Intuos Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 I currently have an unused 34g tank and am thinking of trying to set it up without using a filter, just an air stone and wave maker for water circulation (have a spare filter I can use if needed). Has anyone here tried it? The plan would be to use fluval stratum as a nutrient layer and then crushed lava rock for the substrate with larger pieces as the hard scape. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Isaac M Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 I have not done this before but I do not see any issue with it unless you want to heavily stock it. And the more plants the better of course! I am a big fan of using riparian plants as well so I think those would be really beneficial for this type of setup. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 I’ve had fun with a little three gallon unfiltered tank. The only thing I don’t like is the accumulation of detritus on my sand substrate. If I try another one I’ll go for a rough substrate like Eco-complete. With that the detritus settles below the substrate instead of on top. I don’t use a airstone or circulation pump but I do have a heater since the room temp is 66. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Streetwise Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 You could consider organic topsoil with a gravel cap. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intuos Posted January 12, 2022 Author Share Posted January 12, 2022 Have used gravel as a cap in the past looking to try something a bit different. Going filterless I feel that lava rock offers a lot of surface area for bb and will give a unique look. Always use a lot of plants in my scape could probably do it without having to buy any 😂. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 On 1/12/2022 at 12:31 PM, Intuos said: Always use a lot of plants in my scape could probably do it without having to buy any 😂. My unfiltered tank is 100% clipping from other tanks. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mydonkeyfish Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 Just make sure you have enough plants😁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Expectorating_Aubergine Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 All my tanks are filterless. Just be sure that you have a lot of air going in and have lots of terrestrial plants rooted in The water and you should be fine. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aqua junky Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 Lucas Bretts AKA the mad scientist has bunches of video's on in on Youtube. I currently have a 20 Gallon bucket I put about 2"of pebbles in the bottom and an airstone filled it with water lettuce and let that churn for about 3 months with a light on a timer and than started pulling guppies out in trios of one of my tanks and I personally waited about a month inbetween adding more but as of now I"ve got probably 30 guppies with nothing but an airstone, and a heater (its in my basement which in the winter months stays around 55 to 60*) other than that its all natural. I have had some die off but i'm convinced they are from natural causes seeing how it was very spiritic. Hope this helps 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckman Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 A 34 gallon is a weird size. What are the measurements on that? If it is deep I would definitely try a deep sand bed to stabilize it. Someone was complaining of detritus on sand beds. A turkey baster and an over-sized HOB temporarily turned up to high will do wonders. Takes a little practice but the junk will float and the sand will drop. Build a little skill and it will work wonders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardedbillygoat1975 Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 I like pond soil you can grab online. I cap it with gravel, lava rock and crushed coral. I think that’s been my most successful substrate system other than laterite under Fluval Stratum. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Streetwise Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 I prefer more coarse caps for my organic soil substrate, which matches with the advice from Diana Walstad. I am confident that I could remove filters from all of my tanks and maintain success. My fish like the flow, and my grazers enjoy snacking on sponge filters. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intuos Posted January 12, 2022 Author Share Posted January 12, 2022 @Buckman it's an old tank and I'm UK based so it actually 130 litres. Tank is roughly 33Lx14Dx19H inches. Not really a fan of sand to be honest. @Beardedbillygoat1975 can't use crushed coral would push my pH through the roof. Water from my tap is 7.5-8 that's why I like to use fluval stratum. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intuos Posted January 12, 2022 Author Share Posted January 12, 2022 I use fluval stratum and/or almond tree bark to lower the PH in my tanks. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardedbillygoat1975 Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 @Intuos sounds like you may have to use another mineral supplement. You can look at Father Fish’s videos about his mix. Honestly you’ll do fine with organic potting soil and gravel just don’t use too much soil. I buy the pond soil as it comes in a very small bag and I can’t overdose it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buckman Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 Stratum's pH is lower? This is something I did not know. I only have it in pots right now, but that is something to keep in mind. If you have a tank of that size, yeah, a deep sand bed will take up all of it. And just to clarify, I use sand as part of the substrate. But I only top with straight sand. If you truly make a full 8+ inch sand bed it'll drain even slower than Novak wants it to. The full substrate is a mix of stuff I have lying around. Stratum, gravel, and sand are always in there. Crushed coral makes it in there often. I top with pure sand, and that can be cleaned usually. If it really gets jacked up you can retop a portion of it. I also like to build boxes to keep it neat out of cloroplast which is that corrugated pvc stuff. Keeps it from spreading around or shifting. My first experience with sand was a complete catastrophe. But I got stubborn and tamed it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JettsPapa Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 I have a 5 gallon tank on my desk at work that doesn't have a filter or anything for added air. The only electrical appliance is a light. It's moderately planted, and currently only stocked with shrimp. I've had guppies in it before, but took them home since I wasn't in the office for two weeks over the holidays. The substrate is about 1-1/2" of Black Diamond sandblasting sand. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dawn T Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 The only filterless "tank" I've done to date is my 1.5g jarrarium, but I've been reading more and watching videos on doing it with aquariums. I totally LOVE the concept, and my jarrarium is the least maintenance item in my home. I'd love to do that on a larger scale with a few fish, instead of just shrimp and snails. Anyway, here's one of the videos I ran across recently that I found to be fabulous. It's almost 40 minutes long but Alex does great explanations on things. https://youtu.be/woaStNw0Efs 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Intuos Posted February 17, 2022 Author Share Posted February 17, 2022 Have started to set this tank up and am trying to decide what to stock it with. Is going to be heavily planted with a variety of anubias, buce, java fern, moss and some stem plants (not decided which yet). Any suggestions would be appreciated 🙂. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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