No Algae, no filter Nano Tank for beginners?! Step-by-step tutorial!

[@AquascapingCube]

Nano planted tank free from algae? With no filter and no CO2?! In this step-by-step beginner tutorial I will show you how to start your aquarium and avoid algae problems. This is perfect nano aquarium for your shrimp or nano fish.

[@boristhegeezer]

Do you trim the melt before daily, or after 14 days

[@AquascapingCube]

@@boristhegeezer I'm removing melts as soon as I see them - to keep the water clean and avoid algae and rot.

[@erenyldz1711]

Günlük sıvı karbon ve sıvı gübre veriyor musunuz bu tanka?

[@Loachie90]

I’m super impressed, wow. The growth from day 10 is unbelievable. I wonder if it’s because of daily water changes

[@AquascapingCube]

Honestly? I was also surprised with the speed :) I think it was mostly due to the combination of soil and water changes.

[@sharonkaczorowski8690]

I very much appreciate how you labeled the plants…I’m new to this and found it very helpful. Planning my first planted tank soon and this was helpful.

[@AquascapingCube]

Great! I'm glad you liked it! BTW: This tank is still doing great and still has NO sign of algae :)

[@wabayava]

love this! as someone who's trying to get started with aquascaping. thank you so much

[@AquascapingCube]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@marchean83]

My 35cm Walstad cube was the most stable ecosystem I created. No algae problems from the very beginning.

[@AquascapingCube]

Great! Did you use a lot of pants in it?

[@marchean83]

@@AquascapingCube Of course I did and 8-10cm of substrate.

[@Jaqueezygrinds]

Mess with that pfp

[@antemercep8844]

Nice tank and nice way of setting it up. Years ago I had some algae issues, nothing major, but when I ditched high lightning and started planting a lot of plant mass + floating plants I'm algae free since. I have one gripe with all these aquasoils and that is that they are not really long term substrates unless they are capped. After half year they get depleted and than you have to start with liquid fertilizers and root tabs and than after year or two they start breaking... If you rescape often than they are ideal but if you plan to have aquarium for 5years or even more than I like capping them. They have high cec and will remain potent that way, and you wont get high nutrient release in the start that warrant daily water changes. I know people buy it for looks and than rescape but they are fantastic as capped substrate to if you want long term aquarium.

[@AquascapingCube]

Very true. And it also depends on the water you have. Softer water, slows down the process of substrate depletion. I still have a tank that I created 2,5 years ago and it's going strong, but there I had a substrate under fine gravel. Capping helps a lot!

[@bartekchmiel8505]

What a helpful video! I'm beginning now with my first aquarium and here I found 10 minutes of pure and simple knowledge. Thank you!

[@AquascapingCube]

Thank you! Glad it was helpful!

[@shounikchandekar9112]

I have a 2ft tank (15 gallons or 56 litres) and i have used this method and it worked really good my tank looks awesome but i suggest adding shrimps in tank this will speed up plant growth

[@AquascapingCube]

Great to hear! Yes, I'm falling in love in this method and planning to do more (bigger) tanks like this. They look amazing!

[@forx28]

One of the best aquarium channels online. Hope I see you around

[@AquascapingCube]

Thank you very much! I'm glad you liked it :)

[@AaronLeflur]

Looks fantastic! Great video!

[@AquascapingCube]

Thank you :) 😃

[@chrisaqua5751]

Great job! Very nice decoration for your desk 👍

[@AquascapingCube]

Thank you! Yes, it looks great on a desk :)

[@aravisish]

Looks fantastic! Great job and explanation 🍀

[@AquascapingCube]

Thank you :) 😊

[@ejbrinegar]

Dear Mateusz: Thank you, so much, for providing detailed information, on keeping an amazing set-up algae-free. In retrospect, I wish I had seen this, before starting my, 75-gallon tank. I’m adding plants, slowly and not doing frequent water-changes, so diatom algae has covered everything. All my best, Sincerely, E. J. Brinegar

[@AquascapingCube]

Hello! Thank you for your comment. I'm glad you liked the video. Yes, this tank is working just perfect and another 6 weeks later it is still totally algae free. For diatoms I sometimes like to use few Clithon corona snails, but honestly this type of algae often goes away on its own. All the best and happy new year!

[@andriandjaya]

Nice tank , clean

[@AquascapingCube]

Thanks 👍

[@ಕನ್ನಡ-ಬ3ಶ]

Hi I've setup this tank exactly as it everything growing well but echinodorus is dying almost.

