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Old 12-15-2016, 01:49 PM   #1
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Low maintenance large aquarium?

I found myself in possession of a (formerly marine) aquarium, currently empty. It's about 650 liters in volume with a 250 L sump.

What are my options as to converting it into a low maintenance freshwater aquarium? I familiarized myself with the Getting Started articles here, what are the common approaches taken when low maintenance is the goal? Plants or no plants? Substrate that one doesn't have to sift through all the time? Automated feeding? What are good ideas and what are common pitfalls?

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Old 12-15-2016, 04:00 PM   #2
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Low maintenance large aquarium?

Hi welcome!

I find plants can be pretty time consuming. High light and injected CO2 is great for growth but more trimming is required.
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Old 12-15-2016, 06:15 PM   #3
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So live plants aren't a good idea under the circumstances. What other considerations affect the upkeep an aquarium requires?
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Old 12-15-2016, 06:52 PM   #4
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So live plants aren't a good idea under the circumstances. What other considerations affect the upkeep an aquarium requires?

Some plants are very easy. Anubias and Java ferns are one. You don't even bury them. Just tie them to a rock or ornament.
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Old 12-15-2016, 07:46 PM   #5
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True, true - I've seen some on driftwood in low tech tanks doing well. Get the setup right and very beautiful.
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Old 12-15-2016, 08:42 PM   #6
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If you are truly looking for low maintenance then plants are a must. They will consume nitrates lessening the need for water changes. As mentioned anubias and Java Ferns are pretty straight forward, so are most mosses. Put the light on a timer, easy peasy. For feeding I don't particularly trust automated feeders, however a healthy tank should do fine on 3 feedings a week. If you can't be bothered to drop food in while walking by 3 times a week then a fish tank isn't for you. Still as low maintenance as it can get plan to change 15-20% of the water bi-monthly, again, if you can't do that..... maybe consider a cat.

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Old 12-16-2016, 01:03 PM   #7
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I live alone in the apartment where the aquarium is, and I travel frequently, though for short periods of time. Therefore even feeding could be a problem.

The cat idea is interesting. The rule of thumb for stocking seems to be 7 mm of length per liter of volume; with the average cat being about 750 mm long including tail, six cats should be the right number for this aquarium? ;−)

Anyway, would you say that some ferns on driftwood would contribute positively to the ecosystem while not being a PITA to manage?
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Old 12-16-2016, 04:33 PM   #8
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The best way I have found to have as low a maintenance as possible is to slightly over filter and have larger schools of smaller fish rather than smaller amounts of larger fish. Small fish take longer to "dirty" up a system and with proper filtration and ecological balance, that time can be extended greatly. Larger fish, even if fed poorly, will still have larger eliminations causing more biological effects in a shorter amount of time.
As for feeding, depending on the fish you have, there are time released foods as well as programmable feeders for pellets or flakes. I've used both with great success.

Maintenance: there is no way I know of to effectively grow very healthy fish without doing water changes. None of the products I've seen advertised to replace water changes address the needs of needing to add vitamins and minerals to the water as well as replacing the micro minerals that the fish absorb out of the water so I would say, if doing water changes is not an option for you at any time, maybe a fish tank is not the best choice for you. Obviously, it's your decision.
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Old 12-16-2016, 06:26 PM   #9
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Low maintenance large aquarium?

The trick would be to find plants that help filter the water, don't create mess and can survive in a 650 litre tank. I've always found plants useful and the fish benefit from the roughage (grr) but my neighbor is perfectly happy not having plants to worry about.

I've looked at this just in case I had to go fly-in, fly-out and was away for a week or two at a time. People do automate tanks here for FIFO so it is possible.

My high-tech planted tank which requires daily ferts dosing would go. Probably wouldn't miss trimming plants every second week.

I'd look at fancy goldfish, others here probably do natives or cichlids. I'm familiar with goldfish, they are hardy and I could skip some tank heating (this was looking at reducing costs). Stocking would be halved. That's critical - higher the stocking, the higher the waste. I'd keep multiple filters (already have), just in case one fails (this is assuming I'm away 2 weeks at a time).

