Snails can eat leftover food waste so it doesn’t decompose in the water, but they still excrete waste of their own so it doesn’t completely eliminate ammonia. Filter feeders can help prevent algal blooms, but many have precise requirements that aren’t compatible with most tank set ups.
There is something called the wallsted method though, and the concept is to use a planted tank with low bioload and enough plants to consume the ammonia that’s produced. It doesn’t work for every setup though, it’s more of a niche thing that requires a bit of planning to pull off
A deep substrate can also help filter ammonia. My 75 gallon freshwater tank requires very little in filter cleaning and water changes thanks to a good cleanup crew, lots of surface area for bacteria, deep-ish substrate, and lots of plants.
Our marine tank is similar. That tank also has a second smaller tank beneath, called a sump, where there is extra rock and biomedia for beneficial bacteria. That tank has a second lighting system set to an opposite photoperiod from the main tank and has a specific type of macroalgae (chaeto) which gobbles up phosphates during the main tank’s night hours.
It can be a delicate balancing act getting it all working well, but when tanks get established it gets to be fairly routine keeping it all going.
Snails can eat leftover food waste so it doesn’t decompose in the water, but they still excrete waste of their own so it doesn’t completely eliminate ammonia. Filter feeders can help prevent algal blooms, but many have precise requirements that aren’t compatible with most tank set ups.
There is something called the wallsted method though, and the concept is to use a planted tank with low bioload and enough plants to consume the ammonia that’s produced. It doesn’t work for every setup though, it’s more of a niche thing that requires a bit of planning to pull off
A deep substrate can also help filter ammonia. My 75 gallon freshwater tank requires very little in filter cleaning and water changes thanks to a good cleanup crew, lots of surface area for bacteria, deep-ish substrate, and lots of plants.
Our marine tank is similar. That tank also has a second smaller tank beneath, called a sump, where there is extra rock and biomedia for beneficial bacteria. That tank has a second lighting system set to an opposite photoperiod from the main tank and has a specific type of macroalgae (chaeto) which gobbles up phosphates during the main tank’s night hours.
It can be a delicate balancing act getting it all working well, but when tanks get established it gets to be fairly routine keeping it all going.