No tech tank

[PaulG]

Don't fancy adding a cover, paradise fish are out!

WCMM I would love but I don't think they'd do well without water movement, I'm determined to do this without any tech aside from the lights.

I've removed all the Elodea. Wasn't feeling it at all, it's now just completely covered in duckweed with a few stems slowly emerging from behind the driftwood. I have some new plant ideas I'm excited about trying out but won't be much progress until after Xmas I'd imagine, too many presents to buy and blah blah blah.

Lots of life in the tank, few pond snails and random invertebrates.

Sorry for the slow progress it's just how I roll

[gabysapha]

Originally Posted by PaulG

Lots of life in the tank, few pond snails and random invertebrates.

Have you considered making it a shrimp tank? Red cherry shrimp will breed at that temperature and do not need a filter. They're very tough little guys and will look very nice. They're so entertaining! I've done set ups like that before with 5g tanks to hold plant clippings.

[PaulG]

Originally Posted by gabysapha

Have you considered making it a shrimp tank? Red cherry shrimp will breed at that temperature and do not need a filter. They're very tough little guys and will look very nice. They're so entertaining! I've done set ups like that before with 5g tanks to hold plant clippings.

Yep I've been thinking about it, only thing putting me off is that I have a small 1ft cube currently without livestock and was planning on adding cherry shrimp to that, don't really want two tanks with just shrimp.

[PaulG]

[caoder]

i'd be interested in seeing how well the duckweed does as a filter, I know i neglected a tank with H. Polysperma in it and it wiped everything else out and made a tank full of it within weeks. You can try some smaller rainbowfish. Like the gertrudae or furcata.

[PaulG]

http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/oryzias-latipes/

Think I have a contender.

[PaulG]

Originally Posted by caoder

i'd be interested in seeing how well the duckweed does as a filter, I know i neglected a tank with H. Polysperma in it and it wiped everything else out and made a tank full of it within weeks. You can try some smaller rainbowfish. Like the gertrudae or furcata.

Beautiful fish, minimum temps seem to be 21c which may just be pushing it a little? Would be fine for most of the year but atm it's a little colder.

[caoder]

well i know my local lfs carries bitterlings for the people who want something else with their goldfishes, they don't get big, just not very colorful.

[driftwoodhunter]

Originally Posted by BBradbury

Hello Paul...

If you want to consider emersed plants, Pothos is average at best. Chinese Evergreen will filter the water much better, but the root ball will need to be aerated to ensure the roots get the nutrients from the water, so the plants grows and keeps the water pure for any fish you may want to add. Attached is a pic of one of my no water change tanks. I do have to replace the water lost to evaportation.

Good luck and above all, have fun.

B

I was so excited about this because I'm dying to try this with my tanks - and yours looks so good, but turns out the Chinese Evergreen isn't suitable for me because I have cats. I just wanted to post this in case people have pets that can get to the plants...guess I'm on a search for non-toxic to cats plants...
Chinese Evergreen
Scientific Name:
Aglaonema modestrum
Family:
Araceae
Toxicity:
Toxic to Horses, Toxic to Cats, Toxic to Dogs
Toxic Principles:
Insoluble calcium oxalates
Clinical Signs:
Oral irritation, intense burning and irritation of mouth tongue and lips, excessive drooling, vomiting, difficulty swallowing

[bbroush]

Someone on TPT has a no tech tank like this filled with Chinese evergreen and in his thread he said his cats don't mess with it.... I'll have to look for his thread.

[aokashi]

I've done a low tech 1 gallon before and stocked about 7 fish in there with no casualties. There was barely any substrate either. it was however, stuffed full of lowlight plants.

[driftwoodhunter]

Unfortunately, my two cats get into everything. I have all my plants up very, very high lol. Not so pretty. My most adventurous cat tried to eat a cactus as well - spines & all. I've been thinking about simply using crypts, swords, etc both in and above the tank - but I can't find toxicity reports for animals on crypts. I was thinking about trailing pennywort up extended driftwood too since I use it as a floater in my tanks.

Here is more detailed info on oxalates, you can understand why I don't want to take a chance. If age means anything, my cats are 13 and might not handle things as well as they did when young;
To get a bit technical, these plants contain cells known as idioblasts. Idioblasts contain raphides, which are slender, spearlike parts of calcium oxalate crystals. Raphides are sharp and needle-shaped, and are packed in a gelatinous substance. When the tip of the idioblast is broken, sap from the plant—or saliva from an animal—enters the cell, causing the gelatin to swell. The swelling action forces the raphides to shoot from the cell, kind of like a gun discharging a bullet. The calcium oxalate crystals penetrate an animal’s oral mucosa, tongue, and throat, causing damage. The cells may continue to expel crystals for a significant amount of time, even after a piece of plant material is swallowed. As this is happening, proteolytic enzymes stimulate the release of kinins and histamines by the body. The rapid inflammatory response from the release of these substances aggravates the damage caused by the crystals. Chewing, bruising, tearing, or otherwise damaging the plant is necessary to produce these effects.

[bbroush]

Don't worry, if I had cats I probably wouldn't risk it either, I have creeping fig in and above my tank, and also pothos, and they seem to do well. (Not sure on toxicity though) but those are very adventurous cats!

[driftwoodhunter]

lol - the one that tried to eat the cactus was found as a 4 week old kitten thrown into a big dumpster. I got her when she was 7 weeks but she was very feral for awhile. Now I think she's a food hoarder because of it, and she tries to eat everything - haha

This thread is giving me great ideas, though

Here is a link I found for common houseplants - now I'll shut up about pet toxicity! http://www.cat-world.com.au/plants-a...hemicals-toxic

[PaulG]

Got a surprise, a friend has given me a piece of driftwood with a fairly substantial Anubias barteri attached. Also, 2 Amano shrimp which have gone in the 12inch cube