Do you actually NEED a filter in a fish tank? 

Thanks Loren. I'm back into this after thirty years. (no Internet then) I used to switch my filter off for about five hours at night to cut down the noise. I'm told now that this is wrong, but the fish were fine. No problems. 👍

I have a spaghetti jar as shrimp tank no filter just one type of plant, no fertiliser no feeding ever no light just sitting by window, and it’s doing 10 times bettet than my 30L shrimp tank with filter lights led fertiliser every week. 😅

You got me started on the aquarium hobby 1 month ago with your white cloud mountain minnow video. I now have fry after 2 weeks of conditioning with quality frozen food and great plants. That deserves a huge subscribe and i will on purposely like every one of your videos.

I've switched my filter off every night for 5 years due to noise, and it has been completely fine. Hearing this makes me wonder if my low stocked/ heavily planted tank could go even less without the filter. I'll be moving to a new place soon, and hopefully I can have enough plug space to have an automated timer on my filter. I'll 100% keep this in mind going forward

I find it amusing how many spend a lot of time and money on filters to remove fish waste and then add fertilizer. What exactly is the difference between the two? 🤔 Next the same folk say to use it on your plants as (wait for it)... fertilizer! 🤣 Incredible. All the best. 😉

Great questions! I often think about these sorts of things myself. I do like to keep filters cycled just incase I set up another new tank. Can swap it out. Happens more than I’d like to admit😂

Great start to my day

Yup! I've been doing the same thing. I use a simple sponge filter for water movement, but it's not there for mechanical or biological filtration. The plants and bacteria in the substrate do that. I also do not gravel vac and only do a light water change monthly. My tank is doing well!

Loved the video, as well as your appreciation of the hillstreamers - it gave me the confidence to remove the aerator from my supposedly self sustaining eco bowl with shrimp, endlers, plants, snails, and a houseplant on top

Another great video Lauren. Thanks so much. I'm back to aquarium keeping after nearly 50 years and I've found many of your vlogs absolutely essential viewing. I''m intrigued by the debate over the need for filters in densely planted aquascapes. There seems to be plenty of evidence to suggest that a planted tank can function perfectly well without powered filtration - so long as the animal stocks are kept at a low level well-within the size constraints of the tank. I am uncertain about the validity of having a filter but only running it for 2 hours per day. The bacteria that live in the filter media breaking down ammonia to nitrite and nitrite to nitrate are 'obligate aerobes', meaning they can only function in water where oxygen is present. When the filter is turned off and the flow of oxygenated water through the filter stops, the bacteria in the filter will use up the residual oxygen in the filter media over a period of time. Once the oxygen is depleted the bacterial activity will decline and after a prolonged period may harm the viability of the bacterial culture. How long this takes to happen is anyone's guess. On this basis running the filter for only two hours per 24 hr cycle will certainly provide a burst of mechanical particle filtration, circulation and aeration, but the contribution of biological activity inside the filter will be compromised. Of course this would be compensated by all the bacterial activity occurring on the biofilm surfaces throughout the tank (plant surfaces, decor surfaces and substrate particles). An interesting debate and I am certainly going to contemplate some degree of On/Off cycle for my filter. The key aquarium keeping principle that I have latched onto since returning to the hobby is - don't overstock!! Certainly a lot has changed since I last had any form of fish tank so access to media coverage such as your channel is fascinating and so very helpful.

Love all your videos for both the info and seeing your beautiful tanks. Thanks for sharing.😊

Original thinker love it

I've been questioning the need for a filter myself lately. I think once an aquarium is dialed in, the plants are well established, and there haven't been changes in a long while, it probably wouldn't have deleterious consequences to remove filtration.

Great video Lauren

Just discovered your channel. Your content is AMAZING. You definitely deserve more subscribers.

Congratulations to 5k 🎉

Congrats on 5K subscribers! :)

Great video

been thinking about it with my 15 g. 6 neons,6 harlequins, 6 dwarf kuhlis a peacock gudgeon and a nerite snail with a giant mass of elodea and salvinia on the surface and an internal filter.

Lauren can you compare glowlight danio and gold ring danio? What are the differences I'm size and behavior? I'm debating between them

I like your videos a lot. What would be your top 5 nano fish if you had to limit yourself to 5?

I watch lrb he has a hole unfiltered fish room .it can be done . I have one unfiltered tank with some white clouds in and its been doing great

Can the water outlet be below the surface? I don't like the sound of the waterfall

all you need is water movement

About flow for oxygenation - I have heard that you need surface agitation for decent oxygen exchange, otherwise you could be in trouble. Especially if you have any kind of surface scum or biofilm (which tends to form in filter less tanks). You mentioned that in passing so I assume you’ve also come across the same claims in your research; have any insight on that?

Hi hi!

A no filter tank is definitely possible. I've set up a big jar with a thin layer of soil capped with a deep layer of sand , and a carpet of monte carlo. I've had it running for 6 months now. There isn't any filter, and the only equipment it has is a desklamp with a 15 watt led bulb for light, a small heater, and DIY yeast based co2 for the monte carlo carpet. The betta that lives in the jar seems happy enough, always comes up for food whenever I feed it, and is swimming around exploring the jar. I think the deep layer of sand provides most of the surface area for beneficial bacteria. I also have some floating plants which should absorb nitrates and other nutrients. For maintenence I top the tank up whenever it needs it, maybe once a week, and I remove some hair algae. I trim the plants and do a waterchange every once in a while, maybe twice a month. My ammonia, nitrite is always at 0 and my nitrates are always below 10 ppm.

1:10-1:11 what fish is that pls?? Looks awesome, pure black with yellow spots and eyes 😍

Anyone able to ID the lovely little translucent fish around 1:20-1:26 in the video intro please? They look like some sort of Rasbora to me but I've not been able to confirm the species yet. Thanks

How about no extra lights and no heater?

Very good question…. Just like with heaters…

Nope. Had planted tanks without filters for ages. Works fine. Debris can build up but if you siphon it out it's not a problem. However if you don't have lots of growing plants in the aquarium, don't attempt to go filterless.