Using sumps for other stuff?

Wippit Guud · Dec 16, 2002

This may sound like a stupid question... but if you have a 40 gallon tank full of water that's being used as a sump... can you do anything with that?

For some strange reason, the idea of hydroponics jumped into my head, but that's way too off-the-wall... just wondered if anyone considered anything that would use a sump for a dual purpose.

OrionGirl · Dec 16, 2002

You can actually do a lot in terms of nutrients export with a sump. Add something fast growing, like anachris or duckweed, and then cull as it over grows. Great for tanks where the occupants prevent you from having plants in the main tank.

Sumps also are great places for fish to recover naturally from wounds. You can keep anything in there that might not fit in with the main tank--ie, inverts, or destructive critters. Just remember that you are adding to the bio-load when doing this, so you can't pack too much in.

Wippit Guud · Dec 16, 2002

The sumps thing comes from an 'integrated farming' thing I saw on discovery or somrthing... goes like this:

Bring in spent grain from beer brewery. (who need to ditch the stuff anyways)
Compost grain
Grow mushrooms on compost. (converts to softer substrate)
Softer substrate used to grow worms. (converts to soil)
Soil used as substrate in aquaculture to grow vegetables.
Worms fed to fish growing in aquaculture ponds.
Fish waste returned to soil compost.
used soil from aquaculture sold tofarms as compost.

So, got taking used grain from a brewery, you get:

3 kinds of mushrooms
Worms, sold for bait or used as internal fish food
Soil, sold or used as internal planting substrate
Aquaculture-based greens, sold
Fish, sold

Website: http://www.oceanarks.org/agriculture/ cool place.

So, I was thinking, if I set up a sump, I could grow something in it... say lettuce or something... which could be fed to vegetarian fish, or even pruned to eat.

And yes, I know... I have lots of ideas, but don't do any of them... but it gets discussions going, and maybe someone will give it a shot.