User:Jaspergeli/Natural aquarium

A natural aquarium is an aquarium which doesn't use an electricity, electrical equipment, artificial additives, etc. as much as possible, only uses natural elements to balance the ecosystem and where the plants, fishes, aquatic invertebrates, and aquatic amphibians to balance each other's existence and needs. Electric equipment looks unnatural and artificial which is unpleasant to the eyes.

The goal is to set up an ecosystem where plants and fish balance each other's needs. The soil underlayer ensures that plants grow well enough to outcompete algae and recycle fish waste and toxins (e.g., ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, etc.). Without soil, plants don't grow well enough to do "their job". It's almost or can become truly self-sustaining when all are compatible. As the lifespan of your aquarium gets longer, then creating it gets harder.

As usual, you will be needing a tank or container, substrate, decorations, plants, fishes, aquatic invertebrates, aquatic amphibians, etc. You may not need water additives such as the water conditioner and beneficial bacteria. This method describes a way of setting up an aquarium that has an ecosystem where plants, fishes, and other aquatic creatures balance each other's existence and needs. As most aquariums are, a freshwater aquarium is the one we’re making this time.

We need to at least test the water so that we can know the water parameters if it's suitable for the organisms to live. You may need oxygen sensor, salinity meter, pH tester, water hardness or softness tester, and a tester or test kit. Though you can familiarize yourself by looking at the fishes' and other creatures' appearance, growth and behavior and plants' appearance and growth, water smell, water color, and the presence of algae.

This method mimics nutrient-cycling in nature. It uses plants to keep the animals healthy by recycling their wastes. In turn, animals and soil provide the nutrients that plants need. Aquatic plants play an important role in the aquarium, they reduce algae growth, absorb toxic wastes, and oxygenate the aquarium. Plants either reduce or remove the need for frequent water changes and substrate cleaning while keeping the animals healthy.

However, many common aquarium practices (frequent cleaning, gravel-only or sand-only substrates, vigorous aeration, etc) do not allow plants to grow well. Thus, many hobbyists have trouble growing plants. They do not understand the role of decomposition in providing nutrients and carbon dioxide (CO2) to plants, so they keep their aquariums too clean for plants. They do not understand the value of having soil in a tank, so they try to grow plants in pure gravel or sand. In essence, they do not understand the interaction in an ecosystem.

Objectives

 * Good plant growth.
 * Good animal growth.
 * No injected CO2 required.
 * No or little algae.
 * No need for plant fertilizers.
 * Supplies trace elements for fish health.
 * Stable environment for the organisms living inside.
 * No need to vacuum the substrate.
 * No need for frequent water changes once the tank is established (though no water changes are possible (only add water to top off evaporation (still, do water changes, just in case)) but still necessary to remove substances that can't be removed through evaporation).
 * No need for frequent substrate clean-ups or changes (though no substrate clean-ups or changes are possible (only add substrate to top off small amounts of substrate loss (still, do substrate clean-ups or changes, just in case))).
 * A smell-free tank.
 * Biofilter not required (plants will take care of the ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates, and the soil bacteria will also consume nitrogen).

Setup

 * Aquarium: 80-liter glass tank.
 * Substrate: loam soil (potting soil or topsoil will do) without fertilizers.
 * Fertilizer: Wastes and dead matter act as fertilizers.
 * Lights: Sunlight acts as a natural light.
 * Filter: No filter, the plants act as a biological filter.
 * Water movement: No water movement as there are no filter and water pump. Aeration is done by the plants. Gas exchanges occur at the water surface area.
 * Heater: No heater. If you're in a tropical region, the aquarium stays at 20 to 25 Celsius (normal room temperature).
 * Water changes: Do water changes (though no water changes are possible if your tank is completely balanced) (commonly with a maximum of 20% per year). Top-offs every several days.
 * Plants: Most plants are suitable for any aquarium.
 * Fishes: Small tropical hardy freshwater fishes such as livebearers such as guppies, mollies, platies, etc., tetras, barbs, minnows, and danios.
 * Invertebrates: snails, (nerite snail, pond snails, Malaysian trumpet snails, trumpet snails, and ram's horn snails), clams, crustaceans, etc.

