ADDED MORE TECH TO SELF SUSTAINING AQUARIUM! (EP7)

[@MDFishTanks]

MESSED UP THE INTRO TITLE DAMMIT 🤣🤣. Oh well. days 19 - 26 I type a ton of letters so i dont forget to change at the end when I know what day we ended on....how did I miss it!! 😂

[@ultralord7027]

Love the chaos :))

[@Manojspidey18]

Doesn’t matter we know david

[@alexanderwilliams6377]

Go away mano

[@nickfeldman2996]

MD! You've come so far since the shed days, you're doing great! Keep on swimming!! 🐠

[@ClaytonO-fish4life]

Oh my god! The tannins are destroying your OCD. Lol Self sustaining…. Put the OCD aside. Lmao

[@BTQ410]

I think a water change would be good. The tank looks awesome and the reality is you almost always need to do a water change once early in a setup. My theory on top offs and water changes: in the wild, fish experience rain showers as well as big storms and floods. So the rain showers are like the top offs, short and sweet. The big water changes are like the floods or big storms that occur more rarely. Besides, I find my fish just enjoy a water change. I don’t consider a periodic water change as maintenance either because it mimics what fish have in the wild. I am really enjoying this series.

[@MeanOldLady]

His is a much larger version of mine, but I've only ever done 1 actual water change on it to get rid of excess diatoms I scraped off rocks & plants when I had an outbreak. Otherwise, I'll take a cup here or there of it to inoculate another tank with bacteria & water from that established system. But this is an experiment to see how well it does without water changes & a ton of inputs. That water will clear up & be absolutely pristine if left alone to do its thing once the system has fully cycled & established an ecosystem. I don't even have to scrub algae anymore in my natural, planted tank.

[@wirtification]

Agreed 100%

[@SamPonjican]

Negative Space Aquascape for sure! Having the opportunity to see the fish behavior in open spaces is going to be epic.

[@Samizard]

For the ecosystem tank - leave the water and see how it does (or doesn't) correct its own murkiness. This is a bit of an experiment after all, isn't it? For the 8ft I think one dramatic, swooping island and a large negative space on one side would be cool. Especially with all the schooling that happens in there!

[@barnett25]

I disagree. Tannins will never go away unless you change the water. That is like doing an experiment to see if an apple will fall if you drop it.

[@javierfronterabelenguer7959]

I agree

[@Nadine-v7y]

agree, let the tank find its balance

[@andrea_6405]

We know what would happened, just go with the water change

[@Lijnoftylerwoods]

I agree with you on the water change for the Self Sustaining tank. That's my happy place looking at tanks. I like the idea of a side view river tank for the big tank. It would look so cool since the tank is in the middle back of the room.

[@MeanOldLady]

It's not self sustaining if it has to rely on water changes... It'll go through the uglies & will sort itself over time if left to do its own thing. No one really needs to do anything unless something catastrophic happens, like a massive algae outbreak.

[@lisacampbell9257]

Do it! Do the water change and clear up that murk. And for the 8footer,one island with lots of wood work flowing through. Love your channel.

[@Ftscotland]

I stopped water changes around three years ago, just top ups, after doing a four gallon water change every month. A few months later my Corries started breeding, after having them for four years, and they kept on breeding every six weeks or so during our winter, from about November to March. They are in a community tank but I have three generations of fish now, the original pair and two young ones. Even the colour of other fish seems brighter especially my male Black Ruby barbs which are always deep black bodies and bright ruby noses :)

[@n.c.3137]

Quick tip for you, I've been using a cat litter tray poop scoop (bought new) to scoop out floating plants. It works a treat! 👍

[@AndrewHeisey]

Water change. One island!

[@finallyfreeacademy]

Voting for water change! Tank set up is always more maintenance anyway. Loving this project, currently trying to get my hubby to agree to setting our 3rd tank up as no-low maintenance. But he is a tech junkie!! But he is enjoying watching these so 🤞

[@TitanSummers]

I love the 8f tank like that. Simple and you can see everyone.

