EP1: SELF SUSTAINING TANK - no water changes, no cleaning, no filter
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.พ. 2025
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Hey @mdfishtanks ! Your vids restarted my join in making new tanks. I've been keeping the same tank for tha past 10 years(!!) almost just topping out water, possibly a yearly water change, just the bare minimum to have any work at all, while also not getting rid of it. And it's actually been holding it together. But after discovering your channel, so many nice memories from when i was a kid starting out tanks with my dad, and all the stuff he said which is basically what you also say made me want to start new ones as well! So huge thanks for that man! Congrats!
Also, it would be great if you could list the plants (also fish but mainly plants) that you use on the tanks, or perhaps make a dedicated video to that (if there isnt one already, probably there is!). Understanding the latin names not being a born english man makes it specially difficult. I do love to see the auto translate making up stuff AHAH! I know people in the hobby pretty much know them all, but like i said, i've been quite on standby, so i honestly cant keep up with them all, and would love to.
Thanks again!
My 8 year old told me he wondered if he could make an aquarium that would require almost no maintenance, so we started searching around and found this series on your channel, and we’re so glad we did! We’ve watched all 8 videos and have learned so much! My son is so inspired by what you’ve done here, and every day when he comes home from school all he wants to do is research different aspects of his aquarium setup. We’re about to start purchasing supplies to start, and you’ve saved us so much time and money! Thank you! I’ll try and figure out how to share some photos of his aquarium once he’s got it going. :)
I love it when kids get into fish keeping 😊 I hope he loves it ❤
Him and Father Fish are the best for low tech self sustaining aquariums
Oh, my heart ❤ this is so sweet!
Yes! I am so glad that you did this! 99.9% of your followers don’t have 80 tanks to grab plants from, nor have a already served buckets full of substrate, nor tons of hardscape to choose from, nor a massive force of clean up crew to chuck in. Good to to see you feel for the “common people” too! You rock!
Don’t expect everything to just be handed to you you need to buy this stuff with money you get from working
get your money up old man
Actually, most hobbyists keep plenty of stocking supplies, spare tanks, cycled media and substrate, etc, just to have something to make an enclosure for an animal or aquarium for fish, for rescue/ immediate use purposes as we all look out for each other and swap creatures and fish between the communities readily and all of a sudden. But this hobby takes cycling, etc, as well, so we all keep and recycle stuff as we grow and build our collections. Most over decades, not just years.
Bro you can so the same on a smaller tank. Get what's on your budget. Imagine him doing all this videos only on 10g tanks? He's just showing the principle of what can be done if done right. Stop being a Kevin😅
Well I have 3 tanks, 100 fish, 20 different types of plants… so don’t be rude and ASSume that I don’t spend money. I was merely pointing out that the way MD shows it in this video, is the way most new people start.
As somsone who is trying to get into the hobby and making self sustaining tanks but doesn't have any pre existing resources this is brilliant. Excited to learn more from you.
Father Fish and Patty's aquatics are your best bet if looking to do this
My 11 year old has been inspired by your tanks and now has 2 of her own, to go with my 5. We always copy the way you chuck instructions away when we open anything.
I love that 😂
Fun ! Here in Central America is so hard to get fish stuff, even less aquatic plants, but the hobby is so fun 😊 I have my own self-sustaining fish tank outside in my backyard, and it’s made out of a rock plant pot !
Been watching for years; as always great stuff man. You single handedly got me into the hobby. Videos like this are what have made me subscribe. Your natural, practical but artistic approach as you’ve done here is what sets you apart. Thanks for the great work man ✌🏻
Love this! Even as an experienced scaper myself, I enjoy these slow stile builds more because I find there is more to learn. Can't wait for round 2!
Its like you read my mind MD. Been watching you for a few years now and really love your work. You've inspired me to start a tank soon (my first as an adult) but I'd noticed that you've been using filters a lot on your tanks lately, where as some of your videos from the old studio did not use filters. I want to learn more about tanks without filters to help with ease of maintenance with my personal tanks and here you are with this vid! So excited to learn more from you! Thanks for reading my mind! lol
I'm gonna watch this series closely because that substrate thickness-to-depth ratio along with the planned layout are really intriguing from Walstad Method perspective
Totally agree-- I always heard at least 1 inch of soil capped with 1 inch of sand... I'm about to start my first tank with this method and wondering if that's overkill!
@@jillstepak Good luck! At first it looks like overkill, but actually not! I have two sucessful small tanks going for two and half years without water change.
