Amazoniantanklvr
- #1
This has ben a popular topic here lately. This is the official poll for it.
There are multiple forms of filtration. There is chemical, such as activated charcoal. There is adsorption/absorption, such as Purigen. There is mechanical, moving water through media that traps loose particles such as plant leaves or uneaten food.Filters are necessary. It’s not true the there are no filters in nature, as water moves it is filtered by plants sand and gravel. It’s also replaced by rain. If you don’t think filters are required ask your lfs why they have them. Or one better go to your local aquarium and ask them if they are required. If you don’t have a way to removed decay your tank will soon smell… that smell is toxic… as far as shrimp tanks clean water promotes healthy shrimp.
nope. replacing water as happens constantly in nature is not filtration. A balanced ecosystem is not filtration. Filtration is the artificial method of treating the same small quantity of constantly recycled water as in an aquarium whether that is biological, chemical or mechanical. I was being pedantic – of course filtration is necessary in the majority of home aquariums. The question did not mention aquariums.Filters are necessary. It’s not true the there are no filters in nature, as water moves it is filtered by plants sand and gravel. It’s also replaced by rain. If you don’t think filters are required ask your lfs why they have them. Or one better go to your local aquarium and ask them if they are required. If you don’t have a way to removed decay your tank will soon smell… that smell is toxic… as far as shrimp tanks clean water promotes healthy shrimp.
Sure there is. I live on the Florida Gulf coast; I can take you collecting for ghost shrimp in a swamp, or even a roadside ditch, pretty much anywhere from here to Louisiana and we’ll find them.Yes they need a filter, whether a spongue or something else. This will create water movement and assist in keeping water cleaner.
My two cents. If you’re recreating an environment it’s best to mimick where they naturally come from so they have the best possible life. There is no shrimp environment that has zero water movement and stays completely stagnant 100% of the time.
Sure there is. I live on the Florida Gulf coast; I can take you collecting for ghost shrimp in a swamp, or even a roadside ditch, pretty much anywhere from here to Louisiana and we’ll find them.
Non-moving doesn’t mean that water has to be stagnant in the way you’re thinking; if it has thriving vegetation that balances its organic load, it can be crystal clear.
I give up, though. I’m not saying it’s better to not have a filter than to have one or even more than one. The question was whether it was a requirement, not whether it was the best possible option.
Actually, I wouldn’t want to recreate the natural environment. I wouldn’t want to subject my tanks to hurricane conditions or drought, for example (unless I was raising killies that needed drought as part of their life-cycle.) I also wouldn’t want to introduce the natural predator(s) of a particular ecosystem just to keep it as close to nature as possible. (I know what you meant, just saying…)That’s why I say it’s best to recreate the natural environment because it’s hard to see if they’re just surviving or thriving.
Fair enough – but it does make me want to bang my head on the desk when someone says that this isn’t ‘natural’. Because filtration was natural for eons before it was ever mechanical, and natural filtration can be replicated even in a closed system. Has been. Is being. I’m also not offering only an opinion on it, I’m offering evidence to back it up as well.At the end of the day a person asked a question and I gave my opinion based on how I’ve kept shrimp. That’s none of my business what anyone ultimately chooses to do. Same goes for you, you don’t have to feel some type of way and defend what you do. Give the information from your experience and then let other people decide what they want to agree with.
I agree, completely. It’s like nano tank keeping; it requires a very good understanding of the nitrogen cycle, it’s not for beginning aquarists. I would never recommend it to a beginner.The issue is that not all people who are reading this have advanced knowledge of aquariums…what your saying is advanced knowledge.
The biggest take away is that for someone who is new or not as experienced as you have to have a filter.
I personally would never keep a tank with out a filter. The Walstad method may work for some but it is definitely for advanced hobbyist.
Also if filters are not required and the Walstad method is so great, why do fish store and public aquariums filter their tank water?