Nitrate Reduction Setup!

[WyldFya]

there's no link. it's comes in the box when you buy rena filstar media.
but i have talked to icthyologists in Japan and they have also told me the same thing and weren't surprised about the fish being healthy living in the 300ppm.

the fish back then(there are more now); peacock bass, iridescent sharks, sailfin pleco, silver arowana, tiger oscar, tiger shovelnose catifish, and a bunch of koi

the only fish that got a disease(that recoverd) was the big oscar and it was hole-head. but again, oscars get that often even in low nitrate level tanks.

he never did water changes(which he does now just because i'm his "boss")
only filled the pond back up if it evaporated.

oh and the neighbor is a marine biologist; he did water changes on his saltwater tanks, since nitrate is bad for them.

Just because they were alive in that pond or tank for that long, does not mean they were necessarily healthy. High nitrates causes stunting in fish, which can lead to an early death. In order to prove that a freshwater fish can live in that high of a nitrate level, you would have to get several fish, all of the same species, and allow them to grow side by side in different levels of nitrate. If all those that are in high nitrates can live as long as their counterparts in low nitrates, then it would be plausible.

 

[fishdance]

Why dont you keep the planted tank outside? Natural sun would be the best and cheapest way to grow aquatic or bog plants. They do use your concept on many fish farms in Asia except the planted refugium you have shown is replaced by a large lake or pond in Asia.

 

[Fish Eat Fish]

thanks alot guys! I dont have time to respond to everything right now but I will later. As far as having the tank outside...that wont work because it gets way too cold here to have a tank outside year round. Just earlier this week it was 2 degrees F all day and night.

Im going to start on this today hopefully and I will make sure to take and post lots of pictures! Keep giving me your ideas and maybe they will make it into my project! Thanks again guys

P.S. anyone know where/how to get plants in bulk in the winter??? (Madison area specifically)

 

[Raul-7]

If you want a higher biofiltiration rate then I highly recommend you use emmersed plants, in particular the Brazilian lily. Basically have their roots in the water and their leaves in the open. Emmersed plants in general need less light and of course have all the CO2 and O2 they need in the air.

 

[West1]

If you want a higher biofiltiration rate then I highly recommend you use emmersed plants, in particular the Brazilian lily. Basically have their roots in the water and their leaves in the open. Emmersed plants in general need less light and of course have all the CO2 and O2 they need in the air.

Do you have any pics of these plants??
I've thought of putting some lillys in my main tank, but never thought of the Tech behind it

 

[Fish Eat Fish]

Will any ground plant mounted with the roots submerged work? I like the fact that they will thrive without co2! What are those plants some people have that are like long straight shoots? Those are something that would work in a similar way right? Like a mangrove.

 

[Raul-7]

http://www.aquariumplants.com/Brazil_Sword_Spathiphyllum_tasson_pots_p/tp731.htm

This is the plant I'm referring to. The reasoning behind is that while the roots are in the water sucking up nutrients, the leaves (where photosynthesis and gas exchange takes place) are in the air and hence you get the 'best bang for your buck' in terms of growth and efficiency, which ultimately means less NO3, PO4 and other excess nutrients. While any emmersed plant will work, the reason I chose this species is because it has been tried and tested to work well, it doesn't need too much light or space. You need to use either bog plants or aquatic plants, most terrestrial plants won't respond well to having their roots suspended in water for long periods of time. Another good candidate are Hygrophila sp. since they are true aquatics yet can grow emmersed and they grow very rapidly.

 

[pancake]

anyone see anything wrong or have some to suggest?

Just do your water changes, best way to keep nitrates low!

 

[Fish Eat Fish]

Just do your water changes, best way to keep nitrates low!

Also the most boring.

I like projects and this so far has been fun and will look cool AND help my tanks water quality

 

[Fish Eat Fish]

The built my DIY overflow in under 10 min and under $10! Slick little units.

Here was my first setup idea. The water would run through the pipe and then the end would be capped and underneath holes would be drilled that would trickle water over the scrubbies.

However I did not like the look of it so Instead I filled the tube with scrubbies and got rid of the basket. Water flows through just fine and I would think this small amount of water flowing through 2.5 feet of scubbies would be more than enough to convert any remaining ammonia or nitrite.

Im still kinda testing things out but its working great so far. I think im going to be ordering 20+ Red Mangrove plants that are 7-12 inches long. These should really help to get things going.