Stan Perkins
----- Original Message -----
From: "Joshua L Wiegert" <JLW_at_dune.net>
To: <nanfa_at_aquaria.net>
Sent: Monday, January 19, 2004 11:01 AM
Subject: Re: NANFA-- anyone ever toyed with this idea?
> I hadn't thought of malaysian snails -- they'd be an ideal addition to
help
> keep the sand stirred. However, if all you're interested in is the
> additional biological surface from the plennum, I'd suggest buying a
Merlin
> or another commercial sand filter. These are neat little devices that are
> essentially a column with two nipples on the top. Water goes in one
nipple,
> out the ohter. Inside the column is a super-fine sand, much finer than
what
> you'll be using inside the tank. This sand is blown up by a pump, which
> keeps it constnatly stirred, providing a huge surface area. You don't get
> anaerobic decay, but... (I suppose if you really wanted to, you could hook
> up a dentrifying unit to do that.)
>
> A plennum is basically a deep sand bed. It provides a surface for
bacteria
> to grow in. By slight disturbances in the upper layers, usually by
animals
> (in saltwater, starfish, cucumbers, gobies, etc.) you get an aerobic
> surface area where bacteria grow, break down wastes into ammonia, ammonia
> into nitrite, nitrite into nitrate. By letting the underlayers get
> anaerobic, you get an area where dentrification (e.g., nitrate into
nitrous
> oxide and nitrogen) occurs. Ideally, you therefore have almost always no
> nitrogenous wastes. The idea is something of an old fashioned reef-keeper
> idea. WIth the advent of high quality skimmers and better filters,
> especially wet dry filters, most people have stopped using them. They're
> still popular in certain areas and among certain schools of thought....
>
> In freshwater, we have a big advantage over SW -- plants. In a heavilly
> planted tank, ammonia should be taken up with minimal competition to
> bacteria -- as a result, you'll keep teh nitrogen-waste levels quite low
> anyhow.
>
> Its also important to point out that this does not eliminate the need for
> water changes.... although yo uwon't get high nitrate, other chemicals
will
> build up in the water over time which need to be removed by water
changing.
>
> JW.
>
> --
> end
> ____^___
> ><,DARWIN,>
> Joshua L. Wiegert
> AIM UID: JoshuaWiegert ICQ UIN: 276060292
>
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