If I only have a 10 gallon tank, is it worth making it as a plant sump for a 150 gallon? If so, what kind of overflow box and pump should I get for it?
Nitrates
- Thread starter Kaiden
- Start date
I would aim for a 700- 1000 GPH pump. Then find an overflow box that is rated for AT LEAST 1000 GPH. The overflow box needs to be capable of flowing more than the pump, otherwise you could overflow the tank.
Heres a quick explanation of how it works. With everything off, the sump is full/ display tank is almost full. When you plug the pump in, it starts to fill the display tank. When the display tank reaches the hight required to fill the overflow box, it starts to drain back into the sump. It takes at least a couple gallons to fill the tank enough to start the drain process. A 10 gallon won't be big enough pump that much water up to the main tank. What will happen is you will either have a really low water level in the sump while it is running, or if you try to top off the sump after it is running, it will overflow the sump when there is a power failure or you turn it off. You should be in at least the 30 gallon neighborhood, and bigger is always better. It will also hold a lot more plants being a lot more effective. Something else to consider is that a planted sump will need lots of light. There are compact florescences on ebay that are pretty cheap. I use a cheap ebay CF on my nitrate filter, and it has been working great for years.
Heres a quick explanation of how it works. With everything off, the sump is full/ display tank is almost full. When you plug the pump in, it starts to fill the display tank. When the display tank reaches the hight required to fill the overflow box, it starts to drain back into the sump. It takes at least a couple gallons to fill the tank enough to start the drain process. A 10 gallon won't be big enough pump that much water up to the main tank. What will happen is you will either have a really low water level in the sump while it is running, or if you try to top off the sump after it is running, it will overflow the sump when there is a power failure or you turn it off. You should be in at least the 30 gallon neighborhood, and bigger is always better. It will also hold a lot more plants being a lot more effective. Something else to consider is that a planted sump will need lots of light. There are compact florescences on ebay that are pretty cheap. I use a cheap ebay CF on my nitrate filter, and it has been working great for years.
A ten gal might be OK to hold a pump, a heater, and a filter sock, in line with another tank for plants. But I think it's too small to hold enough plants, and the hardware too.
I have a 20 gal for just hardware, without enough room to comfortably hold plants.
This is the 20, not much room left for plants to be effective.
I have a 20 gal for just hardware, without enough room to comfortably hold plants.
This is the 20, not much room left for plants to be effective.
Thanks guys. I won't be using the 10 gallon anymore since it's not worth having such little room for the plants.
Question though...
For a well-stocked tank, what do you consider is a 'safe' level of nitrates? I have a 150 gallon with 1 Oscar, 3 SDs and 1 Featherfin catfish. I'm growing out 2 more SDs and 1 BGK which will join this tank once they big enough not to get eaten and moving the Featherfin to another tank. So all in all, I'll have 7 fish in the tank. Plus, as mentioned in my earlier post, I have a 20ppm nitrates coming out from our tap. I usually do 1 50% water change.
Question though...
For a well-stocked tank, what do you consider is a 'safe' level of nitrates? I have a 150 gallon with 1 Oscar, 3 SDs and 1 Featherfin catfish. I'm growing out 2 more SDs and 1 BGK which will join this tank once they big enough not to get eaten and moving the Featherfin to another tank. So all in all, I'll have 7 fish in the tank. Plus, as mentioned in my earlier post, I have a 20ppm nitrates coming out from our tap. I usually do 1 50% water change.
It's not a myth. High nitrates while not directly deadly like nitrites and ammonia are still detrimental to your aquariums health. High nitrates will stress fish, can stunt growth, and can affect reproduction and the health of the offspring. Stressed fish are more susceptible to disease, they don't eat well, they generally don't feel well. Think of it this way, if you have high nitrates it is like sitting in a smoke filled room when you aren't a smoker. Your eyes get itchy and watery, your lungs feel compressed and generally just ugh, your whole body feels just less than it is. the next morning when you get up after being subjected to say a smokey bar you feel like you smoked 10 packs of cigarettes and that doesn't include the self induced hangover. So just imagine how your "happy" fish are feeling when your nitrate levels are through the roof. Yeah, they may look fine and yeah they may not be dying but they certainly don't feel well and don't enjoy it. Seriously, what you just said is like leaving a cheatgrass sliver in your dogs paw because it's not killing him and he acts happy when you call his name and feed him.
That's exactly why I worry about nitrates, Rivermud. Even if they are not directly deadly to fish, I'm concerned that it would compromise their health and growth.
There are a lot of live plants and other microorganisms that takes care of nitrates in nature. I mean no offense to you, Poklei. Just merely stating that a fish tank, no matter how big or small, is really no comparison to a river.
I don't mean to open a debate. I'm just asking what nitrate readings you would consider safe for our aquatic pets.
There are a lot of live plants and other microorganisms that takes care of nitrates in nature. I mean no offense to you, Poklei. Just merely stating that a fish tank, no matter how big or small, is really no comparison to a river.
I don't mean to open a debate. I'm just asking what nitrate readings you would consider safe for our aquatic pets.
generally in nature the reading are 0-3.. this isn't true of all waters, just a generalization. Things such as agriculture runoff can affect this. Stagnation can also have an effect... generally when you see high concentrations of algae there is or was a large amount of nitrates, these blooms start occurring at as little as 10ppm. So that nasty pond you pass by on your way to work or school or whatever almost certainly has less in the way of nitrates than your average home aquarium.
