# [Wet Thumb Forum]-What defines a natural and low tech aquarium?



## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

Is there a difference between the two, or are they one and the same? Is Amano natural or high tech?

Robert
King admin
www.aquabotanic.com


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

Is there a difference between the two, or are they one and the same? Is Amano natural or high tech?

Robert
King admin
www.aquabotanic.com


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

The ideal natural aquarium is a miniature ecosystem that functions indefinitely without input, output or maintenance by the aquarist.

Real aquariums don't normally approach the ideal very closely. I think what they do have in common is that -- aside from regular inputs of light and fish food -- the aquarium's state is determined more by internal ecological relationships than by the labor of the aquarist.


Roger Miller

"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein


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## ScottH. (May 13, 2004)

To me a natural aquarium is a delicate equilibrium between all organisms in a tank that is undesturbed by the aquarist. Each fish and plant interact with each other to provide what each one needs. Now of course light and fish food would be added to the environment so that they organisms can survive.
I think that the most natural a tank could get would be a tank of an algae crew, some loaches, snails, and some plants. Everything, with an exception of light, is pervided naturally. Algea is food for the algae crew and snails. The snails are food for the loaches and the waste products are nutrients for the plants.

In a low-tech tank, There is still things such as filters and such. There is maintenance and other factors being put into the tank that are not coming from the natural process.

My goal is a sea of green.


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## Guttboy (Jul 27, 2003)

Robert,

Good question....As for natural I would think that in the purest sense it would be with NO input from the aquarist. It would run simply by itself with the only input being to add water because of evaporation. It would work on the principle of a biosphere type environ. This, in my mind, is almost impossible to achieve. Making your own little world that runs perfectly is kinda tough if you get my drift. With that being said, you could come very close to the natural environ and not use chemicals, ferts etc...but again it would take time and experimentation to achieve such a goal.

Low tech tank to me means probably more on the DIY side/not much in the way of fancy electronics, CO2 pressurized, DIY lighting, etc.

Just my thoughts.

Mike









100Gallon/Rena Filstar XP3/Icecap660 with 4x4' Ge Aquarays/Flourite Gravel mix/Malaysian driftwood


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## Cody (Jun 26, 2004)

Amano's tanks are 'natural' in the sense that his aquascapes are a representation of nature. Not always in its true sense , since they are typically not biotopes. Instead, he usually tries to recreate an environment that appears as though it could exist in the real world. 

Low tech? For me, a low tech tank is almost synonomous with lost cost. A low-tech tank would not rely on pressurized CO2, high-cost/ high wattage lighting, addition of ferts, specialized substrates, manipulation of water chemistry... Basically, what Walstad discusses in her book. 

So, Amano's tanks 'pertain to nature' and are also high-tech.


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## anonapersona (Mar 11, 2004)

OK, so I don't own walstad's book yet, I'm going to get it in Dallas I suppose.

I'm interested in turning the 20 high into a natural tank when I move the existing occupants out to the new bigger tank, because I think I will have hit my limit on messing with waterchanges and water testing and doctoring the DIY CO2 units. 

I don't know how one DOES a natural tank, especially with 8.2 pH tap water.


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## imported_RTR (Sep 11, 2003)

Well, I'm pretty low tech in some aspects, but not in others. I'm moderate light,moderate supplements (no pressurized CO2 in use), and moderate growth rates. I am a filtration fanatic, but in the planted tanks that is more mechanical than bio, and possiblty more for current than for any other reason.

