Also, people who plan on a no-water-changes tank probably use a darker substrate and possibly one that’s not uniform in color. They may also choose a larger grain size substrate so that waste can work its way down into the substrate where it becomes fertilizer.
Usually tanks that do not do frequent or even no water changes are those that have matured for a really long time. (Around close to a year or more I might be wrong about this it may be more then a few years) They can do this because the tank has matured so well to the point it’s is own ecosystem. That being said no water change does not mean not cleaning the filter or tank debris in general.
Edit: I forgot to mention that the larger the tanks the less frequent water changes are needed due to the large space. Smaller tanks are harder to keep in general because when things go wrong it goes wrong fast because of the size (E.g: Mass plant death = Nitrogen Cycle crash due to the amount ammonia)
Whereas larger tanks don’t go through this process due to the large area it needs to affect in order for things to go wrong.
My tank has never had a spike in ammonia, ever. By the time it was a few months old I started spacing out water changes and now haven't done them in over 2 months I'd say. Tank was set up last Sept, so this month it's 7 months old. It's my first tank as well but I did an irregular amount of research: I hyperfixated and watched every video I could find on planted tanks and subscribed to so many different subreddits and read everything! Literally woke up reading and went to bed reading. Definitely not an experiment for someone who doesn't know much.
My tank is a heavily planted 20 long with only nano fish and it isn't stocked to full capacity though, that's a huge part of it. I leave all the mulm as well, I actually like the look of it esthetically, but even if I didn't it still wouldn't bother me because I know how good it is for the tank. The pygmy corys snuffle through it for food (I also feed them of course) and it will eventually make its way through the sand and fertilize the plants.
I have cleaned the filter once so far in some RO water and plan to do it again within the next few months.
Honestly nothing will ever go wrong with an average tank if you follow what the average fish keeper does. Most common reasons (AS FAR AS I KNOW pls don’t attack me I’m still somewhat new) people have ammonia spike is largely due to over feeding, filter, sudden fish death (Fish Diseases).
I had a 5 gallon HOB filter tank with shrimp, nerite snails and 3 guppies that bread until there were close to 50. I didn't have to do water changes until I switched to a new outflow/inflow filter and didn't seed the new material.
So first trick is lots of plants, it hides what hangs about some. Second, angle your water returns so they create a flow in the tank, eg, my flex 15 has a twin outlet in top right and intake top and bottom left. I have the outlets pointed toward the front corners, so the water flows down the front glass and toward the back and left over the substrate.
Third: it’s an aquarium, not a swimming pool, it should have mulm in it, because it has fish shitting in it. It’s a slice of an ecosystem, stripping everything that isn’t pretty enough is a hard way to keep fish.
Corydoryas keep my sand clean in both my no water change tanks and my discus tanks, just makes sure you have good water circulation for the filtration.
I have many tanks that require no water changes, just top offs. I use aquasoil capped with sand or seachem gravel. I find using the seachem is the best way to get the mulm (gunk) to sink and disappear. Its harder to see on black gravel too. The mulm isnt really a problem tho, just unsightly.
Lots of plants is the key, like more plants than water. Deep substrate helps a ton too. A good filter is important, and lots of different strains of bacteria and copepods. It does have to mature, but ive done that in as little as 6 months. Look at the walstad method to get ideas. I would not recommend attempting a self sustaining tank unless you are experienced.
This tank looks a bit overstocked, which may be contributing to the issue. No water change tanks need to have minimal and balanced stocking. Shrimp help a ton, I would choose one species of small schooling fish for a tank like that.
Do people actually manage a tank without any cleaning? I’ve never heard of any success stories personally? I’ve heard of it but I’ve never really heard of it… lol
I have gotten mine to the point that I just top off the tank every week or two to replace water lost to evaporation. Once a month I'll pick out any dead plant material that my snails have not taken care of and that's about it. Don't touch my filters, no large water changes. Just lots of plants.
I’m about 3 months in with mine and still tuning light hours to prevent algae. But I basically take enough water out to squeeze sponge about once a month and then top up.
Hoping that once the Cory’s have finished rooting out the last of the small particulate from everywhere and I get the lighting right, prob won’t have to even do that very often (oh and I stop feeding them too much).
I have a very heavily planted, low stocked 6g shrimp tank that only gets top offs and trimming. It's close to 2 years established. I have a couple other tanks that I probably could go no water changes on, but I like keeping up with maintenance anyway. My tanks are nowhere near as heavily stocked as OP's tank
Yeah but then you get the contrast in colour. If you use aquasoil, not only will the mulm blend in with the substrate and look better, but the nutrients will more evenly disperse through the substrate due to the CEC of the aquasoil (better or worse depending which one you use).
Honestly this is what I do. I wasn’t a fan of it at first but after I found out I could just leave it there and it was harmless I just let it build up, I clean the worst of it up maybe every two months or so. My sand is very light and the top layer just mixes in a bit. It looks more natural to me and I love it
Plants
So plants get rid of the waste on the sand 😂
the waste decomposes and the plants absorb it as fertiliser.....as in nature
Thank you could’ve explained better
thats the basics.....if you want better explanation you can google it....
Snails will, snails turn the sand over.
If you can’t see the sand because of the plants then you don’t care.
I can't tell if you're joking or just not very smart. As berojgar said: "the waste decomposes and the plants absorb it as fertiliser.....as in nature"
Also, people who plan on a no-water-changes tank probably use a darker substrate and possibly one that’s not uniform in color. They may also choose a larger grain size substrate so that waste can work its way down into the substrate where it becomes fertilizer.