Principle Steps

 * A 2.5-cm layer of soil. The loam soil does best but the potting soil and topsoil will do. Loam soil consists of 40% sand, 40% silt, and 20% clay. Gravel and sand don’t suit everybody, with the certain aquarium residents, especially the plants, preferring something a bit siltier. With the right preparation, you can make your own aquarium soil. Unless you want a tank full of beetle larvae and bacteria, don’t use soil straight from your garden, it should undergo processes before putting it in your aquarium. Either collect garden soil or buy a bag of potting compost from the garden; if you decide on making your own, avoid soils containing chemical fertilizers (sulfates and nitrates will be converted into toxic H2S and nitrites when the soil is submerged), though phosphate and calcium fertilizers (i.e., a little bone meal mixed with soil) may be beneficial; if you're buying the potting compost, pick a bag marked "organic" or "chemical-free" and avoid peat, which makes the water very acidic; sift the soil to remove stones, twigs, creatures and other debris. sift enough to create a layer of 2.5 or 5-cm deep soil in your aquarium; transfer the sifted soil to a baking tray and bake it in oven at about 100 C for 20 minutes, this sterilizes the soil, killing all the organisms including microorganisms, seeds, etc., you may also use microwave if the oven is not available.
 * 1 cm of gravel (use differently-sized grains to give a natural look, including the fine gravel or sand-like gravel) or sand (use differently-sized grains to give a natural look, including the coarse sand or gravel-like sand) to cover the soil layer (oxic or aerobic bacteria need oxygen, so don't smother the soil layer with rocks, driftwood, etc.), this prevents the soil being stirred up and turning your aquarium into a tankful of mud. Plant roots will be able to reach the soil and the nutrients it contains.
 * Put about 5 cm of the soil in the tank. You can create a back to front sloping effect with the back having 4-cm soil and the front 2.5-cm soil, press it gently so it lets out the air then add the gravel or sand.
 * Add dechlorinated water at room temperature (25 C). If you're using only tap water, you should leave the water open to make the chlorine or chloramine evaporate from it (chlorine will evaporate after 12 hours while chloramine takes 24 hours). Boiling the water for 20 minutes will remove chlorine, chloramine, as well as the ammonia.
 * Add water to the tank slowly. For best results, siphon water from a higher level into the tank using an airline tube. Place the lower end of the airline tube on a rock or a hard surface in the aquarium like the sides or place a dish or other flat object on the substrate to avoid stirring or disturbing the substrate.
 * If you have soft water, you can mix in a calcium source (lime, coral gravel, shells, bone meal, etc.) with the soil to make sure plants get enough calcium, GH for their initial set-up.
 * Add the plants according to your aquascape design. Don't bury the rhizomes of Java ferns (Microsorum pteropus) in the substrate. Keep in mind that Centella asiatica is sensitive to biological and chemical pollutants in the water, so they easily die out.
 * For tank set-up, start out with many species of fast-growing plants (you want to find the ones that adapt best to your tank's conditions). Examples: Hygrophila corymbosa, Shinnersia rivularis, Rotala rotundifolia, Ludwigia repens, Limnophila sessiliflora, Ceratophyllum demersum, Riccia fluitans, etc.
 * Add snails and other aquatic invertebrates. They aerate the soil which is good for the ecosystem you're building. Snails take care of algae and eat dead and rotting leaves.
 * You will have to wait for about 3-4 weeks for the nitrogen cycle to kick in. You can jump-start the nitrogen cycle by adding a raw shrimp or fish for 12 hours. That introduces ammonia to the tank. If you don't like the idea of adding dead shrimp or fish, add a little fish food or any food that sinks to the bottom (crushing it is better, as it holds more bacteria which makes the food easier to break down) and leave it for a week. (Remember, the nitrogen cycle is: Ammonia -> Nitrite -> Nitrate) Do 20% water changes every 5 days. Test for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. The water will become cloudy afterward, that's the sign of beneficial bacteria present in your tank. After 3 to 4 weeks, the water should be clean and clear, because your aquarium is inhabited by enough beneficial bacteria that have broken down the organic materials that you put in your aquarium. At some point, when ammonia and nitrites are 0, and nitrate is under 40, you're all set to introduce the creatures in the tank.
 * Introduce the creatures, few at a time. Acclimate them by putting them in a plastic bag filled with water and let them float on the water for some time. Open the acclimatization bags and release the creatures in the aquarium.
 * If you can position the tank so that it can get a little sunlight for at least an hour a day, then do so (make sure water doesn't overheat). The dark period allows CO2 levels to rise which promotes plant growth and inhibits algae growth.
 * Test water every two days for pH, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate (for at least two months or until you are sure they have gone). There may be a temporary increase in these levels while the soil is getting established (first 2 months), especially if the soil was artificially fertilized.
 * If there are signs of algae, temporarily reduce lighting levels slightly or add floating plants. The main goal is to get plants growing well enough to outcompete algae. As more effective organisms, plants will beat out algae.
 * Do water changes as needed [some soils often require frequent water changes the first two months to remove miscellaneous toxins (e.g., wood oils) released by the soil. Also, new soils invariably release algae-stimulating nutrients (nitrogen) the first couple months.] After the tank is established, water changes can be very infrequent. No water changes are possible, it is, only when the ecosystem is completely balanced. If you have so much load of creatures that plants can not support, do water changes if possible, but this means that your aquarium is dependent on water changes. But if water changes are impossible, for example, the creatures will die after a drastic water change because that amount of water change is the right amount to balance your ecosystem, then don't do it, don't force them to live in an aquarium that is crowded or contain too much load.
 * You can add aquatic animals same day after set-up, but closely monitor fishes' health. It may be necessary (though unusual) during this "soil break-in period" to do some water changes to lower tannins, but realize these tannins are a health benefit to the animals.
 * Monitor ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels for the first month. If you get any level above zero, perform a 20% water change.

