Sustainable tanks

[AquaDave]

Is it possible to make an almost fully sustainable tank?

It could have:

• Sponge filter with aerator etc
• Lots of plants
• Moss balls
• Huge tank
• Good light
• Orandas or common goldfish (or if u absolutely cannot use them then something else)
• Hong Kong Plecs
• Growing algae, duckweed and live animals like shrimp for the goldfish to eat
• Shrimp or whatever breeding ground that the fish can't get to
• Anything else I might need

And all I would need to do is occasionally feed the fish, very occasionally water change and just as occasionally wash the sponge off (or if I don't need to do any of these then I wouldn't)

So is this possible? It would be quite cool if it didn't harm the fish in any way

PS don't worry this is only theory I won't do this

 

[rmiller]

The issue I see in this set up and desire to only do occasional maintenance is the fact that goldfish and plecos are both EXTREMELY dirty fish and would foul your water rather quickly unless you're talking several hundred gallons of water. If you did a pond, you may be able to get away with it, but even then you will need to vacuum more than what it sounds like you want to do.

 

[Delapool]

Is it possible to make an almost fully sustainable tank?

It could have:


[*]Sponge filter with aerator etc
[*]Lots of plants
[*]Moss balls
[*]Huge tank
[*]Good light
[*]Orandas or common goldfish (or if u absolutely cannot use them then something else)
[*]Hong Kong Plecs
[*]Growing algae, duckweed and live animals like shrimp for the goldfish to eat
[*]Shrimp or whatever breeding ground that the fish can't get to
[*]Anything else I might need


And all I would need to do is occasionally feed the fish, very occasionally water change and just as occasionally wash the sponge off (or if I don't need to do any of these then I wouldn't)

So is this possible? It would be quite cool if it didn't harm the fish in any way

PS don't worry this is only theory I won't do this

Would you look to add in buffers or not, etc? Eg I'm guessing ph/kH will trend down over time and Gh up plus say adding any plant food ferts. Just also looking at the theory and I've never managed to get my head past that I want to maintain a specific set of water specs (of which water changes does that mainly for me).

 

[GodFan]

It is possible but difficult. Without he perfect balance you will end up with dead fish or an algae farm. Very hard. With goldfish and plecos I would venture to say impossible without a pond.

 

[Rivercats]

Look up and read about the Walstad method BUT you can't use either of those types of fish and you have to have a planted tank.

 

[Delapool]

OK, many thanks.

 

[Joeysdiscus]

Check out my thread in breeding called joeys new fish tank breeding discus the tank will be almost self sustainable when it comes to maintenance I will still have to feed the fish and water changes will be done every two weeks to keep all the buffers.

 

[AquaDave]

The issue I see in this set up and desire to only do occasional maintenance is the fact that goldfish and plecos are both EXTREMELY dirty fish and would foul your water rather quickly unless you're talking several hundred gallons of water. If you did a pond, you may be able to get away with it, but even then you will need to vacuum more than what it sounds like you want to do.

I mean i could (if i did this one day in the far future) wash the sponge off more often.

A guy at a pets at home (who is an expert on fish) said he had a pond and only feeds the fish, leaving everything else alone. I don't really know anything on other fish except from goldfish do u know of any other fish that r both less dirty and also r beautiful like goldfish?

 

[AquaDave]

The surface could be filled with duckweed to help clear the water and also provide more food for the fish

 

[GodFan]

I mean i could (if i did this one day in the far future) wash the sponge off more often.

A guy at a pets at home (who is an expert on fish) said he had a pond and only feeds the fish, leaving everything else alone. I don't really know anything on other fish except from goldfish do u know of any other fish that r both less dirty and also r beautiful like goldfish?

He has a pond. Very different. And yes there are TONS of less dirty very beautiful fish. And they arr easier than goldfish. Look up rainbowfish, tetras, scarlet badis, cories, and the list goes on.

 

[rmiller]

Ponds are a completely different creature. Certainly a different type of care that goes into them. Tho the bloke really should do occasional vacuuming of the bottom to remove fecal matter and cleaning the filter is a must.

