Planted tank linked to main tank?

bluehand · Dec 23, 2023

Im sure there is probably a thread out there covering this but I figured I would just ask here rather than searching forever.
So my thoughts are...
Would it make sense or benefit at all to put my 225 above my 125 planted and link them together? I have an Fx6 that I would use to pull from the 125 then up to the 225. I would then use the overflows of the 225 to drop back down into the 125 . It would be smaller cleaner like fish in the lower and large (as yet undecided) fish above......thoughts?

ITHURTZ · Dec 23, 2023

Your 125 gal would then become a sump filter basically. Benefits would be way larger water volume. Disease now your treating 2 massive volumes of water. I would find it easier to elevate one slightly next to the other, drill a hole in the side for a bulk head and have inlet on the lower tank and outlet on the higher tank, would drain via gravity

BIG-G · Dec 24, 2023

I think you may see some slight improvement of nitrates. I assume that’s the goal, the lower tank would have to be densely planted to see much of that though.

What you have described would work ok no need to set the tank side by side. As long as the overflow can keep up with the FX. The bottom tank would have to be run with a lower water level as to accommodate the extra water that would drain from the top if the power was cut.

I would also recommend that the return from the filter be set right at water level in the top, you don’t want water draining backwards through the filter and flushing it’s mess into the bottom tank if the power was cut.

duanes · Dec 24, 2023

My system is a 180 gal (left) cichlid tank, with a 125 gal sump refugium.

the sump

sump from above, below, beside the aquatic plants like Vallisnerua, there are water lilies and mangrove trees.

,
The system keeps nitrates undetectable, along with regular water changes.
The sump also contains a population af shrimp, and a small pleco to help keep detritus and algae down (it get about 6 hours of direct sun)