Can it be done without hurting the fish? I have a 5 gallon tank (just a regular rectangle one.. nothing special), that I would really like to set up again, but I would love it if I could get away with not having to put a filter on it... or use anything really on it.
If there is a guide to doing something like that, please share the link
What kind of plants would be good? Substrate? What do you do about water changes with something like that? When is it safe to add fish? Can you give it a little boost by seeding it w/ mature media from another tank? etc etc....
Any info about this would be awesome!
To me that sounds like the Walstad Method and I think you can do it no problem. Beneficial Bacteria lives in the soil. I'm building a 9.1 gallon Walstad Betta tank now and I'm going to start with a cheap sponge filter to start and then go without a filter.
You'll need lot of water changes on a tank like this, you'll also have to keep a constant eye on the parameters just to make sure there are no Ammonia/nitrite/nitrate spikes in the tank.
I think it's doable, I've seen Oliver Knot having a tank like that with no filter nor lightning, he keeps the tank at a window side.
You might get algae problems that way thought..
Was thinking maybe putting some mature media in a little mesh sack or maybe even taking some mature substrate and sticking it in to the tank?
Esteban. YES! Thank you for the link! That's exactly the info I was looking for
If I can find a decent light to put on the tank. Would love to put it on our table by the window, but don't think my husband would go for that idea lol. I may give it a try though once I figure out where I can put it. Thanks for the info!
@lisals here is another thread with a bunch of details about substrate, setup and lighting. The substrate/setup stuff is from a friend who's a planted tank guru and I plan on following it for my 10 gallon Walstad:
Nope, sorry this isn't a good idea. A 1 gallon vase is not a suitable home for any fish. Really the only setup you can have long term no filter in is a walstad.
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