Does anyone use a plenum with their DSB?

jasonrstewart79 · 07/04/2012, 04:49 PM

I've been using a plenum with my DSB for about 7 years now and have had great results... does anyone else have a similiar experience?

albano · 07/04/2012, 04:57 PM

mine just turned 8 years old last month...it's in my 200g 8' long sump...starting to worry that it is time to disconnect the sump/filter, dump all water & remove and clean all the sand...possibly restart plenum

jasonrstewart79 · 07/04/2012, 05:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by albano

mine just turned 8 years old last month...it's in my 200g 8' long sump...starting to worry that it is time to disconnect the sump/filter, dump all water & remove and clean all the sand...possibly restart plenum

Thats good to hear... I know its kinda strange for folks to have a DSB at all these days, but I was sold on plenums from reading Sprung's stuff on Jaubert and I have to say its been a real joy. Little to no maintenance and water changes have been a 3-4 per year affair. Would restarting the whole system be a good thing in your opinion?

albano · 07/04/2012, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jasonrstewart79

Little to no maintenance and water changes have been a 3-4 per year affair. Would restarting the whole system be a good thing in your opinion?

for first ~5 years I did MAYBE 4-5 water changes a year, ~ 2 years ago I started changing 40-50g 3-4 times a month.

Wish I knew for sure about a 're-start'...but I just think the sand and plenum have to be filthy after all these years...
strange thing is...8 yrs ago I added Caribbean cucumbers to the sump and the tanks as part of the CUC...after all this time the ones in the tank are 8" long and over 1"+ wide...those in the sump are less than 1/2 that size!! Seems like sump is cleaner (less food for CUC) than tank?

jasonrstewart79 · 07/04/2012, 06:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by albano

for first ~5 years I did MAYBE 4-5 water changes a year, ~ 2 years ago I started changing 40-50g 3-4 times a month.

Wish I knew for sure about a 're-start'...but I just think the sand and plenum have to be filthy after all these years...
strange thing is...8 yrs ago I added Caribbean cucumbers to the sump and the tanks as part of the CUC...after all this time the ones in the tank are 8" long and over 1"+ wide...those in the sump are less than 1/2 that size!! Seems like sump is cleaner (less food for CUC) than tank?

So obviously some nutrient seepage from the plenum/dsb... hmmm. There could be other factors at play but I agree its probably due for some cleaning

07/04/2012, 04:49 PM	#1
jasonrstewart79 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Tulsa, OK Posts: 271	Does anyone use a plenum with their DSB? I've been using a plenum with my DSB for about 7 years now and have had great results... does anyone else have a similiar experience? __________________ -20 years of saltwater fish/reef experience... *$%# I'm old.. lol Current Tank Info: Custom DAS 110g Reef Tank Project - 20g Sea Reef fuge, 100g basement sump, CPR Bak-pak2 "modded" skimmer, Red Sea Ozonator, Magdrive280, mangroves, DSB with plenum, 400w Custom Sea Life MH with 64watt U-Actinic PCs, dosing kalk, total 200 gallons

07/04/2012, 04:57 PM	#2
albano SALTWATER since '73 Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Katonah, NY/ San Fernando Ca./ Sea Isle City NJ Posts: 6,210	mine just turned 8 years old last month...it's in my 200g 8' long sump...starting to worry that it is time to disconnect the sump/filter, dump all water & remove and clean all the sand...possibly restart plenum __________________ ______________________________________ Jan. '11 TOTM Manhattan Reefs Current Tank Info: 500g & 200g acrylic DTs/2 separate reef systems