# Converting tropical tank to no filter tank



## Tijn74 (Oct 2, 2019)

So I recently bought a second hand aquarium with a lot of stuff included. (2 Internal filters, 2 air pumps, 2 heaters and a lot of decorations).
I bought some plants for it and got the filters running, but I actually want to make it a filterless aquarium.

The Aquarium is 75Lx31Wx34H=79.050L=20.882800739 Gallon, so lets just say 20 gallon

My current plants are: Myriophyllum, Eleocharis, Lilaeopsis, Cryptocoryne amicorum and Echinodorus.

On the bottom I have: 
Superfish Plant Substrate
A bag of aquarium gravel (it didn't say anything more specific on the bag, but I'll add a picture) 
There's no fish in it yet.

What do I need to do before it can run filterless?
I read something about the Walstad Method, but they used whole different things as a substrate. I also read it's recommended to read Diana Walstad's book, which I'm ready to do if that's the best way to go. 

Do I need other substrate before it can run filterless?

Do I need more plants? (and if so, what are your recommandations?)

What's best to do at this moment? Turn off the pumps and let it take care of itself?


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## FlatfishTanker (Sep 17, 2019)

Read the Walstad book. That's the best way to go in my opinion! It's not an easy read, but pay attention to the intro and first chapter or two and the last few chapters. The middle of the book is very scientific and hard to follow for a guppy like me. But it gets summed up pretty good. Pay close attention and drink lot's of coffee! You will learn, at least by her standards, that your setup if bound to fail if you turn off your filters. She is not anti-filter. But the biological filtration in the Walstad Method tank is removing many of the nutrients your plants need to thrive. And when your plants thrive, they filter out the stuff that's harmful to fish. Chemical filtration (Charcoal) also removes many of the beneficial chemicals your plants need, but still may be used on occasion. What's left is mechanical filtration. Simple water polishing to remove particulates that may make your water cloudy. I assume even this doesn't have to run all the time. At the very least, you may need something to move the water around gently to distribute heat if needed and nutrients. Now this is coming from an old dude who doesn't even have a tank of his own yet! But I did just finish reading the Walstad book, and I'm going to set one up soon following her teachings as best I can. I just bought a used $20 55 gallon tank. Problem is, I bought it a few days ago before I read her chapter on emergent plants. Now I see that the tank is probably too tall and narrow for this method. So I suggest reading the book before you jump the gun like I did! If you want to, get the book, read it, and then PM me if you want to compare notes and do this together. I'm probably going to start in the 20 gallon range too.

I'm also going to be asking a bunch more questions on this site regarding the Walstad method/book, So stay tuned...

Wayne


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## Deanna (Feb 15, 2017)

I assume that you are talking about using no bio-media or chemical media and using only mechanical filtration. You should have some means for catching larger particles and disposing of them, and this is where the mechanical media comes into play.

Yes, you can run without bio-media or chemical media in a filter, but it is probably better to learn how to establish a healthy planted tank first - with BB in your filter - before trying to remove it. The fish load to plant ratio has a lot to do with it and it will take some experience balancing this, unless you want to learn by trial-and-error, which involves a high likelihood of killing some fish.

I have a high-tech setup with a very high bio-load and plenty of plants and use no bio-media or chemical media in my filter. However, I think it is easier to do it in a high-tech setup than in a low-tech setup due to rapid growth of plants.

Before Diana Walstad, who summed-up and detailed what we already practiced and why it worked, I ran a low-tech tank for many decades without bio-media in my filters. At the time, we didn’t understand the nitrogen cycle, so we threw out our floss and charcoal (which is all that we used), every week, when we cleaned the filter. This meant that no BB activity could develop in the filter. We learned, the hard way, that fish load and feeding had to be closely monitored. Now, especially for a low-tech tank, I would definitely recommend that you read her book.

Once you have your traditional tank setup in place for a while (6 months?) and it is running well, you can then begin removing the non-mechanical media. My reason for doing it is a belief that plants benefit by having greater access to the nitrogenous stream, rather than allowing the BB in a filter to strip it out. If/when you do decide to go this route, do it slowly to allow the BB in your substrate and other surfaces to develop to their maximum potential. Take out about 20% of your starting total each week and watch your ammonia levels throughout.


