A few years ago,
I made a low-tech no filter guppy pond,
using simple techniques.
To recap, I created a raised planter with TerraCotta Pots.
I drilled holes in them,
so the roots could grow through the sides
and to maximize the space for the fish.
I siliconed Knitting Mesh over the holes in the top
to retain a Substrate Blend.
I thoroughly rinsed and cleaned the roots of terrestrial plants
prior to adding them to the planter.
I added substrate and gravel to the bottom as well.
After filling it up and topping it off with floating plants,
I added the fish.
They’ve enjoyed it over the past two years, thrived, and bred a lot.
However, after the move I decided to take it apart
in place of something new for a number of reasons.
I still have all of the guppies,
but it didn’t move well and I want something a little larger,
that will allow me to enjoy them in a new light.
That’s where this 60 Gallon Cube Aquarium comes in.
I wasn’t seeking it out,
but I found it on clearance
and knew it would be perfect for such a project.
I couldn’t jut put it in the animal room, though.
I had to build a new stand.
Nothing groundbreaking here.
I simply chopped up 2x4s
and assembled them in a way that’s stable and square.
I cut up Plywood that I attached to the back and tops of each shelf.
I sanded it down to get a better finish.
A little Stain and Polyurethane completed the process
and here we are now.
I’ll put another tank on the bottom,
but that’s for a different time.
Prior to really getting into this,
I need to account for a Spot Light.
I checked to see how far it should go above the rim for optimal coverage.
I need a way to mount it,
so I cut out some wood according to these measurements
to create a stand.
I pre-drilled holes,
locked it together,
and painted it black.
While the paint dried,
I installed a Frosted Film on the back.
I sprayed water so it would stick to the glass,
affixed the film,
squeegeed out the air,
and cut off the excess.
Back to the light.
I installed the bracket onto the mount,
which I then locked to the back of the stand with screws.
I attached the light to this
and did some cord management.
The result looks clean and pretty good
other than the black bar going up the back.
I don’t know how visible it will be once I scape,
so I’ll leave it as is for now.
I’ll begin at the bottom of the tank with Fine Mesh Netting.
I got this from a craft store
and it will allow me to do things differently.
I want this to be a dirted tank that uses Topsoil.
Typically this would be done by capping a layer of soil with gravel.
Such tanks function really well for plants believe it or not,
but they have a major drawback in my opinion.
It’s pretty easy to stir things up
and make a mess while doing maintenance.
I recommend reading Ecology of the Planted Aquarium
if you want to learn more about them specifically.
Anyway, the idea here is to contain most of the soil within a mesh bag
that the plants can still access while keeping things cleaner.
Along with topsoil,
I also have well seasoned substrate
that I just pulled from a different setup.
It’s teeming with beneficial bacteria
that will allow this tank to be somewhat established from the very beginning.
I laid out the netting,
poured on the cycled substrate,
then the soil,
and twisted the top to make a bag.
I sealed it up with Zip-Ties
and removed the excess.
After dropping it in the tank,
I flipped it over to preserve the twisted end.
I added two more bags as well for better coverage.
I’ve imagined this setup with White Sand from the very start.
I’d like it to appear as clean as possible,
which is why I was being so particular about the soil.
If I used gravel, I may have done this without the mesh.
I did all of these steps as quickly as possible
and filled it up with dechlorinated water
to keep the bacteria from drying out.
With the foundation in place,
I can finally scape.
I dropped a few Eucalyptus Roots in the corner to start.
I want them in an upright position to create visual barriers
and a growing surface for plants.
Black Lava Rock stabilized the pieces
and added more interest.
Something I envisioned for this setup was high contrast.
The combination of these elements really leans into that if you ask me.
That said, I really struggled to get an appropriate layout with this one.
The pieces kept falling,
didn’t look right,
and the spots where I intended to put plants needed to line up.
I had to reset the design several times before I got something viable.
I mixed up a Two-Part Epoxy,
which I pressed between contact points.
This will stabilize everything
and ensure the driftwood doesn’t float.
After curing, it all looked solid.
I want to utilize certain areas of the hardscape,
like this flat cut,
open areas,
and spaces between to place various terrestrial plants.
They’ve been soaking for a while already.
This loosened the substrate,
making it easier to remove completely.
I don’t want anything remaining on them at all.
When I set out to do this,
I originally wanted to use terracotta pots, like before.
However, I didn’t need them because of the hardscape.
I was able to simply wedge the plants in key locations along the waterline.
I also kept the selection fairly minimal
with a handful of tried and true riparian ready plants.
I placed a few additional stones as I planted to finalize the look.
I really like how this area turned out,
but it will serve a key function for the setup.