[@Dbonesk8]

So cool, thanks for the advice, looks amazing

[@AquascapingCube]

Thank you! Glad you liked it!

[@funloving1]

I will try this procedure once.. i have been struggling with achieving crystal clear water in my tank. My tank is same as this one. It gets lightly cloudy in 3 days... I control the feeding, but still not getting it. I tried liquid solution for clear water, but they give temporary result. Could you make a video on achieving this. Keep it easy and simple as this video.😊 I have a hang on back filter, bio media, carbon in it. Driftwood, cobamba plants and few rummy nose tetras❤. Thankyou for your video, keep doing more. We appreciate you 😊👍

[@AquascapingCube]

Thank you! Appreciate your words. I will try to create a video dedicated to clear water :)

[@drea4195]

Could you tell us the reason for no rocks or wood? Should a beginner avoid hardscaping altogether? edit: okay you answered the question. Was wondering if rocks/hardscape can be added later, after the tank has matured at a certain point? Thanks.

[@AquascapingCube]

Yes, of course you can. I would just suggest that you plan ahead and leave some space for your hardscape.

[@Iron-cesc]

Friend... I love your videos, always interesting, easy and beautiful creations, educational videos and where you can easily find some good idea. Your channel is a breath of fresh air for Aquarium lovers. By the way, where are you from?. Congratulations on this magnificent video. Greetings from Germany

[@AquascapingCube]

Thank you very much for your comment :) I'm glad you liked it! All the best and have a great weekend! PS: I'm from Poland.

[@ukhalantharind]

Planning for an aquascape. will try

[@AquascapingCube]

Great 👍Good luck!

[@FlaviuZaquaScaper]

Nice tank and a lot of good info! How do you avoid surface biofilm (scum) from forming in a no filter setup?

[@AquascapingCube]

Thank you! A the beginning biofilm was a problem, but it was getting cleaned together with water changes. And later it just doesn't show up that much. I think it's because there are no melting plants and no excess food. In the tank of this size neocaridina shrimp are very good option and they can clean biofilm very well.

[@mispa9310]

This is exactly what I was looking for!! I randomly saw some Aquascape videos and know I really want to built my own mini desk aquarium to put it on my working desk :D I really want to follow all of your steps (which you really explained excellently), but I have three differences and wanted to ask you about it: 1) I actually would like to add some hardscape (rocks, caves, pebbles and especially wood pieces). 2) I'd also like to add some shrimp and snails for cleanup (and watching them hehe). 3) Also I would prefer a 20x20x20 cm aquarium, but only if possible. Do you think it's possible to do a similar setup but with these three differences? If so, how? Would love to see an answer as a comment (would like to start soon) but if that's a video idea please also do a video :D Really looking forward to an answer! Btw you got a new subscriber :)

[@AquascapingCube]

Thanks! I answered your questions under another video. But you should definetally go for it! 1) No problem! Go for what you like! 2) Sure, no problem. 3) Possible and already done (you saw my other video ;)) I made many different nano tanks - you can find them all here, maybe you will see some ideas you can use. The best one for me was this one: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jmrZm6aDa9xrd6s If you are looking for something super small, maybe this: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fWirZ2CbmaZrpZo

[@marioaqua6441]

Looks great! Thank you!

[@C-tip]

Thank you for the good content 👍🏻

[@AquascapingCube]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@MrWolfman057]

Very nice! Did you switch out the light near the end? Looks like you switched to a Twinstar?

[@AquascapingCube]

Thank you :) In the last few moments of the video you can see that I switched it to Chihiros A301 - but I think that it's a bit to strong. All was going great with original Lumium WRGB30.

[@annepettit3855]

Near the end, there was some tiny creatures swimming around in the tank. Copepods maybe? Beautiful scape and really shows the power of plants!

[@AquascapingCube]

Yes, possibly Copepods. There are no fish in the tank that would normally eat them. And the tank is already old enough for them to multiply. Thank you for the comment!

[@parcool9541]

Superb..👌.. all the plants which you have used here are easy to grow? Pls suggest out of these which are easy and medium etc..

[@AquascapingCube]

Thank you! I would categorize them like that: Easy: Limnophila sessiliflora Echinodorus Magdalensis Lobelia Cardinalis sp MINI Bacopa Caroliniana Rotala Rotundifolia 'Green' Medium: Rotala Rotundifolia Red Alternanthera Reineckii Mini Proserpinaca Palustris Ludwigia Mini Super Red Additional easy ones (not in this tank): Hygrophila polysperma Sagittaria subulata Ludwigia repens

[@9catlover]

can i know what light you are using? i bought a cheap one on temu, but not sure if my plants are photosynthesising. gosh i keep saving your videos in the hope that your skill rubs off on me

[@AquascapingCube]

Thank you :) In the last few moments of the video you can see that I switched it to Chihiros A301 - but I think that it's a bit to strong. All was going great with original Lumium 6W WRGB30. With tank of this size (especially height) - you really don't need anything to strong. Good luck!

