Thanks, Diana.

I will set up that quarantine tank with a bottom soil layer right away. My explanation for the use of that 10 gallon tank was not super clear. (My excitement for the hobby was rekindled by stumbling upon You Tube videos of Father Fish, Cory at the Aquarium Co-Op, and then buying & reading your excellent book... ECOLOGY of the PLANTED AQUARIUM). In my excitement, and while waiting for the arrival of the large tank in July, I decided to set up a 10 gallon quarantine tank and try my hand at growing a variety of plants that, if successful, I could use in that 140 gallon tank. Other plants would naturally be needed to landscape that large tank with plants, but this would allow me to gain some experience with growing plants using Eco Complete and, thanks to your input, a layer of organic garden soil.

In addition to enclosing a space above the water level for the growth of emergent plants, I thought it might also be advantageous to set up a refugium (15 gallon) in the cabinet space below the tank. This refugium would receive a small flow of water from the sump and slowly mixing back in with the main tank's water. It would be lit on an opposite schedule from the display tank and house a variety of easily harvested emergent and floating plants. Does anyone have experience (good or bad) with this type of setup on a freshwater planted aquarium?

 

Good to see you here. This way we can all share your experience and everyone's input.

The refugium idea is fine. However, I think it's somewhat irrelevant. A refugium purifies the water (remove ammonia, nitrites, nitrates) from a main tank that doesn't have much water purification provided by plants. For a cichlid tank or a Koi pond with few or no plants, it's greatly beneficial to fish health and algae removal.

For the time, I would focus your energy on this 10 gal tank. You will have plenty to do to make this small tank--if this is your first planted tank--a success. It it works, you can build on its success for the 140 gal.

A picture of the 10 gal will be good. Remember that this is a smaller tank with smaller plants. The soil layer shouldn't be more than 1". The bottom layer should be less than 1". However, everything will depend on the plants you add to the tank--species and their condition. If the plants grow well, you will have come a long way.

 

I will tend to that 10 gallon today (had some difficulty finding organic soil without a lot of mixed ingredients yesterday). FYI...While I've had experience with marine tanks (including a mini-reef aquarium) years ago and a freshwater tank as a kid, I have essentially no experience with growing plants in an aquarium. However, my wife and I do have 10+ years of experience with a large 8,000-10,000 gallon (est.) Koi pond in our back yard that is stocked with Water Hyacinths, Water Lillies, Cattails and multiplying Koi numbering about 60 right now. It is amazing to see all the advances in equipment (especially with LED lighting) that is now available for both marine and freshwater systems.

With regard to the refugium idea (or even a separate compartment in the sump of a "bare bones" wet/dry filter, for that matter), my thought was not so much about the additional removal of ammonium, nitrites, and nitrates that plants in the main tank would be capable of doing. It is more about the idea that a separate, but connected vessel with plants (floating, emergent, etc.) in the enclosed--and dark--aquarium cabinet below could act as a natural supplier of CO2 for the main tank above...if the lighting for this heavily planted vessel was timed to be off when the moderately planted main tank lighting is on (and photosynthesis taking place) and vice-a-versa. Is this line of thinking faulty? Is it unlikely that a 15 gallon reservoir of water could hold enough easily-tended-to plants to provide much benefit with the supply of CO2 and perhaps provide additional buffering of pH swings in the main tank (especially while the main tank plants are still relatively small and submerged)?

I was planning to place filter socks in the sump--to catch any floating debris & bacteria skimmed off the water surface of the main tank, possibly place crushed coral or oyster shells in one of the trays as a buffer, and probably eliminate the bio media down there altogether. I do plan to place water heater(s) in the sump and may add in a uv sterilizer just before the water re-enters the display tank.

Here's a photo--if I can figure out how to add it here--of the newly planted 10 gallon quarantine aquarium (with about an inch of soil and maybe another inch of Eco Complete)...my first planted tank! It cleared up quite a bit from planting the tank last night...I'm guessing the clouding up thing is pretty normal for a day or two??? I did put the bag of charcoal that came with the Waterbox aquarium into the built-in overflow filter compartment since the soil was not marked as organic...hope that is OK for a day or two to help remove any bad stuff that might be in it? Those tiny plants (Cryptocorynes) up front were the toughest little guys to plant! Anyone have any tips for keeping those things from wanting to float up out of the gravel? Hope I didn't plant them too far into the substrate.

/Users/PMcAnulty/Pictures/Photos Library.photoslibrary/resources/proxies/derivatives/78/00/7816/UNADJUSTEDNONRAW_thumb_7816.jpg

 

With regard to the refugium idea (or even a separate compartment in the sump of a "bare bones" wet/dry filter, for that matter), my thought was not so much about the additional removal of ammonium, nitrites, and nitrates that plants in the main tank would be capable of doing. It is more about the idea that a separate, but connected vessel with plants (floating, emergent, etc.) in the enclosed--and dark--aquarium cabinet below could act as a natural supplier of CO2 for the main tank above...if the lighting for this heavily planted vessel was timed to be off when the moderately planted main tank lighting is on (and photosynthesis taking place) and vice-a-versa. Is this line of thinking faulty? Is it unlikely that a 15 gallon reservoir of water could hold enough easily-tended-to plants to provide much benefit with the supply of CO2 and perhaps provide additional buffering of pH swings in the main tank (especially while the main tank plants are still relatively small and submerged)?

I was planning to place filter socks in the sump--to catch any floating debris & bacteria skimmed off the water surface of the main tank, possibly place crushed coral or oyster shells in one of the trays as a buffer, and probably eliminate the bio media down there altogether. I do plan to place water heater(s) in the sump and may add in a uv sterilizer just before the water re-enters the display tank.

Your successful pond experience was with emergent plants, which get CO2 from the air. The 140 gal tank I assume will be focused on submerged plants? In this situation, the CO2 for them will come from the decomposition of soil organic matter and the fishfood input. That's what makes the whole thing trickier and why so many hobbyists use CO2 injection for their planted tanks.

pH swings are natural and there may not be any if your water has enough alkalinity, which is does (KH = 72; GH = 90). I wouldn't mess too much with the pH. (I rarely even measure it.) If you add a lot of CaCO3 sources (oyster grit, etc), pH might go so high that your submerged plants will have more trouble getting CO2. A little won't hurt, though, in providing more calcium.

The 15 gal refugium could benefit plants and add to your enjoyment, which after all, is the purpose. In a way, it is just a blown-up version of the Siesta Regimen (my book, p. 179). Instead of a 3-4 hr midday siesta to build up CO2 for plants, you'll be doing an "over-nighter." Could be useful in providing plants with CO2.

All sounds good!

 

Excellent! Thanks for the feedback, Diana. I'll proceed as planned. In retrospect, your point about the refugium adding to the enjoyment is spot on! (I had also considered the idea of raising invertebrates in the refugium).