 

[GodFan]

Ponds are a completely different creature. Certainly a different type of care that goes into them. Tho the bloke really should do occasional vacuuming of the bottom to remove fecal matter and cleaning the filter is a must.

Why? Its a pond. It should be setup with enough plants to not need to be vacuumed or anything. Nobidy vacuums ponds normally. Maybe Im just ignorant but I have never heard of anybody vacuuming their pond. Changing he filter absolutely though.

 

[AquaDave]

I thought for a pond u would have to have a feature like a fountain or like a waterfall to keep it oxygenated and loads of plants but apart from those things u wouldn't need anything else.

 

[GodFan]

I thought for a pond u would have to have a feature like a fountain or like a waterfall to keep it oxygenated and loads of plants but apart from those things u wouldn't need anything else.

I believe that is what most people do.

 

[BBradbury]

Hello Aqua...

It is. There are open tanks that need only weekly water topoffs. Essentially, you emerse land plants in the tank and the roots maintain pure water conditions. You can keep fish in the tanks if you want, but it's not necessary.

B

 

[AquaDave]

Tomorrow i'll put a thing up how to make my current tank more self-sustainable than it is now

 

[Joeysdiscus]

This is the start of my sustainable tank no water changes will be needed only to add buffers I will make an up to date video and post it for you to check out tomorrow night

 

[BBradbury]

Low Maintennce Fish Tanks

If you're willing to top off the water that's lost to evaporation, these open tanks will easily run for years. You'll need to prune the land plants and feed the fish occasionally, but the tanks are as close maintenance free as possible. They take much less maintenance than a standard aquarium.

I call them "terratope" tanks. You use emersed land plants to maintain pure water conditions and the system is similar to areas around the northwestern part of the US. The salmon in this area spawn and die and the root systems in the area takes in the forms of nitrogen produced from the dead fish.

The tank works similarly. The fish wastes dissolve in the tank water and produces nitrogen. The plant roots remove the nitrogen from the water and use it as nutrients.

I emerse Chinese Evergreen plants in all my planted tanks and the tank water stays pure for much longer periods then normal. The more plants the cleaner the tank water.

B

 

[GodFan]

If you're willing to top off the water that's lost to evaporation, these open tanks will easily run for years. You'll need to prune the land plants and feed the fish occasionally, but the tanks are as close maintenance free as possible. They take much less maintenance than a standard aquarium.

I call them "terratope" tanks. You use emersed land plants to maintain pure water conditions and the system is similar to areas around the northwestern part of the US. The salmon in this area spawn and die and the root systems in the area takes in the forms of nitrogen produced from the dead fish.

The tank works similarly. The fish wastes dissolve in the tank water and produces nitrogen. The plant roots remove the nitrogen from the water and use it as nutrients.

I emerse Chinese Evergreen plants in all my planted tanks and the tank water stays pure for much longer periods then normal. The more plants the cleaner the tank water.

B

Submerged plants will work too. Emmersed plants work great but mine sprouted bugs.....

 

[Rivercats]

Why? Its a pond. It should be setup with enough plants to not need to be vacuumed or anything. Nobidy vacuums ponds normally. Maybe Im just ignorant but I have never heard of anybody vacuuming their pond. Changing he filter absolutely though.

Hate to tell you GodFan but ponds need spring and fall cleaning at least. We have 2 ponds and a steam. The biggest pond is 4000g and we have a pond vacuum. We do 2 or 3 large WC's from spring to late fall. A lot of muck, leaves, and other things fall to the bottom of ponds raising nitrates and phosphates. Not all ponds have filters either which makes periodic cleaning very beneficial. Plus depending on the type of fish dictates what types of plants you can use. Koi such as we have are plant eaters so even marginals are hard to use as they eat and pick at the roots. Larger floater such as water hyacinth and water lettuce work.

Ponds are very different than tanks as already stated and don't make for good comparisons in this instance.