Reef to Planted ?

[Ridgeway]

Decided to take a break from reef aquaculture for a while, many reasons and some I’ll try to address and overcome if i take the plunge into planted🤔

Here’s a few things that I’ve been thinking of as objectives if i could achieve with a planted aquarium system:

1. Use existing aquarium (kind of the baseline really)
2. Use mainly existing equipment
3. Lights would be a big part due to cost so I’ll need to dig into the reef spec LED lighting and see if i can make a decent lighting pattern that would be plant suitable
4. All livestock would be tank raised/cultured ie nothing wild caught
5. Electrical consumption down to a minimum and should be able to run it from solar
6. Noise level much less that previous set up (a bit vague i know) but having emptied the tank recently and hearing the difference vs the full reef set up is very nice
7. Evaporation !!! will need to run the system closed top and therefore need to understand gas exchange impact and also lighting impact (will need some investigation)
8. Much lower maintenance than a full blown reef set up (just have less time these days)
9. Stability ! can’t have a system that runs on a knife edge (many high end reef tanks do) So looking to set this up with stability in mind
10. I’m sure I’ll think of more objectives 😂

Time wise I’m in no rush, happy to plan this over the next 12 months on paper and then execute it in winter 2024. Just need to decide if this is the way to go or not…..

Then of course they’ll be system objectives like livestock, plants and overall system type🤔 many many things to be considered but first i need to decide if this is the right way to go🤷‍♂️

Anyway will start doing my homework, the planted aquarium hobby has move on a lot since i had my last set up.

 

[foxfish]

Well you have come to the right place, there are very few unturned stones around here and we love problem solving as well.

 

[Ridgeway]

That’s great to know. Lots to learn or at least get up to speed on and certainly this seems to be the place to gain that knowledge😁

Any good books people can recommend ?

 

[dino21]

Hi,

As an ex -marine tank user its quiet easy to convert to a planted tank, and as you say its a lot, lot quieter , cooler and generally much lower cost.
The only caveat is that assuming your existing marine tank uses Live Rock, should you ever wish to go back to marines its unlikely you will be able to purchase new Live rock due to all the import restrictions these days.

What is the size of your existing tank and do you have any planted theme in mind ? We run open topped as to us it does give a much better effect and the condensation is quiet low as the water is not running as fast as a marine tank.

The only extra expense is likely the substate, c02 regulator and lighting if your exisiting ones is not adaptable,

As for books, not sure there are many around, think you will find the best and current advice and info in this forum where you can spend many , many hours viewing the masses of posts , plus look at some of the Ytube pages which show some of the amazing planted tanks.

 

[foxfish]

Dino, I know I am beating my drum again but why dont more folk try native marine?
I used to place my old live rock (dead live rock) in the sea in a crab pot, launched from the rocks, and change it every six months or so.
I would collect all my stock from the half tide on the shore and also change that every so often all for free!
You do need an oversized chiller though.

 

[dino21]

Dino, I know I am beating my drum again but why dont more folk try native marine?
I used to place my old live rock (dead live rock) in the sea in a crab pot, launched from the rocks, and change it every six months or so.
I would collect all my stock from the half tide on the shore and also change that every so often all for free!
You do need an oversized chiller though.

Am sure a native marine tank can be as interesting for those with easy access to the coast like you, though think its the appeal of the vivid colours of the fish and corals that attract so many to tropical reefs.
However you might see more native tanks with all the import restrictions on reef rock, fish and corals, and their ever increasing prices !
Found some LFS are equally putting up their freshwater fish prices by silly amounts as well, though some shops are still realistic.

 

[Ridgeway]

Hi,

As an ex -marine tank user its quiet easy to convert to a planted tank, and as you say its a lot, lot quieter , cooler and generally much lower cost.
The only caveat is that assuming your existing marine tank uses Live Rock, should you ever wish to go back to marines its unlikely you will be able to purchase new Live rock due to all the import restrictions these days.

What is the size of your existing tank and do you have any planted theme in mind ? We run open topped as to us it does give a much better effect and the condensation is quiet low as the water is not running as fast as a marine tank.

