i have been told that i dont need a filter if i have a decent planted tank. what plants are good at removing amonia (sp?) etc and clearing the water. if i have to ill have a sponge filter but would rather plant my bottom of tank fully out.

thanks.

....that's risky but without a filter you'll have to do MORE waterchanges if you don't mind. And also depends on what fish you have, some fish poo a lot plus rubbish builds up in the gravel over time too.

You might be able to get away with a small tank fully planted out but even then I'd be wary

use a filter.

always.

its just safer. in the ideal world you would not need one, but lets face it. everyone gets lazy and misses the odd waterchange, and before you realise it... its too late.

i might stick a sponge filter in the corner. coz the tank is a 22L and i have betta who dont like current at all.

have a read here quite interesting.

http://www.aquabotanic.com/plants_and_b ... ration.htm

oh. 22L?

you may be able to get away with it then.

is he going to be the only fish in that tank?

not he she, i did have 4 girls but last night one commited suicide coz the lid wasnt one and she jumped out. i have 3 girls at the moment adn dont know how many i can have in that.

any ideas?? could i have 10 girls in there if its planted?

i did have my lovely boy in there, but now have a total of 4 boys. i am gonna get a tank made that has partitions and plant them out for the boys each. too with no filter.

thanks for the help

any ideas?? could i have 10 girls in there if its planted?

having plants in the tank decreases the "stress" on your filters. It in no way increases your bio load.

I wouldn't think that you could put those many in there as a long term solution.

Perhaps some of the more experienced betta keepers would like to answer, I've always bought the best bettas and bred the odd one or two - but always killed them eventually (dropsy-> overfeeding).

i want to have heaps of girls and have them in a big tank. but i feel bad coz i spent $120 on my tank and dont want i sitting there empty.

what else could i put in there (not neons please) that wont out grow it, but would look cool?

killies :lol:

and those awesome threadfin rainbows.

Killies are pretty!

killies :lol:

Watch it - it's a con job, one sort of killie is never enough!

phoenix44 wrote:

killies :lol:

Watch it - it's a con job, one sort of killie is never enough!

:oops:

OK so here we go again

you do not need a filter on a tank.

It depends on stocking levels

i have a standard 3 ft tank that has guppies in it.

I feed it lightly and I do about 3 water changes a year

It has a gravel base of about 5-7 cm and I never vax the gravel I have Crypts ( a couple different types and a small amazonian sword)

It has reasonable light levels and I dont have any algae.

It is a matter of balance and patience.

The ol timers didnt have filters, used oild lamps to heat slate bottomed tanks, and had poor water to start with...they did ok

Navarre

I agree with Navarre. A filter and or an airstone allows you to load the tank above a natural level. Cosidering that you can get over a million bacteria on a pinhead, there will be heaps of nitrifying bacteria in a tank without a filter. Having a filter encourages more bacteria because of the continuous flow of food (until most people over clean it). An airstone increases the surface area and allows some overstocking of fish. An unfiltered, unaerated planted tank is fine provided it is not over stocked with fish. I have a number of unfiltered, unaerated and unplanted tanks that are lightly stocked with fish and they are fine.

i have three small swords, a fluffy plant (starts with a), three other plants with lots of small leaves and three other plants with big long leaves. the water looks better than when i had a filter! no filter now coz i turned it off coz my kuhli loach was trying to climb up it! and i came back one day to find 2 out of 3 of my female bettas stuck to it. they are fine, but they are happier with just plants. they happy.

my kuhli loach comes out more now!

having plants in the tank decreases the "stress" on your filters. It in no way increases your bio load.

I wouldn't think that you could put those many in there as a long term solution.

PROVIDED the plants stay healthy and grow, otherwise the bio load will increase as the plants break down.

as mentioned a filter and frequent small water changes will be your best bet 8)

i need sponge filters for my tanks and i cant have 15 airpumps.

you can get adapters with 5 way valves....whatever works for you though...

i got an 5 way adapter but having trouble making sure all of them get enough air. my fish seem happier without a filter, just hav an airstone. and they like that. kuhli loach is playing in the pots and plants.

As was said above it all depends on the overall bioload etc. I have white cloud mountain minnows in an outside pond and I always winter some inside just in case our winter gets too cold and I lose the outside ones (I never have). Most years the ones that I brought inside have spent the winter with 10 fish in a little unfiltered 10 litre tank - ie one fish per litre. I always keep an eye on how the water looks, and am careful not to overfeed. Have done this about 5 years and never lost a fish yet. The plants I use for this are those that grow well floating rather than needing substrate, although sometimes I might put a little pot of something in. For the overall science of the role of plants in water quality I'm a big fan of Diana Walstad's book "The ecology of the planted aquarium".

thanks i will look that book up

indian fern would be good as a floating plant...it sucks up heaps of nutrients and i think has been proven to release natural antibiotics....

ill have to get some