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- Thread starter drperetz
- Start date
- Location
- Franklin Lakes, NJ
I did this once with a pico 2.5g freshwater tank as an experiment. It had no mechanical filtration, no lighting and no temperature regulation. I had a ramhorn snail, a neon tetra and would replace 2 plants in the tank every few months. I didn't feed the tank and the tank remained successful for about 2 years.
I don't know if this could be easily replicated in saltwater (or fresh for that matter), and I think a good portion of my success was luck.
I don't know if this could be easily replicated in saltwater (or fresh for that matter), and I think a good portion of my success was luck.
- Location
- Nueva York
Im not sure if you just mean feeding or adding anything in general. But as far as additives, i think its kind of obvious that its not possible being that calc and alk are used up.
As far as feeding goes it might be possible with a really good fuge if all your fish are carnivores. If your fish are omnivores or herbivores then they would need a constant source of algae to survive. Being that certain fish could polish off certain types of algae faster than the algae could grow leaves me a bit speculative.
In order to have rapid algal growth you would need high nitrates and phosphates, low water flow. Keep in mind that generally algae growth cant be tamed if allowed to grow. Maybe instead of growing algae in the tank, you could grow some hair algae in a separate grow oout tank and toss some in when alagae looks sparse in the tank.
Personally i think it can be done. But its a lonnng shot.
As far as feeding goes it might be possible with a really good fuge if all your fish are carnivores. If your fish are omnivores or herbivores then they would need a constant source of algae to survive. Being that certain fish could polish off certain types of algae faster than the algae could grow leaves me a bit speculative.
In order to have rapid algal growth you would need high nitrates and phosphates, low water flow. Keep in mind that generally algae growth cant be tamed if allowed to grow. Maybe instead of growing algae in the tank, you could grow some hair algae in a separate grow oout tank and toss some in when alagae looks sparse in the tank.
Personally i think it can be done. But its a lonnng shot.
never feed your tank
I had a 120 sps dominated tank, sixline wrasse, yellow tang & madarin. all filtration was a 40 gal mud refugium with mangroves. I did not feed the tank for 2 years, never did a water change, never had an algae bloom. My corals grew at a faster rate than when I had bare bottom & skimmer (berlin method). Then I started feeding cyclopsese & had many algae blooms & needed to do water changes. MY 3 fish all had beer guts from pods & bristle worms. If you go corals & do not want all the maintenance keep the bioload small with only a couple of fish the rest inverts. If your food source is live then there is no uneaten foods no algae blooms.
danny
I had a 120 sps dominated tank, sixline wrasse, yellow tang & madarin. all filtration was a 40 gal mud refugium with mangroves. I did not feed the tank for 2 years, never did a water change, never had an algae bloom. My corals grew at a faster rate than when I had bare bottom & skimmer (berlin method). Then I started feeding cyclopsese & had many algae blooms & needed to do water changes. MY 3 fish all had beer guts from pods & bristle worms. If you go corals & do not want all the maintenance keep the bioload small with only a couple of fish the rest inverts. If your food source is live then there is no uneaten foods no algae blooms.
danny
i did once get an ecosphere at a museum once i blew like 70 dollars on it though. it was cool it had little shrimpies and algae that lived off eachothers oxygen/carbon dioxide and the shrimp ate the algae. mine, of course didnt survive the field trip bus ride and i think they all died within the warrantee. i had the choice to get it replaced for free or get my money back and i went for the money. my biology teacher got one as a gift five years ago and the same shrimp are still living there. they never reproduced though. its very cool. if i had the choice to replace mine now i would definately go for it. i also have had many experiences with sea monkeys lol.
- Location
- Howell, NJ
peretz whateva ur smoking i want some :pimp: :splitspin :lol2:
It can work but only if the tank reaches a natural equilibrium. Sort of like a balanced ecosystem. This worked for Danny because the fuge was supplying the foods the tank require. If there is no food source, the tank will slowly perish. Corals/fish need to be fed, period! But like i said before, in a balanced ecosystem, it can work out.
