Saltcorner
By Bob Goemans
By Bob Goemans
Hi Bob,
I had talked with you a while back about a plenum setup, with this one in a freshwater African Cichlid tank. I must say it's doing great so far. I have never seen a bit of algae and even after the nitrate spike due to the nitrification cycle, the plenum seemed to just "eat" it up, and its staying below 5ppm. I am very happy with this system, and it seems to be working better than I ever thought. I smile every time I see the nitrogen gas bubbles coming up from the substrate.
I have a 75 gallon tank that I am considering changing out the substrate to allow a better "Plant" substrate. I emailed SeaChem about this product and they said, "The grain size of Flourite Red is very similar to regular Flourite. Both of these substrates vary in size but average grain size is from 3 - 5 mm with some being larger (up to 8 - 10 mm) and some being smaller (2 mm and below."
I would think that most of it is within the proper grain size for a plenum bed, however, would appreciate your thoughts.
Again thanks for all your help. I think the system you helped me design has worked wonderfully, and as you can tell, I am happy and wanting to do another one.
Thanks,
Brian
Hi Brian,
I'm not familiar with the Seachem product, however, I suspect from its name it's a product that is high in iron content. Which of course is ideal for planted tanks. If that's the goal, I would suspect the product should suffice.
If the goal is simply a Cichlid system, where no plants are feasible, then CaribSea produces a Cichlid substrate that was successfully used in an plenum experiment that I did with a Cichlid aquarium society about three years ago. CaribSea provided the substrate for several systems, and each plenum system had marvelous results. And, many of the tanks were extremely crowded, yet nitrate levels were far lower than any of these members had seen in previous non-plenum applications. Everyone came away highly impressed!
Even though the plenum method is not the perfect application for all aquariums, nor does it "guarantee" the perfect environment, deciphering its pathways has led to a much better understanding of the microbial pathways in our aquaria. How that is applied depends greatly upon the correctness of the information surrounding the method. Unfortunately, there are still individuals misquoting the facts, some of which has and is still appearing in various magazines.
Cheers,
Bob
