Plant- nitrate filter inline with sump

[CWO4GUNNER]

Allot of you have heard me tout the benefits of my HOB nitrate plant filters using Power-filters to house my plants, while at the same time complaining about low performance of Power-Filters and how I would not use them but for to house my plant filters to remove nitrates.

Well I found a better way and another reason to like sump filters which are also at the bottom of my list but not as low as power filters. What I do like about the sump is the sump-tank & overflow systems ability to keep my tank topped off for weeks, which brings me to the thread subject. In the drawing below you can see where a plant filter with its own small tank could be remotely positioned at a window for great free lighting and still be inline with the sump. Water passing through a row of thick root systems like this could virtually eliminate water changes.

Although I love this plan it is not my idea but someone else who has an ever better idea on how to have an efficient aquarium nitrate filter and home air purifier, without the high maintenance, power consumption and support equipment/gases required by an aquatic plant system.

 

[PaulJ69]

I was thinking something like that with my mangroves, but for smaller tanks, instead of a sump, I was thinking about an acrylic refugium that just hangs on the back. My power filter is getting a little to small for my mangroves now and I also need to move my light higher.
By any chance did you read the somewhat latest issue of...I wanna say Tropical Fish mag? They have a huge article on never needing to do a water change thanks to plants.

 

[Ozymandias]

i think i've actually seen that set up some where it was hooked a tank for a completely aquatic snake, if that where you found it gunner? i would think it would make an interesting hydroponics set up say grow some tomatoes in that area.

 

[CWO4GUNNER]

I was thinking something like that with my mangroves, but for smaller tanks, instead of a sump, I was thinking about an acrylic refugium that just hangs on the back. My power filter is getting a little to small for my mangroves now and I also need to move my light higher.
By any chance did you read the somewhat latest issue of...I wanna say Tropical Fish mag? They have a huge article on never needing to do a water change thanks to plants.

Great idea you have, which makes me imagine having a full size widow garden using perhaps a small plastic Koi pond container or narrow live stock water feeder (100-200G), where you could grow small trees like ficus, ferns, even moss indoors. Then have all your individual tank sumps dumping and pulling water from that central system.

 

[Ozymandias]

gunner be aware that not all plants will thrive in that set up, but there are alot of plants that will like it. also it might be esier to use big PVC pipes with holes cut in it for the plants to be planted in an inert media like hydro balls or rock wool. i'll looks up some hydroponics units you could modify for this use.

 

[Ozymandias]

this in a link to the basic set up i know of.

i think the one that would work the best is the "Nutrient Film Technique" so you might look into that one. but you might have to modify it a bit.

 

[Ozymandias]

also a modified version of the Flood-and-Drain method would probably work, man now you've gotten me thinking.

 

[Slappy*McFish]

Man, that gave me a great idea on how to filter an entire fish room using a hydroponic greenhouse setup adjacent to it with everything plumbed together. You could use it to grow aquatic plants emersed in a nice, controlled environment all on the same water supply.

 

[dundadundun]

also a modified version of the Flood-and-Drain method would probably work, man now you've gotten me thinking.

ebb and flow...

this is called hygroponics, aquaponics or aquaculture, gunner. look into those words and you can find lots of info.

there's plenty of people/companies moving towards this way of producing food for the future too. here's one example not far from me...
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EDIT: slappy, to filter an entire room of fish efficiently you'd need almost an entire house of veggies. many sources quote an 11 to 1 ratio. 11 would be the size of the plant beds in gallons and one would be the size of the aquarium in gallons. beings that the plant beds would be shallow that would take a lot of space.

 

[CWO4GUNNER]

Wow you guys blow me away! I never thought about using fish poo to do true veggie hydroponics, mostly becasue of the higher light requirements a home window cannot provide. But your idea about a green house i.e window enclosed patio (solarium) would be the perfect green house where the indoor fish-room protected from too much light (heat build up & Bloom) could be plumed. Here in Arizona greenhouse veggies grow like crazy compared to outside where there is almost no air-humidity and temps get too high.

But ill have to start small with a window system and low light plants. Then if and when I do the solarium patio, I'll be ready. LOL thanks