# Does anyone run a planted tank without a filter?



## 691175002 (Apr 28, 2009)

bettafanatic said:


> I have a 55g heavily planted aquarium and I'm interested in going filterless. I hate everything about the filter. It's ugly, clogs, moves water too heavily where it's placed but I have no water movement elsewhere, etc. I want to just straight up go filterless and use water pumps for circulation. Anyone else do this? If so what was your experience?


I have been moving in that direction.

Biological and chemical filtration are less important in a planted tank, but you will need to stock lightly if you plan to avoid filters altogether. I like having some kind of mechanical filtration because otherwise debris can take a very long time to settle. A sock/sponge over the powerhead is enough.


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## bettafanatic (Nov 2, 2016)

691175002 said:


> bettafanatic said:
> 
> 
> > I have a 55g heavily planted aquarium and I'm interested in going filterless. I hate everything about the filter. It's ugly, clogs, moves water too heavily where it's placed but I have no water movement elsewhere, etc. I want to just straight up go filterless and use water pumps for circulation. Anyone else do this? If so what was your experience?
> ...


I have a sponge over the intank tube and i still am not happy. My stocking are as follows: 1 male betta, 6 black neons, 6 albino corys, 4 oto, and a few red cherry shrimp so I feel it is lightly stocked. Plants: 4 hygro willows, 4 amazon swords (both of which grow like a weed), lots of pennywort, 6 anubias and 3 moss balls. I'm ordering 2 more swords and probably 3 more willows soon. I have been researching all day and am looking at the hydor 425. I was thinking if I buy 2 and place one on each end of the tank then that should give it plenty of movement as I really don't want a lot. Just enough to keep the plants from getting film covered and to keep the ferts circulating. Thoughts? Also I do weekly water changes but can bump it up to 2 if need be.


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## philipraposo1982 (Mar 6, 2014)

I don't see why the filter is clogging. But that's kind of a sign not to get away from it maybe.

As for your stocking I would say your on the light side forsure.

Maybe your overfeeding? What substrate are you using? How big of water changes are you doing?

Sent from my SM-N900W8 using Tapatalk


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

bettafanatic said:


> I have a 55g heavily planted aquarium and I'm interested in going filterless. I hate everything about the filter. It's ugly, clogs, moves water too heavily where it's placed but I have no water movement elsewhere, etc. I want to just straight up go filterless and use water pumps for circulation. Anyone else do this? If so what was your experience?


i havent done it myself but ive seen a tank with zero technology on it with 1 water change per year with lush plants and fishes inside. eco in itself once it is balanced.


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## Mattb126 (Nov 13, 2016)

Do you have co2 in this tank?


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

Mattb126 said:


> Do you have co2 in this tank?


no, there is no tech on this tank. not even lights. it uses sun light.


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## Mattb126 (Nov 13, 2016)

IntotheWRX said:


> no, there is no tech on this tank. not even lights. it uses sun light.


Oh, well what I would do if I were you is get a sponge filter and just run it at night when you don't care about the look of the tank. I did that with an old 20 gallon and had really good results.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

There's a lot of different ways you can go about this hobby. It's more a matter of what your goals are and how much limitation your willing to accept.


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## DaveK (Jul 10, 2010)

If you go way back in time, like pre 1940, many tanks were kept without filtration, and in some cases good results were obtained. There is no reason you can't do this. 

At the same time, a good filtration system sure does make keeping a tank a lot easier. 

I would be inclined to keep the filtration system, but look into different kinds of filtration systems. There are some that require minimal maintenance.


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## nel (Jan 23, 2016)

I have a 4 litre (1 gallon) jar on my desk. 15 shrimps, many plants, no filter, no heater, no water changes. Everything seems fine. Shrimps are growing, probably in no time they'll start to breed. BUT it needs to be really stable before you put anything in it. I've waited for 3 months before I put shrimps in it. The substrate needs to be the bacterial filter, so it needs time.