[@Pumpnineteen]

I like the embankment idea with big open space for the 8ft. Some upright bamboo/twig forest area could be a really cool space for the angels. They love to breed on smooth upright surfaces

[@MayYourGodGoWithYou]

Maybe growing lucky bamboo - on a raised area if necessary - which would mimic bamboo grasses in the wild. Hoping to get a tank to try that with my lucky bamboo (my daughter's glass mixing bowl is now a huge lucky bamboo 'fish' bowl without any fish). I've seen some on other videos which look fantastic.

[@williamsmithstrate6124]

#1 Go for the water change #2 One island for the 8ft

[@sarahsaunders-dp1jg]

Yes Yes Yes , do the water change, even if the experiment is for LOW MAINTENANCE 1 water change is very minimal after nearly 1 month, PLUS you know MD it will look so much better . Do it do it .

[@AquaticEscapeUS]

One water change is really more a part of the setup process than maintenance. Once the tank is established, that’s when maintenance kicks in. Let’s clear it up!

[@stonepiggy]

I think that occasional water changes are way less annoying and stressful than waiting or trying to treat it another way. Go for the water change! Also, I like the idea of one island as the embankment with wood coming into the negative area. Your tanks always look great though!

[@suehubbard7224]

i agree with both choices :)

[@shawncraib]

Don't be weak let it be ugly. I like this series because this is what most tanks are like. Keep up the good work.

[@SunnySingh-sy5jb]

I think you should do a water change and then also consider a low/little maintenance filter. Something that needs looking at every 6 months. Ultimately it’s not a river/lake etc it’s a tank so some maintenance will always be needed! Little bit now and then is fine!

[@stoneysscapes7544]

Whenever I have a new setup it's always been about taking care of whatever it is and I'm sure it's not considered preventative maintenance which makes it much more hands on, so if it works out the way you are planning on being a top off only then doing something or anything else I believe it would be a great long terrm solution to sort out the water clarity !!! I remember Dustin.once said "dillution is the solution to solve the water pollution "

[@bigben8369]

Yes! Do a water change. One a month shouldn't be too much, and we all want the tank to look the best it can.

[@hychamharouchi7614]

Hi MD, most awesome video as usual! For the 8 foot I think you should do an embankment on both sides it would be like a slice of an 8 foot Amazonian creek, how cool would that be! Water changes is part of being self sustaining if you ask me, even for the health of this closed ecosystem I think it is beneficial.

[@MayYourGodGoWithYou]

Or possibly like a small offshoot to a creek with the embankments going to meet at the back - hide the glass that way and won't confuse the fish - almost like a dent in the bank. It would look fantastic and definitely different as well as a testament to his skill in planting.

[@noraleestone2859]

18:29 😂😂 The poor fish are so confused by you waving your arms back and forth! They're almost going in circles. You need to be further away - perhaps just in front of the camera. Or else dial down the gesticulations. 😉😁🤩

[@nancyrood5789]

As much as I want to emulate your self-sustaining methods, which is like 99%, I will likely perform the occasional water change, just to be on the safe side and gain the experience. I’m also going to start with two sponge filters, so I can set up a quarantine tank after a fishless cycling. I plan to quarantine everything that goes into my tank. I’ve been researching for months in preparation for my first tank, a 40 gal breeder, planted community tank. If it will clear the water up some, it’s worth it. It doesn’t mean the tank isn’t still self-sustaining. Love your videos!

[@andreiteodorescu4938]

Yes! do a water change! I've been doing "self-sustaining tanks" whatever that means, for over a decade and a few water changes during startup\cycling to get rid of initial imbalances or murkiness are totally fine! it should be self-sustaining -after- it is fully cycled and balanced... before that everything goes, as long as you dont hurt the living organisms, macro and micro, in the water. Loving the project, and Yes more information makes this series even more valuable! Cheers!

[@farmalot6214]

If its an algae or bacterial bloom it will clear by itself eventually but if its tannins they are there to stay, its just how your water will be without a water change. initial water changes allow you to set the initial conditions of your tank so that it is self sustaining later, so YES do a water change, or better yet, bring in an active filter from an established tank, for a few days this will clear things up and enrich the microbial diversity... For me, "one time" or "'two time" procedures are not maintenance... Loving the project!

[@kbye5323]

Water Change would be nice. Keep up the amazing job and looking forward to the 8ft build.

