The Best Lowtech Tank I've Made and How I Did it

HI FishLore,

Here's an easy to follow recipe on how to make a relatively inexpensive aquarium with the best possible results for lowtech. This 10 gallon lowtch tank has been COMPLETELY algae free from the beginning. It's been set up for a decent amount of time now.

This tank was for a classroom and the goal was just to make an easy, low maintenance jungle. It isn't a fancy aquascape, the goal was just to create a clean, dense jungle for the fish.

Pic 1: Right after planting & 1 week later



Pic 2 & 3: Now





Substrate: Play Sand
Play sand from Home Depot ($5 for 50lb). I probably used around 10lb. I used a generous 3" layer. Play sand is the best for planted aquariums because it is so easy to plant and the plants will not get bruised by rough gravel. Sand is the best because it allows for a large, extensive root system and immense ease when planting. It's also cheap.

I do not recommend the following as substrate: pea gravel, artificially colored gravel, marbles, river stones, pebbles, eco-complete.
I do recommend the following as substrate: play sand, pool filter sand, soil capped with sand (this is more for advanced aquariums), aquasoil, black diamond blasting sand

Lighting: 2x 6500K 60W CFL Bulbs
Lighting is so, so important for lowtech tanks. It's often neglected. A simple stock LED or some cheap incandescent will not work for most plants. I chose CFLs because I get the absolute best results with them and they're cheap too ($10 for a pack of 6).

I do not recommend the following as lighting: Random stock LEDs, 10,000K LEDs, LED Color temps that are not within 500K of 6500K, incandescent lighting
I do recommend the following as inexpensive lighting: 6500K CFL grow bulbs, 6500K T5 bulbs, 6500K LED Floodlights (these things are insanely powerful and are good for lighting deep tanks. I've had great results with these as well), 6500K RGB LEDs

Fertilization: Thrive by NilocG (1 pump per week in a 10 gal)
It's important to use a comprehensive and nutritious fertilizer for all tanks. I use Thrive by NilocG because it's the best lowtech fertilizer I've ever tested, and I've tested a ton of them. I don't even use root tabs in this tank. Just Thrive. Even heavy root feeders like crypts do fine in plain sand, as long as they get fertilizers through the water column.

I do not recommend the following as fertilizers because they are simply incomplete: Flourish or Excel
I do recommend the following as fertilizers: Thrive by NilocG and ThriveC by NilocG

Plant Stock:
I've been able to successfully grow the following in this tank:

1) Dwarf Hairgrass
2) Rotala H'ra
3) Limnophila aromatica mini
4) Ludwigia glandulosa
5) Ludwigia minI super red
6) Ludwigia atlantis
7) Ludwigia arcuata
8) Ludwigia ovalis
9) Pogostemon octopus
10) Pearlweed
11) Crypt WendtiI Red
12) Water Wisteria
13) Brazilian Pennywort
14) Rotala sp. green
15) Limnophila heterophylla

Livestock:
1) 5 male guppy endler hybrids (fed daily with small amounts of food)
2) Random snails

The biggest PRO TIP I can give for plants is... Get them algae free and get a ton of them. I used a ton of plants to make my 10 gallon and doing that from the beginning completely prevented any algae. Promote emersed growth in the beginning to help control the algae. Dose fertilizer in full dose as recommended, half doses or not dosing in the beginning will not help at all.

All of these plants came algae-free submerged from my outdoor set ups and transitioned just fine to lowtech, with 0 melt.

Filtration: A weak hang on back
A weak hang on back filter that really has almost no power. I highly recommend canister filtration for larger tanks

Maintenance: 7-8 minutes per week
I just top off this tank when it gets low with dechlorinated tap water and feed my fish daily with a super small amount of food.

I used to recommend doing 50% water changes weekly. After doing this tank, I realize that is not necessary and can actually be detrimental in some cases where the water cannot gas off before going in the tank. Often, tap water is rich in CO2 and a sudden fluctuation in CO2 can be disastrous for a lowtech tank which will cause algae.

 

Nice tank! I am going to be using thrive C in my blackwater tank, mostly because it has a minimal impact on the TDS in the water column (it does reduce the PH, but since this tank's target PH is 4-5.5 that attribute is not a serious problem). Good to know Rotala H'ra is not a tricky plant

 

What a great read! Since my tank is a 75 gallon community tank and I have to do water changes for my angels should I go ahead and get CO2? I’ve had no melt from your plants and use ThriveC after every water change which I do with a python so there is no opportunity for off gassing.

I have some diatoms but nothing that can’t be wiped off during a water change.

