Logistical questions - plants in the sump?

MoonstruckMuse

MoonstruckMuse

AC Members
Mar 4, 2007
196
0
16
So, I've had a 125g tank up and running for some time, with an arowana (who likes to rip stuff) and 2 severums and a JD that'll eat anything in sight. I had given up on the idea of plants in this tank.

However, we plan on stocking up the tank some more, and my mom always complains that she has to sacrifice "our" vegetables for their enjoyment, and we're both quite intrigued about upping our filtration while growing their own food.....

How does one go about doing that? We don't have a refugium built into the sump - is that okay?

More specifically - our sump sits directly in daylight - cuts down on the heating bills, and never overheats our tank because it doesn't get too much light, haha. As you can imagine though, the algae growth can be significant. There's also java moss growing quite happily around the bioballs, HAHA.

If I choose floating plants and just restrict them away from the pump, will I be able to escape the whole overlyfastwater situation? Are there certain plant species worth considering? Will I need to build compartments into the sump? Feel free to refer me to something I missed, haha. I'm just really curious. It seems too easy to work, right now.
 
i think you can make it work. i would really look into water lettuce. most of the plant floats above the water with the roots going down. its a fast grower sucks up nurtures. plus its a bigger plant so the pump shouldnt be as big as a problem. there are other floating plants but might be a little harder to control like frog bit duckweed hornwort and so on.
 
I just toss plants into the open area where my pump is located. A piece of sponge over the intake keeps the plants out of the pump intake. I leave my plants "free-floating". My problem is no lighting over the wet/dry. The ambient room light is not enough to help but I think sun light would do wonders for them if it could be done. I think the placement of plants would also cut down on the algae as they would out-compete them for nutrients if you had sessiliflora type plants that suck up nutrients like crazy.
 
Ooh, I love water lettuce! Haha. I had it eons ago, but then the severums took care of that when I introduced them. Definitely will look into that again.

I'm not really sure how to describe sumps - don't really know...the terms? It's got a hang-on area with sponges that prefilter the water, then trickles down over bioballs, and then collects in one area which has the pump in it. The collection area is all one section.

The sponge is a really good idea - definitely will look into that. I've got tons of plants I can chuck in there if there's a sponge blocking! =D

Thanks for all the ideas, guys!
 
Last edited:
MoonstruckMuse said:
How does one go about doing that? We don't have a refugium built into the sump - is that okay?

If I choose floating plants and just restrict them away from the pump, will I be able to escape the whole overlyfastwater situation?

Will I need to build compartments into the sump?

It seems too easy to work, right now.
Click to expand...
Mm:

What you are describing I call a freshwater refugium.

I have a 3 chamber sump; mechanical filtration chamber, biological filtration chamber, and return flow chamber.

I have floating plants in my return flow chamber and they work like a charm.

TR
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom