How Low Can You Go?

At one point in our fish-keeping hobby, we aimed for high-tech and almost completely automated tank while at the same time, housing so many colorful fish of many different species. Maybe, some are still dreaming of it to this point. It is easy to get these ideas of technology and fish-keeping in planted tanks. There is a lighting system, a filtration system, a CO2 diffusion system and of course, fish and plants. There are also some fancy sounding items like rain bar unit, gravel jet, undergravel filter, etc. It is so easy to plan this high end tank with all its high end components. But, it is also easy to go beyond a reasonable budget.

So, let us start trimming down the tank system. How low[-tech] can you go? Remove the rain bar unit, gravel jets, CO2 diffuser and every other fancy apparatus. What's left? All that remains is the lighting system, the filter (or maybe an aerator), gravel (and maybe some decor) the tank, water and the inhabitants. This is considered as the "basic" system. But, how low can you go? Remove the lighting system and also the filtration (or aeration). Using natural light is fine for most hobbyists. However, some would say that taking out the filter might be too much already.

The "below basic" system would include the tank, the water and the fish. The plants and gravel are other components that can be explored. The "Below Basic Tank" (BBT) is maintained like any other more equipped tank. Feed everyday. Water change weekly or on any other schedule the hobbyist desires. Remove algae. Everything is the same. However, there are some adjustments the aquarist must make for a BBT.



Firstly, the fish. BBT can not be stocked as much as conventional tanks. As a rule of thumb, three square inches of water surface is to every inch of fish. The main limiting factor is the area of water surface. Cooler temperatures (or avoiding any rise in temperature) is also essential in maintaining enough dissolved oxygen for the fish. The choice of fish is affected as well. Tropical fish adapt more easily to a BBT system than do "cold water" fish. Nonetheless, it is still possible for fish like Koi. As mentioned earlier, cooler waters maintain more dissolved oxygen, Thus, for cold water fish, the surface area provided should be twice or thrice the size provided to tropical fish (6 to 9 square inches).

Second, the tank bottom. Most aquarists hate to see a layer of "dirt" at the bottom. Don't remove that! Just  like the conventional mechanical/biological filter that houses the good bacteria. This layer of dirt below is where the good bacteria live and with all the "buffet" falling down to them, they would thrive. Like the filter, this still needs to be cleaned but only partially. Siphoning some would not hurt the colony of good bacteria. This "dirt filter" is better hidden if there is substrate in the tank and better if your aquarium plants have direct access to this "nutrients mine".

Third, the plants. Before plants can be added to any BBT system, gravel should be placed, around 1.5 to 2 inches. Plants aid in providing oxygen and may help you stretch the number of fish. For a successful planted BBT, adequate sunlight should be provided and this would entail algae growth. Algae is completely natural but aesthetically undesirable. The algae's color is a good indicator of the status of the planted BBT. The closer its tone to a lush green means the better condition your tank is in.

This is a sample BBT. Observe the plainness of the tank. The inhabitants are tropical fish namely Scalares (Angelfish), Bettas (Fighting Fish), Guppies and Swordtails. The "dirt filter" is also shown. at the bottom The fish enjoy this tank and in fact, they would actually breed which is a good sign of how well off they are. This BBT could be stocked more since the water's surface would allow it.

 

This is a planted BBT. The algae can be noticed at the bottom of the front panel. This tank is more stocked and suffer no casualties. The fish  are fed very well (gorged, in fact) and the tank can take their bio-load. Here is where the gravel houses the "dirt filter" and the plants have direct access. They have grown very lush due to the nutrient-rich substrate and sunlight.

This is an example of the cold water BBT, or rather Below Basic Pond. Fish are Koi, Pangasius sharks and pleco It works the same way as other BBT. The dirt filter is also very obvious. As seen in the picture, the filter (black box) is not working and the fish have been doing well without it.

The BBT has its advantages over the conventional systems. First of all is being more cost-efficient. Nothing needs electricity in the set up. Traditional systems need to be powered 24/7. Aside from electricity, feeding costs are also cut. Less fish would require less feeding. Water remains the same but generally, a BBT system would last longer without needing to be cleaned because of the lesser bio-load of the few inhabitants. Second is lessening the possibilities for disaster. With less components involved, the aquarist has less hassle examining every part of the system. Also, it comes quite intuitively that to a BBT system, a power outage has no bearing in its condition. It will still function. The aquarist need not panic nor worry about his fish in a power outage situation.

Here are scalares being kept, bred and raised.

So, go ahead and try out the Below Basic Tank. You might find out that the BBT can match the beauty of an expensive, high tech system. God Bless and Happy Fish Keeping to all of you.