Self-Sustaining Tank???

[Duck645]

How to Make a Self Sustaining Aquarium

Out of curiosity I was searching for examples of a self sustaining aquarium and I found this article.

Could this actually work? Has anyone had experience with a self-sustaining tank before? Any general discussion about the topic would be great!

 

[molliwopp]

It's been discussed afew times before, im on my phone or would try and find and copy a link.

 

[pip walters]

Very interesting.
When I was at college, we studied freahwater ecosystem food 'triangles', which was concerned with the biomass of each organism needed to support the next in the chain, with apex predators (in uk - pike) always being in the minority.

It went like this 1lb of pike would require 10lb of fodder fish, which would require 100lb of food such as daphnia and the daphnia etc would require 1000lb of algae.

Replication of this natural ecology would be very interesting and challenging.

 

[molliwopp]

Very interesting.
When I was at college, we studied freahwater ecosystem food 'triangles', which was concerned with the biomass of each organism needed to support the next in the chain, with apex predators (in uk - pike) always being in the minority.

It went like this 1lb of pike would require 10lb of fodder fish, which would require 100lb of food such as daphnia and the daphnia etc would require 1000lb of algae.

Replication of this natural ecology would be very interesting and challenging.

Interesting post pip.

 

[Duck645]

It could work up to shrimp, but I find it hard to believe baby shrimp could support rapidly breeding species like guppies. It would be an extremely interesting experiment for a generally low cost.

 

[Duck645]

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

This is very impressive! I suppose it can be done with the right balance.

I am seriously considering trying it out on a spare tank. Has anyone ever done anything like this?

 

[BBradbury]

Self-sustaining Tank

How to Make a Self Sustaining Aquarium

Out of curiosity I was searching for examples of a self sustaining aquarium and I found this article.

Could this actually work? Has anyone had experience with a self-sustaining tank before? Any general discussion about the topic would be great!

Hello D...

I've kept medium to large tanks for several years that only need water replaced due to evaporation. A gallon or so a week per tank. You simply submerge the roots of certain land plants and the roots take in all the forms of nitrogen produced by the fish.

B

 

[Duck645]

Hello D...

I've kept medium to large tanks for several years that only need water replaced due to evaporation. A gallon or so a week per tank. You simply submerge the roots of certain land plants and the roots take in all the forms of nitrogen produced by the fish.

B

Which fish/inverts did you keep in the tanks? Were the tanks heavily planted?

 

[pip walters]

Hello D...

I've kept medium to large tanks for several years that only need water replaced due to evaporation. A gallon or so a week per tank. You simply submerge the roots of certain land plants and the roots take in all the forms of nitrogen produced by the fish.

B

We've had fish in cycle, fishless cycle.... I like your version my friend... the cycle-less non cycle, lol.

Must be fascinating to keep those tanks.

 

[BBradbury]

Self-Sustaining Tank

Which fish/inverts did you keep in the tanks? Were the tanks heavily planted?

Hello again D...

I keep Fancy Guppies and Corydoras. The tanks are heavily planted. I have a combination of land and aquatic plants. The larger the tank the better when using both types of plants. The water level in the tank has to be lowered to allow the leaves of the land plant to be above water and the space allows for standard lighting for the aquatic plants. It's an unusual looking tank for sure and not one for the aquarium purist. But, the advantage is the water is the cleanest it can possibly be with little or even no water change. There's no trace of ammonia or nitrite in the water and nitrates stay under 10 ppm. Over the years, I've stopped testing the water. There's never been a problem with the water chemistry. Nature does a much better job of keeping of the water pure than I ever could. Of course, she's be at it a bit longer.

B

 

[MJSerik]

Stop explaining and give us a picture

 

[BBradbury]

Self-Sustaining Tanks

Stop explaining and give us a picture

Hello MJ...

I've maxed out my photos allotment on this forum. Not an excuse, just a fact. If I could bypass this, I'd post some pics.

B

 

[MJSerik]

Gotcha, that sucks :/

 

[Rivercats]

Hello MJ...

