I don’t think that people googling that question have the level of knowledge necessary for the nuance involved in anything but "yes, get a second as backup while you're at it"

My first two foot long Tropical fish tank (as a kid in the late 70's) had no filtration. The fish store said it was optional. And they were a good fish only store! Once I didn't overstock and had plants. I ran it like that for quite a while with no issues. I then added a small air pump and a fancy box filter. 😊

Another thing to mention when dealing with filtration in outdoor tubs - ambient temperature! My fish were fine with nothing running in their 100 gallon tub until the temperature hit the high 90’s. I did not act fast enough to get air running in the tanks and I lost some fish.

Great video like always Bentley! You need to make a video of the benefit of doing a low tech planted aquarium with only a basic filter and plants to maintain the the nutrients in the aquarium.

My biggest tip is to run a sponge filter, even a small one, in each tank. That way, if the power goes out you still have some filtration and air running with a battery air pump. Or, as has happened to me in the middle of the night a few times the power gets tripped and you can unplug everything, switch the power back on and reconnect just the air pump running your tanks and then go back to bed without having to check every item in the house on the power circuit.

Great topic! Thanks bentley! ❤❤❤❤

In my opinion, if you have to ask the question the answer is probably yes- of some manufactured variety. I’m still getting my sea legs in the hobby, so to speak, and I think it’s an absolute necessity for me. I do not have the experience to balance a tank with just plants and I do not have the time to do constant water changes lol

Water flow and that air exchange really is vital even something as simple as an airstone. I am running my tank without a conventional filter (10gallon, heavily planted, 2 male guppies only) when my air pump broke. I decided to just let it sit like that for a while and see what will happen.. Tho the guppies I had in there didnt get sick, they weren't as active, they hid a lot and only came out when its time to feed. When I came arround to replacing my air pump, their behavior significantly changed, they were revitalized and swam arround the tank more

Slay king ✨️ 😍 . Lol 100% water change a day, no filter gang!

It's definitely a great explanation and a useful topic. The angel fish did distract me little. It's definitely showing the signs of a dead fish swimming, unfortunately. Thanks for sharing 😊

Great explanation of a nuanced topic!

Nicely done.

Thank you Bentley! Infomative video. I also love the look of your tank in the background. It's beautiful! I hope all's well with you.

7:40 I think water flow is one of the most important things most of the time. Bc it doesn't matter how deep your substrate is if the water doesn't ever penetrate further than 1/2 an inch down, but if you are able to get it to move enough to still have aerobic bacteria 6. In down then your plants can grow that far down too. A lot of times nayure cheats bc it gets to use the entire water table meaning theres effectively no bottom and the water will eventually make its way down whereas in an aquarium it just sits there. So if we wanted to try and really make a more accurate ecosystem for just a 40g tank it would probably require a system 4-6 times that size just to have the 40g show tank lol. At least thats how I see it. Bc even in a pond the real water volume can extend well past the bottom and edge of the pond itself depending on the material lining it, or some are just below the water line so they are part of the entire system as well. We really have to work overtime to compensate gor so much when keeping aquariums. In some ways its crazy we even can, but nature can't not, it will find a way.

A massive volume of water and plants for a tiny amount of animal life can be one way. Similarly, continuous massive volume flow-through can work (koi pens next to rivers, salmon hatcheries, etc). Flow and mixing and surface area are powerful agents.

Good video Bentley. I currently have an HOB and a sponge filter in my revamped tank.

So basically what you are saying is that, for the average person, a filter is just there to break down the waste that is immediately harmful into a form that is less harmful untill you take the waste out. Like sitting in your own toilet, if you don't break ot down fast enough you're gonna want to flush a lot. But if you are keeping water/an ecosystem then the waste is part of the system and you are going to want a much more effective and more conplete filtration system to fully break down the waste to keep the water healthy. In other words I use soil and plants with other animals like snails to transfer some of the waste into the plants which is much 'better' to take out than having to do water changes every week. Not that the system is perfect, waste builds up to the point that water eventually Does need changed out especially if you are using frozen foods a lot, I think bc of the gels they use but idk.

Great video as always Bentley! I’d like to get your opinion on the Walstad Method. Have you ever tried this method? I have (using the same size bowl she used) and have cherry shrimp in there with the live plants.

What’s in the bottles?? Serious when I say it’s not easy to see what we’re dosing. It was difficult to discover that Malachite Green and Glutaral is in ParaGuard. And StressGaurd contains Methylene Blue. Seachem and others hide ingredients well.

Yes you need filters. Two active. Always have a cultured filter in case you lose a tank, then get a fast restart so the fish are saved. More tanks, bigger tanks, mean more plants and fish, equals happiness

If you have plants and only a few small fish that get little or no external food, you can get away with no filter. If you have a drip system that is constantly changing the water, then you’ll have zero ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, and won’t need a filter. But if you have a bunch of fish, or bigger fish, and you feed them, then yes, you need a filter.

Thanks Bentley , I would be lying if I said that my ability to share what I do ETC. to whoever it may be has been easy. Like the scene in Matrix " I know Kung Fu " 🦶🏻Which is why it is so much better to get the information that you have had a lot of experience with. So in the future💚💙 I think it's better if I just politely interrupt the interested individual and send you a future Subscription ✓ Now that's what ZEN feels like !!!

No filter is just a flow-thru system. But no real person has that ability so that doesn't really count for this question lol. Only farms can realistically do that and even then idk if I like that bc of the potential negative ecological side effects... Just like having fish farms in the ground in Florida... Lol.

I am using an under gravel filter and some plants. So the question is what size air pump do i need for 29 gallon tank?

Hey man got a question!! Can i keep rainbow fish together with mollie fish?? Got 3 types of mollies total of 12 in a 55 gallon nought plants and good amount of hiding spots

Strictly speaking no. But i still reccomand using them. No i have stated that let me see what Mr. Pascoe thinks on the matter.

Short answer yes, most people do need a filter. The level of experience required to not have one is far above the average person's knowledge keeping fish.

To me a tank without filters is boring. Half of the fun of fish keeping for me are the gadgets that go with it. filters are part of that. I actually enjoy doing maintenance, and making my own DIY filters and such. So I need filters to keep me happy.

Bentley