How to Have a Sustainable Fish Tank Without Filters

Introduction

The fish in your aquarium come from a very vibrant eco system. The rivers, streams and ponds your fish come from are able to maintain the right amount of chemicals and oxygen needed and eliminate those that will harm your fish.

But when you bring them into your 30-gallon tank, you shrink their surroundings to where any change in their water environment can have major negative effects on your fish.

That is why a filter is important for any aquarium, but you can keep an aquarium without a filter, it is more work for you but you will have a cost savings.

What Filters Do

When you establish an aquarium, it is important that you develop a healthy biosphere that will essentially take care of itself by keeping harmful chemicals, such as ammonia and nitrites, out.

The filter will contain carbon that will remove chemical contaminants and the padding will remove large pieces of debris.

Operating An Aquarium Without A Filter

Though having a filter is important for keeping the right environment for your fish, you can develop a successful aquarium without one.

You need to start with substrate that has been in an established aquarium before. This will allow for the creation of a bacteria colony, or you can even get some bacteria from your local fish pet store. It is very important that you have this colony established before you put your first fish in.

Since you will not be using a filter to remove chemicals and debris, you will need to rely on some other sources to keep your biosphere healthy. These other sources are:

Plants - Plants will be your number one allies in keeping nitrates down in your tank. Ensure you have enough plants to perform this job. Water Change Out - With no filter you will have to do a more frequent change out of your waters volume every week. It is recommended that you replace 50% of the water in your aquarium every week. Fish - Also ensure you do not have to many fish in your tank to keep the nitrates down. The more fish you have in your tank the more they will produce nitrates.

Balancing Your Aquarium

To get the right balance between fish and plants, I recommend you start small with adding plants and fish to your aquarium. As you add more fish to your tank keep measuring the nitrates. If the levels of nitrates go up and will not come down, even after adding more plants,pet fish, you have three options:

Feed your fish less food so you have less decaying in the substrate creating nitrates. Remove some of the fish in your tank so that you reduce the population of fish in your tank. The option I highly recommend is to use a filter so that you will have less to worry about and it will be less work for you.