Electricity Free Tank

[smiles669]

Hi guys. I'm interested in starting up a new tank with my extra 20 gallon. However, I would like to run it with no electricity. So a cool water tank, with probably guppies, danios, or anything else that you guys may suggest. I would like to have the water filtered by just having the tank heavily planted. Im just wondering if you guys could suggest any plants would do the best job at filtering the tank. I've heard hornwort works very well, but other thank that i dont really know. Thanks for your help!

 

[Zante]

Even using the walstad method you will need water circulation, and that means a small pump, and that means electricity.
 
Also, how are you going to provide enough light for a heavily planted tank without electricity?

 

[DrRob]

Done properly you could probably provide light via sun tubes, although you'd have to consider the seasonal variation, maybe oversize them and block some light in summer and full open in winter.
 
As snazy says, circulation would be the problem, you'll need some way to stop the tank from stagnating. Water movement is power, so you need some power in from one source or another.

 

[smiles669]

Ah yes i forgot to mention circulation. What i wanted to try was using a small solar panel, to power a small air pump. As for lighting, I'm still thinking about that although the room has a couple windows, as well as 2 5 foot fluorescent lights. But like i said, lighting is something I'm still thinking about.

 

[Wills]

If your using a solar panel for the air pump why not just do an air powered sponge filter? Easy enough to make or there are plenty out there to buy.
 
Where abouts are you from? And how cold does it get in the winter?
 
Wills

 

[DrRob]

Where abouts are you from? And how cold does it get in the winter?
 

 
And possibly more importantly, how cold does that room get in winter?

 

[smiles669]

The room stays consistently at about 72 year round.

 

[DrRob]

In that case you're probably at tropical temperatures, or at least the high temperate end, without a heater anyway.

 

[smiles669]

So if i where to run this tank with some good lighting, and a small air pump, would you have any suggestions for stocking the tank, and for plants that would do better aiding in the filtration?

 

[DrRob]

Basically you're now talking about a Walstad method tank, with an alternative light source. There's a fair amount of literature out there if you search that term, a whole book in fact.

 

[GRD1985]

Sounds like an algae adventure.

lowest powered tank I have done is 30 watt planted tank that I just left stagnant but I don't really recommend it. Solar powered thing I do think is a bit silly unless you want it to be energy free simply to be energy free and not to save money on electricity. Like a typical air pump is 2 watts, running 24/7 its gonna cost you a little over $2 a year. Still lighting is an issue as I expect you to grow more algae then plants using ambient/sunlight.

If you want to be energy free just to be energy free then I would say modify a battery powered air pump. Anything else is AC and solar is only going to give you DC unless you convert it which=powerloss. Also to run anything 24/7 you need batteries that can be charged during the day. Lights would have to be good LEDs, high powered even and you could do plants pretty easy and water cool them with tank water would bump tank temp up a bit depending on the aquarium size. Overall tho it would require a lot of DIY and fabrication on your part.

Or just leave the TV off for a day to break even

 

[smiles669]

That is the issue im running into trying to figure this out. I was hoping to go for money saving and thats why i wanted to do electricity free. But then i would need more plants for filtration, wich would require more lighting.

 

[GRD1985]

For money saving you should be looking for locally bred fish, DIY, and used equipment. TBH fish keeping isn't an expensive hobby if you do it right. Electricity cost has never been a concern of mine and my tanks run over 300 watts of light alone. You can DIY equipment and what not easily to get a tank up and running really cheaply. For me tho its the fish part that costs the most. An aquarium does not need a lot of supplies, literally fish food and a big bottle of dechlor and thats it in a year, if your intense planted then maybe fertilizers. If your buying aquarium supplies frequently your doing something wrong. Check your local goodwill and craiglist for used equipment. I setup 3 10 gallon tanks for under $40 not to long ago and 80% of it came from the goodwill. Electricity does add up tho, in a year those 3 tanks will run about $40 in electricity since they are all kept at 80-84. But you are right most all of that is in the lights and heating. A single 4 watt air pump filters all 3 tanks.

 

[Zante]

If it's money saving, then you might want to have a look at the youtube channel of a canadian guy called Joey.
http/www.youtube.com/user/uarujoey
 
He has simple videos where he takes you step by step through anything, from a simple gravel vacuum to a full blown aquarium.
I have saved a lot of money with his videos.
 
As for nutrient export, I have experimented with a sunlit tank. If you want more info let me know.