[@breez3656]

Awesome tank! Those plants look so healthy, I want something like this too! Which brings me to question: will this method work with dirted tank?

[@AquascapingCube]

Thank you! In theory it should work. But I honestly have no experience with dirt, so I cannot tell you 100%.

[@breez3656]

@@AquascapingCube well, I will try it out and let you know, exactly how good (or bad) it went! :D

[@Aquafinity]

What a stunning setup! Love the layout. 👍

[@AquascapingCube]

Thank you :) Great to hear :)

[@damianjanowicz]

Great! Thanks!

[@marksingh5180]

I just love this .. the explanation is superb, easy well plan... Very helpful for the beginners..but it us possible to put a filter after 2weeks when the plants start to grow well ? Tq🙂

[@AquascapingCube]

Thank you very much! I'm glad you enjoyed it! Yes, of course you can put the filter inside. Just make sure that the plants have rooted and will not get blown away by it ;)

[@marksingh5180]

@@AquascapingCube TQ for the advice 😊

[@Pembalap]

@aquascapingcube, thank you for sharing. Despite all the challenges comments here (which I have experienced so many times myself, especially after 6-8 months), I will try. Well, hobby is about enjoying the process 😂. Even though it fails, well, start again with other methods. My practically minimum algae, very rare cleaning of the glass, is my shell dweller neolamprologus multifasciatus tank, deep sand bed 6-7cm, matten filter. Running 3.5 years, only one kind of fish & malaysian trumpet snails. The number of snails changes along with amount of food. Well, very easy to maintain, but not as pretty as planted tanks

[@AquascapingCube]

Thank you! Exactly, enjoy what you do and learn from mistakes - yours and others ;) Yes, my main tank is basically algae free because it's super stable and has thick and old substrate - I think that this is the key. It's running for over 2 years and is in perfect condition. I have 8 tanks running now and in general tanks with higher amount of plants are the cleanest :)

[@ಕನ್ನಡ-ಬ3ಶ]

Instead of aquasoil can i use organic compost and sand on top.

[@AquascapingCube]

Yes. Just create thick layer of that sand and you should be fine. Good luck!

[@gr_aquatics]

Great video and tank, keep up the good work!

[@AquascapingCube]

Thank you! 👍

[@antonioho-qs2qh]

Hi do i need to use dechlorinatetor from start to end ? Our tap water is chlorinated thank you in advance keep up the good work

[@AquascapingCube]

I would just leave the water for 24-36h in a bucket. This way you get almost all of chlorine out of the water and it should be safe.

[@antonioho-qs2qh]

Ohh i see thank you for that information also can i use directly rain water or i meed it to rest also ? Supporting from philippines here sir

[@antonioho-qs2qh]

1 more question my idol can i do this kind of tank in a air conditioned room ? No fish included just plant is it ok or not ?

[@AquascapingCube]

Yes, air conditioning is not an issue. Just keep the water above 22C. And rainwater is even better, so you can definitely use it. Good luck!

[@ikanpari24]

super clean tank! a question, what can i do if my led could not be dimmed? i get algae a lot and i only set it for 6 hours a day.

[@AquascapingCube]

Thank you! You can use electric tape (good one). Cut small pieces and tape over few leds from the bottom. If you tape over half LEDs - you get half of the light etc ;) Worked for me in the past.

[@ehaterlol]

Lovely setup! What is your water temperature range?

[@AquascapingCube]

Thank you! I keep it at room temperature, around 22-23C.

[@noahdavison4610]

Your videos are so well done. Thanks

[@AquascapingCube]

Thank you! I appreciate that!

[@Mimijona]

Stunning

[@AquascapingCube]

Thank you! 😊

[@alexherrera3918]

how many months last the nutrients in the soil before thank need to be redone?

[@AquascapingCube]

When soil is "used" I just add root tabs into it. You don't have to redo entire tank. You can get good 1 year with thick layer of soil, but after that just put more nutrients and it will keep going.

[@alexherrera3918]

@@AquascapingCube after one year tablets for life....very expensive and labor demanding ......a bit disappointing. thanks for responding!!