Ornaments would be very simple and round edges. A goldfish with a scrape and bit of fungal infection might be ok until you get back. $100 discus I'd be stressing out on if ok or not.

That's also why I would do large, hardy and cheap fish as if something goes wrong you are not there. Depends how long you are away, as I said people do nice 6ft automated tanks here that cover if power fails or heaters stop working.

Water changes would need to be weekly or bi-weekly and I'd do 30 to 50%. That's open for debate. Something like a python or water changer will help.

https://www.amazon.com/25-Foot-Pytho.../dp/B000255NXC

Automated fish feeders would be my preference and the darn things require testing imo, not just set and forget. I find changing food levels in the container can change how much fish get. Food blocks I find either dissolve too quick or too slow or the fish sit there having a pig-out.

I have timers on lights and everything so eg lights come on, filters stop, automated feeder drops, etc. One to check is what happens in a power failure, especially with sump setups and restarts.

Plants I would either do Java Fern tied to driftwood (closer to light) or vallisneria (mine is a deep tank but once one shoot gets near light, runners should slowly spread out). Or just skip plants and increase water changes. Personally I find a spend more time on plants then anything else. (Unfortunately so do the fish sometimes).

Simplicity would be key for me. Aquaria I find is both a hobby and keeping pets. There's a bit involved but if you have anyone that can look in on the fish that would help.

Last thought is there are people who do tank maintenance eg water changes.
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Old 12-16-2016, 07:29 PM   #10
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What kind of care does the Java Fern require? A quick search suggests it needs some fertilizer after each water change--that doesn't sound like a huge chore. Does one have to trim it often?
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Old 12-16-2016, 08:11 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by amanita View Post
I live alone in the apartment where the aquarium is, and I travel frequently, though for short periods of time. Therefore even feeding could be a problem.

The cat idea is interesting. The rule of thumb for stocking seems to be 7 mm of length per liter of volume; with the average cat being about 750 mm long including tail, six cats should be the right number for this aquarium? ;−)

Anyway, would you say that some ferns on driftwood would contribute positively to the ecosystem while not being a PITA to manage?
Haha yes, six cats will suffice! Great sense of humor.

Java Fern is very hardy, I've kept it many times in the past, the occasional nutrient addition isn't a bad thing but may not be necessary, especially not every water change, unless housing many plants in the tank. They won't need co2 or a particularly strong light.

For feeding automated feeders aren't necessarily a bad thing, just be mindful of the amount fed, most fish can go a week easy without food, however a spike in ammonia from unconsumed food isn't something they will want. Feed lightly, stock lightly, automate functions like light schedule and possibly feedings and all you are looking at is 10-20% water changes based on stock level twice a month and you should be good to go.

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Old 12-17-2016, 10:52 PM   #12
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I take multi-week trips pretty regularly, and with one rather spectacular exception, have had no trouble with leaving my tank home alone for two or three weeks. (The exception involved 100 gallons of water on the floor and professional water remediation contractors tearing out my walls... but all the fish survived! Also, thank goodness for insurance.)

#1 tip for me would be: Understock. Like, way understock. Half of what you think the tank can support. That gives you some slack if filters fail or you get stuck away from home. I try to mind the old guidelines about surface area and gas exchange, as that has saved my fish when the power went out for hours or weeks at a time (I hate hurricanes). (Also, I'm apparently disaster-prone.)

My fave feeder is one I found online, basically a carousel with 14 openings that slowly drops food into the tank over an hour or so. I can mix wafers, pellets, and flakes into one slot so everyone gets fed once a day for two weeks. Helps, too, if you avoid fish with special dietary needs. I sometimes put mine on just because I have a big deadline at work and it's one less thing to worry about.

I find sand quite low maintenance, as long as you don't demand pristine appearance. Mulm tends to collect on top, and those battery operated vacuums do a fine job collecting it if you miss some during a water change.

Enjoy the new tank
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Old 12-18-2016, 06:23 PM   #13
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^Solid advice

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