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## GraphicGr8s (Apr 4, 2011)

IntotheWRX said:


> no, there is no tech on this tank. not even lights. it uses sun light.


I had a tank setup exactly like what you want. It was on our screened back porch so I did supplement the sun with a fixture.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/12-tank-journals/155609-all-natural-planted-soil-tank.html


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## bettafanatic (Nov 2, 2016)

Mine is a 55g with black diamond blasting sand. I just added 3 more hygro plants and will be ordering about 6 laced java ferns next week so I'm going to bump up the plant stocking and go from there. For now I put a mesh screen on the filter intake and have had zero clogging issues (I think my problem was what I was using on the intake not necessarily clogging from debris). I'm still not happy with the flow even after baffling but I'm going to keep it for now until my plants grow out more then reevaluate. I have a super heavily planted 10g (2 swords, 6 anubias, 1 tall java fern, 3 laced java ferns, and a ton of pennywort) that I'm going to try filterless first as it's not as big of a loss if I crash it and learn from that before I attempt with my 55g. Thanks everyone.


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## bodul67 (Sep 28, 2020)

bettafanatic said:


> I have a 55g heavily planted aquarium and I'm interested in going filterless. I hate everything about the filter. It's ugly, clogs, moves water too heavily where it's placed but I have no water movement elsewhere, etc. I want to just straight up go filterless and use water pumps for circulation. Anyone else do this? If so what was your experience?



I have a heavy heated planted 55gal tank which used to be hooked up to a 20gal sump. I have approx 60 community fish (Platty & Tetras). It's also a deep substrate with 1" nutrient filled soil & 3" sand capping. Another note is that the tank is about 2 1/2 years old and I've never vacuumed the fish waste out. The key to a No Filter tank is the substrate. The plants will take care of Ammonia, Nitrites & Nitrates in water column and the plant root system will take of the rest. The fish waste & plant decay will dissolve into the sand bed and make it's way down to the roots to feed the plants. It's a complete ecosystem that takes care of it's self. Mind you it all depends also on how many plants & fish you have. Also DO NOT OVER FEED!

I feed my fish every 3rd day and a pinch of food, enough for each fish to get some. If all of them don't get any food, not to worry because within 2 hrs the other fish poop and the fish will eat the poop and so on. Think of the real world, nobody is out in the lakes or oceans feeding fish, they will eat poop because there are still enough nutrients in it 3 to 4 times over. Also my fish will peck at leaves, micro organisms and any kind of algea in tank. 

I have the tank setup now for 1 month without a filter and plants and fish are thriving. I check water parameters once a week and the water is perfect. I have a lid on tank so as not to have too much evaporation. I just top off the tank so far 1 time. I will do my first water change this weekend and probably do 5 gals and no more than that because I don't want to disrupt the parameters too much. I got all my knowledge from YouTube's "Father Fish". Go check him out if you never heard of him. He has a bunch of vid's on deep substrate which turns your tank into a complete ecosystem. I have 5 other tanks that are set up just like my 55gal. The only time I use a filter is to seed a new tank with beneficial bacteria and after a few weeks I take them out. But I will make sure the bioload from fish will be less than the amount of plants can handle.


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## Fake_Buce777 (May 21, 2021)

bettafanatic said:


> I have a 55g heavily planted aquarium and I'm interested in going filterless. I hate everything about the filter. It's ugly, clogs, moves water too heavily where it's placed but I have no water movement elsewhere, etc. I want to just straight up go filterless and use water pumps for circulation. Anyone else do this? If so what was your experience?