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## Discusluv (Dec 24, 2017)

Deanna said:


> I assume that you are talking about using no bio-media or chemical media and using only mechanical filtration. You should have some means for catching larger particles and disposing of them, and this is where the mechanical media comes into play.
> 
> Yes, you can run without bio-media or chemical media in a filter, but it is probably better to learn how to establish a healthy planted tank first - with BB in your filter - before trying to remove it. The fish load to plant ratio has a lot to do with it and it will take some experience balancing this, unless you want to learn by trial-and-error, which involves a high likelihood of killing some fish.
> 
> ...


 I am happy to see that you have stressed here that a "no-filter" aquarium is a method that a beginner can _eventually _end at ( with experience) and not a method for the beginner to start with. 

As in all things that have the potential to keep us interested for a lifetime ( such as this hobby)--- we need to know the rules before we can break the rules. 

Keeping an aquarium is a complex process that requires many balls being suspended in the air that an experienced aquarist begins to just manage intuitively. For a beginner, these elements ( the nitrogen cycle, fish care in all its various elements, plants and all their various elements) must be concentrated on to see how they work both separately as well as integrally. 



There are several very important learning steps to go through before you reach the understanding needed to do a "filter-less" aquarium. This especially the case if you are planning to add livestock.


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## minorhero (Mar 28, 2019)

Tijn74 said:


> So I recently bought a second hand aquarium with a lot of stuff included. (2 Internal filters, 2 air pumps, 2 heaters and a lot of decorations).
> I bought some plants for it and got the filters running, but I actually want to make it a filterless aquarium.
> 
> The Aquarium is 75Lx31Wx34H=79.050L=20.882800739 Gallon, so lets just say 20 gallon
> ...


3 things

1) Welcome!! This is a great hobby and this forum is a great place to learn.

2) no filter tanks are usually not beginner friendly so I would say, don't do it. But if you plan to do it regardless of what we say ..

3) you need more plants. Probably 3 times as many plants. You also need an active substrate of some kind. You mentioned Something called super fish plant substrate. I have not heard of this and a Google search turned up nothing. So I can't say if this is an ada style aquasoil or not. If it is and it's under your inert gravel then great. Otherwise garden soil would work also and that is where the Walstad method would take you. 

If you buy more plants put an emphasis on fast growing stems and spread them out don't plant in giant bunches like you have currently. Speaking of which you are going to want to break them up a bit so the plants can propagate. 

Definitely watch some videos on planting. Good luck!


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## FlatfishTanker (Sep 17, 2019)

It is pretty clear in her book that Diana Walstad believes that biological filtration competes with plants for the ammonium/nitrites that the plants use to grow. And again, I'm a total newb to this, and I sometimes get confused over ammonium - ammonia -nitrites - nitrates. I'm just trying to understand this better before I set up MY tank. Almost everyone I see on videos have filtration on their dirt planted tanks. Is it recommended to START OUT with biological filtration until the plants mature, then slowly back off the bio and let the plants do their thing? Does using biological filtration slow down the process of plant growth in the beginning when we want our plants to grow in and mature? What if we keep our tank fish free until our plants grow in to the point where we can start adding fish. Do we still need biological filtration if we DON'T have fish in the tank?

I'm sorry I ask so many questions. My nickname when I was younger was Wayne the Pain! The Walstad book leaves a lot of stuff for us to figure out on our own. I wish I could talk to her for an hour and ask a ton of questions. I'm pretty clear how the whole method works in general. It's the GETTING STARTED that's a little muddy to me.

I was considering using a corner Matten filter. But they are typically driven by air and Ms. Walstad makes it clear that airstones remove CO2, something we definitely don't want to do.


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## TheDukeAnumber1 (Sep 13, 2018)

There is some value in reading her book but it's not a necessary read for keeping planted aquariums or dirted tanks and it can even be misleading. And IMO it's overpriced.

Having a no filter tank is not difficult. Run a couple air stones for oxygenation and water flow. Mechanical and chemical filtration are optional and aquariums with substrate can house all the beneficial bateria in the tank.

I prefer filterless too and If I had your tank assuming it's already cycled I would put an airstone in the two back corners and call it done and test water in a few days to confirm all is well.


