I know that a wet dry will out gas any Co2. I want to do a heavily planted aquarium with a Co2 system. If I use a sump with an overflow box would that out gas all my Co2 as well? It would be nice to have a sump that I can hide the heater and anything else I do not want in my aquarium. Does anyone else have a heavily planted tank with a sump that can offer any advice?
Sump Question
- Thread starter nwfish
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The overflow will cause gas-off but you can limit this by keeping the water drop low between the boxes. A Durso or Stockman standpipe on the drain while submerging the exit will lower surface agitation and CO2 gas-off (and noise) as well.
If handy with DIY you could probably enclose the overflow box if wanted, or, if the glass is not tempered, simply drill the tank.
Some suggestions and experiences on different sump configurations are here and here, along with a simple sump/fuge and drilled tank howto, if interested.
HTH
If handy with DIY you could probably enclose the overflow box if wanted, or, if the glass is not tempered, simply drill the tank.
Some suggestions and experiences on different sump configurations are here and here, along with a simple sump/fuge and drilled tank howto, if interested.
HTH
jsoong
Aquarium Advice Addict
My Durso sucks in a lot of air in operation, so I would expect that a lot of CO2 is lost simply based on that. If you have a wet/dry with a drip plate in the sump, the water is exposed to air over a large surface area. It is my understanding that there is near 100% equilibrium of the water with room air (losing all the CO2). Now if you can enclose the entire sump, you could in theory have the air inside the sump rich in CO2, & actually driving CO2 into the water rather than have it out gas.
I have never tried CO2 with my sump setup, so I can't tell you how well it would work. I had came across one web-site where the person use DIY CO2 in a 50 gal + sump setup. He claims good plant growth, but had no data on
CO2 levels.
I have never tried CO2 with my sump setup, so I can't tell you how well it would work. I had came across one web-site where the person use DIY CO2 in a 50 gal + sump setup. He claims good plant growth, but had no data on
CO2 levels.
jsoong, sucking in a lot of air at the hole on top of the standpipe?
FWIW, if you don't mind anecdotal experience, Durso is much more efficient for me than a skim-style drain using pH/KH tables. My hole on top of the standpipe is relatively small: I actually taped over my original ~1/4" hole and used a thumbnail to punch holes in the tape until the flow was dialed in. I inject CO2 into a sump with lots of surface agitation (a waterflow/wet dry style paludarium), and when I keep it closed off my plants are good and I can crash pH below 6.2 at KH 4 if I overdo yeast CO2. However opening the sump a little to allow gas exchange (emersed plants are said to benefit from this) gives me plants with stunted tips in the main despite the pH/KH charts showing adequate CO2. This is over my head as to why. I inject into the return line.
Hope this helps.
FWIW, if you don't mind anecdotal experience, Durso is much more efficient for me than a skim-style drain using pH/KH tables. My hole on top of the standpipe is relatively small: I actually taped over my original ~1/4" hole and used a thumbnail to punch holes in the tape until the flow was dialed in. I inject CO2 into a sump with lots of surface agitation (a waterflow/wet dry style paludarium), and when I keep it closed off my plants are good and I can crash pH below 6.2 at KH 4 if I overdo yeast CO2. However opening the sump a little to allow gas exchange (emersed plants are said to benefit from this) gives me plants with stunted tips in the main despite the pH/KH charts showing adequate CO2. This is over my head as to why. I inject into the return line.
Hope this helps.
jsoong
Aquarium Advice Addict
czcz: How much flow you have going into your sump? For my setup, I need almost a 3/8" hole to avoid the sucking noise of the standpipe. With that size of a hole, I can feel the air moving in!
I am assuming that you have a mostly closed sump and injecting CO2 into the sump so it acts as a reactor? If that works, it's a really neat trick ... would be tempted to try that myself.
I am assuming that you have a mostly closed sump and injecting CO2 into the sump so it acts as a reactor? If that works, it's a really neat trick ... would be tempted to try that myself.
I move ~150gph; sorry, thought I added that. With my finger over the air entry I can feel it. Is it incorrect to assume air getting sucked into a sealed sump doesn't allow much if any CO2 to escape?
CO2 is injected into my return line, immediately after the pump, There's a CO2 bubble that traps on the U bend of the return into the main, and a few airbubbles come out and using plants it seems the diffusion is good.
I had never even considered pumping CO2 into the air of the sump. As the water trickles over the paludarium/wet dry-like structure, I know there's tons of gas off so I am dependent on the lid to keep some CO2 in there. I feel better -- perhaps wrongly -- with the current setup of injecting into the water, though it should be the same. I want to know what you think if you try your idea. I'll post if I try it -- I'm afraid and am nursing some plants back at the moment.
I should also clarify my sump isn't 100% sealed. There's a gap around the piping and some edges where the top meets the sides. When I removed ~30% of the cover I experienced the stunting noted above.
CO2 is injected into my return line, immediately after the pump, There's a CO2 bubble that traps on the U bend of the return into the main, and a few airbubbles come out and using plants it seems the diffusion is good.
I had never even considered pumping CO2 into the air of the sump. As the water trickles over the paludarium/wet dry-like structure, I know there's tons of gas off so I am dependent on the lid to keep some CO2 in there. I feel better -- perhaps wrongly -- with the current setup of injecting into the water, though it should be the same. I want to know what you think if you try your idea. I'll post if I try it -- I'm afraid and am nursing some plants back at the moment.
I should also clarify my sump isn't 100% sealed. There's a gap around the piping and some edges where the top meets the sides. When I removed ~30% of the cover I experienced the stunting noted above.
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