Filterless Aquariums

[J House]

I thought it would be interesting to hear ASW member experiences with tanks they setup without a filter. I'm referring to mostly nano size tanks that do not have an actual powered filter either internally or externally connected to the tank. I'd like to hear about the successes and the failures and what you did to achieve the success and correct the failure. Please include specs and of course pics are always welcome.

[Anti-Pjerrot]

I think you would need some type of pump for circulation, but filtering could be left out if there is enough biomass in contrast to inhabitants.

[Jur4ik]

my sister has beta in a globe tank without any tech
some water changes, maybe twice per week are all she do.

[sabine68]

Hi,

the setup all of my tanks are without filter respectively less Filtration.
But I use a powerhead for streaming and for Co2-Injection.
I use only liquid fertilizer and have no fertilizer under my substrate

Many people in our forum have problems with algae or growth of the plants because the filtration is to much

[Chadly]

I have two 4"x4" cubes with no filter/air/circulation. In one of them I have 3 cherry shrimp for over 3 weeks now... My 2.5gal tank has only and airline with a small sponge on the end of it. IMO small tanks could do without strong filtration or extra biomass if planted heavily.

[hazelceleste]

I have a filterless 10 gallon paludarium that's 4 years old, and I've never experienced any major problems with it. The glass needs to be scraped once every few months, but that's about it. There are a lot of plants and hardly any fauna, which, I think, is why it works so well.

The lighting is 20 watts of cfl. I don't add co2, and I dose potassium whenever the terrestrial plants start showing a deficiency, which isn't often. I change about 30% of the water once every 3-4 months. It's probably the most easy-to-care-for tank possible.

I can't really say if a filter would improve the tank, though, since I've never tried one. I do need to scrape the glass once every few months to prevent algae. Maybe a filter would help with that. And I'd probably be able to keep more fauna in the tank if I had a filter (which isn't a problem for me, but might be for people who prefer pets to plants).