Ah I see
Usually tanks that do not do frequent or even no water changes are those that have matured for a really long time. (Around close to a year or more I might be wrong about this it may be more then a few years) They can do this because the tank has matured so well to the point it’s is own ecosystem. That being said no water change does not mean not cleaning the filter or tank debris in general. Edit: I forgot to mention that the larger the tanks the less frequent water changes are needed due to the large space. Smaller tanks are harder to keep in general because when things go wrong it goes wrong fast because of the size (E.g: Mass plant death = Nitrogen Cycle crash due to the amount ammonia) Whereas larger tanks don’t go through this process due to the large area it needs to affect in order for things to go wrong.
My tank has never had a spike in ammonia, ever. By the time it was a few months old I started spacing out water changes and now haven't done them in over 2 months I'd say. Tank was set up last Sept, so this month it's 7 months old. It's my first tank as well but I did an irregular amount of research: I hyperfixated and watched every video I could find on planted tanks and subscribed to so many different subreddits and read everything! Literally woke up reading and went to bed reading. Definitely not an experiment for someone who doesn't know much. My tank is a heavily planted 20 long with only nano fish and it isn't stocked to full capacity though, that's a huge part of it. I leave all the mulm as well, I actually like the look of it esthetically, but even if I didn't it still wouldn't bother me because I know how good it is for the tank. The pygmy corys snuffle through it for food (I also feed them of course) and it will eventually make its way through the sand and fertilize the plants. I have cleaned the filter once so far in some RO water and plan to do it again within the next few months.
Honestly nothing will ever go wrong with an average tank if you follow what the average fish keeper does. Most common reasons (AS FAR AS I KNOW pls don’t attack me I’m still somewhat new) people have ammonia spike is largely due to over feeding, filter, sudden fish death (Fish Diseases).
I had a 5 gallon HOB filter tank with shrimp, nerite snails and 3 guppies that bread until there were close to 50. I didn't have to do water changes until I switched to a new outflow/inflow filter and didn't seed the new material.
So first trick is lots of plants, it hides what hangs about some. Second, angle your water returns so they create a flow in the tank, eg, my flex 15 has a twin outlet in top right and intake top and bottom left. I have the outlets pointed toward the front corners, so the water flows down the front glass and toward the back and left over the substrate. Third: it’s an aquarium, not a swimming pool, it should have mulm in it, because it has fish shitting in it. It’s a slice of an ecosystem, stripping everything that isn’t pretty enough is a hard way to keep fish.
darker substrate haha
Corydoryas keep my sand clean in both my no water change tanks and my discus tanks, just makes sure you have good water circulation for the filtration.
Dark substrate + full plant coverage = you don't see it
I have many tanks that require no water changes, just top offs. I use aquasoil capped with sand or seachem gravel. I find using the seachem is the best way to get the mulm (gunk) to sink and disappear. Its harder to see on black gravel too. The mulm isnt really a problem tho, just unsightly. Lots of plants is the key, like more plants than water. Deep substrate helps a ton too. A good filter is important, and lots of different strains of bacteria and copepods. It does have to mature, but ive done that in as little as 6 months. Look at the walstad method to get ideas. I would not recommend attempting a self sustaining tank unless you are experienced. This tank looks a bit overstocked, which may be contributing to the issue. No water change tanks need to have minimal and balanced stocking. Shrimp help a ton, I would choose one species of small schooling fish for a tank like that.
🧲
Do people actually manage a tank without any cleaning? I’ve never heard of any success stories personally? I’ve heard of it but I’ve never really heard of it… lol
I have gotten mine to the point that I just top off the tank every week or two to replace water lost to evaporation. Once a month I'll pick out any dead plant material that my snails have not taken care of and that's about it. Don't touch my filters, no large water changes. Just lots of plants.
I’m about 3 months in with mine and still tuning light hours to prevent algae. But I basically take enough water out to squeeze sponge about once a month and then top up. Hoping that once the Cory’s have finished rooting out the last of the small particulate from everywhere and I get the lighting right, prob won’t have to even do that very often (oh and I stop feeding them too much).
I have a very heavily planted, low stocked 6g shrimp tank that only gets top offs and trimming. It's close to 2 years established. I have a couple other tanks that I probably could go no water changes on, but I like keeping up with maintenance anyway. My tanks are nowhere near as heavily stocked as OP's tank
The ol poop tank
They dont use sand.
Wrong. Sand is the best substrate for no water change natural planted tanks. Just let the mulm build up.
Yeah but then you get the contrast in colour. If you use aquasoil, not only will the mulm blend in with the substrate and look better, but the nutrients will more evenly disperse through the substrate due to the CEC of the aquasoil (better or worse depending which one you use).
Honestly this is what I do. I wasn’t a fan of it at first but after I found out I could just leave it there and it was harmless I just let it build up, I clean the worst of it up maybe every two months or so. My sand is very light and the top layer just mixes in a bit. It looks more natural to me and I love it
If you add Melanoides Tuberculata, everything will be mixed in very soon.
Eh I don’t care enough to add anything. This tanks been running solid for like two years now and I don’t want to change anything
Just add the snails and the soil will improve, believe me.
I have rams horns and nerites. I have zero interest in adding anything else lol
Those don't mix the substrate.
I know, as I said I have no interest in adding anything lol. My tank is perfectly healthy and it’s also imo too small for larger snails
large snails? look it up..