But I am not a fan of tanks as per Ms. Waldstad. That is not me at all. I haven't used soil in ages. I certainly do not rely on natural light. I'm also a water change fanatic. While I don't groom and prune and replant constantly (no stem plants is another of my "things) I do divide and reset over-thick stands when needed, and while my tanks may not necessarily appear so to others, they are quite carefully landscaped and redone until they look right - to me. I do not do many types of plants per tank - another highly prsonal point, "busy" drives me bonkers. All of my planted tanks are very heavily planted, but generally house no more than 4-6 varieties of plant per tank, and generally one spcies of fish as display, plus support crew. The "look" I would like to achieve is deceptively simple. Is that low tech? With 3-5 Eheims per tank? With X-10 controllers for lights? Probably not. But it is certainly not high tech. My brigest tanks are under 3W/gal, the CO2 equipment is in storage, I very rarely do any water modification, and do not own a sensor-responsive controller.

In the end, folk do what pleases them, and suits their needs. It is very hard to slot individuals into neat niches.

To me "low tech" and "natural" are not synonymous at all, nor is DIY a necessary or limiting component of either.

"Where's the fish?" - Neptune


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## superjohnny (Jul 31, 2004)

To me "low tech" means low maintenance and relatively self sufficient. A tank that doesn't need a lot of fertilizers, CO2, fancy lighting & the like.

---------------------------------------------
Fish are the things that live with my plants.


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

Robert/RTR, welcome to the forums!

Robert
King admin
www.aquabotanic.com


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## imported_RTR (Sep 11, 2003)

Thank you, sir.

"Where's the fish?" - Neptune


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## wetmanNY (Feb 1, 2003)

"RTR: Junior Member" hey, he'll probably get the hang of it don't you suppose! _heh heh_

I like the 'self-balancing ecotope' aspect of fishkeeping myself. But you can say of aquariums what I used to say about my rather 'natural-looking' gardens:
'There's nothing 'natural' about a garden.'


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

Wetman, I have read your WEB site, the Skeptical Aquarist, and I wonder if you consider yourself a practicing low tech hobbyist? You state on your WEB site that you are more of a scholar than a practicing hobbyist, so it is difficult to determin what your own practice is!! What is your take on this?

Robert
King admin
www.aquabotanic.com


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## Faruk Gençöz (Nov 4, 2005)

Conceptualization of “nature/natural” can be quite complicated when we isolate man from the nature and define man-made things as “not natural”. To me, a man is a part of it and his products are also very natural no matter how much technology used in them.

Amano type aquariums are natural in that sense but they are the mental representations of “land” forms rather than natural underwater world. From this point of view they lack the “natural looking”.

Use of technology to maintain circular processes in the aquarium is one thing. The other thing is whether the aquarium looks natural or not. Therefore, to me, in the question there are two different and independent aspects.


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## Faruk Gençöz (Nov 4, 2005)

> quote:
> 
> Originally posted by convicted_convict:
> To me a natural aquarium is a delicate equilibrium between all organisms in a tank that is undesturbed by the aquarist


It is very difficult to maintain a homeostatic state of all living things/systems. It may not be so natural to have a living system keeping its equilibrium all the time. Adaptation starts where there is an imbalance among the external/internal factors and the long term success of the system depends on its adaptation capacity.

I agree with the statement above that the aquarists are disturbing the life in the aquarium but my position is that, this is the natural part.

There is a kind of symbiotic relationship between the aquarists and his/her aquarium. Both sides have advantages to keep such a relationship. Manupilations done by the aquarists improve the relationship most of the time.

A friend of mine said that he would not keep on feeding fish with the automatic feeder because fish did not recognize their master anymore even though he approched the tank. The tank needs us to maintain itself. And we need the tank to satisfy our drives. This is so natural to me.


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## skylsdale (Jun 2, 2004)

Just kicking this back to the top...


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## weeds (Jan 18, 2004)

I always thought that the "Natural" planted tank simply meant not using anything plastic...not natural. Everything used in the tank is real, real plants, real diftwood...ect.. This would cover the Biotope tank..except you are recreating a certain waterway of the World..using only the plants, wood, rocks from that area. And, the High Tech planted aquarium meant running CO2 and a more sophisticated lighting and filtering systems; conversely, Low Tech meant you were not...low lighting, canister or power filter, no CO2.


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