Result

 * Soil naturally contains nitrifying bacteria that will process and detoxify ammonia and nitrites. It also contains denitrifying bacteria that will process and remove nitrates.
 * Plants will consume ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates. They prefer ammonia because these only require less energy, while mostly absorb nitrates because these are more readily present, nitrites are present in the same amount as ammonia and require more energy the same as nitrates so they are least absorbed by the plants.
 * The soil will release carbonates (CO2) into the water that will greatly stimulate plant growth and stabilize KH.
 * Fish waste (mulm) and uneaten foods will be quickly converted by soil bacteria into its component chemical parts so that plants can use them for their nutritional needs.
 * The substrate with a soil underlayer should last many years (for a decade) because fish and plant waste will continuously replenish the nutrients that plants extract from the soil. No need to add fertilizers.
 * The substrate releases trace elements that fishes require for health, therefore, reduces the need for water changes for this reason.
 * Once your tank is set up, the only routine thing for you to do is top off water every time that your water goes down to 80% of the original volume. Also, be on the lookout for behavioral changes in the fish. If the fish get sick or appear sluggish, do a 20% water change. Avoid large or drastic water changes or else you'll destroy the balance in minutes and end up with dead creatures. It would be a good idea to test the water every half a year, just in case.

Fine-tuning

 * Trim the plants back as required. A self-sustaining aquarium doesn't need pruning or cutting plants and controlling their growth, plant eaters will do the job. However, more plant growth means fewer algae but there are creatures that eat algae.
 * Consider adding small snails as these speed up the mulm breakdown, but not essential.
 * You'll need a water hardness (GH) of greater than 7d. To raise GH you can add coral gravel or clean seashells and let them slowly dissolve. However, adding a 4:1 mixture of calcium chloride and magnesium sulfate is one way to get the GH up immediately without increasing the pH.
 * KH should never drop below 6°d with a natural tank, the bacteria in the soil generates natural KH.
 * Add slower growing plants like Hydrocotyle verticillata and Anubias barteri once the fast-growing plants are established.
 * Test your nitrate levels monthly (or sooner after adding fish) to ensure that nitrate levels are not rising too high (i.e., 50 mg/l). If it does, you're probably got too many fishes or are feeding them too much.

Challenges

 * Some people have difficulty uprooting and moving plants once water has been added to the tank. The soil particles in a healthy, well-established aquarium should settle within an hour or two. [That's because soil bacteria have "glued" the soil particles together with their polysaccharide mucus.]
 * Avoid disturbing the gravel during water changes, etc. One can place a dish or other flat object on the substrate to keep water additions from disturbing the soil layer.
 * Factors that affect the load (only the animals or creatures with gills or does their respiration in the water) are water space, substrate, plants, and water surface area, doing water changes can also affect the load. Aquariums with more load provide plants with more nutrients and CO2, conversely, with the robust plant growth can hold more load. Often, the limiting factor is water aeration or oxygenation. For example, one can increase the load by simply increasing the water aeration or oxygenation.

