Planted sump for extra filtration?

S

SamsonNY

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This is a new area for me so all informative replies (and criticism) is welcome.

I have a 150 with rays and dragons.
Amiracle MR400 W/D, U.V., Constant water change, etc filtering the tank.
Even with the high bio-load, water parameters (ammonia, nitrites, Ph) remain perfect and water clarity is perfect.
But, nitrates stay in the 30 - 40 ppm range (40 is rare). Bear in mind that my tapwater is 20.

SO: I've bought an acrylic refugium style sump (24"Lx10"Wx12"H) to sit under the cabinet next to my W/D.
This new sump will be a planted sump to reduce nitrates.

What do I need to do?
My plan is to have an additional pump in the w/d feed the plant sump on the left side, have the water pass thru the plant section and then drain from a bulkhead on the right wall which will connect back to my w/d.
This way, the planted sump will get prefiltered water.
Above the planted sump, a compact flo. w/plant gro bulb.
The pump: Rio 600. With 2 feet of head, looking at about 120gph from the w/d feeding the planted sump.

Things I don't have yet:
Soil: Fluorite?
Gravel on top to hold it down?
Plants: Low maintenance? Anacharis? Amazon Swords?
Lights: I'll put them on a timer but, for how long per day? 10Hr?
Is CO2 injection absolutely necessary?
Is timing the plant light with the tank light better? Since that is when Photosysthesis will occur offering more O2 to the tank which is better when the tank's lights are on since the fish are more active then.

Sorry for the long post. I want to get this right before hand.

Please correct anything you think is wrong.

And, the soil (or even the plants): Anything toxic to be concerned about that effects fish (stingrays)?

Thanks in advance.

Richard.
 
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You can check an old article of mine.
www.sfbaaps.com under "references", "Plant filter".
Peace lilies and most tropical foliage will give you the best growth for the lighting watt.
Emergent growth is always better/more productive than even the best submersed growth.
Think hydroponics.
You can use Fliourite etc or the clay hydroponics media which is cheaper and is easy to clean. All you need is a little area for the pump, any type of in flow, about 6-8 inches deep of media and water level just below the substrate(5-7 inches or so).
You can add more 3" PVC tubes like I describe in the main sump of the wet/dry. Even if the plants are not under the light, peace lilies and other plants can grow pretty good even at low light.

You can also add water sprite floating in the main tank.
Easy to deal with.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 
RTR:

Very Informative (especially your second article). Many Thanks.

Question regarding your quote below: Why the Ph fluctuations with the plant lights being on at the same time as the tank lights? I am not concerned regarding having the plant light on at any certain time period (IE: it's not in a bedroom that will bother someone sleeping plus it will be inside a closed cabinet). And, there will be no plants in the main tank.
So, do you still recommend having the plant light on opposite the tank lights?

"The largest benefit to the system will have the veggie filter on reversed light cycle from the display tank. That is, if you have the display on from noon to midnight, set the timer for the veggie filter for 11:30 PM to 11:30 AM. From this the veggie filter will be doing its job and providing additional oxygen to the display tank during its’ dark cycle. Even if there is no planting in the display tank, the reversed light cycle seems to favor the least change in pH during the veggie filter’s light cycle. If there are some plants in the main tank, having both tanks lighted at the same time will magnify the daily pH swing."


Tom,

Thank you very much as well.

I didn't consider emerging plants. Something I might add to the refugium. My concern regarding CO2 injection would be less of a concern with emerging plants since they would get their supply from the air versus the tank water. Correct?



Thank you both.

Richard.
 
A couple of more questions:

Flow rate: Is 120 gph running thru the plant sump sufficient?
Are higher or slower rates directly effective on the plant growth as well as their efficiency to filter?

Light time (question from before): 10 Hours per day? More/Less?

Strange question: What if I run the line from the sump to the U.V. to the plant sump and then back to the w/d? Will water that has gone thru the U.V. be okay for the plant sump? Or is that not a good idea? (Guessing here: maybe the plants will need the bacteria that the U.V. will be killing?)

Thanks again.


Here's a diagram of what I'm planning: (the w/d, U.V., etc are already running)

1496136.jpg
 
That is a salt designed refugium, not no plant filter.
The main thing is that is has less room for the plants. You can add foam etc or fill in the prefilter area etc. There's no need for prefiltering the water anymore than it is. A spray bar, PVC etc on the bottom of the far end from the wet/dry.

A real good cheap substrate would be MPV turface. Sort of like Flourite, but light weigh making it not so hot for aquariums but good for this. Profile and Schultz's aquatic plant soil, they are all essentially the same. MPV turface is the stuff they use on baseball diamonds, about 7-8$ a 50lb bag and available in colors(Black or rust). Likely the best deal.

You can also use pennywort, swords etc emergent, they grow like mad and no CO2 issue.
Since the plants are not being used for O2 and there's not enough to keep the tank of this size supplied with much anyway, night cycling is not needed.
Just run the lights with the tank lights etc.

Plants uptake NO3 night and day, so it will not matter. 120 gal/hr is fine. Less is fine also.
I would suggest trying a little less flow by adding a valve to the output of the powerhead.

Why more folks don't use plants in their filter really is amazing. Fiolter companies are afriad that it works too well and folks wouldn't buy carbon and other media, NO3 remover etc.

You can also try drip anaerobic denitrifiers. Comes out in N2 gas.
Plants seem better to me and remove more NO3 and NH4, PO4 etc.

Means less glass cleaning.

Rays are great but you need a big old tank.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 
The pH fluctuation and ammonia/nitrate utilization fluctuation comments apply more to set-ups where both units are planted - i.e., even my big puffer setups have plants in the display, just nowhere near enough to have any appreciable effect on the biolaod - generally an arc of Crinums or Val as background and some shading. In a 'pure' sytem, one tank totally unplanted and the other carrying all the plants, the reverse light cycle would do nothing significant unless there were effects from heating by the lights (unlikely in your setup).

Emerse plants side-step the CO2 issue, as they use their CO2 from the air.

With the small size of the plant filter (10 gallons if filled), I think 120 gph may be high if that is measured and not nominal volumes. That is a pretty high turnover rate in such a small vessel. If submerse plants are used it may be an issue, dependent on the configuration of the water input.

The UV output should not affect the plants.
 
Once again, Thank you gentlemen. Much appreciated.

Richard.


And, change in the sump design to make it more of a planted sump. With my w/d's sump being 36" long, the planted sump will be 24" long x 12" wide x 16" tall. (That's as much as I can fit inside the tank's cabinet leaving under a foot for comfort and plumbing.) With this design, I'll get the most area for plants (versus the earlier sump design).

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