Plenum System

[Pamelajo]

If all goes well tomorrow I will be setting up my first tank with a plenum system. I have all the materials.
Tonight I emptied the tank of fish and rinsed it out thoroughly and it is on the deck drying.
I purchased the nylon screen and pvc (white) at home depot and will be using silica sand from the pet store.
From what I have read you still use your regular filtration, the plenum will eat up the nitrates so less water changes will be needed.
The tank is a 29 gallon and it will house the following 4 albino bristlenoses and 4 brigs.

[CACAdmin]

I look forward to seeing how it all goes... don't forget to take pics for those of us who need visual reference to accompany directions. :GEEK:

[Melody]

I'm already impressed...lol....I'm such a klutz at this stuff.:rolleyes: Good luck!

[Pamelajo]

As long as I have good instructions I am usually fine. I know this is wierd but I actually like having step by step instructions when doing something new. Thanks to Jay for finding them for me. I realized this morning I should have got the smaller pvc, so not sure if I will improvise with this one or get more. I am going to try this will all my basement tanks to start.

[CACAdmin]

Best of luck with the project.

[blainep]

Lots of pictures pls Pam. I'd like to see how you set it up.

[Pamelajo]

Okay done! I forgot to take a pic of it. I am exhausted, spend the whole day rearranging fish and building this thing. I hope it works cause I don't like the looks of my tank. It looks almost half full of gravel. Will take pics of the tank soon.
I had sand which looked similar to sand used if you purchased the plenum kit, which only to uses sand. Sand went right through the screening. This article I was using say use argonite course, so dug out the old gravel and put the sand away.

I used plastic egg crate from Home Depot cut it so it was one inch smaller on all sides. Used 1 inch white pvc pipe in 2" sections. Attach the pvc to the egg crate like so:

l l l
_ _

l l l
_ _

l l l

To attach them use the really long plastic ties that once tightened do not come undone. I had to use fishing line as hubby forgot to bring some home.


Then use fiberglass screening cut 2 to 3 " bigger than the egg crate.

Lay egg crate in tank, then lay screen on top and poke down the sides to fill with gravel.
Then spread gravel over screen making sure it gets down the sides but inside the screen. You need to have it 1 1/2 inches deep on top of the plenum. Then cut another piece of screen one inch bigger than the base of tank and lay it on top of the gravel. Then layer sand big enough so it does not go through the screen another 1 1/2 inches deep. I used gravel again.

Use an existing filter to turn ammonia and nitrites into nitrates and the plenum should be able to eat the nitrate and reduce water changes.

We'll see.

[CACAdmin]

Wow, sounds like quite the undertaking. Looking forward to seeing a pic of the tank and hearing how it does to reduce nitrates.

[thegrandpoohbah]

Is it just me or are all the plenum topics online referring to saltwater set-ups. Do they work the same in freshwater?

[Pamelajo]

Yes they do work for freshwater, but most article on line are for salt which uses argonite.

[Pamelajo]

Still not enough gravel to completely cover the screen.

This might look better on a tall tank.

[Melody]

It's fun to follow along with the project!

[CACAdmin]

Thanks for the pics Pam. It'll be interesting to see how much of a difference it makes.

[Pamelajo]

Update after a week and a half Nitrates between 5 - 10.

[CACAdmin]

That's great. I'd be interested in seeing over time how much it will reduce your frequency of water changes. (something we all would love to have less of)

[Pamelajo]

I will keep posting. Except I went a head and did a waterchange on that tank after I took the reading with out thinking. So the results will take a little longer.

[CACAdmin]

That's ok... we don't expect you to neglect waterchanges. Just continue on as per usual... we don't expect you to change routine just so that we can control your experiment. :wink: We'll sit back and take advantage of your observations of the nitrate levels. Thanks for sharing this project with us.

[CACAdmin]

I realize you've only had it set up for about a month, but I was wondering if you're finding any differences (improved water quality or less frequent need for waterchanges).

[James]

I too am interested, are you finding any difference in Nirtrate increase per week, or day?

[Pamelajo]

I will be checking the nitrates tomorrow. So far I have only done small water changes on it. I will post the results.

[CACAdmin]

Thanks, Pam. I didn't mean to bug you about it, but I am quite curious as to the difference a plenum system makes.

[Pamelajo]

Your not bugging. :)

[Pamelajo]

OOps took the reading but forgot to post. I have only been doing small water changes and try to change the same amount.
Last weeks reading was nitrates 5 - 10. Closer to 10 but was also a little late with water change.

[CACAdmin]

Sounds pretty good. How much smaller a water change are you doing compared to what you had been in the past?

[Pamelajo]

I used to do 50% and now it is about 20 to 25.

[CACAdmin]

And you're getting that kind of results? That's great.

[Pamelajo]

Same again this week 5 - 10, before water change.

[CACAdmin]

Thanks for keeping us posted, Pam. It's great to have observations of an actual plenum system setup for anyone contemplating setting one up.