Aren't they just for salt water? You ask.
Predominantly, yes. But the concept works on both sides of the track, and is equally beneficial to freshwater aquariums.
I started using them in the late 80s, because the cichlids I kept were consummate plant destroyers, and uprooters, and I wanted the benefits plants provided such as consuming nitrate, and other metabolism by-products like C02, and adding extra oxygen, so the lighting of sumps became the initial intro to them.
https://hosting.photobucket.com/alb...05-07_1214.jpg?width=450&height=278&crop=fill
They also became great grow out tanks for fry that would eat any overflow of food, and could graze on algae. Not to mention they made my sumps more aesthetically appealing ( I tend not to put them in cabinets directly below the tanks, but often off to the side for easier maintenance.
They also became good grout tanks for dither fish, or feeders if needed.
Not only as gravity fed sumps, but as above tank refugiums for bog type plants, that are heavy nutrient feeders like papyrus.
About that time is when the use of tiny animals like shrimp, other crustaceans, and snails helped break down detritus to forms more easily used by the plants.
Most of these animals would not last any time in my cichlid tanks, but in separate enclosures thrived.
Back in the beginning I used smaller tanks for refugiums like 20 to 55 gallon sizes.
Predominantly, yes. But the concept works on both sides of the track, and is equally beneficial to freshwater aquariums.
I started using them in the late 80s, because the cichlids I kept were consummate plant destroyers, and uprooters, and I wanted the benefits plants provided such as consuming nitrate, and other metabolism by-products like C02, and adding extra oxygen, so the lighting of sumps became the initial intro to them.
https://hosting.photobucket.com/alb...05-07_1214.jpg?width=450&height=278&crop=fill
They also became great grow out tanks for fry that would eat any overflow of food, and could graze on algae. Not to mention they made my sumps more aesthetically appealing ( I tend not to put them in cabinets directly below the tanks, but often off to the side for easier maintenance.
They also became good grout tanks for dither fish, or feeders if needed.
Not only as gravity fed sumps, but as above tank refugiums for bog type plants, that are heavy nutrient feeders like papyrus.
About that time is when the use of tiny animals like shrimp, other crustaceans, and snails helped break down detritus to forms more easily used by the plants.
Most of these animals would not last any time in my cichlid tanks, but in separate enclosures thrived.
Back in the beginning I used smaller tanks for refugiums like 20 to 55 gallon sizes.
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