Filterless system?

[Sophie and Mom]

I could swear when I was a kid, I saw this big beautiful tank set up like a pond--lots of plants, very naturalistic environment....but no filtration system. The only upkeep this guy did was scraping off the algae occasionally. His substrate was pond muck--just a big shovel-full of pond bottom and everything that came with it.

Is this really possible? Does anybody here do this? I'd love to give it a shot, but I don't want to waste time and fish if it isn't something viable.

Thanks in advance for your opinions/experience.

 

[Fuzz16]

it isss possible with water changes.

think of lakes. no filters, but rainfall and drought. so you would have to do water changes to mimic nature
then you would have to have very few fish, mostly cleanup crew
and co2 to help plants grow

it would take a lot of work to setup and id be interested in how long it lasted as bacteria wouldnt be able to survive with no new oxygen entering the tank (like a filter would turn water and help oxygenate the tank)
i wouldnt try it personally unless i was prepared for a lot of setup work.

get a canister filter if you dont want to see a hang on the back one.

 

[OrangeCones]

Is this really possible? Does anybody here do this?

What you are describing is the "Walstad method." Growing plants will provide the oxygen the water's fish needs and acts as a bio-filter for your tank. I kept 2 such aquariums for 3 years and only gave them up when I moved across the country.

 

[MdngtRain]

That sounds so cool. I would love to try that some day, only once we are settled in our own house.

 

[Sophie and Mom]

get a canister filter if you dont want to see a hang on the back one.

It isn't a matter of aesthetics--I 'm interested in creating a closed ecosystem that really works, and was wondering if anyone here had actually succeeded with it.

The Walstad method was mentioned upthread, and I did a quick Google. It sounds interesting, and I may give it a go.

 

[Sophie and Mom]

What kind of upkeep did they require? The more I think about this , the more I'd like to try this.

 

[OrangeCones]

There is an initial 'break-in' period, but once established, mine only required water changes every 3 months or so. I did top-off the water level due to evaporation though. One had only a heater for the winter months and was lit by sunlight. It was lightly stocked with algae eating fish (mollies, endlers, and a few otocinclus). This tank was not fed at all in almost 3 years and I would take out juvie fish to trade at a LFS when it seemed too crowded. I still tested the water weekly at first, then monthly, to make sure nothing was amiss.

Another tank I had had otos and a meat eating fish. That tank had a light and heater, and was fed weekly with live cultured blackworms. Same maintainance as above other than feeding and the light (it was set up too far from a window to get natural sunlight.

Both needed plants trimmed occasionally. The 2nd tank had more stem plants so required a lot more trimming.

 

[Fuzz16]

if you try this, make a thread so we can follow and learn with you, id love to learn more about this type of fishkeeping style