 

What a great read! Since my tank is a 75 gallon community tank and I have to do water changes for my angels should I go ahead and get CO2? I’ve had no melt from your plants and use ThriveC after every water change which I do with a python so there is no opportunity for off gassing.

I have some diatoms but nothing that can’t be wiped off during a water change.

Honestly, I recommend CO2 for everyone with a planted tank. The type of growth, colors, and speed that you'll get with pressurized CO2 is unbeatable. Please feel free to send a PM if you need any help with your CO2 setup.

Nice tank! I am going to be using thrive C in my blackwater tank, mostly because it has a minimal impact on the TDS in the water column (it does reduce the PH, but since this tank's target PH is 4-5.5 that attribute is not a serious problem). Good to know Rotala H'ra is not a tricky plant

Thank you! I'm sure ThriveC will be great for a blackwater tank. And you're right, Rotala H'ra is not tricky at all. The key to it is just a good water column fertilizer and enough lighting. If you just have those two things, it'll grow quite well. My camera was not very good and it unfortunately washed out the pink color on the rotala. In person, the rotala H'ra near the light has a light, vibrant pink color to it. It's absolutely stunning and it's lowtech too.

 

My low tech tank. Working on plants. Not growing too fast though. I use Thrive C. How much should I use for a 55 gallon? And question? Isn't using CO2 not low tech anymore?

 

View attachment 632669
My low tech tank. Working on plants. Not growing too fast though. I use Thrive C. How much should I use for a 55 gallon? And question? Isn't using CO2 not low tech anymore?

Yes using pressurized or DIY CO2 is not lowtech, but "liquid CO2" is still considered lowtech since it is only a small fraction better than tanks without liquid CO2.

For a 55 gallon, you'd have to do 11 pumps once or twice a week. A safe dose would be to do 11 pumps after a water change, and another 5 midway through the week.

 

Thank you! I'm sure ThriveC will be great for a blackwater tank. And you're right, Rotala H'ra is not tricky at all. The key to it is just a good water column fertilizer and enough lighting. If you just have those two things, it'll grow quite well. My camera was not very good and it unfortunately washed out the pink color on the rotala. In person, the rotala H'ra near the light has a light, vibrant pink color to it. It's absolutely stunning and it's lowtech too.

I was hoping it would turn pink in my setup

Anyhow, I was going to experiment with a low tech way to increase CO2 levels in the tank. I have an air powered filter and a submerged water pump in this tank. I was going to put the air pump on a timer so that it turns off two hours before the lights come on and only comes on again once the 7 hour photoperiod is done. My hope is that the generous amount of decaying organic matter (mostly fallen leaves) would produce enough CO2 to improve plant growth. Do you think that would work?

 

I was hoping it would turn pink in my setup

Anyhow, I was going to experiment with a low tech way to increase CO2 levels in the tank. I have an air powered filter and a submerged water pump in this tank. I was going to put the air pump on a timer so that it turns off two hours before the lights come on and only comes on again once the 7 hour photoperiod is done. My hope is that the generous amount of decaying organic matter (mostly fallen leaves) would produce enough CO2 to improve plant growth. Do you think that would work?

It probably wouldn't give any noticeable benefits. I prefer not to use decaying organic matter because that's usually a sure way to get algae in most systems. Not sure if you'll experience that with your tank though since it's a blackwater tank.

 

Yes using pressurized or DIY CO2 is not lowtech, but "liquid CO2" is still considered lowtech since it is only a small fraction better than tanks without liquid CO2.

For a 55 gallon, you'd have to do 11 pumps once or twice a week. A safe dose would be to do 11 pumps after a water change, and another 5 midway through the week.

Thanks. What kind of plant should I put in the left side? Kinda lost with placement.

 

Thanks. What kind of plant should I put in the left side? Kinda lost with placement.

I'm a fan of rotala, pogostemon octopus, ludwigia, pearlweed, etc. I like big, bushy stem plants

 

Wow! That's cool!

 

Wow my tank looks so different now! lol

 

Can you share what it looks like now?

 

My low tech tank

 

Wow my tank looks so different now! lol

 

How are you all so good at aquascaping? I suck at it!

 

Both look amazing! Great job.

 

I had a good size piece of Mopani wood where the white rocks are on the left but I couldn't take the yellow water.

 

Biggest asset to a low tech tank is time... I run in upwards of 75-100 PAR without CO2 on low tech tanks but they need to age, and have extensive plant mass. You mus start slow, and your main goal should be to limit algae growth by focusing on plant health. Healthy plants in a moderate lighting environment should not promote algae growth. Get your water change and fertilizer dosing regime in order, get your plant species / livestock species in check, and wait it out. Once everything is in tip-top condition, ramp up the lighting. Don't just run as much light as possible, understand that your margin for error has dramatically increased, but to take a low tech tank from good to great, it's a risk you'll have to take.







