closed ecosystems

[SharpieItBlack]

Ok so my boyfriend read somewhere that you can do a closed eco system in a tiny one gallon with one tetra and like five snails... please back me up when I say this is a bad idea for the fish or the snails.. it just seems like a recipe for disaster. No water changes because what he said "the pant does all the filtering for you". I don't believe this at all... help please? I'm trying to convince him to start off right in this hobby as I have the experience. He told me that the article he read had success with it so it must work right? I believe it's a recipe for failure. Especially with our city's horrid water. Straight out of the faucet the water is .5ppm ammonia, .25 ppm nitrItes and 15ppm nitrAtes.
Any tips to help him start off right? I don't want to see this fail and him get upset, I wanna help him start right to have a super awesome tank and guide him into the fish keeping hobby!

 

[Maxw47]

They don't work. At all. Period. Lol but yeah they don't do what people say they do. The one plant can't support the bioload at all. It just doesn't work. Plants don't filter out ammonia and nitrites at a practical level. That and tetras need a lot more swimming space and other fish.

 

[SharpieItBlack]

They don't work. At all. Period. Lol but yeah they don't do what people say they do. The one plant can't support the bioload at all. It just doesn't work. Plants don't filter out ammonia and nitrites at a practical level. That and tetras need a lot more swimming space and other fish.

I'm not trying to get in a fight with him but I don't think he understands this... I didn't read enough before my goldfish and he almost died but I saved him and he's happy now! He says this article he said this person had success otherwise why would they post it? My question to this is how long did it "work". I bet the fish died in like a month. I fear for the algae more than anything else... pet stores advertise fish in bowls saying that's good for the fish but we know it isn't haha
I'm just gonna let him try it... then like when it doesn't work tell him why. I just don't want him to waste all his money on this, as he's really money tight right now

 

[Maxw47]

Yeah, not much you can tell the stubborn to change their minds. Unfortunately he'll probably end up learning the hard way which really sucks for him and the fish

 

[SharpieItBlack]

Yeah, not much you can tell the stubborn to change their minds. Unfortunately he'll probably end up learning the hard way which really sucks for him and the fish

Maybe I can steal him towards a different tank. What is the smallest tank you can successfully keep. I was thinking a betta in a five gallon for him, I'm starting research into them so we could each have one he and his roommate don't have the biggest apartment. So a five gallon would be perfect.

 

[SharpieItBlack]

Maybe I can steal him towards a different tank. What is the smallest tank you can successfully keep. I was thinking a betta in a five gallon for him, I'm starting research into them so we could each have one he and his roommate don't have the biggest apartment. So a five gallon would be perfect.

I can't type... haha I meant to say steer him towards a different tank that would be an easy starter tank.

 

[Maxw47]

Yeah a five with a betta is a lot better than that close ecosystem stuff.

 

[Oohitsae]

Check into the "walstad method" and/or "Naturally Planted Tanks" Diane Walstad was able to pull off closed ecosystems and has written a lot of papers and research about it, but with wayy less stocking and TONS of plants than what your boyfriend suggested. (plus a tetra needs a school)
I've met quite a few people that were able to pull it off with only top-offs and a 50% change every 4-6 months just to give them fresher water (re-add minerals into it)
I've tried it myself, and with my stocking levels my nitrate gets too high for me to pull it off.


I think that maybe if you did 4-5 shrimp in a 1 gallon with like 2 bunches of stem plants, soil with a sand cap, you could pull it off. But with anymore stocking than that it'd be hard in such a tiny space.

 

[Maxw47]

I've done the walstad in a ten gallon. I still did regular water changes but if I couldn't one week it wasn't a big deal at all. I don't see it working in a little little tank though. No fish. Any fish would give off too much bioload for a closed system.