A post on the CCA forum got me thinking about planted tank sumps, and using aquatic plants to consume nitrates in fish tanks. The key question for the original poster, however, was essentially "how much nitrate could a planted sump consume?"
So I figured I would come over here and ask for some hard data. So for those of you that dose Nitrate to your planted tanks, please answer the questions below. Please limit your responses to those tanks that could be considered "high-tech", that is, fairly high light, CO2, and a decent substrate. What I'm trying to determine is the maximum Nitrate consumption rate GWAPA members can achieve in a high tech tank, using the Nitrate dosing amount as an approximation of Nitrate consumption. I'm sure there are methodological problems with this approach, but I think it should serve as a decent approximation.
1) What volume is your tank?
2) What lighting fixture does that tank have? What is the lighting period?
3) How much Nitrate do you have to add weekly? What chemical form of Nitrate are you adding (KNO3 or something else)?
4) Do you know the approximate Nitrate level in your tap water, and if so, what is it?
5) How often do you do water changes, and what percentage do you change?
I would start out by answering those questions myself, except I've never dosed Nitrate in any of my tanks, because whenever I've measured it, I've had 10 ppm in my tap water.
Nitrate consumption rate
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chris_todd
- Posts: 1118
- Joined: Fri Oct 03, 2008 11:05 pm
- Location: Catonsville
I'd like to help you; but I dose PPS PRO, and the only time I ever take any measurements is when I have a problem, which is not very often. For example, if I'm dosing 4ml of PPS PRO a day in my 50G and I start seeing some green dust algae on my glass, I will cut it back to 3 ml a day and see how that works.
I recall reading something on the GWAPA website a while back about a guy who had these big plants ( I believe they were in a sump) with huge onion like roots that did just that, consumed excess nutrients. I think there was even a picture, it may have been from the notes of a past meeting.
I recall reading something on the GWAPA website a while back about a guy who had these big plants ( I believe they were in a sump) with huge onion like roots that did just that, consumed excess nutrients. I think there was even a picture, it may have been from the notes of a past meeting.
Joe
http://gwapa.org/wordpress/articles/mul ... pros-cons/
This link is what I was referring to. You can see the plants in the center left of the picture. I don't recall the details and I was not at this particular meeting.
This link is what I was referring to. You can see the plants in the center left of the picture. I don't recall the details and I was not at this particular meeting.
Joe
That was at Robert Ricketts house, and the plants are Crinum americana, or swamp lillies. They're beautiful plants, and have a very fragrant flower.
Chris, I'll try my hand at your questions, although please take with a grain of salt, since I estimate all of my dosing by eye:
1. 75G
2. 4x55W AHSupply PC Lights. 110W are on 10 hours. The other 110W are on for 4 midday.
3. ~ 1-1.5 tsp KNO3 weekly (~1/3-1/2 tsp KH2PO4 if interested)
4. No idea offhand.
5. Tanks do best if I do 50% weekly water changes.
Chris, I'll try my hand at your questions, although please take with a grain of salt, since I estimate all of my dosing by eye:
1. 75G
2. 4x55W AHSupply PC Lights. 110W are on 10 hours. The other 110W are on for 4 midday.
3. ~ 1-1.5 tsp KNO3 weekly (~1/3-1/2 tsp KH2PO4 if interested)
4. No idea offhand.
5. Tanks do best if I do 50% weekly water changes.