The only extra expense is likely the substate, c02 regulator and lighting if your exisiting ones is not adaptable,

As for books, not sure there are many around, think you will find the best and current advice and info in this forum where you can spend many , many hours viewing the masses of posts , plus look at some of the Ytube pages which show some of the amazing planted tanks.

Wow that’s great and thanks.

Yes the quietness now after running a noisy reef engine room will be hard to give up😂 it’s positively tranquil in there but then again when i see that empty glass box it’s crying out…..

The aquarium is close to 3000ltrs (just a bit short) and is more or less a cube or as cube as i could squeeze in and so aquascaping and theme need to take into a account a tall glass box (it’s 1100mm deep/tall) so could lend itself to some interesting scape if my creatively is allowed to run free a bit.

On the evap topic the system used to put out 20ltrs a day although i ran an external cooler that helped so it would have been even more otherwise. Not sure if I’ll need that in a future setup ? It’s still there for now and no big deal to leave it for now. So will need to look into how much light is really needed, what spectrum and how an aqurium cover will impact that but on first investigation the PAR levels required seem very low indeed an d should be easily achievable even if a certain amount is lost through the covers.

At least now that the system is dry i have no pressure and can plan to my hearts content. Moved all my livestock to a friends system that I’ve been helping him build and it was really nice to see my fish swimming in his much bigger system so they now have plenty of growing space💪

Will absorb that video later so thanks for that.

 

[foxfish]

Deep square tanks are probably not the easiest to maintain and scape and definatily not the most popular.
At over one meter deep I would consider a cave tank design with the bottom half being a large cave or caves and the plants living on top of the roof of the cave.
A lot would depend on the viewing point (s) and accessibility ?
That way you would be able to maintain the plants and avoid using super nova lighting to grow a carpet on the bottom.

 

[dino21]

Agree thats one big tank and probably too deep to plant and reach all the way down, for you and the lighting ? sure other forum members may have some practical tips there.
Wonder if starting a smaller tank now would be a better way to gain experience of planted tanks, it could be something to fill in the void between the marines and serve as a plant nursery to eventually fill the big tank ?

 

[Ridgeway]

Agree thats one big tank and probably too deep to plant and reach all the way down, for you and the lighting ? sure other forum members may have some practical tips there.
Wonder if starting a smaller tank now would be a better way to gain experience of planted tanks, it could be something to fill in the void between the marines and serve as a plant nursery to eventually fill the big tank ?

Are you saying i should set up my frag system again😂 just put my three 120x60x30cm set up away….

But i hear what you’re saying and i did wonder about setting up a small system to test the lighting and do some experiments on, i must have around 15 glass aquariums in the barn so i‘m sure one will suffice.

Depth wise it’s not easy to work on but where there’s a will there’s a way😉 the scape though will need to be cunningly creative

 

[foxfish]

Well if you are planing on using C02 then there are a few issues with tank dimension as well as aqua scaping.
The injected C02 gas need to be evenly distributed throughout the water column, this is a key factor.
Obviously you are experienced and understand how these things work but getting the gas right down to the base is a lot more difficult in a deep tank.
Then we have a similar issue with lighting as getting enough right down to the base will make the upper layers extremely bright and attractive to algae! Unlike a salt water tank, algae is arch enemy number one In a planted tank.
That is not to say you cant work with any size and shape tank, just that some are a lot easier to work with.
So flow is critical, we normally use a base figure of 10 X s tank volume per hour but what is more important is how well the flow distributes the gas.
Although in theory a planted tank is more basic in operation than a reef tank, there still many factors that require precise application and understanding.

 

[Ridgeway]

Well if you are planing on using C02 then there are a few issues with tank dimension as well as aqua scaping.
The injected C02 gas need to be evenly distributed throughout the water column, this is a key factor.
Obviously you are experienced and understand how these things work but getting the gas right down to the base is a lot more difficult in a deep tank.
Then we have a similar issue with lighting as getting enough right down to the base will make the upper layers extremely bright and attractive to algae! Unlike a salt water tank, algae is arch enemy number one In a planted tank.
That is not to say you cant work with any size and shape tank, just that some are a lot easier to work with.
So flow is critical, we normally use a base figure of 10 X s tank volume per hour but what is more important is how well the flow distributes the gas.
Although in theory a planted tank is more basic in operation than a reef tank, there still many factors that require precise application and understanding.