Note how there is algae in this tank, but it only ever grows on the glass, never touching plant health. Algae on the glass is easy to remove (I was just a bit lazy for a few weeks before these pictures).

 

How are you all so good at aquascaping? I suck at it!

You saw the date on the first picture? I started my plants last summer and my scapes have a lot of help from other members. Im not very good at it either.

 

Can you share what it looks like now?

The aquarium was taken down just before the COVID 19 quarantine started. Unfortunately, I was not able to snap a picture before it was taken down.

 

Biggest asset to a low tech tank is time... I run in upwards of 75-100 PAR without CO2 on low tech tanks but they need to age, and have extensive plant mass. You mus start slow, and your main goal should be to limit algae growth by focusing on plant health. Healthy plants in a moderate lighting environment should not promote algae growth. Get your water change and fertilizer dosing regime in order, get your plant species / livestock species in check, and wait it out. Once everything is in tip-top condition, ramp up the lighting. Don't just run as much light as possible, understand that your margin for error has dramatically increased, but to take a low tech tank from good to great, it's a risk you'll have to take.







Note how there is algae in this tank, but it only ever grows on the glass, never touching plant health. Algae on the glass is easy to remove (I was just a bit lazy for a few weeks before these pictures).

This may be one of the most impressive lowtech tanks I've ever seen. What a gorgeous tank! Thank you for sharing this

 

This may be one of the most impressive lowtech tanks I've ever seen. What a gorgeous tank! Thank you for sharing this

Thank you, I’ve always had both a low tech and high tech tank going at once (until recently). Its always fun to pull plants from the high tech tank and see how they fair low tech, and vice versa.

 

Wow, lots of awesome tanks in this thread. One day I'll start up a new one with a real focus on thriving plants, and this will be a great reference!

 

Here's a better lowtech tank I've created that has more of an "aquascaping" goal in mind. Though the 10 gallon tank was meant to be a messy jungle, I like tanks that look a bit more organized. Here's some before and after. Like Chanyi was saying, time is the greatest asset for a lowtech tank.

Started January 2020 (Initial Planting)



March 2020:



April 2020 (The bushy green plant on the left was removed as it was growing too fast. Was going to replace with some wisteria or bacopa, but the quarantine hit right before I was able to work on it):





This tank is by no means perfect and could use a lot of work, but with time, it'll look better. I don't consider myself an aquascaper because my aquascaping skills could definitely use some work. But I do focus on growing healthy plants which is the foundation for any successful scape.

 

Here's a better lowtech tank I've created that has more of an "aquascaping" goal in mind. Though the 10 gallon tank was meant to be a messy jungle, I like tanks that look a bit more organized. Here's some before and after. Like Chanyi was saying, time is the greatest asset for a lowtech tank.

Started January 2020 (Initial Planting)
View attachment 694619

March 2020:
View attachment 694622

April 2020 (The bushy green plant on the left was removed as it was growing too fast. Was going to replace with some wisteria or bacopa, but the quarantine hit right before I was able to work on it):
View attachment 694624
View attachment 694625

This tank is by no means perfect and could use a lot of work, but with time, it'll look better. I don't consider myself an aquascaper because my aquascaping skills could definitely use some work. But I do focus on growing healthy plants which is the foundation for any successful scape.

Looks great! Totally something that I am aspiring to.

 

Forgive me if this is a dumb question, but...could the issues with water changes and CO2 in a low tech tank be avoided by simply keeping the lights off the day of the water change? I can't imagine the plants taking issue with that...it's not as if aquatic plants live only in areas with no cloud cover

 

Forgive me if this is a dumb question, but...could the issues with water changes and CO2 in a low tech tank be avoided by simply keeping the lights off the day of the water change? I can't imagine the plants taking issue with that...it's not as if aquatic plants live only in areas with no cloud cover

Not a dumb question at all! I think the CO2 issue can be avoided that way with the lights off for a day, but another good way to do it would be to fill up the water ahead of time in a bucket and let it de-gas overnight, and then add the water. Or instead of doing massive 50%+ water changes, it may be more effective to do more frequent, but smaller volume water changes like 10-20%.

Water changes are definitely important for any planted aquarium, and I don't think I conveyed that properly in my post. During this time of quarantine, I've had the opportunity to make better lowtech aquariums and water changes have been an important aspect of success. However, I found that smaller, yet consistent water changes are quite helpful.

