One for RTR

[~reefchik~]

What is a "veggie filter"? I've seen you use this term a couple of times now and I'm intrigued

[purplecandle]

LOL, if you want to know what RTR knows about any type of filtration set up..go to google

Type in RTR veggie filters = 251,000 results

Type in Robert T. Ricketts veggie filters = 3,720 results

Type in Robert T. Ricketts filtration = 36,400 results

As far as google goes, he might as well be the Micheal Jackson of filtration

[~reefchik~]

That's great, thanks!!

[RTR]

LOL! I had never done that on myself... that was fun.

But the current batch of articles in review/revision does include the Veggie filter article itself, so it will be back on-site here soon.

The biggest emerse veggie filter is visible on:

http://gwapa.org/wordpress/2007/08/august-2007-meeting/

There is a shot of the tank room itself showing the veggie filter on the far wall, and the last shots in the sequence show one of the members digging out one of the swamp lilies. The bottom tier of the "wall of tanks" is submerse veggie filters, on reversed light cycle from the display tanks. Ditto for the not pictured tank below the wall-of-rock with Anubias nana - a tang tank. That too is revsrsed light cycle from the display above it. Those help keep the O2 up during the dark cycle of the displays.Their main purpose is to consume excess nutrients and help reduce algae issues in the displays.

Water management is my "thing" - current, bio- and mechanical filtration, partials, collections of linked tanks with specialized tanks or refugia, etc.

[J-P]

I am also starting to experiment with emersive "veggie filters". One thing I am trying is to take house plant clippings that will grow with the clips in water and let them grow out of the tank. One way some people are doing this is by having the clippings in a secondary HOB filter with only a sponge and allowing the roots to take to the sponge.

There are very few plants that can grow totally underwater by comparison to the plants that can have their roots in water and have the rest grow out of the water. Think of your grandmothers house with a bunch of clipping in a vase. Same principle but add that to a fish tank where the plants suck out the Nitrates and soluble debris out of the filter media.

Not exactly the same as RTR's set up but similar idea (I hope).

[xrayjeeper83]

Id love to do this but all my tanks have to have lids. Fahaka's are known to jump and Crays like to climb out.

Oh wait I did just set my 5 back up today........

[~reefchik~]

I really appreciate all the info. It's fun to google yourself and see what comes up. I'm fairly well-known in the doll world, and once I thought I'd see what I could find. YouTube? LOL. That was a shock.

From what I see, basically you're doing with FW what we do with SW and a heavily planted refugium. At least mine is. I keep a huge mat of chaetomorpha algae in there with a little blade caulerpa mixed in. The chaeto has pretty much overtaken the caulerpa which is IMO a good thing. Lucky for me my LFS gives store credit for chaeto trimmings.

I really like the looks of those crinums growing as a backdrop to your aquariums - very nice. J-P as you say, a larger HOB filter could be modded to make that work, I think.

Men and their electricity & plumbing projects. Mix in fish and this is what you get, I guess I admire all that work and the results are outstanding. I don't think I'll ever have anything to ever approximate any of it, but it's nice to look at and learn about. My DH would have a fish room like that if he were into fish. He's such a tinkerer. As it is, we just never have to pay to have anything repaired, as he can fix anything. The closest he's come to that sort of stuff is helping me plumb the sump for my reef tank last summer. I'm still waiting for him to get tired of toting RO water from the basement reservoir and build me a through-the-floor auto top off system

[RTR]

I sent in the veggie filter article to PP, so it should be up soon if Dadof4 has the time. It had already been revised, but was holding with the whole filtration series - which is massive - but the specialized individualized articles such as that one are in pretty good shape already, and don't require the cross-refs the more basic ones need.

But yes, a lot of my specialized reugium-based toys are attempts to do for FW what is more easily and frequently done in SW. Lets face it, the best water quality any of us attempt is on reef setups. Why should FW fish suffer when we can do similar things for them? I was a SW nut for quite a while. If I ever went back, it would be either to keep a Porc or to do a SW planted tank. (Tom Barr did a cool one some years ago). As I am unlikely to dive again seriously, if I do anything, it would likely be the Porc - but the setup would have all of the bells and whistles. I have never kept one, and to me they seem the most mbu-like puffer around other than T. mbu itself.

I am not a "fixer" - I wish that I were such. My DIY is very simple and basic. It is all stuff that I can do with little hassle - and if I can do it, anyone can.

[Dadof4]

I'll get this one posted as soon as PP gets it posted for me.