# Can you keep a tank without fish?



## HypnoticAquatic (Feb 17, 2010)

i wouldnt see any problem doing this as long as u followed a few things. because your going to afk for a while i would do a low tech tank prob with mts so it has a constant nutrient source with decent flow and u should be fine. i would do a few snails just to help with algae. if u wanted to keep fish you might be able to do a colony of cherrys and a fish to feed on them. would have to have very very few fish to not deplet the food source and starve but i think this could work with a 40b or so.


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## OverStocked (May 26, 2007)

In super low tech with very low demand plants not a problem. Keep the light cycle low(5 hours?) and use substrate with nutrients or root tabs, etc. 

Low light is essential too.


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## Senior Shrimpo (Dec 4, 2010)

Hm, what's AFK? I googled it and got "away from keyboard"

I was thinking more along the lines of full blown ADA mini setup. The house is ultra modern and an ADA setup would look amazing there. I guess if I had a few corona snails they'd be fine and there'd be an ammonia source? 

It'd be high tech except for ferts. I'd try to find a forgiving plant as far as ferts are concerned, lol. Or get an automated fert despenser.


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## OverStocked (May 26, 2007)

You can't have high light without co2 and constant nutrients. 

You could do on of the new fluval tanks with lower level LEDs.


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## zdnet (Aug 13, 2010)

Senior Shrimpo said:


> Could I keep everything on a timer and have a tank without fish?


My quarantine tank is a soil-based lo-tech planted tank with no CO2. Most of the time, it has no fish. Just plants with light on a timer to keep the tank in good condition so that the tank is ready when needed.


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## Senior Shrimpo (Dec 4, 2010)

Dang, I thought if I could just find a plant that didn't like nutrients then I'd be okay :hihi:

I don't really like low light tanks. Growth is so much slower in the plants. I've had a 10 gallon tank just for my red cherries set up sense September, and this is the growth of my plants: 

-java moss is slowly creeping on driftwood, maybe 1/2 covered
-java fern grew. a leaf.
-amazon sword did okay, grew a few leaves
-dwarf hairgrass put out a lot of runners but hasn't carpeted anything yet
-chain microsword is sending runners too, they're cool
-my crypt wendtii seemed to do great with a root tab, probably my fastest growing plant. Is that sad or what?

I prefer when I can see growth. I wish this wasn't a no-go, I'd love a tank there.

Zel, what do you do for ammonia sources?


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## zdnet (Aug 13, 2010)

Senior Shrimpo said:


> Zel, what do you do for ammonia sources?


If you are asking me, zdnet, there is no need to provide ammonia.


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## Senior Shrimpo (Dec 4, 2010)

Oops... I'm awful at remembering names. It's a bad habit of mine to just glance at someone's name and not get it right. 

Just last week I was talking to a man named Erle... I called him Erik...

Sorry zdnet. I thought you needed an ammonia source?


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## zdnet (Aug 13, 2010)

Senior Shrimpo said:


> I thought you needed an ammonia source?


What led you to believe that? 

I have read that plants prefer ammonia over nitrate. Thus, a great filter for removing ammonia from the water. But I don't recall reading anywhere saying that plants _need_ ammonia.


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## JamesHockey (Nov 10, 2010)

over_stocked said:


> In super low tech with very low demand plants not a problem. Keep the light cycle low(5 hours?) and use substrate with nutrients or root tabs, etc.
> 
> Low light is essential too.


I definitely see that your trying to sell your root tabs  jk


Sent from my iPod touch using Tapatalk


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## HypnoticAquatic (Feb 17, 2010)

you can have a low tech tank with co2 for faster growth but not as demanding as a high tech setup and being away for a while this would be your only bet to get the faster growth while still playing it much safer than a high tech. i would just do a mts and just revamp the soil with tabs or whatever u want so it doesnt get depleted asap. i have wanted to try a tank like this with just a powerhead on each side for flow would make a simple ecosystem. i would probably say go with only a couple species of plants with a system like this remember to keep it simple. low/med light with co2 and mts sounds like a win for sure, then just add tabs when u see it and should be just fine.


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## mordalphus (Jun 23, 2010)

Why not keep a tank with fish in it? If you go there once a month, that should be fine. I never feed my celestial pearl danios or cherry shrimp, and they're in the same tank. I feed them maybe once a month, the rest of the time they're eating biofilm and nematodes, baby shrimp, etc.

You could always try that combo! Cherry shrimp and CPD's, throw in some ramshorn snails or japanese trapdoor snails, and you'll be set!

-- liam


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## wendyjo (Feb 20, 2009)

If you use large plants to begin with your wouldn't care as much about how fast they grow.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Plants do need nitrogen. Lots of options in how to provide that.

If you want to set up a planted tank without livestock and minimize the fert dosing you need to do on the tank, then you need to set up as nutrient-rich a substrate as possible.

I would go with a low to moderate light setup to help, use pressurized CO2, and stuffed as full of plants as possible.