[@kamilos409]

Hi. Looking great. I just starting same project as yours in a 25L aquarium, I added slightly more plants and would like to ask if small filter will be good option to established beneficial bactertia an adding pair of danio early be a good idea? Look forward to hearing from you.

[@AquascapingCube]

Thank you! Sure, adding small filter will definitely help. With danios, I'm not so sure because they are super fast fish that swim like crazy. How about chili rasboras or similar? You could add them, a bit after you add the filter and assuming that you will monitor the situation (and you can try with small snails like clithon corona).

[@kamilos409]

​@@AquascapingCube Thank you for your reply

[@AquascapingCube]

@@kamilos409 No, heater will not be necessary. If you are going for plants and shrimp - lower temperature is even better. It makes fighting with algae much easier :) Just try not to go below 20. Around 20-21. Good luck!

[@kamilos409]

@@AquascapingCube Perfect, Thank you

[@MAR_10-x5w]

hmmm, what are those little ones foating are they daphnia?

[@AquascapingCube]

No, I don't think so - it's to small. I think they are Copepods :)

[@nottgav]

I have a 10 gallon tank how can I make a ecosystem with shrimp in there without filter just heater but how would I cycle the tank

[@AquascapingCube]

Just put the plants and 2 small snails (like clithon corona) at the beginning. And then wait and do small water changes (10%). With shrimp I usually wait around 3 weeks.

[@shabeerok7274]

Very informative could you please share the light details

[@AquascapingCube]

Thank you :) The light was: INVITAL Lumium WRGB30 25 cm 6W. But for the last few moments of the video you can see that I switched it to Chihiros A301 - but I think that it's a bit to strong and doesn't make sense. All was going great with Lumium 6W.

[@TofuBoyyy]

Tried two nano desktop no filter tanks. And the bottom surface full of biofilm. I have been doing daily water change 50%. Will it go away?

[@AquascapingCube]

Bottom you mean on the substrate? It should not be happening, and depending on how it looks like it might be cyanobacteria. Biofilm can only form on the water surface, and this is normal. It should go away after 2-3 weeks, and especially after shrimp move in (they like to eat it).

[@King5.A]

Do we need to dose liquid fertilizer?

[@AquascapingCube]

Not in the first months. I started fertilizing only after 4 months (very little amounts)

[@kamihula]

If you are using it for shrimp, should you use the shrimp substrate or is this one the best for the plants and shrimp?

[@AquascapingCube]

You can use either. This is "normal" active soil and it's working great for shrimp.

[@kamihula]

Since we are un USA do you recommend another substrate that we can get here that is similar to jiban?

[@kamihula]

@@AquascapingCube since we are in USA do you have any suggestions as ro certain substrate

[@AquascapingCube]

@@kamihula Tropica Aquarium Soil also gave me great results. And I think it should be avaliable in US.

[@kamihula]

@@AquascapingCube thank you so much. Also do you think using mini leaf grass would be okay and then add plants alao

[@kaseymeijer2128]

Wouldn’t another way to fix all the nutrients in the water column be to use water column feeding plants(like Java fern or anubia)?

[@AquascapingCube]

Yes, they would help. But the problem is that plants you listed are quite slow growing. And cannot use all nutrients fast enough. Stem plants that I'm using are growing very fast and therefore using nutrients very fast.

[@ಕನ್ನಡ-ಬ3ಶ]

Can i use stones with it

[@AquascapingCube]

Yes, of course!

[@techTMB]

what about putting sand on top of the soil?

[@AquascapingCube]

I'm testing it with one of my new projects ;) I will see how it goes.

[@kamihula]

In the small tank are your shrimp breedint at all?

[@AquascapingCube]

Yes, they are breeding like crazy. Never had any issues with shrimp in tank of this size :)

[@ragingcalmness7815]

LOL I have the same plant you got with the red leaves in the front mid of your tank display, every single leaf is covered with a layer of green algae or near it, and ppm 0 nitrates.

[@brokenintel]

Will this work if some plants I used from the start have algae?

[@AquascapingCube]

It will work, but it algae will also grow with the plants. So it will be more difficult to balance the tank, especially at the beginning. Start with lots of plants, limit the amount of light and see what happens.

[@brokenintel]

@@AquascapingCubeThanks I am trying that now lol but some plants I got has algae and I am on day 3

[@sopheakouch6525]

Did you use liquid fertilizer?

[@AquascapingCube]

Not for the first few weeks/months. In this kind of setups I start dosing only after 2-3 months.

[@sopheakouch6525]

@@AquascapingCube thank you

[@mirfatpainting3467]

Superbbbbb🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@AquascapingCube]

😍

[@italosimoes]

Great!

