# Marine to Planted



## rachamy (6 Jul 2009)

I am currently running a rena 120x50depthx45width ,complete with sump tank,,as a marine set up(4 years old).I would like to move over to a high tech planted system and have a couple of questions for you experienced guys to answer for me.Firstly could I use my sump tank as a filter system if I took out the planted sandbed system and replaced it with bio balls(the pump in the sump tank has a 3500ltr turnover).Secondly would a overtank luminaire with 2 39w t5 lamps give sufficient lighting.would also appreciate any advice that would assist in the changeover :?


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## skinz180189 (6 Jul 2009)

I wouldn't know about your sump, and don't know much about plants yet. However, there are many varieties that can survive with as little as 1 watt of light per gallon. So if you figure out how many watts per gallon of light you have, then you have a base for plant research


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## skinz180189 (6 Jul 2009)

This should help you with lighting. Seems what I said above is a bit irrelevant for larger tanks.

viewtopic.php?f=34&t=2271


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## ceg4048 (6 Jul 2009)

rachamy said:
			
		

> I am currently running a rena 120x50depthx45width ,complete with sump tank,,as a marine set up(4 years old).I would like to move over to a high tech planted system and have a couple of questions for you experienced guys to answer for me.Firstly could I use my sump tank as a filter system if I took out the planted sandbed system and replaced it with bio balls(the pump in the sump tank has a 3500ltr turnover).Secondly would a overtank luminaire with 2 39w t5 lamps give sufficient lighting.would also appreciate any advice that would assist in the changeover :?


Hi, Welcome to the forum.  

I'm assuming these dimensions are in inches and if so then this is more or less a 170USG tank? It's not clear what size sump you have, or how it's configured. Using a sump in general is fine, however the plastic bioballs are not a particularly good media (due to mediocre surface area) but if there are lots of them this makes up for that. The major issue with sumps is that if they are open the CO2 outgassing is a problem and if there is a lot of splashing inside the sump then that also outgasses the CO2. In a large high tech tank CO2 is critical so it's something you want to think about. The sump may need to be tweaked to reduce splashing and have it's top sealed from atmosphere. 

Ideally, following the 10X turnover rule, a 1700GPH, or, a 6800LPH turnover would be required. If you can manage a second pump that would be great. A 50 inch depth is a real problem in a planted tank because it makes pruning and maintenance difficult but I imagine you have already figured out solutions to that problem if you've had the tank for a few years. The thing is that you'll be sticking your hands in the tank a lot more frequently than in a marine scenario, but that's just a guess. Such depths make CO2 distribution difficult so it's not clear how your flow return is configured. Does it come up from a drilled bottom, or from topside?

Your lighting proposal seems fine to me. It's certainly not over the top by any means, and it will keep you out of trouble, especially since CO2 distribution will be so problematic.

Cheers,


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## rachamy (7 Jul 2009)

Thanks for the replies.Thought I would accurately remeasure the tank in inches to get the volume correct. the tank is 46 inches long,23 inches high and 15 inches wide which I work out at approx 260 litres or 68.5 US gallons which means my sump pump is moving approx 13.5 tank volume per hour.With displacement due to tank decoration this turnover will increase so will it be sufficient for my needs? At the moment the return into the sump discharges into a filter bag to collect any particles so the splashing is minimal,but will I be better off using an external filter instead of the sump? :?  :?


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## Dave Spencer (7 Jul 2009)

rachamy said:
			
		

> With displacement due to tank decoration this turnover will increase so will it be sufficient for my needs?



It may be sufficient in terms of filtration, but having one return point back in to the tank may not be enough for delivery of nutrients to the four corners, especially if it is going to be a fairly complex scape of plants and hardscape. You may need to use Koralia powerheads or the like to keep on top of nutrient delivery. 

My 64USG has two Tetratec 1200s and two Koralia 1 powerheads, yet I still have algae problems if I let the scape start to block the flow. Nevertheless, adding the powerheads was the best decisione I made, because it gives me four points of high flow to shift the water around. It wasn`t easy for me, as I hate having hardware in the tank, but they look less obtrusive than algae.
Dave.


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## rachamy (7 Jul 2009)

I understand your misgivings about powerheads as I am running 5 seio 820"s in my marine set up and they are very difficult to hide and I was hoping not to have to use them in my new set up.


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## Tunafish (17 Jul 2009)

Hi there,

with regards to your filtration, obviously 'the more the better', that said to make the most of your sumps filtering capacity  you could add siporax or a similar form of biological filtration which has a massive surface area for nitrifying bacteria to colonise, something I imagine as a marine aquarist your well versed in!. Another benefit with using a ceramic filter material is that the older bacteria which has performed its duty will struggle to stay attached to ceramics which will encourage the growth of young bacteria underneath the old, helping maximise filter potential.


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