[@AnaLaMama]

When you redo the 8ft, you get a little group of eartheaters! Geophagus argyrostictus are my personal favorites.

[@americanbliss6279]

Water change & one island! I love watching your channel, something different with every episode! I've learned so much from you, keep it up! 😎✌🏻

[@clementbellande8720]

Just go for this water change you seem to absolutely want to do 😂 Cheers from France. I'm presently planting 70 plants in my New 720 liter tank. All exited❤❤❤

[@RodrigoFernandes-vb2fj]

A 3D background would look cool too! Like a river bank with some rocks and some wood, consider that, I think it would be something really diferent from what you have done until now! A hug from portugal❤🇵🇹

[@MayYourGodGoWithYou]

I've seen a couple done on KZbin videos, often with an overhang and a couple of shallow ''caves'' which the fish love to go into. Depending on the fish I suspect, but if any of those MD has are bank type fish they'd love it.

[@PirexianStalker]

Project "Amazonia" you could scape one big island on the right with big pieces of wood, then negative space in middleish, then another way smaller island with mostly rocks as hardscape in the left. I think the Tank is big enough to mix two styles of scapes in the same tank, and make a kind of transition between the two styles with negative open space.

[@cyoung114]

Water change ,yes. And two islands more hiding space and a nice open space in the middle would look amazing

[@shonhatley541]

Quick water change for sure. Keep'em coming, MD.

[@7Makowski7]

Water change to clear things up. Loving this series and always enjoy your content. Going to miss the Utopia Tank - just so beautiful with how full it was with plants. Amazon River is an interesting biotope though! Quite a long river and that gives lots of options

[@rogerlangford2836]

I haven't done a water change on my 128 litre tank for 6 months+. Plant growth is manic - just thrown a washing up bowl of trimmings away ( no local fish shops want them) - shrimps and day fish breeding like mad. However, if I notice potential issues I introduce a small canister filter where I have removed the sponge and put a small bag of Puritan in and leave it running for 4 or 5 hours then remove it. I guess strictly speaking that's maintenance but compared with weekly water changes advocated by some it's negligible...

[@thefisher6273]

Two banks. negative space in middle. Great update 👏👍🏻

[@jodip719]

I personally love the look of tank with a bit of tannins. Looks more natural. Regarding the 8ft, I'd go for two islands. Mainly because that's how I want to do mine 😊

[@tonytraveller7218]

One island like a cross section of an amazon river might look more natural. Either would be great I’m sure. In addition, change the water… 💦 sort it 😝

[@ultralord7027]

I also vote one island with trailing :)

[@oreosryumme]

For sure change the water if it's bothering you! One island on the 8ft I think would look super cool. I'd go from left to right though vs right to left

[@gustifurp.foxworthy7486]

Yes, on the water change. I would consider that part of the setup, not maintenance. And I vote for 2 islands! One bigger than the other with the negative space off center.

[@sherly1492]

JAW DROPPED! Just saw what I think is a yellow Pleco, such a cutie!

[@wilektonyfishtanks3308]

Go for the water change, its a fairly nee setup and doing the water change should help prevent algae blooms in the water column.

[@Rod_Zaramella]

Please DON'T change the water! This will set the video apart. Let's observe if the murkiness clears up on its own. This may demonstrate the true efficacy of the plants.

[@andywait9491]

Love an MD notification, something to look forward to when I'm home from work tonight 👍🐠

[@wildmack1214]

I'm pumped on the self sustaining series. How about a large peninsula planted tank again, maybe with 2 or 3 species of rainbowfish? yes on the water change

[@markbarnes9311]

Hey MD from 🇦🇺 , I’d like to see how murky it would be , I’ve seen how clear a water change makes it and with contrast beside it of the other tanks, no water change yet. Definitely one island and a negative space. Cheers mate, love the journey.

[@passdaboof]

i like the emptiness + the tall plants in the 8ft

[@taylorhale1035]

Water change is fine. There is the possibility that it’s not tannins from the wood. My +2 year old tank gets like that sometimes and I think it’s because of unabsorbed Leaf Zone and nutrients in the water column. It doesn’t hurt anything but a 50% water change every other month is about all I do to make it looking “gin” as you would say. Lol

[@harps1953]

I love your channel, great job! I agree with the water change, after all it's what pleases you.

