Plant filtration?

[Matt181]

Hello all

i am thinking of setting up a 4ft tank and having a massive sump (well in comparrason to the tank lol) of about 3ft becasue i have a spare tank and hey im thinking of keeping cichlids so massive filtration is a must right?

anyway...i was thinking of including plants in my sump to reduce nitrites (i think the correct term would be refugium?) but is it just as simple as having a section in the sump with a light a bit of substrate and some java moss?

Is there a particluar size that the compartment has to be to be effective? the sump tank is 31.5 inches, i was thinking of devoting 10 inches for the plant and the rest of the tank would be for biological filtration. Too much too little?

One last question, is there any point? if i had a polyfilter, would it do the same job with less hassle?

Sorry for all the questions guys!
Matt

 

[Toby_H]

If you look through the last couple of pages in this folder you'll find several threads with this same topic... One of them is around 10 pages long containing TONS of relivant information...

 

[jschall]

Hello all

i am thinking of setting up a 4ft tank and having a massive sump (well in comparrason to the tank lol) of about 3ft becasue i have a spare tank and hey im thinking of keeping cichlids so massive filtration is a must right?

anyway...i was thinking of including plants in my sump to reduce nitrites (i think the correct term would be refugium?) but is it just as simple as having a section in the sump with a light a bit of substrate and some java moss?

Is there a particluar size that the compartment has to be to be effective? the sump tank is 31.5 inches, i was thinking of devoting 10 inches for the plant and the rest of the tank would be for biological filtration. Too much too little?

One last question, is there any point? if i had a polyfilter, would it do the same job with less hassle?

Sorry for all the questions guys!
Matt

Do an algae scrubber. If you try to grow plants in a sump you're wasting too much light.
Basically, you have a screen with water flowing down it, and a strong light less than 4 inches away from it.

 

[Matt181]

sorry ive got the right idea here?

nitrites turn into nitrate, plants use nitrites to grow, planst take out nitrates, everyones a winner?

why is the aglea scrubber better than a refuguim if they both do the same job?

i would want to encorparate an algea scrubber into my sump so would that be possible?

thanks
Matt

 

[Matt181]

right ive decided on an algea scrubber seems most effective way

however i have a question,

can i build one that is too big? it would be easier to build an oversized one lol!

and what would happen if i only lit one side and just cleaned half of it? i cant really light both sides easily.

thanks
Matt

 

[jschall]

sorry ive got the right idea here?

nitrites turn into nitrate, plants use nitrites to grow, planst take out nitrates, everyones a winner?

why is the aglea scrubber better than a refuguim if they both do the same job?

Refugiums are too deep to get enough light. You're supposed to have your lights less than 4" from the screen in an algae scrubber. In a refugium you also don't really have the air contact which I think is a big deal. Plants are less efficient per volume than algae and algae is a lot more compact.

i would want to encorparate an algea scrubber into my sump so would that be possible?

That's the easiest way to do it. You just build the scrubber with PVC so that it sits inside the sump.

right ive decided on an algea scrubber seems most effective way

however i have a question,

can i build one that is too big? it would be easier to build an oversized one lol!

and what would happen if i only lit one side and just cleaned half of it? i cant really light both sides easily.

thanks
Matt

Yes, you can light one side of it. It's just less efficient because you need more surface area if you're only using one side = more pump wattage.
Honestly once the algae is established on it, you can probably clean the whole thing at once. It'll be pretty strongly attached. I've heard you can also still grow basic plants in your tank even if you have a scrubber.
Like most things, you can't build it too large.

 

[Matt181]

Thanks for all the help, i really do appreciate it

so scrubber it is then, should there be a certain amount of watts per square inch or something? ive had a look but couldnt really find an answer.

the screen i would use would be 12x~14 inch high (the sump would only filter a 300L tank so im massively overfiltering lol!),
would twin t8's be ok?
or twin t5's?
ive designed a rig out of pvc that sits in the water to keep them facing the sheets so i can use normal aquarium bulbs

is flow rate important?

Thanks
Matt

 

[Weaksrt]

Right now i have a sump and running bare bottom 220 and the light shines through to the sump with Java Moss in it. Hoping the moss will carry over to the 220 and hold there for a nice green environment. Been to many LFS and see the one tank they sell the moss in has carried to the other tanks in the system. I have plenty of rocks in the tank and ref to grab ahold of so fingers crossed they will carry over. I hear though the shrimp help the plants grow with eating the dead moss which is like having a personally botanist clipping all the dead leafs off a plant so it will continue to grow so ill be heading to the store to get some of these little guys to help me.