Good plants for a refugium?

tai95 said:
The original poster was talking about a sump. This means there is an overflow in the main tank. If there is a screen in the overflow to keep fish out it will get clogged with duckweed, even if there isn't a screen there is a chance of it getting plugged. What happens when an overflow gets plugged and the return pump keeps running? The tank overflows. If the overflow doesn't get plugged the sponge on the return pump will. So like I said DO NOT USE DUCKWEED.
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ahhh... you're right. like I said, i don't have much experience with fuges, sorry. you should go with water lettuce.
 
Plants use nitrate while they are photosynthesizing so adding a light will speed up the rate of any plant's nutrient use. I have water sprite on top of my planted tank and they are doing a wonderful job. Once the stems die, the plant reproduces other floating babies. They look great at this point. You probably don't care about looks, but they eat nitrate like crazy. I doubt they'd do well in ambient light, however.

Find a cheap fluorescent or CF and hope for the best. I think you'll need a lot of plants to kill all the nitrates in a 125 predator tank, however.
 
Yes, I have a problem with duckweed clogging my intake. I love it, I think it's soo pretty but it will clog intakes.
 
I'm curious why a refugium?
the concpet you are using makes sense..but a refugium is saltwater works differently.
some sw tanks use deep sandbeds a refugium utilizes plants .refugium mud etc..the idea is to promote anaerobic bacteria in essence complting the nitrogen cycle..but excess proteins are removed via the skimmer(which doesn't work well in fw(specific gravity etc)

most of the fw tanks handle nitrates via wc and /or plants.
the refugium , water dumps out of the main tank via overflow, drops into a filter sock then hits a baffle overflow to the refugium portion of the tank..water exists via baffles to the sump section where a large pump moves the water up to the main tank.''btw, I reasd some sw refugiums use algae.

the concept may work but you may see some issues with flow.

it could work with a large refugium..you would need lights for plants(also used in sw set up)

you may also be promotng algae n the main tank unless you get it balanced. are you using live plants in the main tank?

CO2,
are considering only floating plants? anacharis is a nitrate hog and there are others that fit that bill.

just thinking outloud
 
star_rider said:
I'm curious why a refugium?
the concpet you are using makes sense..but a refugium is saltwater works differently.
some sw tanks use deep sandbeds a refugium utilizes plants .refugium mud etc..the idea is to promote anaerobic bacteria in essence complting the nitrogen cycle..but excess proteins are removed via the skimmer(which doesn't work well in fw(specific gravity etc)

most of the fw tanks handle nitrates via wc and /or plants.
the refugium , water dumps out of the main tank via overflow, drops into a filter sock then hits a baffle overflow to the refugium portion of the tank..water exists via baffles to the sump section where a large pump moves the water up to the main tank.''btw, I reasd some sw refugiums use algae.

the concept may work but you may see some issues with flow.

it could work with a large refugium..you would need lights for plants(also used in sw set up)

you may also be promotng algae n the main tank unless you get it balanced. are you using live plants in the main tank?

CO2,
are considering only floating plants? anacharis is a nitrate hog and there are others that fit that bill.

just thinking outloud
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I think Im a Pisces is just looking for another means of nitrate removal. Big messy predators can make the nitrates skyrocket if water changes are not done enough. The sump is already there why not add another means of pulling out nitrates? True it's not gonna function the way a SW refuge does, but it will still help. It won't let you stop doing water changes, but if something happens and you go an extra day or two before the change it should give you a little buffer zone.
 
tai95 said:
I think Im a Pisces is just looking for another means of nitrate removal. Big messy predators can make the nitrates skyrocket if water changes are not done enough. The sump is already there why not add another means of pulling out nitrates? True it's not gonna function the way a SW refuge does, but it will still help. It won't let you stop doing water changes, but if something happens and you go an extra day or two before the change it should give you a little buffer zone.
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^you hit it right on the money. i do large water changes once a week. i have been really busy lately (with school/work/my son) so knowing i can go an extra day or two will give me better peace of mind. i am not trying to kill all the nitrates with the fuge. i am simply trying to keep them as low as i possibly can. so with water changes and a fuge i think i will be doing as much as i can for the health of my fish.

i thank you all for your valuable input and have decided not to go with duckweed it seems too messy. i have no plants in the main tank and do not plan on keeping any in there. i think i will go with water lettuce in the sump. how much wattage for a light do you guys recomend for the water lettuce?
 
tai95 said:
DO NOT USE DUCKWEED if it gets into your main tank (and it will) you will have a very difficult time getting rid of it. I have some in one of my tanks that came from a bag of fish I bought. A few pieces got on the net i used, and it completely took over the top of the tank (55gal) in less than a month. So Again DO NOT USE DUCKWEED. Water lettuce doesn't need much light at all. If you have a spare ficture to use that will be plenty. 14gal should be plenty enough space for some. I keep it in my 5gal shrimp tank and have no problems with it. when the plants get to big just pull them out and leave the smaller plants in to grow out. If you can't find water lettuce locally let me know I'll pull some out of my tank for you if you promise not to use duckweed.
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that is a very generous offer tai. i will look for water lettuce locally and if i can't find it just may take you up on that offer. and yes i promise i won't use duckweed :). the last thing i want is my tank overflowing and flooding the floor.
 
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