That’s great info, thank you 🙏

I will most likely use an external sump that will return to the base of the system, that usually provides good flow across the base. I will need to investigate Co2 distribution but can easily imagine a direct injection into that return but guess it will need to go through a diffuser first.

 

[foxfish]

You can incorporate a sump however bear in mind that all the water that flows down the overflow will effectively be ‘de gassed’ of C02.
If we use an example of a bottle of super market fizzy water ( a bottle of water with added C02) and imagine pouring that down an open pipe, by the time the fizzy water exits the pipe, most of the fizz will have gone!
However this is an acceptable disadvantage for many people, a lot depends on C02 availability and how much you are prepared to spend on replacing it.
You are right about adding the gas to the return line, it is a good method and a pretty simple one.
It is quite possible to literally stick the C02 line into the pump inlet, this will offer a pretty much fail safe method but….. your tank will then look like a bottle of fizzy water that had just been shaken up!
For many people, this effect of millions of micro bubbles floating around the tank is quite acceptable for other it is not!
The way around the fizz is to use a c02 reactor, (similar to an oxygen or calcium reactor).
I would suggest you try to find out about C02 supply near where you live, big tanks usually need a 5-7.5kg cylinder smaller tanks use a 2 kg.
The most popular method is to use a fire extinguisher.

 

[Wookii]

You can incorporate a sump however bear in mind that all the water that flows down the overflow will effectively be ‘de gassed’ of C02.

I've not found that to be the case, even with a wet/dry trickle filter. I did expect a lot of off-gassing of CO2, but it hasn't happened that way so far.

need to take into a account a tall glass box (it’s 1100mm deep/tall)

Sounds ideal for a paladrium style setup, part filled with water, part open with emersed plant growth. Some inspiration:

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Sounds ideal for a paludarium style setup, part filled with water, part open with emersed plant growth.

I was just thinking that. @Iain Sutherland has / had a paludarium set-up <"Splash tetra paludarium">.

cheers Darrel

 

[Ridgeway]

I've not found that to be the case, even with a wet/dry trickle filter. I did expect a lot of off-gassing of CO2, but it hasn't happened that way so far.



Sounds ideal for a paladrium style setup, part filled with water, part open with emersed plant growth. Some inspiration:

View attachment 212189

View attachment 212190

How did i know joining this forum was going to cost me a fortune 😂 wow what a great idea. I used to have a rain simulation on my reef system that was incorporated with lightening and a huge increase in swell flow… i can easily imagine a rain system in a paludarium, that would be very cool

Still need to find a significantly large tree trunk source, maybe DIY.

Lovely idea that from @Wookii

 

[foxfish]

Yes you can DIY a tree stump Paludarium In the making.

 

[Ridgeway]

You can incorporate a sump however bear in mind that all the water that flows down the overflow will effectively be ‘de gassed’ of C02.
If we use an example of a bottle of super market fizzy water ( a bottle of water with added C02) and imagine pouring that down an open pipe, by the time the fizzy water exits the pipe, most of the fizz will have gone!
However this is an acceptable disadvantage for many people, a lot depends on C02 availability and how much you are prepared to spend on replacing it.
You are right about adding the gas to the return line, it is a good method and a pretty simple one.
It is quite possible to literally stick the C02 line into the pump inlet, this will offer a pretty much fail safe method but….. your tank will then look like a bottle of fizzy water that had just been shaken up!
For many people, this effect of millions of micro bubbles floating around the tank is quite acceptable for other it is not!
The way around the fizz is to use a c02 reactor, (similar to an oxygen or calcium reactor).
I would suggest you try to find out about C02 supply near where you live, big tanks usually need a 5-7.5kg cylinder smaller tanks use a 2 kg.
The most popular method is to use a fire extinguisher.

Just back on the C02. I could easily repurpose an O3 reactor, usually it’s just trick of finding the right media and flow rates for good dispersion. C02 cylinders i have already, 2 spare 30kg bottle which should be enough.