McFinn K.

Hi all,
I got bit hard by the plant bug about a year ago after not having an aquarium since I was a kid. Even after trying several different methods, I could never quite win the battle with algae. I decided to make up my own method. I have tested my water and it has the following specs:
TDS: 35ppm
KH: 30ppm
pH: 6.1
CO2: 35-40ppm
PO4: 0ppm
NO3: 0ppm

So, clearly the plants have to get their nutrients from the substrate. I was reluctant to use soil because my feeling is that dissolved organics (DOP and DON) are algae's nutrient source. Instead, I am using a "nutrient plenum" which I read about in the archives on fins.actwin.com to provide trace elements and positive cations.

I basically set up a 0.5" thick cavity under a substrate of flourite+profile. The plenum has two thin tubes feeding it. I inject Flourish into the plenum and it is allowed to diffuse slowly through the substrate. To prevent diffusion into the water column, heavy ground cover is good. Of course, until the ground cover is established, injecting nutrients should be done judiciously (i.e., not put too much in). I initially put a foam layer between the gravel and the plenum, but I found that very little was diffusing from the plenum into the substrate.

For macros, I am using quite a few Jobes plant sticks buried under the plants. I have not had any trouble with leaching into the water column.
I will try to post some pics, but I can't seem to get them to show up at the moment. Let me know what y'all think.
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