More on that later.
For now we’ll move down to the water feature.
’m keeping it fairly simple here as well with a few Amazon Swords.
I typically don’t use them,
but I thought they would be perfect for a setup, like this,
especially once they get larger.
I decided to add Christmas Moss as well.
I tied it onto parts of the branches with Fishing Line.
Looking good to me.
Let’s add the water.
As expected, it’s a little hazy from everything I’ve done.
I netted out all of the debris
and did a 100% water change to clear things up.
I also added a few handfuls of Süßwassertang
to provide refuge for the fish to hide in.
No low tech tank is complete without floaters,
so I added a generous amount of Salvinia minima.
I put a Tiger Lotus on the side as well.
To finish things off,
I gave the glass a proper clean with Fritz Glass Cleaner.
So why exactly is this a low tech aquarium?
“Low Tech” gets thrown around a lot.
I’d consider an aquarium low tech
when its success is largely the result of capitalizing on natural processes
to create and sustain an ecosystem.
In this case,
I don’t have a filter on the setup,
frequent water changes are unnecessary,
and it will largely sustain itself.
All of these things are possible when the proper conditions are present.
The first of which being areas where bacteria can colonize.
As I’m sure most of you know by now,
bacteria plays a crucial role in the health of a system.
The more places it has to grow, the better.
Lava rock for example is great for this because of its porosity.
Unlike the driftwood,
it’s composed of a network of holes,
which provide a crazy amount of surface area for bacteria.
The substrate itself can also be viewed as a giant filter.
Bacteria lives within it,
which is why it’s helpful to add seasoned substrate to a tank,
like I did before.
This speeds things up significantly
and makes it a lot safer to immediately add livestock to a new tank.
That’s why I always add Turbo Start Nitrifying Bacteria to new tanks as well.
Without some form of beneficial bacteria in the tank,
drastic ammonia spikes are guaranteed,
which will most likely result in casualties.
Frequent water changes can mitigate this as well,
but if you can start with bacteria it makes the process very seamless.
The other crucial component to no filter setups, like this, are the plants.
More specifically, the riparian and floating plants.
Plants act like a sponge,
absorbing ammonia, nitrate, and other nutrients
and impurities from an aquarium.
Aquatic plants do this of course,
but they’re no comparison to terrestrial plants.
Since their foliage is in the air,
they have unlimited access to CO2,
which makes them grow faster than their aquatic counterparts.
This means that they are more efficient at pulling nutrients from the water
and thus provide optimal conditions more effectively for livestock.
By optimal, I mean water with the
lowest levels of ammonia, nitrate, and other impurities as possible.
Water changes remove these compounds as well,
but they’re not as necessary when plants are doing the brunt of the work
and the bio-load doesn’t exceed their performance.
The main thing that will have to be accounted for is evaporation
and loss of key elements like iron for example.
A periodic top off or water change with tap water
is typically sufficient to replenish these.
Plus, the waste produced by livestock also fertilize the plants,
which creates a symbiotic loop of sorts.
In this way,
low tech setups work for you and the livestock,
so it can all be more hands off.
There are limitations to this of course,
but it can be a really great option for small fish, like guppies.
They thrived in the previous setup,
so I wanted to take the essence of that and bring it into this aquarium.
The only thing left to add are the fish themselves.
Oh wait, I need a clean up crew too.
Bladder Snails will take care of algae, excess food, and debris.
Malaysian Trumpet Snails will do the same thing,
but they’ll also stir up the substrate,
which reduces the amount of debris build up within it
and thus allows it to be processed more effectively.
I may add Amano Shrimp later, but this is a good start.
Now I can add the fish.
A low tech no filter guppy ecosystem.
I really enjoy setups like this because it puts a huge focus on this fish,
while also being an easily maintained system.
It’s also a fun way to utilize quote-on-quote house plants.
You don’t have to worry about watering the plants
because they’re living it.
I should probably mention that not all plants will grow like this,
but that’s beyond the scope of this demonstration.
I’m excited to finally have the guppies in a proper setup
within the animal room once more.
It’s in a prominent location,
which is great because they’re such a personable fish.
In addition the ones in this tank,
I have a few new ones that I’m running through quarantine right now,
to add diversity to the bloodline.
I’ve done that twice since setting it up since setting up the original pond
to minimize inbreeding.
Anyway, I can't to see how this setup progresses
and to document the journey of it.
That’s for a future video, though.
A huge thanks as always to Fritz for sponsoring the video
and providing products I actually use,
like the glass cleaner and Turbostart.
I hope that gives you a better idea of
how and why low tech setups work so well
and maybe inspiration on how to make one for yourself.