrates never seem to reach higher than 5 but I've only been brave enough to leave it 4 weeks without a water change, I have no emerged plants though just a heavily planted tank


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