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## DaveKS (Apr 2, 2019)

What is advantage of going filterless for you that you believe makes it’s the way you want to go?


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## TheDukeAnumber1 (Sep 13, 2018)

DaveKS said:


> What is advantage of going filterless for you that you believe makes it’s the way you want to go?



There are a few reasons I like it.


- Feeding is easier when there is no filter. I feed baby brine and smaller dry foods so I don't have to stop the filter when I feed brine and food doesn't have to rot in the filter.


- I like the simplicity, aesthetic, reliability, and redundancy of a few air lines with their own pumps run to the tank. No filter malfunctions to deal with. An air pump going down won't be catastrophic.


- Without mechanical filtration more settles into the substrate which the detritus eaters break down into mulm and more food for my root feeding plants. Forces more biological activity to take place in the substrate which I believe is a good thing.



Works for me, not for everyone.


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## DaveKS (Apr 2, 2019)

TheDukeAnumber1 said:


> There are a few reasons I like it.
> 
> 
> - Feeding is easier when there is no filter. I feed baby brine and smaller dry foods so I don't have to stop the filter when I feed brine and food doesn't have to rot in the filter.
> ...


Oh, I agree with you for most part. But I was asking original poster. Don’t think its going to be what you or I would think reason is going to be.


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## max_clare (Sep 9, 2019)

I’m running an ultra-low tech filterless tank (no air stones even) and I’ve never had any issues: no surface scum, no ammonia spikes, no algae. The trick is to have a huge plant mass, like basically have at least 80% of your substrate covered in plants. You’ll need fast growing plants such as stems and vals in order to suck up all the ammonia and oxygenate the water. I used a soil substrate, which resulted in lots of plant growth. Since soil leaches ammonia at the beginning, I just set my tank up and left it for a month or two, and it cycled itself. Once my ammonia readings were zero, I knew that my plants and bacteria were developed enough to deal with ammonia in the tank, so I added fish. 

I added a picture of my tank (this is after a big trim btw) to give you a sense of how many plants you’ll need. Of course, this is after 6 months of growth, but you’ll still need a hefty amount to start with.


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## united natures (May 15, 2019)

It's very easy to go filterless: just have LESS fish.

For 20 gal, 1-2 tiny mollies should be fine.


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## Discusluv (Dec 24, 2017)

united natures said:


> It's very easy to go filterless: just have LESS fish.
> 
> For 20 gal, 1-2 tiny mollies should be fine.



And you find that most people can _easily_ limit themselves to 1-2 fish in a 20 gallon aquarium?


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## united natures (May 15, 2019)

Discusluv said:


> And you find that most people can _easily_ limit themselves to 1-2 fish in a 20 gallon aquarium?


>>> Yeah...........that's the biggest problem, lack of self control lol.


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## aquanerd13 (Jun 22, 2019)

FlatfishTanker said:


> It is pretty clear in her book that Diana Walstad believes that biological filtration competes with plants for the ammonium/nitrites that the plants use to grow. And again, I'm a total newb to this, and I sometimes get confused over ammonium - ammonia -nitrites - nitrates. I'm just trying to understand this better before I set up MY tank. Almost everyone I see on videos have filtration on their dirt planted tanks. Is it recommended to START OUT with biological filtration until the plants mature, then slowly back off the bio and let the plants do their thing? Does using biological filtration slow down the process of plant growth in the beginning when we want our plants to grow in and mature? What if we keep our tank fish free until our plants grow in to the point where we can start adding fish. Do we still need biological filtration if we DON'T have fish in the tank?
> 
> I'm sorry I ask so many questions. My nickname when I was younger was Wayne the Pain! The Walstad book leaves a lot of stuff for us to figure out on our own. I wish I could talk to her for an hour and ask a ton of questions. I'm pretty clear how the whole method works in general. It's the GETTING STARTED that's a little muddy to me.
> 
> I was considering using a corner Matten filter. But they are typically driven by air and Ms. Walstad makes it clear that airstones remove CO2, something we definitely don't want to do.


Diana Walstad is a member of this forum BTW.


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## max_clare (Sep 9, 2019)

united natures said:


> It's very easy to go filterless: just have LESS fish.
> 
> For 20 gal, 1-2 tiny mollies should be fine.


