My water is way to cloudy 😢 yes I found out I’m over feeding , but the magnesium and calcium is way yo high ( the hard water as you know) how do I fix this ?!!! Plz !❤
@@KaveManAquatics All love brother keep doing your thing very informative. And I talk to Seachem and I told them you the reason why I love there products and they said “Kev is the man”❤️
I love sumps. I have 2 tanks set up with home made systems on my 40g breeder and an old 29 gallon. I know I don't have to do this, but I did it just to try it out. The only warning I'd give you is watch the double sided tape mounting the light. They aren't too heavy, but as the light heats up, the warmth might loosen the tape enough to drop the light into or onto the top of the sump.
Kev, Congrats on making it so you have to do less water changes. I learned a lot especially about the plants and when you turn off the light the plants absorb the nutrients and that is why my ph keeps getting lower over a period of time. You’re a life saver now I know why my planted tanks I have to adjust the ph over a period of time.
Glad I could help bro. Just to be clear, they absorb nutrients and CO2 while the lights are on. At night they stop and they release CO2, thats what makes your PH drop at night. A refugium with lights on at night will solve your problem for sure 😁💪
I did this for my 120 sump without even realizing people are doing it now. I came from the salt side and I just set this up thinking it couldn’t hurt and now I’m seeing people on RU-vid doing it. I do water changes but it helps me keep steady parameters.
Father fish has been talking about this for a long time. One way to keep large fish with a minimal to no water changes is creating a deep substrate natural planted refugium in the sump.
Thanks Brother, I watch you a lot and love that you got to this point, especially since it confirms my ideas. I haven't had a tank since I was in my teens. Now that I'm in Florida, I want a tank for local species that I collect myself. Once they get to big, I will release them and replace them with smaller versions. I've been researching for about 6 months to come up with my plan. I'm a Contractor an am the kind of person who prefers the "buy once, cry once" way of living. Never under build! My plan is around a 200-250g main tank, a 55-60g sump and a 10-15g refugium. No heater since the system will be inside my house and the local fish don't need the heat tropical fish do. I have delusions that I will film the build but don't know if that will happen. Crazy the ideas you get once you go down the YT rabbit hole!
As a reef keeper. The only way to remove nitrates and never water change is thru carbon dosing such as vodka dosing but you will need a very good protein skimmer. That will not work on freshwater because the density of water is different. Only way do no wc on freshwater is to have about 10-15x more water volume on a separate filter with tons and I mean TONS of water plants and a very thick substrate like mud about 6-10 inches deep. otherwise just do your regular WC.
Love the idea of offsetting light schedules to have nutrient absorption 24/7. I'm already running a refugium, but I'm going to experiment with that right now. Should also help with the CO2 fluctuations when plants stop photosynthesis at night. Sleeping plants give off CO2, while the refugium plants that have light can then utilize that to be more efficient. Damn good idea.
Just plant the tank. I've got a 250 gallon tank - heavily planted with 38 fish. Hooked up to 2 FX6 filters with in-line UVC. I do water changes every 8-10 weeks. Ammonia. Nitrite. Nitrate. all zero ppm consistently. Throw a Pothos or Peace Lily on top - BONUS! Same for my 125 gallon, 75 gallon, 3- 20 gallons, 4- 10 gallon.
He addresses this near the end of the video. While you tank flora are photosynthesizing during the day and doing all sorts of cool stuff, at night they kind do the opposite. By giving your refugium plants night shift, and your tank plants day shift, you will always have the active benefits.
I like hornwort and anacharis as nutrient sponges, and if you have a sump they don't even need to be rooted. You could also have large floating plants as well.
just did my 2nd water change on my 2 tanks this week....im OCD with it. Another thing I like about the sump is you are able to hide the heater in it instead of the ugly thing in the tank.....There is a company now that makes canister filters with a heater built in but I've only seen one company, who knows if its any good.
I've been watching you since I got back into fish keeping and breeding. I've learned some of the new tricks and products from you, a bit surprised you haven't done this sooner. I keep pathos in my tanks even with live plants. One day, I'll get you some of my angelfish and discus and cichlids.
