The first home aquarium I ever saw had live plants and no filter or hood. Although I was much too young to notice, the neighbor who owned the setup must have been very careful to avoid over feeding.
As for current aquariums, I have 22 if you want to count the four small ones (2.5 gallons each). Two other tanks each hold ten gallons, then there is a 15, a couple of 20s and 25s, a couple of 30s and 40s, three 37s, a 50, a 55, a 60 and probably some I left out. All of them have under gravel filters and live plants, and most have too much algae on the glass because I'm too tired to scrape it off. They do, however, receive regular partial water changes and have moderate biological loads. Actually, the only aquarium with much of an algae problem is the one that gets sun light in the morning. All but one of the aquarium stands was designed and constructed in my saw dust making shop, and all of the Angelfish and Red Wag Platies are home grown. The aquariums have also hosted spawns of White Clouds, Gertrude's Rainbow Fish and a few others. Every aquarium has Malaysian driftwood.
For an old coot my age, that many aquariums are a chore to maintain even though several are reserved (empty of fish) for angelfish spawns. Having sold off most of my aquariums several times, I now realise that doing so is a mistake that always results in acquiring even more aquariums than I had before the last sale. It's still extremely difficult to pass up a yard sale that has some used aquariums, although many more will require a home addition.
Well, I guess that's more information than anybody wanted. Maybe it will inspire you to become a contrarian old coot with too many aquariums ... or maybe not.
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