No Filter Fish Tank

After many years of keeping aquariums, I decided to remove something that just causes more work...The canister filter. Discussed in the video are some reasons why it may not work for you, but in my case a filter does nothing but add more work and complication. I didn't touch my filter for 2 years leading up to this video. No cleaning at all. And all that was inside it was a sponge and some ceramic/pumice stones. All it was doing was exactly what the tank itself already does and add circulation. The main O-ring was in need of replacement badly which I had been procrastinating to do. The last thing I wanted was it to leak suddenly and flood the floor. So I decided "Hey, lets see what happens if..." After 15 years of keeping aquariums, I discovered the phrase "Less is more" to be true.
DIY Pothos filter system - • DIY Aquaponics | Decor...
My Merch Shop- / @growinganswers
or shop.spreadshirt.com/growinga...
Affiliate Links:
PH Pen - amzn.to/324pEcv
General Hydroponics Maxigro - amzn.to/3xqAetR
General Hydroponics Maxigro and Maxibloom- amzn.to/3xosdpi
General Hydroponics Liquid Nutes - amzn.to/2HuzIlD
VEG+BLOOM Nutes - amzn.to/39EUhaP
PH up PH Down - amzn.to/2SLmdDo
2" Net Cups - amzn.to/2uRuhdJ
3" Net Cups - amzn.to/37qGnYI
Rock wool cubes - amzn.to/2SVwa1k
Air pump - amzn.to/3cttYXr
XL Clay Pebbles - amzn.to/3cfA3q4
Small Clay Pebbles - amzn.to/2zqkqxK
Grow Tent - amzn.to/3fxK6c7
FoodSaver lids for mason jars - amzn.to/34M8P9L

[@GrowingAnswers]

The most important thing to make this possible is water changes. At the very least once a month, but bi-weekly is recommended. The frequency and quantity must be consistent. Consistency is key to water stability. Do not top off an aquarium with tap water. If you need to top it off, use distilled or RO. I do not too off mine as it’s not needed to be with bi-weekly changes. By topping off the tank, you add more TDS over time that starts to accumulate and make the water very hard with too much mineral. Minerals don’t evaporate, So when you add water to replace what has evaporated, you add more minerals. This can lead to trouble later on.

[@RockPileTanks]

Honestly, i have very hard water with lots of iron especially. I topped off my tank and never cleaned my filter for 6 months plus. I probably could've went that way forever. The actual key is a deep substrate bed that can break down waste and minerals with different bacterias and micro organisms to a plant usable phase. The plants will then use this and grow as long as conditions are right. Then the only thing you have to do is trim the plants. By trimming the plants and removing the growth,when they need trimming, you essentially are removing the waste and excess minerals in the form of plant matter. The water tds can only be so high before the solution cannot hold anymore minerals. Then the minerals will just sit in the tank. You can check out this elderly asian couple on RUclips that have a fish store and have never changed water in any tank in their store. Only topped off, for 25+ years. Their secret is the plants and deep substrate beds that harbor the proper bacteria and micro organisms.

[@sushilpadhye3624]

Sir thank you very much for your detail reply I want to set up a densely planted aquarium consist of low medium and advanced plants and information out there is absolutely confusing and not detail can you please refer me some reliable study material or guide me make me diy grow light

[@dreamlovermimi9458]

I love! A quick tip! If u do change the fish take water , keep that water and feed ur plants with it! The Nitrates are a fertilizer for all plants!

[@cjfredi]

I know nothing about fish tanks but I really enjoyed this. TY

[@johnjwedrall4290]

In gonna miss your helpful fish and tank videos 😕 😪

[@sushilpadhye3624]

Sir can please make a video regarding the lighting requirements of aquatic plants and what type and how much light is required to grow advanced plants kindly guide us on lighting needs of planted aquarium 🙏

[@GrowingAnswers]

Regular led lights. Doesn’t matter. The brightness varies between plant types. It takes months of trial and error to tune the brightness to specific plants. Some plants don’t like high light. Some plants need it. Then if you use co2 injection and nutrients it changes the lighting requirements. A video can only explain how complex it is and will not give an answer. In my case it’s very low light. Since I don’t use anything else and the plants are slow growing, there is no need for intense light and it would only burn out the anubias. The problem in trying to answer “what the best light is” is that it has to be tuned to a specific situation. There is no way to give a direct solution off hand. It took years to dial in those variables. Easiest thing to do it use low light slow growing plants and not use any fertilizers or co2 injection and use dim light. Beyond that it gets complicated because keeping aquatic plants is vastly different from regular terrestrial plants.

[@royalspin]

This is pretty much how the aquaponics system works via the plants acting as the filtration system in a symbiotic relationship with the fish.
I'm going to assume you were playing around when you tossed out the Marinland canister filter.. hopefully, LoL 😂
I'm still using my Marineland Magnum 330 (not the 350 that almost everyone in the hobby knows about) since I bought it new in 1991 and the motor is still going strong after all these years.

[@McAwesome363]

You might be interested in anoxic filtration by using a slow moving undergravel filter, or even a passive system with a plenum raising the substrate ~1/2-1" above the bottom, which allows for passive water transfer through the substrate. The slow water movement creates low oxygen anoxic conditions that harbor bacteria which consume nitrate and phosphate as their oxygen source. When a proper flow rate is established, the nitrogen cycle can be fully completed without the need for plants. Nitrates are converted into nitrogen gas by the bacteria. Additionally, because the flow rate is so low (a few gallons/day at most), the undergravel filter never needs to be maintained, nor are plant roots disturbed by the very slow moving water. If anything, plants appreciate that anaerobic conditions are avoided. I have set up both a 20 gallon and 40 gallon tank with this method, and both tanks read 0 nitrates, even weeks after no water changes.

[@GrowingAnswers]

My tank has no filtration and does very well. No need to complicate anything but thanks for the comment.