I've maxed out my photos allotment on this forum. Not an excuse, just a fact. If I could bypass this, I'd post some pics.

B

Post your pic's in albums you make in your user control panel. It's as easy as attaching them to a post. Then post a link to your picture or album.

 

[BBradbury]

Self-Sustaining Tanks

Post your pic's in albums you make in your user control panel. It's as easy as attaching them to a post. Then post a link to your picture or album.

Rcats...

Thanks for the tip. I'm not too techie, but I'll give it a shot. Just to warn everyone though, these aren't the normal looking tanks. For me, the goal is absolute pure water conditions and I use whatever means necessary to get the water chemistry to that point.

Stay tuned.

B

 

[Rivercats]

Yeah well I'm about as non techy as they come so if I can do it anyone can... lol!

 

[mariano999]

Hello D... I've kept medium to large tanks for several years that only need water replaced due to evaporation. A gallon or so a week per tank. You simply submerge the roots of certain land plants and the roots take in all the forms of nitrogen produced by the fish. B

In my 150 gal tank i only do water change once a month and only 10% .
I guess it is a matter of not having over crowded population.

 

[Rivercats]

In my 150 gal tank i only do water change once a month and only 10% .
I guess it is a matter of not having over crowded population.

There are a lot of different factors that can play into the amount of water that needs changing in tanks. The larger the tank the slower toxins/nutrients build up due to the higher volume of water. Lower bio-load, plants, feeding, and filtration are all important factors as well. So it stands to reason a large tank with a small bio-load wouldn't require as many WC's but, and this is a big but, as AquaChem pointed out in a post not long ago about WC's....

"How confident are you that nitrogenous waste, phosphates, and GH / KH are the only thing that builds up? Don't make the mistake of confusing undetectable/unmeasureable with not there.

Fish don't just excrete ammonia. They excrete many, many organic molecules (metabolites, proteins, etc) that could potentially be toxic. These compounds could have a number of potentially hazardous effects on a tank, such as (and completely made up on the spot): noxious to fish gills, bioaccumulation, or fueling dangerous (or unsightly) heterotrophic bacteria or algae species like cyanobacteria."

So bearing this in mind even tanks with large volumes of water and low bio-loads still need IMO some largers or more frequent WC's. Many think if they have low nitrate levels then they don't need to do many or big WC's but the fact is even in large tanks with low bio-loads there are many different toxins that still will build up over time and nothing but a large WC will remove them. This is a topic of great debate but if you do a good sized WC weekly in a tank regardless of size, bio-load, or anything else you can ensure no toxins, not just nitrates, never have a chance to build up in a tank.

 

[GodFan]

Generally this topic gets heated and my opinions usually heat it up lol

I believe it is very possible to do this. In all tne research I have done on the topic I have seen how possible it is! Another forum has a thread called "Toms Bucket O Mud" in which a memeber who travels alot does exactly what you are asking. He doesnt even have to feed the fish!

This article is somewhat flawed though as there are a few more things to it. You have to make sure your kh/gh doesnt get to low. Top offs should provide enough to keep it stable but not necessarily.

One thing this article missed is that a truly self sustaining system NEEDS to have emmersed plants. The emmersed plants can absorb stuff the aquatic ones cant. Pothos vine, umbrella palm, etc are great for this. I had another I cant remember the name of. I would use a soil substrate to provide nutrients as well.

The Walstad method flirts with this concept. The fish fertilize the plants and the plants clean the water. That is how nature does it.

Having a tank as close to nature as possible is great. It is rewarding a fun and generally low maintance.

BTW if you want an ecosystem that canbthrive without you feeding it that becomes nore difficult but as mentioned above possible. You HAVE to give the tank time to do this. You need to build up biofilm and algae which will help build up a population of copepods and other micros. Then you either stock lightly or you can add rcs to breed and provide food. It is tricky but very doable.

 

[BBradbury]

Self-Sustaining Tanks

Yeah well I'm about as non techy as they come so if I can do it anyone can... lol!

Hello again Rcats...

Okay. I have the pics ready. Now, what are the steps for getting them out to everyone.

B