@@jillstepakI tried a Father Fish method, kinda similar to Walstad but with more specific soil mix + tons of light at beginning. I did 1 inch soil, 1.5 inch sand cap! So far doing so well, no water change, water is crystal clear! I think tons of plants (fast growing stem and floaters) really matters to stabilize and small fish at beginning to starts the cycle! (Small amounts of fish poo to feed beneficial bacteria)
I remember your older videos were this format . I’m glad you brought I back . Watching it in parts is easier than finding the time to watch a long video . As always great video MD
You're an inspiration MD... You got me into aquascaping because your methods are affordable for me because I'm a College student from Indonesia🇮🇩🇮🇩 (Yess... I'm from Indonesia) and stuff isn't cheap for us here 🙃🙃 If you want I'll send you my first ever aquasqape and it's MD inspired theme and I'm proud of it... Love from Indonesia🇮🇩🇮🇩
You may not say that your way it's not perfect but everything you seem to do works pretty well I followed a lot of the things you've done throughout the past year or two and my tank room looks amazing thank you!!!!
I love that you're doing this series. I have a 5 gallon and a 29 gallon and no room for more and while I would love for my tanks to look so beautiful like yours, access and cost are prohibitive. I've learned so much from you thank you! Even if I can't get all the fun stuff and brands you use in Canada. Tell Aquafleur to get their butts across the pond already 😂
Perfect timing as I've just bought my first 4ft tank and it will be the first time I will be using aqua soil ect .
Definitely an art MD. Such beautiful designs, and lovely environments for the plants and critters. Another amazing build
4:40 this music is amazing!! Perfect for the video!
MD has always got perfect music for his vids :)
I really like this plan of yours for this tank. I agree that it’ll likely be something that a lot of people can relate to and want to try. Keep up the great work.
Thank you! I look forward to watching all the follow-ups! The word you were looking for was “uncontrived”.
Thank you! Just getting interested in this hobby and enjoy your videos, your channel was one of the first I came across and have come back to!🎉
You got me started into this hobby love the builds love the studio keep up the great work can’t wait for more videos lol and you downing that cappuccino made me laugh
I got back into fishkeeping in 2019 after about a 10 year break. I used to keep big cichlids and catfish back then Massive water changes and maintenance .
When i started again I discovered you and Tanner Serpa Championing natural setups (I later discovered Tannin Aquatics).
I now have 4 100L tanks two of which are jungles from 4 pots of crypts and 1 pot of buce that I bought for my first tank(in 2019},with loads given or thrown away.
I do a 10 % water change once a week that takes me about 30 minutes Plus another 20 minutes to trim the plants.
When i check the water I have nearly zero Nitrates even though I know I over feed the tanks , the plants do all the work.
You are a very good decoration Aquarius 👌💯I enjoy watching your videos . Grasias Amigo 👍
GREAT PROJECT: I Would Love To See The Same w/One Of The REALLY GOOD Canister Filters (as well) because that is the level many of us are at (1) Nice Tank, (2) Fair to Decent (Not Expensive) Filter, Light(s), and Heater (yes, you do not need the heater part given room), (3) new bags of substrate (most people do not have tons of tanks to from which to pull), then some nice plants and fish (again, slow-moderate growth, and nothing uber expensive). I would love to see the follow-up on this and the tank I just described. Cheers - love the videos.
That's basically what we have here. All the substrate I used was new. It was just the stuff I used to cap that wasn't. New sand on the top would work just as well.
I’ve been trying to set up a fully self sustaining aquarium for over a year now. The balance always changes throughout the process 💀😭. I’m glad you’ve made this
Hey md I just wanted you too know that I am soo grateful for your videos the helped me through a hard time thank you❤
Déjame decirle que tengo varios acuarios, con diferentes tipos de sustrato, lo hago para crear conciencia y la gente no gaste dinero en esas bolsas , utilice tierra de macetas, y lo cubro con el doble de arena, y tengo mejores resultados que con los otros sustrato costoso, la idea es hacerlo económico bien y de fácil mantenimiento
I was down in taunton last weekend and popped into the maidenhead aquatics. It was great to see the aquascapes that you did in person
One of the things I always get from your videos is I so need a wet and dry vacuum!! Anyone else look with envy as MD sucks out grubby water easily??
