Nitrates

[Kaiden]

I'm using Matrix on my canisters. Does it make a big difference whether they're in a sump or canister?

Also, I've been thinking about it....I have a spare 10 gallon tank right now. Can I use that as a sump for my 150 gallon? I know it's really small but I was thinking of maybe just using it as a refugium to help with my nitrates. I'm running 2 AquaTop canisters and 2 Emperor 400s to take care of my ammonia/nitrites. I've never had problems with those. It's always just been the nitrates that I can't seem to contain.

@BigCountry: Now that you mentioned it, I do remember they were putting vodka. I didn't think it was just for saltwater though. Thanks for clearing that up!

 

[trick1441]

To be honest with you I don't know. Alls I know is that beneficial bacteria need oxygen that is why the wet dry filter works so well as some of the media is above water and some is submerged under water. I guess you will find out if you make a sump


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[anarekist]

you need to create an environment with no oxygen so aneraobic bacteria will grow, they convert the nitrates to Nitrogen gas

 

[Kaiden]

So does that mean sump isn't a good idea to help contain nitrates?

 

[anarekist]

not unless you plan to grow plants in it to absorb the nitrates.

 

[Kaiden]

That's actually what I had in mind. Maybe I can do a sump just for plants or refugium?

I'm just not sure where to start though...I've never had a sump before. What will I need in order to convert my 10 gallon tank to a 'plant sump'?

 

[Rivermud]

plants will remove nitrates. Often times people don't have enough plants or enough of a root structure to make a noticable difference. this is when you just have to give it time. Personally i go with a home version of aquaponics. You can use a variation of my setup that uses gravity to feed a grow bed that then drains into your sump. I don't recommend using submerged plants, though they do remove nitrates they simply store them in their mass, when they die off or shed leaves etc they re-release the nitrates back into the system and it starts all over again. By having plants outside of the aquarium you can harvest them as you please and when they drop leaves or die they do not release their absorbed nutrient back into teh water column.

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/forums/showthread.php?448952-Vermiponics-Fish-Plants-and-Worms

 

[duanes]

I no longer test for nitrate, I tested for 2 years and kept getting between 2 and 5ppm after adding a planted sump, so it seemed a bit redundant. I used the salicytate method on a spectrophotometer.
I realize this is not normal aquarium fare, but I did it on my break at a drinking water plant.
I use normal aquarium water plants, such as cryptocorne, water sprite, java fern etc.

also terrestrial and semi aquatic plants in the sump

When leaves start to yellow or brown, I remove them to the compost heap.
I also do water changes every other day, and rinse filter media at the same time.
I believe gunk saturated media, too few water changes, overfeeding, and overstocking are the biggest cause of high nitrate.
I keep either fry or small fish in planted sumps to eat any food that over flows into the sump.

 

[Kaiden]

I was planning to mix aquatic plants with terrestrial plants. I currently have some golden photos in my HOB and some Amazon Sword plants in my tank. I was thinking of putting both of them in a plant sump and maybe adding some other plants.

Are there any other plants you can recommend to me? As for the plant sump, can you please guide me on how to make one? Like I said, I've never had a sump before. I've read that I'll need an overflow box and a pump but I'm not sure if there's anything else I'm missing. Also, what kind of light do I need so that the plants will grow in the sump? I'm planning to put it inside my stand.

 

[duanes]

Kind of light depends on kind of plants. For my crypts and java fern, I use a shop light with normal hardware style bulbs. More plants to start with, the better, otherwise algae will use the nutrients and predominate
You will need an overflow,

and preferably a tank with as large footprint as possible. I use breeder 40s or 50 gals for sumps, because I like to see the plants, although anything that holds water will do. I have used 50 gal plastic barrels.

It is also advisable to build a compartment to keep the pump intake separate from plants so debris isn't sucked in and plugs up the pump.