[@amandakeedwell3810]

Two islands! Water change. :) love your channel. Have a great holiday!

[@schmidtsville]

If you can’t handle a little tint in the water how are you going to make an eight foot Amazon tank? Keep the water! Embrace the tint! Have you seen water in the Amazon? It definitely has a tint!

[@juliea6791]

One island would look amazing ,and a water change 💚🌿💚

[@loneshark74.29]

I’m very excited for the new 8 foot and chunks rehome inside of there. I’m sure it’s going to look absolutely insane 😎

[@ultralord7027]

Whaaat Chris and MD uploading at the same time. Joy overload

[@shunsuijiraiya2674]

Sounded like you calibrated your auto doser with water. You may wish to re calibrate with the fert you are using. Some are thicker / have more resistance in the tubing than water so your dose may be more or less than you expect. Also… definitely yes to water change. In the 8 foot I would like the two thin islands with a single feature rock in the middle (the one from your pearl weed iwagumi).

[@ahhhhhhhjess]

For the 8ft, I like the idea of the cross section of a river

[@kirbyknechtel7445]

🇨🇦 Great video! I like the two islands idea.🇨🇦

[@Kdash89]

I'd do a water change as it is an impact of you adding the bog wood as an example of what happens, rather than how the tank would have been otherwise. As for the 8ft, i'd do 2 small islands connected by trailing and arching wood on one side, a fair bit of negative space and then a 3rd island on the other side, standing alone.

[@judithyoungquist8409]

Yes on the water change, it’s a great idea

[@toddwatanabe7298]

You probably thought of this, but you can probably combine your water top off and dosing the leaf zone. Just use the doser to dose a solution of water and fertilizer. When I started dosing kalkwasser in my nano reef, I adjusted it so that I only rarely have to manually top off. It is less exact and takes some calculations but you don’t have to worry about the top off malfunctioning.

[@liongryan4242]

Love your channel a ton, your videos really bring a huge amount of comfort and they're so much fun! Please keep doing the great work you do :-)

[@perthsteve5032]

Reckon there’s any issue with the bottle settling and having uneven nutrients? Like you always say “shake the bottle” but an auto dosing system can’t shake the bottle for you.

[@assiahinarkansas]

Do the water change if you want. Studio is amazing. I love how it has changed

[@MyloSurber]

I think the negative space in the middle of the 8ft would look dope, i feel like itd bring more focus into the tank

[@JerRou89]

Water charges are neede. Just do it! I really love this series. Really fun to watch the progress.

[@audreacook1513]

Do the water change if it's driving you crazy, but I'd be interested to see how well it would clear up if you chucked a bag of Purigen in behind the driftwood. It works a treat in my filters.

[@manki_d_oumar6668]

Yess changing the water is cool i really like the series, i think the thank when it establishes itself everything would take care of itself! You earned a sub , very intresting video style for aquahobby content excited for the next vid

[@Prairiefish64]

I think you should do the water change and do the negative space in the middle on your Amazonia tank. I would love to hear too about how you think through dosing fertilizer for your aquariums as that something I haven’t really heard you talk through very much.

[@EEEngilram]

Yes to water change on the self-sustaining tank and two islands for the eight foot tank.

[@richiep430]

one island in the 8ft for sure plus do a single water change on eco system. really interesting video MD- thank you.

[@Nikignjatovic]

I also think the embankment for the 8ft would look good! Simulate moving away from the rivers edge into the open water.

[@adam6260]

I say keep as is, no water change, put your green neons in there and let it run as a black water tank. I've left my tank to do this and my tetras look very content. If you take to running low maintenance put rocks in next time to avoid tannins.

[@flo9]

I would do something to fix it. What you want in the end is a great end product right. Everyone knows there's going to be more work to do in the beginning. Personally I would prefer the option that would be the least amount of work. I know for you that's changing the water, but most of us at home are not going to have any kind of setup for that. And I would really like to know how you fix the tannings with a filter :P

[@jeffreytrespeces4708]

I say to leave it just to see if it can work itself out. I prefer the 2 island idea for the other tank. Keep up the great work. 🍻 cheers

[@amalg754]

Go for the water change mate ....self sustaining requires water change...just think of a rainfall after a very long hot summer😅

[@redbeard8913]

But rainfall is just a top-up, not a water change, I get what you're saying, but personally, I would leave it and allow the tanins to do their job for the fish and the plants.?