Sure beats shoveling gunk into a small plastic tub one scoop at a time to fill up a bucket 😅
Great advice as always! You have a face in your tank! GoodVibes
I don't have a tank or the time or the money yet. But i want one so much and i am learning a tone from you. I think this series will totally make me believe that i can actually maintain one. ( I am a vegan and that means that i won't try to do something if i here is even a single chance that everything can go wrong due to MY fault)
love this format idea, can't wait to follow along
Fun episodic adventure begins! Nice ep1!!! 🍃
MD I just got home from vacation. Thanks for doing Timmy Turtle 🐢 shirt. One thing though. I wanted Henry, Mr Doodles, to make him. I love frog. Everyone loves him. I got more compliments on it. No matter where I am. Even TSA liked him. Maybe make a crab Doodles and put it on a shirt. I'll buy it.
While I do love how you usually set things up, this is a very welcome addition to the lineup! I started growing out plants almost a year ago for my 10 gallon low tech tank. About to set that up now that the jar is looking lush (ish) 😊
My absolute favorite TH-camr ever…well behind Paul of course 🤣😂🤣
Logan??? I'm more of a Jake kind of guy...
No I think he like paul cuffaro
Paul Cuffaro is insufferable, terrible animal keeper
Paul Cuffarp is not better than you @@MDFishTanks don't worry 😂
Hopefully not Cuffaro the animal killer 😂
Hi there, I just descovered your channel and very keen to get back into aquariums again after decades of absence from the hobby. I have a couple of questions that I'm going to leave until the end of this series. I would like to set up an Amazonian tank and these questions are related to that. Looking forward to watching the whole process. Cheers. 🙂
I am so excited to watch this tank develop and learn from you as to how you setup a very low maintenance tank. 😃
And I am also very excited that you won’t be tearing it down in a year!
Love this MD, can't wait to see how it goes because I've been thinking on doing a no filter tank myself, appreciate this.
Some of the best scapes ever!!! Very beautiful
I am devastated that you took apart one of my favourite tanks 😢😂 but sooo looking forward to seeing this one come together and grow ❤❤
Lol, I should be use to this by now 😂
I was upset when I seen you pulled this tank down it was my favourite but I know it will be better then ever. Look forward to the series.
From miami. Love your vids. This is how i get through my day👍👍
This will be a very cool long term project if you don't over plant it immediately. Us normal people can't do that, and need to figure out how to make a budget set of pants fill a space. Right now I'm getting ready to do my first proper aquarium and I'm considering dry starting it just because I can't go buy 10 pots of plants to get an instant carpet with.
Best youtuber ever! Says "it doesn't have to be" quite a lot but he makes very good sales points as to why it has to be 😂
I can’t wait to watch this progress! Thank you!
I wanted to ask a quick question. Where do you get all your driftwood? Driftwood is so expensive!
Really good idea! Looking forward to the updates 👍
I really like this hard scape. I am curious to see if you cover it all with plants.
Okay the archer fish tank is one of my all time favourites ❤ the mood hits just right
Love this, always an inspiration and relaxation to watch. So glad u doing this series.
How do you keep the plants in your aquariums so beautiful, it is very difficult for me to keep my plants clean, I do maintenance weekly, I have skimmers in my aquariums, the filters are up to date, and I do not let too much fish food go to the bottom, Give me some advice, I would appreciate it from afar but from the bottom of my heart, I have been told to use Caridinas for this problem, would this really be an option?
Some people will say co2 but many people including myself cannot sustain it so some others are : having a good strong light for good plant growth maybe having a nutrient rich substrate and if there is a dead fish or snail then let it decompose
Are the plants growing well despite the algae?
@@MDFishTanks Thank you very much for the answer, Now to your question: In excellent condition, I even have to prune on many occasions, I have to say that I am using Pristine from Seachem, do you think this is the cause, this product leaves my water crystal clear, but with As the days go by, the plants become filled with dirt.
Well done! Love your videos - learn a lot from them, thank you!
great video excited to follow along
Nice, Been hoping you'd try a project like this. Gives a different kinda perspective on the hobby
More MD fish tank to the people.. Love that you are doing.. Keep it up :D
Thank God!! This is what I’ve been waiting for!
Nice MD. Nice video nice akvárium nice music Nice ewr.❤
Such a good watch as always. I look forward to your uploads as they really make my day!!!
You have a huge fan in Newcastle, Australia !!!! Please include Aus in your fan list too!!!! Great idea! Appreciate you
I'm in Australia too, in Queensland. I now have six aquariums because of MD.😄
Have you ever used freshwater mussels in a filterless tank? I know a pump of some sort would be needed to give some flow to the water
Wonderful, probably the largest walstad tank I've ever seen
MD is the GOAT of Planted Aquarium TH-cam.
