low-tech

Hi friends! After about 8 years being out of the hobby, quarantine boredom, combined with Memorial Day sales, has dragged me back into it. I've kept high-tech planted in a range of sizes and reefs with SPS. I was going to to set up a reef but decided to wait until my living situation was a bit...

We've had a 30 gallon planted tank about 3 years and it has been very stable for quite a while (nice plant growth, healthy fish), thanks in part to great advice I've gotten in these forums in the past! It's low-tech, not CO2-injected. Here are the current parameters: Ph 6.8 Ammonia 0 Nitrite 0...

Hey everyone, I've been seeing this bubbly foam surrounding the rim of the tank for a couple of weeks now. It goes away after doing a water change but reappears after a couple of days or so. I've attached a picture of what it looks like! Just wondering if it's harmful or a common appearance...

Hi All, I have recently set up a new 2.6 gallon Fluval tank. It is housing my sick betta and then eventually a shrimp only tank. This tank is completely stock and pretty heavily planted. I'd like to know what plants have been successfully grown in this tank and any fertilization...

Hi all, I got a new aquarium bowl for Christmas and wanted to try using soil for this one. I watched a lot of "Foo the Flowerhorn's" videos and am using this as a starting point. I'm going to use miracle grow organic choice potting mix (filtering out large pieces). My question is what to use...

These terms don't really make any sense in terms of helping hobbyists. We get to choose: tanks, substrate, lighting, dosing, CO2, automation, filtration, plants, inverts, fish, water changes, etc. Any of those choices could go in a different direction. In the 90s, I worked at a record store...

Ok, folks. My introduction to this forum may end up getting me promptly kicked off this forum, but here goes. I'm here because I got a guppy by accident two days ago. I teach introductory environmental science to non-science majors, and in our unit on nutrient cycling I have my students set...

https://www.liquidcreations.co/product/ludwigia-sp-polycarpa-live-aquarium-plant/ I'm looking at Hygrophila Serphyllum as a possible low-tech carpet, foreground carpet plant. I have not had any luck with dwarf sag and I want to try something more than the xmas moss carpet I have. But I've...

What is the most budget-friendly, off brand substrate to use in a low-tech aquarium? There will be shrimp, fish, snails in said tank. It will be my first tank. I'm only planning on using a 9-gal tank so the bag doesn't need to be huge!

Disclaimer: Am noob, trying to build his first low-tech planted tank. So I have been researching about lighting my 60gal 47L x 20H x 16W inch tank. I thought LEDs were supposed to be more efficient. But looking at the classic T5HO 54W Bulbs, they yield around 4700 Lumens. A 50W LED...

Hi guys I'm new to this site but not entirely new to aquariums I've been keeping fish for the last 15 years. Usually low-tech low maintenance stuff - I started off with goldfish and fake plants haha. My last tank before I downsized and moved into a unit was a 3ft community tank with danios...

HEY TPT USERS! Ive had plants in some of my previous tanks but never kept a fully planted aquarium. Recently have decided I love this look and cant wait to setup my 40 breeder into an awesome community tank. Im in the planning stages now with the beginning of the build starting mid august...

So recently I upgraded my dwarf shrimp from a 5.5 gallon to a 20 gallon low-tech planted tank. However the shelf I had previously used to house the nano tank was too weak to hold anything more than what it was. (The shelf already showed a slight bow in the middle after 8 months which is what...

Hey guys, so long story short, I have zero skill with planting plants in good locations. My tank looks like something at a pet store where people pick their plants and take them home. I just got a bunch of stem plants from a guy on kijiji, and I've never actually planted plants that don't...

Hey Everyone - I'm upgrading my 5.5gal guppy tank to a 50gal low light planted tank. I've been reading and re-reading the stickies and posts. This is an incredible source of information :smile2: Here is what I've figured out and what questions I still have. I'd love to get your input...

I'm new to the hobby and plan on getting a 40-gallon breeder tank. I'd like to keep it low-tech and plan on using low-light plants. I've been doing a lot of research online (forums, Youtube, etc). Please look at my inventory list below and let me know if you have any...

Hi all, I'm brand new to the aquascaping / aquarium world. After a ton of research and much back and fourth about what gear to get, I just finished setting up my first tank! I'm trying to keep it simple by going low-tech, but I may end up adding new plants and/or C02 in the future. I've...

Has anyone ever successfully managed to set up a dirted nano (~5gallons) tech that has no tech (no filter, no heater, etc.) and minimal maintenance other than water changes? I'm basing this post based on this youtube video I found: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TYrqG3ORTGo The descriptions...

I have a ten gallon betta tank running two biological filters, lit 8 hours per day with two 7W CFL bulbs (275 lumens, 6500 K). I just switched over from inadequate bulbs that were killing my plants and promoting brown algae. I have everything planted in black Eco-Complete substrate, and dose...

Hello! I'm working on a 10 gallon dirted Iwagumi style tank. This is my first tank and I'm learning the mechanics of how these ecosystems work, so I would love some input on my methodology. Substrate The bottom 1" layer of the substrate is a 1:1 ratio by volume of organic potting soil (peat...