[@AquascapingCube]

Thank you! 😊

[@locaari3981]

Can’t I add a betta and some shrimp?

[@AquascapingCube]

There is a good chance that betta might attack them. And this tank is to small for betta fish. But in general with bettas it strongly depends on the character specific fish. Sometimes thay are fine with shrimp, sometimes they will kill them all in one day. You never know.

[@pluspro6231]

Your fan - iran😊

[@AquascapingCube]

Thanks :)

[@DrCRAZYde]

I like 12l Tanks. Nice Video.

[@AquascapingCube]

Thank you! Yes, they are very cool to work with!

[@DrCRAZYde]

@@AquascapingCube And this is nano ... not the 45l type of tanks ... i have 3 of them 1 Tech and 2 "no tech, just light" ones. I build the 2 no tech ones 2 days ago. Hope it will work.

[@marlonallansupetran7120]

Water parameters?

[@AquascapingCube]

I tested only at the beginning.Temp 23-24C, pH 7.3, KH 6, GH 14. But they are not super stable because tank is small and I changed water very often.

[@budakPancing]

If your setup is in an ambient temp of up to 25C, maybe you can pull it off, maybe. Try at temps up to 30C and this is impossible. Furthermore with stagnant water, how can it be algae free. 28years of keeping planted tank, using ALL plants species in the aquarium hobby, I find this is impossible.

[@quitlife9279]

It's impossible at any temperature, it's only possible by using sterilised everything that doesn't have any algae to start with, such as all tissue cultured plants.

[@tomaszjawskistudio]

It is a nice but no fish in it , thats why is clean lol 😂

[@quitlife9279]

Sorry but I think the reason there's no algae is more likely because you used sterile algae free material to start with, with the tissue cultured plants, no introduction of fish/water that may contain algae. I don't think it's got anything to do with what your video was about, there's simply no algae introduced yet. Algae is just another plant and it can't magically teleport. I'd love to be proven wrong though, why don't you dump a bunch of algae/infested water/plants in there and report on the results.

[@AquascapingCube]

I think that this is partially true. No, algae doesn't teleport but, algae spores/cells can travel through air. Not to mention, equipment for water changes, used scissors, used tweezers, used tank, and mostly - my hands! Otherwise in-vitro planted plants with no fish would NEVER get ANY algae, no mater how strong the light. But you do have a good point and gave me a great idea. I could try to create a tank that is ACTUALLY sterile. Everything new, all equipment, new substrate, only in-vitro plants, no fish, sterile water and no touching :P It will be difficult, but I think possible to at least try. And then use a lot of light (8h+) and see what happens with algae. In parallel I can try to "destroy" this one with aged water to see if this is really the case. Comparing those 2 can be interesting. Can I quote you in eventual video about this? :) If you have any additional point - let me know here

[@quitlife9279]

@@AquascapingCube haha that sounds like an interesting experiment! Certainly something that few would practically do. No need to "quote" me though, I'm not looking to get internet famous lol, and it's not exactly an original idea, the fact that tissue cultured plants are sterile and algae free is a big selling point, I'd be quite surprised if you can prove it's not effective. It does make me curious to see just how easily the various types of algae can spread, and if any will travel through air to get into a fish tank, I doubt the larger ones could spread very easily. From my experience I know I only got filamentous algae directly from plants, as I add different plants sporadically. And no filamentous algae has gotten into the various rainwater I have stored outside. Greenwater however seem to come out of nowhere, but not sure if it was by air.

[@no-knickers-emma1112]

Years of experience in fish keeping and I can tell you one thing! It's virtually impossible to have an algae free tank. Don't believe what you watch on KZbin. Another thing. New setups always look lovely few weeks. Give it 2-3 months before problems start to appear.

[@AquascapingCube]

Yes and no. It's possible to have a tank with no VISIBLE algae. For example in black water setups I almost never have any algae, and some of them are running for years. And usually first algae appear even after 1-2 weeks. This tank is already over 10 weeks old - and no there is no sign of it. But it's true that SOME algae will be there, but small amounts. The point is to not let it overgrow the tank and ruin the looks.

[@psychicadrian]

Nor should you want to, right!

[@erickborling1302]

No clean up crew either? I don't buy it.

[@rhondafitzpatrick1646]

10 weeks IS 2 and 1/2 months.

[@rhondafitzpatrick1646]

there's also no fish, no shrimp. you have years of fishkeeping experience, this tank has nothing producing waste. I think it's beautiful.