Monaco or Plenum method

jscarlata · 12/02/2006, 07:25 PM

In one of the books i'm reading on Natural Reef Aquariums, the author discusses the benefits of using a live sand/arag mixture on top of a plenum leaving about an inch of space btwn the tank bottom and the plenum. he referenced many of the benefitsof such systems like adding calcium and further denitrifying etc etc, but he did not mention if there were any downsides to thsis system. I was very interested in going this route for both the added filtration and calcium replenshiment as well as the aethestic appeal of the sand/arag bed...
wondering if anyone else has done this and if there are any drwabacks..
thanks again

king1522 · 12/02/2006, 09:03 PM

Google "Jaubert Plenum" and you will find plenty of info. Also do a search on this site for info.
Don

bertoni · 12/03/2006, 12:50 AM

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/7/aafeature

That article is part of a series on substrate experiments. Plenums didn't fair well. I don't think they're useful, personally.

newtanksmell · 12/03/2006, 10:47 AM

Also, the brand spankin new 2007 Marine Fish and Reef mag has a detailed study of plenums done by the Waikiki aquarium.

It was over my head but I understand much of it.

cayars · 12/03/2006, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bertoni
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/7/aafeature

That article is part of a series on substrate experiments. Plenums didn't fair well. I don't think they're useful, personally.

That article/experiment was worthless and the data isn't very accurate. They tested for 1 month. How in the world can you show the effect of plunums or DSBs when they didn't give the "media" time to form the anearobic environment needed for the bacteria to populate???

Flawed experiment all around. About the only thing you might be able to gather from it is the size of the particles and how it "might" affect things but again testing for 30 days is nothing!

If they would have taken the tests to 6 months or longer then they would have noticed big differences in the test results.

bertoni · 12/03/2006, 05:08 PM

Well, I guess we have different opinions on the value of the experiment.

12/02/2006, 07:25 PM	#1
jscarlata Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Long Island,New York Posts: 875	Monaco or Plenum method In one of the books i'm reading on Natural Reef Aquariums, the author discusses the benefits of using a live sand/arag mixture on top of a plenum leaving about an inch of space btwn the tank bottom and the plenum. he referenced many of the benefitsof such systems like adding calcium and further denitrifying etc etc, but he did not mention if there were any downsides to thsis system. I was very interested in going this route for both the added filtration and calcium replenshiment as well as the aethestic appeal of the sand/arag bed... wondering if anyone else has done this and if there are any drwabacks.. thanks again

12/02/2006, 09:03 PM	#2
king1522 Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Duncanville, Texas Posts: 643	Google "Jaubert Plenum" and you will find plenty of info. Also do a search on this site for info. Don __________________ Don Life is like a roll of toilet paper. The more you roll off, the faster it goes. Current Tank Info: 30 gallon Finnex M in progress.

12/03/2006, 12:50 AM	#3
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/7/aafeature That article is part of a series on substrate experiments. Plenums didn't fair well. I don't think they're useful, personally. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

12/03/2006, 05:08 PM	#6
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	Well, I guess we have different opinions on the value of the experiment. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

12/03/2006, 10:47 AM	#4
newtanksmell Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Arizona Posts: 825	Also, the brand spankin new 2007 Marine Fish and Reef mag has a detailed study of plenums done by the Waikiki aquarium. It was over my head but I understand much of it.