Shrimp filtration?

HI I have a cycled 10 gallon tank I was hoping to put some shrimp in. The tank is currently heavily planted and does not have a filter on it. Do RCS need current or heavily oxygenated water? Can I put them in without getting a filter or airstone?

 

You might be ok without a filter but I would add a bubbler to oxygenate the water because the plants stop photosynthesizing at night and the O2 levels drop a lot. this can result in mass die off if there is no O2 left for the inverts/ fish. I am not sure on adding the fish with no cycle though even though its heavily planted so I would wait for another answer on that.

 

How is it cycled if you do not have a filter on it? RCS need an aistone to keep the water oxygenated but they do not require a heater if you have one on the tank.

 

hmm... well I was doing the fishless cylce method by aiding ammonia for a while until my ammonia peaked, then my nitrites, then my nitrates. I also have two tiny dace fish in the tank for a couple weeks now that appear to be doing well. (this tank was supposed to be a grow out tank, but my father one day "surprised" me by getting these little fish for it). I was not ready to put fish in at the time because there wasn't a mechanical filter or air pump, but the fish have been doing surprisingly well. I attributed it to the plants due to them constantly pearling.

 

can beneficial bacteria not live in the substrate and aid in bacteria filtration without a mechanical filter?

 

A sponge filter works well.

 

It can also live in the substrate and on all the surfaces of the plants, decorations, and tank although the filter holds the most by far. Also the plants probably are the main consumers of the ammonia in this case.

 

As far as I can tell, the well-known "cherry bowl" has no heater, filter or bubbler and seems to work quite well.

 

I had shrimp in a 2.5 gallon and had ammonia until I added a sponge filter. I got the idea for the tank from Jeri's thread, so I have no idea why it didn't work for me. But you can make a sponge filter for super cheap, and it solves the bubbler problem as well.

Basically I got a $10 air pump (the "Whisper" one, it really is super quiet), attached some airline tubing, and airstone at the end, and stuck the airstone in a cylindrical sponge. It's a Fluval sponge, I'm not sure if it's meant to cover an intake valve or what but it was only like $2. It's not the standard way to do a sponge filter (there are threads on those, I can find a few if you're interested) but it still works and my ammonia is at 0ppm, even after forgetting to do a water change for a little too long. Plus, since it produces bubbles, it aerates the water, and fixed the "surface oil slick" problem I had, as well.