I have. And I had changed my mind twice. Chief factor: other inhabitants. None of mine have/had plants only for a long time. Either shrimp, fish, or some of both. And so each time any food was of even slight excess, water would show it. Not an issue with a filter. Bottom line: I am not sure it helps Your question.



bodul67 said:


> I have a heavy heated planted 55gal tank which used to be hooked up to a 20gal sump. I have approx 60 community fish (Platty & Tetras). It's also a deep substrate with 1" nutrient filled soil & 3" sand capping. Another note is that the tank is about 2 1/2 years old and I've never vacuumed the fish waste out. The key to a No Filter tank is the substrate. The plants will take care of Ammonia, Nitrites & Nitrates in water column and the plant root system will take of the rest. The fish waste & plant decay will dissolve into the sand bed and make it's way down to the roots to feed the plants. It's a complete ecosystem that takes care of it's self. Mind you it all depends also on how many plants & fish you have. Also DO NOT OVER FEED!
> 
> I feed my fish every 3rd day and a pinch of food, enough for each fish to get some. If all of them don't get any food, not to worry because within 2 hrs the other fish poop and the fish will eat the poop and so on. Think of the real world, nobody is out in the lakes or oceans feeding fish, they will eat poop because there are still enough nutrients in it 3 to 4 times over. Also my fish will peck at leaves, micro organisms and any kind of algea in tank.
> 
> I have the tank setup now for 1 month without a filter and plants and fish are thriving. I check water parameters once a week and the water is perfect. I have a lid on tank so as not to have too much evaporation. I just top off the tank so far 1 time. I will do my first water change this weekend and probably do 5 gals and no more than that because I don't want to disrupt the parameters too much. I got all my knowledge from YouTube's "Father Fish". Go check him out if you never heard of him. He has a bunch of vid's on deep substrate which turns your tank into a complete ecosystem. I have 5 other tanks that are set up just like my 55gal. The only time I use a filter is to seed a new tank with beneficial bacteria and after a few weeks I take them out. But I will make sure the bioload from fish will be less than the amount of plants can handle.


That sounds like a cool tank. The real world vs. Who eats what; that kind of applies in other spheres 🤔


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## Anon (Mar 16, 2014)

Hi Everyone,

I'm _so_ pleased to have discovered this thread on a forum that I have not visited for a while - TPT. The short answer to the question posed in the thread title is - yes, I do run a planted tank without a filter. But, it's getting late in the evening for me. So, I'll be back tomorrow to read the thread in its entirety and add my contribution. Until then...

Anon


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## Anon (Mar 16, 2014)

Hi Everyone,

The tank that I have set up is a 30 litre cube. Filtration is provided by a large Java Fern. Water flow is provided by a small surface skimmer, which also helps to keep the water oxygenated. The substrate is inert, being a 2 cm depth of silica sand with 1 - 2 mm grain size. A gentle flow of CO2 supplies carbon and also maintains water column pH at 6.6 +/- 0.2 at all times, i.e. 24/7. I monitor pH continuously. I also monitor ORP/Redox to ensure no excessive build-up of dissolved organics.

This tank has been running for eight months and is home to 10 healthy Vietnamese Cardinal Minnows. I maintain phosphate and iron at around 0.1 ppm. Most of the ferts are residuals from light feeding.

Lighting is not critical, being supplied by a simple Sera 5W LED. Tank temperature is kept at 23 - 24C.

Finally, algae and Cyanobacteria (aka BGA) growth is non-existent.

I will attach a photo - hopefully, tomorrow.

Anon


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## Deanna (Feb 15, 2017)

Anon said:


> Hi Everyone,
> 
> The tank that I have set up is a 30 litre cube. Filtration is provided by a large Java Fern. Water flow is provided by a small surface skimmer, which also helps to keep the water oxygenated. The substrate is inert, being a 2 cm depth of silica sand with 1 - 2 mm grain size. A gentle flow of CO2 supplies carbon and also maintains water column pH at 6.6 +/- 0.2 at all times, i.e. 24/7. I monitor pH continuously. I also monitor ORP/Redox to ensure no excessive build-up of dissolved organics.
> 
> ...


This thread is quite old, so you may not get a reaction from the OP's. Given your description, you may want to start a journal, as a lot of members like to follow journals.