I'd probably at least have a nerite snail or two and some shrimp as algae eaters to help keep the tank clean. You wouldn't have to feed those as they could get everything they need from scavenging the tank.


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## Danh Vu (Jul 3, 2010)

Why no fish? How about an automatic fish feeder?


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## amcoffeegirl (May 26, 2009)

Does anyone check on your property? snow removal. or gardener? housekeeper? neighbor? because if so they could watch your tank.


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## wendyjo (Feb 20, 2009)

My tank is low tech - no ferts other than fish waste, no c02, low lights at about 1.5wpg - and it's like a freakin jungle in there. As long as you use low light plants you can easily achieve lush growth. I have dwarf sag as a carpet, a huge sword as a focal point, java fern and anubias glued to various pieces of decor at different heights to add visual interest, some hygro here and there, and duckweed as a floater. If you only fertilized occasionally or used just a bit of a slow release fert you should be able to achieve the same type of results.


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## zdnet (Aug 13, 2010)

lauraleellbp said:


> If you want to set up a planted tank without livestock and minimize the fert dosing you need to do on the tank, then you need to set up as nutrient-rich a substrate as possible.


Unfertilized regular top soil has served me well.


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## Senior Shrimpo (Dec 4, 2010)

Okay, I have no idea how to multiple quote things so I'll try to remember everyone's comments. 

zdnet: Not for the plants, for the cycle of the tank... It's weird to think of a tank without fish because there'd be no ammonia for bacteria to eat, which causes nitrites which are eaten and cause nitrates. 

amcoffeegirl: Nobody. We have a gardener but the house has an alarm and it'd be hard for him to not set it off...

Mordalphus: I was thinking a very small tank, maybe a 3-6 gallon. I don't like throwing fish in anything smaller than a 10, even little ones. Plus they'd starve... which brings me to thinking of snails again.

But in all thought, I don't think it'd be possible to grow these plants without daily ferts.


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## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

You don't have to worry about cycling a tank if there's no livestock going into it.

You DO need to make sure to feed the plants something, however. Plants need carbon, NPK (nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium), micros, and trace all for photosynthesis.

Lots of different ways you can go about providing those (substrate, water column, from livestock waste, etc), but they must be present if you want healthy plants.


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## zdnet (Aug 13, 2010)

Senior Shrimpo said:


> zdnet: Not for the plants, for the cycle of the tank... It's weird to think of a tank without fish because there'd be no ammonia for bacteria to eat, which causes nitrites which are eaten and cause nitrates.


For a soil-based tank, you don't need to worry about cycling because soil already has plenty of bacteria.

Oh, BTW, plenty of ammonium released during bacteria metabolism.


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## Senior Shrimpo (Dec 4, 2010)

Yep, I'd be short nutrients. I was just planning to use aquasoil.


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## zdnet (Aug 13, 2010)

Senior Shrimpo said:


> Yep, I'd be short nutrients. I was just planning to use aquasoil.


Is there a particular reason you have to use aquasoil? 

Keep things simple by using plain old unfertilized top soil. Just add plants, gravel, water, and a timer-controlled light. That's all!


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## Tunze (Sep 3, 2008)

I'm curious what your plans for topping off from water evaporation are?
I would think using fert tabs in the substrate could feed your plants while you are away.
Maybe you could do a test run at your house where you could monitor it and get a feel for whats needed.


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## Senior Shrimpo (Dec 4, 2010)

Tunze said:


> I'm curious what your plans for topping off from water evaporation are?
> I would think using fert tabs in the substrate could feed your plants while you are away.
> Maybe you could do a test run at your house where you could monitor it and get a feel for whats needed.


Heh, non-existant... this was mainly me being cosmetic and thinking I could keep a little tank without maintenance in my other house. 

@zdnet, no reason. Just felt like using it I guess.

I don't think this would work, lol. Too bad.


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## Hilde (May 19, 2008)

I am working on that now. It is basically a grow out tank. Plan is to break down guarantee tank and have this substrate 3in high:
1st layer reptile coconut bark
2nd layer Hydroponics potting soil, Scott's top soil and red bag kitty litter (ratio 2:2:1)
3rd layer Pool filter sand

Reptile bark, which was $3 at Pet Supermarket helps add Co2
Hydroponcis potting soil and Scott's top, which are from Wal-Mart, help add nutrients.
Red bag kitty litter, which is also from Wal-Mart, increases the abosrbancy of nutrients.
Pool filter sand for topping, which is from Lowe's. Can also be found at Home Depot.


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## Bettatail (Feb 12, 2009)

a planted tank one month without attendence, errh...

you can put algae eating fish and shrimps inside, but don't expect that tank look nice.


Edit: the tank needs to be good size and achieve some kind of self-sustain, and it will take some good hours to maintain it each time you visit, plus if there is something wrong, everything in that tank will go in the opposite direction that you expected.


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## Diana (Jan 14, 2010)

If you are thinking about a tank as small as that, just keep it at your main residence, and bring it with you when you go to the other house.


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