Here's a pic of a lowtech nano tank I did (apologies for the terrible photo quality):





It had rotala h'ra, limnophila aromatica mini, buce, monte carlo, flamingo crypts, pogo helferi, and spiky moss. Lower picture was the most recent, but I stopped doing proper maintenance, which is why some of the plants started to look pretty bad.

 

HI FishLore,

Here's an easy to follow recipe on how to make a relatively inexpensive aquarium with the best possible results for lowtech. This 10 gallon lowtch tank has been COMPLETELY algae free from the beginning. It's been set up for a decent amount of time now.

This tank was for a classroom and the goal was just to make an easy, low maintenance jungle. It isn't a fancy aquascape, the goal was just to create a clean, dense jungle for the fish.

Pic 1: Right after planting & 1 week later
View attachment 632663

Pic 2 & 3: Now
View attachment 632664
View attachment 632665

Substrate: Play Sand
Play sand from Home Depot ($5 for 50lb). I probably used around 10lb. I used a generous 3" layer. Play sand is the best for planted aquariums because it is so easy to plant and the plants will not get bruised by rough gravel. Sand is the best because it allows for a large, extensive root system and immense ease when planting. It's also cheap.

I do not recommend the following as substrate: pea gravel, artificially colored gravel, marbles, river stones, pebbles, eco-complete.
I do recommend the following as substrate: play sand, pool filter sand, soil capped with sand (this is more for advanced aquariums), aquasoil, black diamond blasting sand

Lighting: 2x 6500K 60W CFL Bulbs
Lighting is so, so important for lowtech tanks. It's often neglected. A simple stock LED or some cheap incandescent will not work for most plants. I chose CFLs because I get the absolute best results with them and they're cheap too ($10 for a pack of 6).

I do not recommend the following as lighting: Random stock LEDs, 10,000K LEDs, LED Color temps that are not within 500K of 6500K, incandescent lighting
I do recommend the following as inexpensive lighting: 6500K CFL grow bulbs, 6500K T5 bulbs, 6500K LED Floodlights (these things are insanely powerful and are good for lighting deep tanks. I've had great results with these as well), 6500K RGB LEDs

Fertilization: Thrive by NilocG (1 pump per week in a 10 gal)
It's important to use a comprehensive and nutritious fertilizer for all tanks. I use Thrive by NilocG because it's the best lowtech fertilizer I've ever tested, and I've tested a ton of them. I don't even use root tabs in this tank. Just Thrive. Even heavy root feeders like crypts do fine in plain sand, as long as they get fertilizers through the water column.

I do not recommend the following as fertilizers because they are simply incomplete: Flourish or Excel
I do recommend the following as fertilizers: Thrive by NilocG and ThriveC by NilocG

Plant Stock:
I've been able to successfully grow the following in this tank:

1) Dwarf Hairgrass
2) Rotala H'ra
3) Limnophila aromatica mini
4) Ludwigia glandulosa
5) Ludwigia minI super red
6) Ludwigia atlantis
7) Ludwigia arcuata
8) Ludwigia ovalis
9) Pogostemon octopus
10) Pearlweed
11) Crypt WendtiI Red
12) Water Wisteria
13) Brazilian Pennywort
14) Rotala sp. green
15) Limnophila heterophylla

Livestock:
1) 5 male guppy endler hybrids (fed daily with small amounts of food)
2) Random snails

The biggest PRO TIP I can give for plants is... Get them algae free and get a ton of them. I used a ton of plants to make my 10 gallon and doing that from the beginning completely prevented any algae. Promote emersed growth in the beginning to help control the algae. Dose fertilizer in full dose as recommended, half doses or not dosing in the beginning will not help at all.

All of these plants came algae-free submerged from my outdoor set ups and transitioned just fine to lowtech, with 0 melt.

Filtration: A weak hang on back
A weak hang on back filter that really has almost no power. I highly recommend canister filtration for larger tanks

Maintenance: 7-8 minutes per week
I just top off this tank when it gets low with dechlorinated tap water and feed my fish daily with a super small amount of food.

I used to recommend doing 50% water changes weekly. After doing this tank, I realize that is not necessary and can actually be detrimental in some cases where the water cannot gas off before going in the tank. Often, tap water is rich in CO2 and a sudden fluctuation in CO2 can be disastrous for a lowtech tank which will cause algae.

How did you cycle this tank? Fish-in or fishless. How long did the cycle take you?

 

How did you cycle this tank? Fish-in or fishless. How long did the cycle take you?

I just used established filter media from another aquarium and added the fish after two weeks.