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## Anon (Mar 16, 2014)

Deanna said:


> This thread is quite old, so you may not get a reaction from the OP's. Given your description, you may want to start a journal, as a lot of members like to follow journals.


Hi @Deanna 

Many thanks for your reply.

I was aware that this thread had been started a few years ago. But, then I noticed that @bodul67 had replied in March this year. As this approach to aquarium-keeping is so easy to implement and maintain, I thought that others may be interested. I'd be happy to continue this as a Journal but my hunch is that there may not be much to update on an ongoing basis.

Anon


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## mourip (Mar 15, 2020)

I for one would enjoys a couple of pics. I am always interested in different approaches to the same goal of a good looking algae free tank!


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## Anon (Mar 16, 2014)

mourip said:


> I for one would enjoys a couple of pics. I am always interested in different approaches to the same goal of a good looking algae free tank!


Hi @mourip 

I will provide a piccie within the next couple of days. Sorry for the delay.

Anon


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## Anon (Mar 16, 2014)

mourip said:


> I for one would enjoys a couple of pics. I am always interested in different approaches to the same goal of a good looking algae free tank!


Hi @mourip 

At long last, here is a photo of the tank referenced in this thread:


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## Asteroid (Jul 26, 2018)

Once the tank matures the filter really is mostly a flow device. Good for mechanical filtration but other than that, not really needed. I've done alot of tanks without filters, usually on the small side but everything grew nicely.


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## Anon (Mar 16, 2014)

Asteroid said:


> Once the tank matures the filter really is mostly a flow device. Good for mechanical filtration but other than that, not really needed. I've done alot of tanks without filters, usually on the small side but everything grew nicely.


Hi @Asteroid 

Good on ya! 

Having spent a lot of time on A N Other forum, I knew of no-one who had set up a tank using the same principles that I wanted to put to the test. It's good to know that you have done the same several times. And, I assume that you too had only trivial/zero Cyano and/or algae growth.

Anon


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## Anon (Mar 16, 2014)

Anon said:


> I knew of no-one who had set up a tank using the same principles that I wanted to put to the test.


Hi @Asteroid & Everyone,

I was reasonably confident that the Java Fern would uptake all the inorganic compounds, i.e. TAN, etc. But, I was less sure about organic compounds. That is why I chose to monitor ORP/Redox. After the tank had been running for six months, I sent a water sample to a Test Laboratory to carry out a TOC* measurement. The figure came back as 2.23 mg/litre, which is an excellent result. At that time, ORP was measuring typically +420mV.

* TOC = Total Organic Carbon

Anon


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## GrampsGrunge (Jun 18, 2012)

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It occurred to me that my 32 gallon from back in 1993~96 was near filterless. It was an experiment using the Booth's AFH magazine's chronicled Dupla heating cable and laterite substrate.

I had an ancient Lee's HOB power filter from the mid 1970's running part of the hot water cycling through an airline tubing grid buried in the 3" deep gravel. The water from the filter's outflow was weired into a yougurt container reservoir about 4" higher than the water surface of the tank, that fed into a coil of silicon tubing wrapped around the Mercury vapor light's ballast, warmed up to about 120~130 degrees, and pumped by gravity feed into the grid under the gravel. The HOB filter became a home for a stray Oakleaf Water Sprite that grew aerial leaves 15" radius in size. The 125 watt Mercury Vapor light was in a pendant fixture 19" above the tank and HOB filter and also provided light for a few other houseplants. The Lee's filter was really anemic for a really large capacity HOB, so the returned water didn't really do much except to help diffuse a little 2 liter DIY yeast-sugar CO2 reactor. I did water changes about every other month as I was feeding my fish fairly frequently ( about 15 small Tetras, a Goldeneye Dwarf Ciclid pair, a few Hara Jerdoni and a fat old Clown Pekoltia. I ran the tank a little warm at 78 degrees.


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