novahobbies
Well-Known Member
I don't know if this is an idea that might work or not, so I could use some opinions here.
I'm rebuilding the aquascape on my seahorse tank in a few weeks. Seahorses are mobile poop factories, more so than pretty much any other fish this size, so my nitrates are always high. I was thinking of ways to reduce the trate concentration when this little idea hit me:
I was considering using a similar live-frame technique that I used on my 110g reef. Basically, it's hollow 2 or 3-inch pvc with rock attached. Rather than using the traditional plugs that live frames use, I thought "what if I capped the pipe, foamed the rock on it, and filled it with sand to the top?"
Sounds crazy, but here's my reasoning. If I seal the pipe and dremel narrow slits at the bottom for an effluent screen, then fill with sugar sand, cap the top and use a small powerhead attached to an affluent tube drilled into the top of the tube........theoretically I'd have tank water being forced slowly down through the sand layers in the pipe. As the water passed through, it would lose its O2, and the deeper sand will be an anearobic environment for the nitrate-munching bacteria. Water would pass out through the effluent screen over more live rock rubble (protecting the screen from oxygen-rich water as well) and the final product should be pretty well washed of nitrates.
So, is this pure stupidity, or what?? It's like a cross between a nitrate reactor and a DSB.....but all in the tank instead of plumbed from a sump. Should I cap the top off as well as the bottom? If I didn't cap the top, I don't know how I would "force" water down the sand pipe, but I'm worried that if I cap the pipe, I might have some unforseen buildup of gasses in the 'reactor.' Any thoughts or ideas would be helpful....I've done some internet research for this, and it seems like close to virgin territory. People have done DSBs and chemical-based nitrate reactors, but nothing like a hybrid that I know of. What do you think?
Oh, BTW, it's a 37g tank (20x18x24) that has a HOB Emperor 400 filter, Koralia p-head, and in-tank protein skimmer. I don't have the room (or the funds!!) to convert it to a HOB overflow into a sump, so that's out of the picture.
I'm rebuilding the aquascape on my seahorse tank in a few weeks. Seahorses are mobile poop factories, more so than pretty much any other fish this size, so my nitrates are always high. I was thinking of ways to reduce the trate concentration when this little idea hit me:
I was considering using a similar live-frame technique that I used on my 110g reef. Basically, it's hollow 2 or 3-inch pvc with rock attached. Rather than using the traditional plugs that live frames use, I thought "what if I capped the pipe, foamed the rock on it, and filled it with sand to the top?"
Sounds crazy, but here's my reasoning. If I seal the pipe and dremel narrow slits at the bottom for an effluent screen, then fill with sugar sand, cap the top and use a small powerhead attached to an affluent tube drilled into the top of the tube........theoretically I'd have tank water being forced slowly down through the sand layers in the pipe. As the water passed through, it would lose its O2, and the deeper sand will be an anearobic environment for the nitrate-munching bacteria. Water would pass out through the effluent screen over more live rock rubble (protecting the screen from oxygen-rich water as well) and the final product should be pretty well washed of nitrates.
So, is this pure stupidity, or what?? It's like a cross between a nitrate reactor and a DSB.....but all in the tank instead of plumbed from a sump. Should I cap the top off as well as the bottom? If I didn't cap the top, I don't know how I would "force" water down the sand pipe, but I'm worried that if I cap the pipe, I might have some unforseen buildup of gasses in the 'reactor.' Any thoughts or ideas would be helpful....I've done some internet research for this, and it seems like close to virgin territory. People have done DSBs and chemical-based nitrate reactors, but nothing like a hybrid that I know of. What do you think?
Oh, BTW, it's a 37g tank (20x18x24) that has a HOB Emperor 400 filter, Koralia p-head, and in-tank protein skimmer. I don't have the room (or the funds!!) to convert it to a HOB overflow into a sump, so that's out of the picture.
