After considering how demanding a fully stocked tank can be in terms of maintenance/equipment/disaster potential, I am thinking of simplifying things and try the natural route with a very lightly stocked aquarium with just enough low light plants to keep a handful of fish healthy, carrying out as few water changes as possible and with minimum interference with the water column/substrate.
In other words, just how lightly stocked would a tank have to be in order to minimize its maintenance, leaving it as much as possible to the plant-fish-filter balance? Something like the mini tanks sold by http://www.minnocubes.co.uk but to a larger scale...
The tank would be a Juwel Rio 240/300 litres with the standard internal filter. Has anybody any experience of this sort of aquarium - what are the downsides, and what species would be best?
In particular, regarding the risk of algae growth, how can it be contained in this specific setup?
In other words, just how lightly stocked would a tank have to be in order to minimize its maintenance, leaving it as much as possible to the plant-fish-filter balance? Something like the mini tanks sold by http://www.minnocubes.co.uk but to a larger scale...
The tank would be a Juwel Rio 240/300 litres with the standard internal filter. Has anybody any experience of this sort of aquarium - what are the downsides, and what species would be best?
In particular, regarding the risk of algae growth, how can it be contained in this specific setup?