Planted sump/refugium

[Niblet]

Hi all,
We are planning on going from our established 60 gallon to a 120 that is drilled and has a sump. We have never used a sump before, so I may be back on asking some more detailed questions. For now, we were thinking of using the sump (38 gallons) as a planted refugium. I have looked thru the forum archives and may have missed some posts, but couldn't find alot of info. In general, is this is sound idea? We have six 5" discus from Hans that are doing well in a bare bottom tank with just driftwood. I like the ease of cleaning, so plan to keep the main tank this way. If using a planted sump is a good idea, any suggestions as to substrate for the plants? Will prob just do Wisteria or Java fern, unless there are better choices. Obviously, if the plants are in the sump I am mostly looking for benefits as opposed to aesthetics. I HAVE read enough to know that a fully planted discus tank is a long way off for me, but I thought this might be away to have both without the downside of keeping the main tank clean. Thanks in advance, Fran

[lipadj46]

you don't need substrate just float some water wisteria in a chamber, you will be throwing away handfuls weekly it grows so fast. anubias and java ferns won't do much as they grow so slowly

[Niblet]

Ok...thanks. We will use the water wisteria. I am sure I will have some plumbing questions soon!

[Bart V]

I have a drilled AG 120 with two overflows. I have my sump in the basement and use it for added volume and to hold my heaters. I have floating plants in the display because, like you, I like plants but don't feel like doing the whole planted tank thing right now...

Here's my sump (with wet/dry attached)

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[joeymac]

Bart that is f****ng awesome.

[Niblet]

Wowser.....this is way over my head. Instead of me proving that point by asking questions, could you describe this for me? I think I might have seen this picture before...if there is a build link somewhere else, just point me in that direction. Impressive to say the least!

[Bart V]

Thanks guys! It's not as hard as it looks. I'm not a plumber, I just play one on tv...(lol) Your 1" overflow will drain 600 gph conservatively. My tank has two, so I have 1200 gph capacity as a drain (NOT a siphon). Your overflow should have a durso standpipe installed to quiet the drain. If you don't have one you can see how to build one (or buy one) here: http://www.dursostandpipes.com/ I built my own. It was easy. my return pump is in the basement and pushes about 400 gph to the tank at the eight feet of head pressure I have to the water level of the tank. The rate of flow in my system is controlled by the pump. As you can see I am running WELL under capacity for my drains, which is preferred in case a drain gets partially blocked by an adventurous snail or something, which is highly unlikely due to the presence of the overflow chambers in the tank that have the vents to prevent large particles and animals from entering the overflow towers. I plumbed both drains to the wet/dry filter (which could certainly fit under your tank if you don't want to go to the basement). The wet/dry has a prefilter sponge above the bioballs, i rinse this weekly. my auto top-off float valve is installed in the wet/dry behind the bioball chamber. Next the wet/dry is plumbed to a 29 gal sump using a 1 1/2" bulkhead. Three heaters are in there and the whole sump is covered with a water heater insulation blanket to keep it cozy. the other side of the sump is drilled to accept another 1 1/2" bulkhead which is plumbed to a T connector. One side of the T goes to my external return pump and the other side goes to a garden hose that is plumbed to a drain in my basement floor. There is a ball valve in the pvc before the garden hose. I can drain the entire sump in about ten minutes and refill in another ten. My return pump is plumbed to a 3/4" T connector that goes to each of the return pipes in the overflow boxes. I'll look for some more pictures...
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[Niblet]

Thanks ever-so-much. All I do is try to find good info and then relay it to the real brains of the family, John. I love your set-up and also appreciate the link to the standpipes. I think he will figure it out. Two years ago we filled in the deep end of the swimming pool, and converted the shallow end (4 ft deep), to a 15,000 gallon pond. We did it all ourselves and it has been a real joy. I can even swim with the koi in the summer!

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[Bart V]

Swimming with the Fishes eh? Sounds neat!

[Wahter]

you don't need substrate just float some water wisteria in a chamber, you will be throwing away handfuls weekly it grows so fast. anubias and java ferns won't do much as they grow so slowly

I'd choose Water Sprite instead of Water Wisteria. Water Wisteria is (Hygrophila difformis) and it's stem plant. Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides) is fern. They look similar, but the leaves on Water Sprite grow from the crown only, whereas Water Wisteria leaves grow from a stem.

Water Wisteria is (Hygrophila difformis)
http://www.tropica.com/plants/plantdescription.aspx?pid=051

Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides)
http://www.tropica.com/plants/plantdescription.aspx?pid=005A

HTH,


Walter

[Niblet]

Thanks so much. We won't be setting up the 120 for at least a month, but when we get ready i will be back with more questions. Hopefully I will be able to figure out how to load pictures that don't require a magnifying glass to see!