You can definitely have more than 1-2 tiny mollies. The key is to stock slowly over a period of months. Once the initial rush of nutrients from the soil has been depleted, the idea is that fish waste will become the primary source of nutrients for the plants. 

I have 3 endlers and 2 sparkling gouramis in my 5 gallon filterless tank. Some would argue that it’s overstocked, but I find the tank to be perfectly balanced. I actually had poorer plant growth when I had fewer fish.


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## united natures (May 15, 2019)

max_clare said:


> You can definitely have more than 1-2 tiny mollies. The key is to stock slowly over a period of months. Once the initial rush of nutrients from the soil has been depleted, the idea is that fish waste will become the primary source of nutrients for the plants.
> 
> I have 3 endlers and 2 sparkling gouramis in my 5 gallon filterless tank. Some would argue that it’s overstocked, but I find the tank to be perfectly balanced. I actually had poorer plant growth when I had fewer fish.


Wow 5 fish in a 5gal! That's a lot! How much do you feed? > I am also assuming OP might have snails/shrimps too.


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## pauld738 (Jan 4, 2019)

max_clare said:


> I’m running an ultra-low tech filterless tank (no air stones even) and I’ve never had any issues: no surface scum, no ammonia spikes, no algae. The trick is to have a huge plant mass, like basically have at least 80% of your substrate covered in plants. You’ll need fast growing plants such as stems and vals in order to suck up all the ammonia and oxygenate the water. I used a soil substrate, which resulted in lots of plant growth. Since soil leaches ammonia at the beginning, I just set my tank up and left it for a month or two, and it cycled itself. Once my ammonia readings were zero, I knew that my plants and bacteria were developed enough to deal with ammonia in the tank, so I added fish.
> 
> I added a picture of my tank (this is after a big trim btw) to give you a sense of how many plants you’ll need. Of course, this is after 6 months of growth, but you’ll still need a hefty amount to start with.


This is how you do it. I would be using more flow if it were my tank but this is obviously working. Also feeding becomes very important. The right kind of food at the right amount. You over do it in these types of tanks and things go south quickly. If you have to use flake, use a high quality one.

Sent from my SM-T550 using Tapatalk


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## FlatfishTanker (Sep 17, 2019)

"Diana Walstad is a member of this forum BTW."

Yes, I have seen that she contributes from time to time. I would much rather talk directly to her than all you knuckleheads! I'm just kidding, of course. Everyone on this forum has been very helpful.

Her book resonated with me. It wasn't easy for me to read, because I'm not very smart.... but I read the whole thing!


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## max_clare (Sep 9, 2019)

I don’t find feeding to be a big issue in my tank, I feed a variety of packaged foods including flakes. Sometimes I’ll even over feed a little bit so that the plants can get some extra nutrients. I still don’t have algae.

When I first started the tank, I expected to follow the common sensibility of stocking a “Walstad” tank very lightly, but over time I realized that my plants could handle more than I gave them credit for. With these kinds of tanks, there are so many variables that all you can really do is start the tank and see how it goes. With an ultra-low tech tank, I think you have to be open to making a few mistakes at the beginning, and learning from them.


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## AbbeysDad (Apr 13, 2016)

I'm not sure I see much merit in not using a filter. Some seem to think that beneficial bacteria in a filter will remove plant nutrients (specifically ammonia/nitrite). But just like algae, plants will easily out compete BB for nutrients.

Also, BB is dependent on food, oxygen, and surface area. Food and O2 is pretty much the same and the surface area in nearly all substrates far exceeds that of any bio-media in any filter! 

Filters circulate water to disperse nutrients and eliminate thermal gradients...and they simply make water clearer (NOT cleaner) by trapping particulates and 'polishing' the water.

I know that there are those that think BB only lives in filters...it's a myth in the hobby. There are also those that have bought the marking hype for commercial bio-medias. Frankly sponge material is every bit as good, or better, platform for BB. All of my filters are filled with sponge/bio-sponge material. (note: consider huge fish rooms that are managed with air driven sponge filters).

In any case, it's all about balance and a filter is just an asset in aquarium maintenance. Personally, I would keep the filter with sponge material, but not use chemical filtration.


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