Interesting/Odd filtration setup

[DrNic]

While setting up his first aquarium, 55G, a friend of mine found a 6 gallon bucket of ceramic filter media at a yard sale for $15! Apparently it had been used in a small koi pond previously. The bucket was labeled 'aquarium gravel' and he thought it looked cool so he brought it home and put it into his tank giving a final depth of about 1.5-2 inches. He then added a 12inch airstone to the back of the tank and began cycling with zebra danios without any actual filter. After about 2 months he stocked the tank with a community style setup and added some teracotta pots. The tank has now been running for more than 18 months without any filter.

I saw it for the first time a couple weeks ago and was amazed at how well the fish were doing and how clear the water was. Just thought I would share the story of what is perhaps the oddest filtration setup I've seen to date.

[Aeonflame]

Does he know how his parameters are? Unless theres a lot of waterflow through the substrate I dont think it would be very effective at filtration

[DrNic]

Does he know how his parameters are? Unless theres a lot of waterflow through the substrate I dont think it would be very effective at filtration
I thought the same thing. The giant airstone he has in the back keep the water moving REALLY strongly so that probably helps. While we were there we checked the water and the parameters were normal. pH was about 7.3, Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 5-10, and he does water changes every 10 days.

[tori.lock]

That's interesting. It sounds like a modified DIY under-gravel filter.