Tips

 * Add salt. Any water body has salt, freshwater has low salinity, brackish has medium, and saltwater/marine has high salinity.
 * Do not plant the plants in the anoxic or anaerobic zone, hydrogen sulfide can destroy their roots.
 * Do not overfeed.
 * Do not overstock.
 * Remember that the ratio of the species in the Poecilinae is 1 male to every 4 females, but commonly, this is only for breeding them, so you can still make the ratio 1:1 if they do fine.
 * Schooling or shoaling fishes in small aquariums can school or shoal in a minimum of 4 but they do best in a group of 8 individuals.
 * Culture or farm algae by putting it in a different tank with a/ big smooth rock/s and placing it/them in direct sunlight so you won't worry for the fishes or creatures that primarily eat algae or algae as their staple food or need a constant supply of algae.
 * Not all organisms will do good in your one preferred setup, for example, two different plants live also in two different types of soil. Pick the organisms that both need the same requirements.
 * Some fishes do not school when they feel comfortable

Fast growth

 * Amazon sword (Echinodorus grisebachii)
 * Echinodorus major
 * Pygmy chain sword (Echinodorus tenellus)
 * Dwarf sag (Sagittaria subulata)
 * Grassy arrowhead or grass-leaved arrowhead (Sagittaria graminae)

Take longer time to establish but then grow well

 * Anubias nana
 * Cryptocoryne wendtii
 * Cryptocoryne balansaea
 * Java fern (Microsorum pteropus)

Best floating plants

 * Ceratopteris thalictroides
 * Limnobium laevigatum

Stem plants that are also doing well

 * Bacopa monnieri
 * Rotala rotundifolia

How the ecosystem and cycles work
Cycling is good because it grows nitrogen-fixing and nitrifying bacteria in order to clean your aquarium by breaking down the "mulm" (the sludge that collects at the bottom of the aquarium), consisting of animal waste, decaying plant matter, and other assorted detritus, other organic material, matter, or debris like cut parts, and leftover or uneaten foods. For example, you feed your fish, then your fish poops. The poop and the food will decompose and produce ammonia (NH3) (it is processed by the nitrogen-fixing bacteria). The ammonium (NH3) is converted into nitrite (NO2) by nitrifying bacteria called Nitrosomonas and Nitrosococcus. The nitrite (NO2) is converted into nitrate (NO3) by nitrifying bacteria called Nitrobacter and Nitrospira. The nitrates are absorbed by the plants to restart the process, though they can also absorb ammonia and nitrites.

Plants produce oxygen when they photosynthesize (only in daytime or with sunlight or components of it), they take carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) and combine them using light energy to produce sugars and oxygen. This stores the energy in chemical bonds in the sugars and releases oxygen (O2). The plants use those sugars (like we do when we consume foods) for energy to photosynthesize again. Plants make sugars by oxidizing them with oxygen (O2), just like us to release the energy stored in the bonds. They exhale carbon dioxide (CO2) just like us when we breathe, but when plants are photosynthesizing, they release more oxygen (O2) during photosynthesis than they consume in respiration. They release the oxygen through the same pores that allow the carbon dioxide (CO2) to enter their leaf cells.

Anoxic zone is a zone where oxygen (O2) is completely depleted (as for zones with oxygen (O2), that is called oxic zone), and where anaerobic bacteria live, this can be achieved by having a deep substrate in your tank, particularly around 10 cm. These anaerobic microorganisms have different breathing types as there is no oxygen (O2) present at the zone where these microorganisms settle, sulfate-reducing microorganisms can inhale sulfate (SO$2− 4$) which comes naturally from the decomposing matter and exhale hydrogen sulfide which is poisonous to the fishes (H2S) and denitrifying bacteria can inhale nitrate (NO3) and exhale nitrogen (N2) which is commonly found in the air and water. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a harmful chemical that results from the microbial breakdown of the organic matter in the absence of oxygen and has a significant smell of rotten eggs. Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) isn't harmful to your fish as long as the water in oxic zone is well-oxygenated, because as it goes up the substrate and comes contact with the oxygen (O2), it turns into non-harmful sulfate (SO$2− 4$) which the sulfate-reducing microorganisms inhale and commonly produced in decomposing material.

It is possible to create an actual self-sustaining aquarium where actual food chains and webs occur, as long as the supplies or sources of food for each organism are enough for them to sustain their life for very long time and adapt the environment before the supplies or sources vanish. The biodiversity and biomass for every type of organism should be high in order for the organisms to adapt without having a problem of extinction, this is to transition the energy little by little not drastically. This would be difficult because you will be needing a large aquarium in order for you to accomplish this. Though it's hard to make an actual ecosystem like a food chain going on in your tank and you need to not let one of your kept organisms vanish inside your tank and if you can't do a food chain, you are the one who should control the organism's population. Also, you can create an aquarium that prevents inbreeding depression in the species, there is a minimum viable population or minimum effective number of individuals of one species of any organism that prevents them from inbreeding depression. It is the smallest possible size at which a biological population can exist without facing extinction from natural disasters or demographic, environmental, or genetic stochasticity. Like in humans, basically, you need 50 breeding individuals to avoid inbreeding depression and 500 in order to allow sufficient genetic variability for adaptation to changing conditions.