"Pelagic" refugium idea

[dchisenh]

Hey Everyone ,

 

I've been reading the Dynamic Aquaria by Adey and Loveland, and I inadvertently set up a mini-version of their system on accident. I purposefully set up an above tank refugium with rocks that I had allowed hair algae to grow on, and it has since become an algae scrubber, and I recently attatched an empty tank with some sugar sized aragonite in the bottom (empty because I hadn't figured out what I wanted to use it for) right after the refugium that acts as a settling tank, before the water heads back to the main tank. Everything's been going great, but I noticed this book mentioned a "swimming pool sized area" attatched to the tanks to replicate a pelagic zone where plankton could be recruited from. Since everything's scaled down in nano tanks, I was wondering if I attatched another tank to the system, not connected directly but passively, if that would work.

 

My plan is to place yet another tank next to the "empty" settling tank and keep it bare (no substrate or anything), lit with the same lights as for the algae scrubber/refugium and settling tank, and the current in the tank would be provided by large air bubbles from an air hose, just like in phytoplankton culture bottles. I would then use an airlift system to create bubbles to carry a very small amount of water from the settling tank into the pelagic tank. The water would flow back into the settling tank by gravity through a small spillway. The spillway would be located right near the outlet that drains the settling tank and dumps into my main tank. There aren't any filters on the system right now that would trap, kill, and allow dead plankton to breakdown and re-enter the water system except for a small protein skimmer, which doesn't allow the dead plankton to re-enter the water system. I imagine I would have to add some phyto to the pelagic system for awhile to get things up and running, and perhaps some brine shrimp cysts (I'm already hatching them out and feeding my tank with it in soda bottles, separately) to start off as zooplankton. I'd like to order some zooplankton, or perhaps a mixture of zoo and phytoplankton online to sort of kick start the process.

 

So, I was just wondering what anyone thought about that idea. Has anyone here tried anything like that? Any flaws in the plan anyone can see? Just curious to see what y'all think.

 

-Dan

[Acoustic]

Sounds like too much crap for me.

[Simbo18]

Well, that sounds like a cool system.... but how large would this settling tank be?? I don't quite think that the air bubbles would do the job to carry enough water and make the settling tank flow back into the nano. So.... would you be able to DIY a peristaltic(sp?) pump? This would be a little more complex but well worth it in the long run.... Here, e mail me and I'll better explain. FalconerLPS@Juno.com