Self Cleaning Fish Tanks That Actually Work

Why Should I Choose a No-Clean Aquarium?

Self cleaning fish tanks are usually chosen for educational purposes or for people who want to enjoy the fishkeeping experience but don’t have the time and the knowledge to take care of an aquarium. The truth is anyone can benefit from such a fish tank. They are small enough to be placed in so many places, even a dorm room. But the size doesn’t mean you won’t enjoy it. Of course, a larger and more complex tank is better, but that requires a lot of time and attention from your part. Choose a no-clean aquarium if:

• You are a parent or a teacher and want to teach kids about fish and self cleaning-tanks
• You are an aquarist who needs an isolation/hospital tank
• You are a busy person who doesn’t have time to take care of an aquarium, but you still want to have one in your home or your office

How Many Types of Self cleaning Fish Tanks Are there?

As seen in the list of self cleaning fish tanks that actually work, there are two types:

• Gravity based tanks. What you do is pour the clean water, and the pump pulls the dirty water out without affecting the fish or the decor.
• The aquarium-water garden combo. These are more spectacular and efficient. The fish waste is used to fertilize the plants, and the plants clean the water so the fish can have a safe environment. Not only do they clean the water better, but you can watch your mini garden growing.

General Pros and Cons of Self Clean Aquariums

It’s not that easy to compare self cleaning tanks to normal ones, because there are many factors and points of view involved. So, let’s break it down into pieces:

	Costs	Time	Type of fish	Size	Fish’ comfort	Overall experience
Self cleaning tanks	Lower	Almost no time	Only a few small types	Smaller	Lower	Good
Normal tanks	Higher	A lot of time	Many types	Various sizes	Much higher	Significantly more satisfying

As you see, it depends on what your priorities are. But in general, if you have the time and budget as well as the disposition to maintain a normal fish tank, it will be more than worth it. But self cleaning tanks have their own advantages, as well as their target audience, so they are worth considering.

What Are the Fish that Don’t Need Filters?

All fish need clean water, so it’s best to have some sort of filtering system. Apart from the fishbowls, all tanks have filters. But there are certain types of fish that don’t necessarily require filtering to survive: betta fish, guppies, zebra danios, ember tetra, goldfish. However, we need to underline the word ‘survive’; they may live without filtering, but their life would be better if you add one.

Essential Facts on Self cleaning Fish Tanks

We mentioned a few specific terms in the reviews above, so here is more information to make everything clear.

Aquaponics

In an aquaponics system fish tank, you create a symbiotic relationship between fish and plants. By growing plants on a tray on top of the tank, they sustain each other. The fish residue will be used by the plants in the grow medium. In their turn, the plants will do their part and keep the water clean for the fish, by absorbing the nitrogen. The aquaponics system has been around for quite a while, and it’s not specifically designed for a fish tank that cleans itself. It was created as an efficient way of growing both vegetables and fish together, especially in regions where there was a shortage of food. But it can also be an interesting and relaxing experiment in your own home.

Five-stage filtration system

A 5-stage filtration system aquarium is working on cleaning the water on different levels:

• Biological – using good bacteria to absorb ammonia
• Mechanical – the filter physically removes part of the waste
• Chemical – using activated carbons or resins to remove particles that were already dissolved
• water stabilization – using a water conditioner
• water oxygenation – with an air pump and an air stone.

Some self cleaning tanks already have such a system included, as we saw on our list. There is also the possibility to buy a 5-stage filtration system separately for many types of aquariums.

How to Make Your Own Self cleaning Fish Tank?

The self cleaning aquariums on our list are ideal for busy people who don’t have the time or the energy to maintain an aquarium. So, most of them are pretty compact, the kind of nicely designed tank you can put on your desk. But what if you want a bigger tank, maybe even a saltwater aquarium with bigger and more spectacular fish? Can you have that without cleaning it regularly? The answer is yes, there are things you can do to make your tank as self sustaining as possible.

The Walstad method

Diana Walstad, a well-known ecologist, has established a method of creating a naturally planted tank. Her purpose was to create a self sustaining ecosystem aquarium that would require only minimal interventions from the fishkeeper. Her method includes recommendations on water hardness, temperature, as well as light recommendations. Light is extremely important in this method; Walstad even suggests that the plants would benefit from ‘light siesta,’ or light breaks during the day. She also shows how the substrate should be prepared, how the water should circulate in the tank, what creatures and plants to place inside, depending on the size of the tank.

Useful tips to set up your own self sustaining fish tank

These are simple pieces of advice any experienced aquarist would give you. While your aquarium may not end up completely self sustained, it will need much less of your effort.

1. Choose a larger tank, they are easier to maintain.
2. Use undergravel filtration and box filters, as well as a strong pump to make sure the water keeps moving.
3. Don’t add too many decorations, as they may affect the water flow.
4. Use many live plants.
5. Don’t place too many fish in the aquarium. You must also choose fish that won’t be breeding like crazy.
6. Add fish like Hoplosternum and Acanthopsis, because they will stir up the substrate.
7. Don’t overfeed the fish! They won’t benefit from it and you’ll just have extra residue to deal with.
8. The water needs to be tested regularly.
9. Never place the tank under direct sunlight, algae will grow excessively.
10. Use a cleaning crew, like snails or microcrustaceans, to help you with the cleaning.

You will still have to feed the fish, add water and test it, but it won’t be time-consuming.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I have to treat the water? Even if the instructions your aquarium came with don’t say anything about that, testing and treating the water is always a good idea. Even for a tank as simple as My Fun Fishtank, a bit of water conditioner will work great. Can aquaponics be organic? They absolutely can be. Just make sure the seeds you use are organic and that you don’t have any creatures inside the tank that can affect the quality of the vegetables. For instance, turtles can carry salmonella. What are the possible problems of self cleaning fish tanks? Small no-clean aquariums can have a few issues. First of all, one of the most important things for any fish tank is to keep the water quality as stable as possible. And it is difficult to control the PH and the temperature in such a small container. If the water parameters change, they can cause high levels of stress for your fish, and they can get sick, because their immune system will be weakened. Secondly, toxins build up much faster in a small volume of water. If the self cleaning process doesn’t work well, it won’t be a good environment for your fish. You must make sure the nitrogen cycle isn’t interrupted or affected. Then, there’s the oxygen. In any tank, you need to have a healthy exchange of gas between the water and the outside world. Water needs to move so the oxygen can get in. And that’s more difficult in small no-clean desktop aquariums. What are AVO fish tanks? It’s a project created by a British designer, a self cleaning fish tank that doesn’t even need to have the filter replaced. All you would have to do is add water and feed the fish. It uses automated LED lighting that mimics the different colors and intensities natural light has during the day. It’s a revolutionary concept. However, since it’s the product of a Kickstarter campaign, it will take some time to enter the market.

Conclusion

If you would like to admire a small piece of an aquatic environment in the comfort of your home, but don’t have the time or the willingness to perform regular maintenance, you need a no-clean aquarium. Of course, that means you will have to make a compromise. It won’t be that large, it will have fewer and smaller fish, but it will still be a great experience. However, before buying one, make sure creating a safe and comfortable environment for your fish is your top priority. And the good news is there are many self cleaning fish tanks that actually work, and we’ve prepared a complex list for you. We added all sorts of aquariums, from small, simple and very cheap, to rather expensive grown-up toys that will become your new addiction. Just because you don’t have the time or don’t know how to clean a fish tank doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have one. But you may have the surprise to get hooked on this and to take the next step to become a real aquarist.