[@noahkeen22]

I have a tank sort of like this and do water changes when it looks like it needs one, which is rare because of how low the flow is. I do go in with a turkey baster and pick up some of the droppings and top up from there often too. Not an expert but this works for me.

[@kevinlock3179]

oh my god!!!........ you kept the instructions!!!

[@tylerpolk285]

A water change and glass scape wouldn’t take much time at all. Although not needed for tank and fish health, I vote to do it purely for aesthetic reasons! Love this tank MD, I can’t wait to find hardscape to scape my 120cm!

[@Steensen1981]

Do a water change. In the 8-foot, do one large island an a negative space, as if a small cross section of a river embankment.

[@NATOHA-64]

The 8ft looked so killer till you did this to the tank what are you thinking you should have left what was working and even more how it looked

[@djcraigeast.official]

I think give the self sustaining tank a water change and for the 8ft do 2 islands with negative space in the middle. Look great because it’ll be a focal point as you walk in the studio

[@robertallen9199]

water change, one island! reminds me of the old 4ft tank you had with the breeding bolivian rams

[@scottnaples4793]

When I had to do water changes in my fish tank it was a major undertaking. I had to run a hose from my kitchen sink through two rooms (about 6 meters) and water would end up spilling all over the rug. Can you do a water change without using your normal process? Maybe using buckets to refill or some other method without using the system you have in place? Any idea on improving the water change prccess is appreciated.

[@Vox_Nihili]

I think with a tank that size, if you densely plant one side and leave the other empty, the fish will all hide in the planted bit and the open bit will be wasted space. With two opposite planted sides with an open area in between the fish would dash back and forth between, which would look cool.

[@Rose_A]

Love your content man!

[@simonbuys]

Big fan of the river bank style for the 8ft 👍

[@michaelpenttila8498]

I would say do the water change. Self sustaining is good but a wee bit of maintenance still required. As for the 8ft do one island right to left just don't plant past the 2/3 line so it stays open.

[@bstinson966]

For the 8 ft "Amazonia" setup, you should try sticking to only South American plants as a challenge!

[@ijk8822347]

Could you show / tell me how you hold the indoor plants up against the back wall… Could you perhaps do a video on that please 😊

[@lmnoqrst4067]

Love this series! I vote YES 1 water change

[@AquaTerraObsession]

Have you considered adding a spare HOB full of charcoal instead of the water change? Just for a day or two to see what happens?

[@karikristinehaugberg3890]

I think the water change in this situation is more like changing out a plant or rock or something - not maintenance, but a design choice. To remove the coloring from the tannins. So I say go for it. One water change a month in, without necessarily ever having to do it again . that is still self sustaining.

[@thexnewyorker7284]

Dude. That 8ft was awesome . Cant wait to see the remake

[@ericteneyck8691]

I think one big water change would be part of the set up process, and instrumental in the development of the tank.

[@marciachandler7786]

Small water change is not much maintenance. Go for it!

[@crystaldrouin]

Yes I think you should do a water change 👍🏼

[@roycepugh754]

I say if it was me dont do a water change unless it is necessary if you want the tanans out put a temporary filter on it then take it out when its clear. The 8 foot one island on the side like you took a chunk of a riverside and put it in a tank

[@michaelbelanger8246]

It seems an embankment would be a good choice for somthing different and fish schooling, good idea.

[@MrsTurkeyspit]

Go for the water change! Two islands would be cool.

[@FranNoesse]

No water change. Instead of islands, maybe create a thinner structure that runs most the length in the center, width-wise, that is very porous... has a lot of holes that you can see through to the back but the fish can use for safety. In my mind, it's like putting a long piece of swiss-cheese, except it's natural materials to the fish. I think you'd still see that fabulous movement you have right now, yet offer safety and variety to the fish.

[@Bigfishcoffee]

I think one water change is acceptable given the tannins and amount of wood. It will look a lot better and mimics a large rain fall😅