...
The reason why I ask is that I had this idea of creating a "perfect" ecosystem where only things needed to be done will be monthly water changes and top off(automated)....THATS ALL. Of course there will be some dosing of kalk or other calcium additives but thats the bottom line. I am gonna use a skimmer though.. miracle mud will be used. :smokin:
Tony, sorry that Staten Island has no good :smokin:. Come to BK and i'll show u a good time....:biglaugh: :funnypost .
The reason why I ask is that I had this idea of creating a "perfect" ecosystem where only things needed to be done will be monthly water changes and top off(automated)....THATS ALL. Of course there will be some dosing of kalk or other calcium additives but thats the bottom line. I am gonna use a skimmer though.. miracle mud will be used. :smokin:
Tony, sorry that Staten Island has no good :smokin:. Come to BK and i'll show u a good time....:biglaugh: :funnypost .
- Location
- Flushing NY 11355
I hear you and feel the same but since I do not have enough first person experience in salt water environment, I dare not try at full fetch. I have try many fishery cultures to see if they do good in home environment but so far no confirmation how well they go.
Couple of my planted fresh water tanks are manitained some what like that but there are two draw backs in doing so. 1)If I insist not to feed(I think you mean food), I cannot keep all the ones that I like but only some types I have lived with them for tens of years(I know they demand what can be provided from the tank). Usually after one year of so I cannot resist to switch fish from the tank(getting bored with the look) and the whole balance has to be regain again. 2)When I don't feed my tank for many months, interestingly, the ones in trouble are not fish(they are still fat, colorful, and agile) but the baby golden clams soon comes the mothers. They are the least that I think would suffer but well I am not good enough to know. Once I resume feeding, the clams go back down to the gravel and mud bed they are OK again. I hope by this spring or summer I see new clams again:p Now the problem is, once I started to feed again, my plants floating on the top of the tank will grow much quicler and shadowed the plants down below stopping me growing certain light demanding ones. I keep feeding the extra veggie to the birds is the only way to keep my hands away from moving the plants down below. I guess you gain some and loose some. Never a win win situtation. Since oen of this tank is my cafe, anyoen is welcome to look at it. I have resumed feeding just because I want to have baby clams and add more fish. That particular tank seems to have attained close to perfect ecosystem for somewhat a year but I know eventually, it would tilt to one side of the system.
- Location
- Flushing NY 11355
It does not cost that much now-the cheapest oen I think is like under $30. The shrimps they provided in those systems would cost more than you buy them sperately in hobby store. Your teacher is lucky. Most cannot survive 3 years because the system does tilt to one side of the equilibium in the long run.
never feed tank
wingo agency is right, I bought 3 clams & they all died in my system but I wanted a sps dominated tank & it worked for me, no skimmer & a calcium reactor to replenish the calc. I just never fed the tank & no water changes just top-off. Skimmers also take the good nutrients out. If I wanted a clam dominated tank I guess I would need to feed often. Very small bioload for a 120 only 3 small fish. just clean-up crew, starfish & shrimp. When I started feeding is when everything went out of control for algae blooms. The maintenance was too much so I sold the tank & euipment. I will start a 40 to 60 gal cube that will have a gravity fed fuge & that will be it with calc dosing. mostly soft corals & 2 small percs.
danny
wingo agency is right, I bought 3 clams & they all died in my system but I wanted a sps dominated tank & it worked for me, no skimmer & a calcium reactor to replenish the calc. I just never fed the tank & no water changes just top-off. Skimmers also take the good nutrients out. If I wanted a clam dominated tank I guess I would need to feed often. Very small bioload for a 120 only 3 small fish. just clean-up crew, starfish & shrimp. When I started feeding is when everything went out of control for algae blooms. The maintenance was too much so I sold the tank & euipment. I will start a 40 to 60 gal cube that will have a gravity fed fuge & that will be it with calc dosing. mostly soft corals & 2 small percs.
danny
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