Tropical Fish Forums

[jsuereth]

Well, I started setting up the 125G again. Aiming for a natural setup, so itll be a month or more before flooding and a few months after that for cycling and growing out the gammarus/backworm populations.

I want a light stocking, something that won't eat the population of gammarus in its entirety. I plan to lightly feed thetank and add dry oak leaves.

The only filtration is plants. This has me nervous. I wanted a stockking plan where I can grow a tiny community without maxing the filter (I have backup filters jic)

My daughter really wants tiger barbs and I want corydoras. I was thinking:

6 otos
10 corydoras
10 tiger barbs

I have lots of time building up the plant mass and getting the lighting right first, but does the plan sound feasible?

[unissuh]

Having no experience with big tanks, it sounds OK to me. If anything, could double your school size. Only potential problem I see is trying to feed the Corys without the tiger barbs snarfing it all.
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Fishing in the Rivers of Light

[diademhill]

I would say that there are several problems with your plan. I started fishkeeping when filters were rare and it is hard work and very easy to kill fish.


Why no filter? Without a filter you are really limiting the fish you can keep and you won't get a viable food colony with those fish - remember the inverts also add to the bioload.

[jsuereth]

No filter for a few reasons:

(1) I'm a tinkerer. Want to see what kind of filtration I can get with emergent plants. I'll be heavily monitoring nitrites/nitrates and cycling with dead shrimp before adding gammarus/blackworms. After that, it'll be touch and go for a while. BUT....
(2) I have a 125G sponge filter I'm keeping cycled as backup I wanted to try with just plants because I like the look better. The Aquarium has more than enough room to hide a sponge filter though. My stocking plan was:

(with 1-2 months between each stocking to ensure the bio filter is *stable*)
Gammarus & Blackworms
RCS
6 otos
6 corydoras
6 tiger barbs

After this, it's a good question of whether or not I can add more. I'm not even sure I'll be able to get to tiger barbs before I add the sponge, but I want to discover how much filtration my plants can really do. I'm using cyperus umbrella sedge, which grows *very* fast and tall.

(3) Ideally, I wanted to set up a hydroponic filter with my sump in the basement. $$, time and such didn't work out. Also, I can't take anything out of that tank, since it may be diseased. Maybe in a few years.

[jsuereth]

Also note: You can still convince me to have a filter. I'm not dead-set against it. I just haven't found a cheap canister or sump tank yet, so I thought I'd tinker. I love tinkering.

I also hate losing fish, so if it's a terrible idea I won't do it. I'm still bummed about that moonlight gourami (lenny). I'm terrified to buy more of those knowing they bring disease.

[unissuh]

Are you going to at least toss in a couple of powerheads to keep the water moving? I think water motion itself is much more important than having a filter.
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Fishing in the Rivers of Light

[jsuereth]

Yes. I was planning to get two and try to get a circular flow going (opposite corners of the tank). I've already made the mistake once of not having enough water flow with a sponge filter.

Plus, the cyperus will be on the right hand side of the tank, so it'll need some flow to ensure ammonia makes it to the main biofilter.

[diademhill]

Why not use a plant pot filter powered by the powerhead?

[jsuereth]

Plant pot filter?

I may be setting up what you suggest, but not sure we're talking about the same thing. I picked up a flood-and-drain plane ($10) for hydroponics a while back. It's 3ft long by ~8" wide. I need to build a good looking stand for it (good looking being key), but I believe I can use it to grow some nice houseplants + get extra filtration. It's one of my tinkering ideas, and it was going to try it out on my old 10 gallon in the garage for a while.

Is a plant pot filter something different? A google search result reveals you suggesting this to others, but I didn't find a description, only pictures of plant pots filled with water.

[diademhill]

A plant pot filter is a concentrated version of an undergravel filter. It can be made in any container but a terracotta plant pot adds weight & fits in easier with tank decor.
You pump water up from the bottom of the pot which is filled with aragrog, filter noodles, foam or any media with a layer of gravel over the top. The water then is pulled down through the media.
It takes a powerhead, a pipe with a few holes at the bottom a container & media. Cheap , easy, effective and safe for small fish so is often used in fry tanks.