mrsjoannh13 Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 So I've got a new tank set up. In terms of filtration I have an Oase Filtosmart 200 canister. The tank is HEAVILY planted. I added some cardinal tetras, 2 amanos and 1 nerite snail on Saturday. Everything has been fine. It's got cycled filter media and water tests all show safe levels (0 ammonia and nitrite, low nitrates, etc.). So good water quality. This morning, both amanos were dead and the tetras were gasping at the top for air. Luckily I had an extra air stone on hand and quickly dropped that in. Within about 10 minutes the tetras seemed fine and luckily all have survived (thus far). Which brings me to my question..... I watch a guy on YouTube (MD Fish Tanks) and he's got a few no filter tanks - nothing in them but plants. No filter, no airstone.... just plants. And his shrimp and small fish do fine. So how does this work? Why aren't his shrimp dying and fish gasping for air? Why isn't the Oase canister filter enough for my heavily planted tank? I just can't figure out why a tank can run with no filtration or airstone and everything in my tank was going to die without an airstone. Appreciate any thoughts or ideas. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 I’ve experimented with a unfiltered tank and it worked well. I did let it season as a plant only tank for a while and then added even more plants before adding a few small fish. I haven’t seen any measurable toxins or any indication the fish need more oxygen. In your case it’s possible that you just needed to get some more oxygen into the tank. How big is the tank? Do you have some pics? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsjoannh13 Posted January 24, 2022 Author Share Posted January 24, 2022 On 1/24/2022 at 11:28 AM, Patrick_G said: I’ve experimented with a unfiltered tank and it worked well. I did let it season as a plant only tank for a while and then added even more plants before adding a few small fish. I haven’t seen any measurable toxins or any indication the fish need more oxygen. In your case it’s possible that you just needed to get some more oxygen into the tank. How big is the tank? Do you have some pics? Thanks for the response, @Patrick_G. It's a 20 gallon. Photo attached. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 @mrsjoannh13 oh, I remember, It’s beautiful! It’s hard to give constructive criticism because it’s so nice 😊 Maybe try getting a Lilly pipe that directs the filter flow at the surface. I understand that surface agitation aids in oxygenation. Letting the plant mass get bigger will also help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsjoannh13 Posted January 24, 2022 Author Share Posted January 24, 2022 On 1/24/2022 at 11:44 AM, Patrick_G said: @mrsjoannh13 oh, I remember, It’s beautiful! It’s hard to give constructive criticism because it’s so nice 😊 Maybe try getting a Lilly pipe that directs the filter flow at the surface. I understand that surface agitation aids in oxygenation. Letting the plant mass get bigger will also help. I do have the ability to tilt the outflow tube up towards the surface so I did that (in addition to keeping the airstone in there). The fish seem fine now. So crisis averted. But my poor amanos 😞. I hate losing little creatures. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 I agree, I lost some Amanos when first setting up my current tanks. I find I have better luck with the “jumbo” size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsjoannh13 Posted January 24, 2022 Author Share Posted January 24, 2022 On 1/24/2022 at 11:48 AM, Patrick_G said: I agree, I lost some Amanos when first setting up my current tanks. I find I have better luck with the “jumbo” size. What jumbo shrimp do you have? I didn't think there were any that got bigger than amanos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 I mean jumbo size Amanos that have already been grown out before you buy them. They’re about an inch or longer. I think Aquahuna sells them mail order. Here’s a photo from the net Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsjoannh13 Posted January 24, 2022 Author Share Posted January 24, 2022 On 1/24/2022 at 12:00 PM, Patrick_G said: I mean jumbo size Amanos that have already been grown out before you buy them. They’re about an inch or longer. I think Aquahuna sells them mail order. Here’s a photo from the net Ahh okay gotcha. Yeah, unfortunately these were a pretty decent size. I've had them for about a year in my old tank and moved them to the new one to munch on algae. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
existentialmisery Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 On 1/24/2022 at 12:49 PM, mrsjoannh13 said: What jumbo shrimp do you have? I didn't think there were any that got bigger than amanos. There are different species of amano in themselves — I have Australian amanos and they make the Japanese amanos look tiny! But to answer your question there are bigger freshwater shrimp than amanos... like vampire, bamboo, and banana shrimp 🙂 I feel like what happened here is your tank didn’t have time to mature — also shrimp need to be acclimated differently than fish. Did you drip acclimate them? Did you just plant it, add water, and put everything in? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Expectorating_Aubergine Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 Filterless tanks are about balance. Basically tons of plants and some fish (not a lot). There are ways around this, like having fish that breathe air. One thing I have sound in all my unfiltered tanks is that having an airstone really helps. Also rooting terrestrial plants in there too. Those things are nitrate HOGS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Streetwise Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 I run some no-tech tanks: tons of plants and productive soil are the keys. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mydonkeyfish Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 On 1/24/2022 at 12:31 PM, mrsjoannh13 said: Thanks for the response, @Patrick_G. It's a 20 gallon. Photo attached. That is the most beautiful plant placement i have ever seen 😍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsjoannh13 Posted January 24, 2022 Author Share Posted January 24, 2022 On 1/24/2022 at 4:51 PM, Mydonkeyfish said: That is the most beautiful plant placement i have ever seen 😍 Thank you! I totally ripped off this scape from a UNS promo video. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mydonkeyfish Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 Your cardinals are glowing what do you feed? On 1/24/2022 at 5:58 PM, mrsjoannh13 said: Thank you! I totally ripped off this scape from a UNS promo video. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsjoannh13 Posted January 24, 2022 Author Share Posted January 24, 2022 On 1/24/2022 at 4:59 PM, Mydonkeyfish said: Your cardinals are glowing what do you feed? They are new fish so I can't take much credit for it. I just got them 2 or 3 days ago. So far just Tetra flakes and some frozen bloodworms. They were super vibrant when I got them from the LFS. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted January 24, 2022 Share Posted January 24, 2022 On 1/24/2022 at 2:58 PM, mrsjoannh13 said: Thank you! I totally ripped off this scape from a UNS promo video. Those how to videos from UNS and ADA are great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrsjoannh13 Posted January 24, 2022 Author Share Posted January 24, 2022 On 1/24/2022 at 5:32 PM, Patrick_G said: Those how to videos from UNS and ADA are great. Oooohhhhhh ....... haven't subscribed to the ADA channel yet. I know what I'm watching tonight! LOL 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JettsPapa Posted January 25, 2022 Share Posted January 25, 2022 On 1/24/2022 at 4:44 PM, Streetwise said: I run some no-tech tanks: tons of plants and productive soil are the keys. I have one no-tech tank. It's a 5.5 gallon tank on my desk at work. It has a light, but other than that just plants (in a Black Diamond sandblasting sand substrate), four guppies, snails, and God only knows how many shrimp. No air stone, and the light is on for 9 hours daily. It gets 0.5ml of Easy Green once a week, or whenever I think about it. I just added the fish last week. When it was just snails and shrimp I'd go weeks without a water change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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