15:15 the villian laugh when seeing the hardscape material 😂❤
Just when I think you may be running out of ideas, you drop another great video!
Nice video MD :) I think I like the video's split into parts as there is more information given and discussion on what you are doing. I think this scape is going to be awesome and I love the river rocks you get in the UK. Maybe some Celestial Pearl Danios in one of the scapes ? I am absolutely loving them at the moment and attempting to breed some.
Diggin the long-term concept!
What happened to the red devil angel fishes? Keep up the great work
They are in the tank next to chunks as it's nice and big and been running a while. They will be getting their own special build soon.
Really excited about this new series
MD, awesome video as usual.
Do you find overtime youe substrate layers work there way up to the top of the sand if not in bags?
Thanks.
19:00 you can also just allow water to contact the cyanoacrylate (superglue) it hardens in water.
the gel type take a good while in water. The outer shell hardens instantly but that's only thin. Take a lot longer.
Great time md❤
I hope you use that Chihiros RGB light in a future build. This darn light has been in the back of my mind for quite some time. I will eventually pull the trigger and get it.
MD my friend opened a coffee shop at the Meadowlands Leisure Center in Travistock (Chill Coffee). Please take the family and enjoy a coffee and a day in the park 🙏
Commas are important
Tavistock rather than Travistock presumably? Or just Tavvy! :)
Great vid as always.
We are a little different I actually like seeing the layers I do dirt then white sand brown sand and black sand to give a layered look at the bottom!
16:17 you got me 🥲🤣🤣
17:40: Who else saw that bit of wood at the centre, and said ' Ooooo it looks like an Amphibian Ant Eater ... ' ??? ... Just me then ? ... O.K. 🤣😂🤣
Love your vids md ❤
This is going to be good, I can tell. ❤❤
Love your videos man!
Thanks for the video. I really enjoy them.
MD, do you happen to use purigen or activated carbon in your filters? I noticed a kit you had a couple videos back came with activated carbon but I wasn’t sure if you used it or not. Are those good to use in planted aquariums? Or do they just take out all the liquid fertilizer and minerals the plants need?
Yeah I use a lot of activated carbon. Usually fill a tray in the filter with the superfish Crystal Clear
Thanks MD. And just so you know you are my favorite TH-camr. Second to none. Unlike Christopher Scott lol
Hi MD. Love your tanks
Awesome setup, have always been a fan of your setups - however it sounds like you are responding to some videos out there... 😀😀😀
Thanks. Not sure what you mean. Don't really respond to videos, just go with ideas that pop in my head. This one come yesterday...so made this today 😊
The best 🤘🤘
Nice Series!
Great vid as usual, looking forward to the rest of the build and updates, I still think it would have been better starting from new rather than using your existing sand, updates could have then been from that for anyone starting out, IMHO
Seemed wasteful as I have sand available. It would be the same as buying new to be honest. The nutrients are in what's under the sand
@@MDFishTanks That was the first time I have had anything related to a comment mentioned in a video😅 Cheers for that 😁
Thanks you for the videos 😊.
I have a sand only tank. Is it possible to make the substrate like yours without redoing the whole tank?
Or should I use root caps?
Thanks 🙏
unfortunately it is not possible, because the concept is that the dirt layer must be covered by thick layer of sand
i love this idea!!
briliant idea!
Please tell me where to find those light holders or brackets
First equipment link in description
w video
From all the other videos I've watched, you should have a far deeper substate for an unfiltered tank - the substrate will be cleaning the water more than the plants will.
@@marcuscooper9544 we are 1.5 months in and it's doing insanely well 👌👍
unsythetetic = organic :-) How do you keep the co2 going when the compost is depleted? I really want to try this.
is it just me or am i dying for the next saltwater update. i am a freshwater person but i would like to see how the tanks are doing
in the next episode 👍👍
hey MD just an idea but how fun would it be if u limited your boundaries and made like a smaller tank. You know like no budget no maintenance tank . Just taking stuff ryt from the nature
Hi MD, just wondering if capping with gravel is viable, could you please explain why capping with sand is preferrable :) Thank you for all your great inspirational videos :)
gravel is more porous and can leach nutrients into the water column faster than plants can use it which would cause algae.
@@MDFishTanks Amazing, thank you so much for taking the time to explain that for me, much appreciated and much love ❤
Martin is clearly hanging in some of these shots 😂
Love your tanks. You should try a rainbow shark sometime? Been watching you for. . .since before the discus I think.
This is such a great idea!!!