@@WiiHunt95 I’ve got tons of pothos over my other tanks but don’t want emerged plants in the sump area. Will see how fast this small amount of sprite grows and add more if needed 😁
Nice to see the Refugium concept being used in freshwater. Recommend a dedicated fuge light such as the Aqua Illumination light on a goose neck so that you can minimize the light bleed across your sump. Algae will spread everywhere otherwise.
That was a concern for me but I get so hype about an idea I just wanted to get it done! lol Found that light in my closet and figured it would work. But I'm sure I'll upgrade the light to prevent the bleed in a future video! Appreciate the feedback bro! 😁💪
@@KaveManAquaticshah I know that feeling! Another light you may want to check out is the Tunze Eco Chic submersible light. It can sit right in your fuge chamber either horizontal or vertical. Ever thought about trying an auto filter roller?
I have one of those in my closet too, lol Unfortunately I dont have the stand height to be able to use a roller. Thanks for the Tunze light tip, sounds great, will def look into it 💪
Kev saved me so much money and fish lol I didn’t know a single thing when I started but thank god for kev cuz if it wasn’t for him I would’ve lost so much money and fish love the videos bro I really appreciate everything you shared with us ❤
I’ve been wanting to do a sump with a refugium for a while not thanks for the information it has been hard for me to find much on it. For the most part everything I see is about Saltwater refugiums
Kev I like the lighting in your sump area. Can see better now when your under there explaining thing's. I'm going to be curious to know how your Refugium chamber works out for you. I'm definitely going to try this method myself. I like the floating method your using as well. I still will need to do my 80% weekly water changes, but if this Refugium method helps for reducing algae then I'm going to try it. As always....thank you for another interesting and informative video. Always want to learn ways to keep a healthy and thriving environment for my fish.❤❤❤😊
Glad you enjoyed it Lori, and glad to hear you considering a sump lol Next video I'll be showing the ease of the hang on back refugium for those that want to try it without a sump. I'll be keeping you guys posted on the performance of the refugium as the Sprite grows and thrives 😁😁
@@KaveManAquatics There's 3 loose acrylic(?) plates, the aquarium is also flush against the wall in a corner, it also has wooden siding on the top, I'm afraid it's a lost cause 😆
With that bright light in the sump, you're gonna grow green algae in the chambers soon.As for lowering No³ from the main tank, I have my doubts. A friend of mine has a 6ft planted tank with a sump. His centerpiece fish is big red ever hungry growing arowana and some algae eaters. Believe me he is struggling to keep No³ at bay. Why? Cause his fiah needs to be fed a lot. With discus and arowana in the same tank is even more challenging. I hope it will work out for you.
I'm aware. Algae in the chambers wont be a problem as algae will also contribute to nutrient absorption. If it does get out of hand I plan to swap the light for a spot light instead. As much as I'm feeding this tank, on top of my tap water already starting at 20ppm of nitrates, I doubt I will have any problems with not having enough nutrients for the plants.
My bad I read that wrong...you think I'll still have too much nitrate...yea, thats possible. Thats why I want to give this refugium time to establish and settle in. Then adjust as needed. When the refugium matures it can absolutely get nitrate and phosphate down to 0. Your friend has a 6 foot planted tank, great. But at night when lights out, that planted tank isnt doing anything to remove nitrates. The refugium solves that problem at night. 😁
Just got to the point to where my nitrates stay under 5ppm always because of rooted plant growth. Barely have to make any water changes for months! Only take any out to siphon stagnant detritus.
I recently set up my refugium with a deep sand bed capped in fine gravel. I have heard of some who are doing this. Is the deep substrate beneficial to growing anaerobic bacteria to help consume nitrates? I also have houseplants growing out of it and hornwort below.
Absolutely! Thats perfect for anaerobic bacteria. BUT, there's something I'm still researching about this mix in the same chamber. Anaerobic bacteria need low oxygen environment. But the plants in the refugium are literally releasing oxygen during photosynthesis. So I'm not sure how that will effect anerobic bacterial growth in that same chamber. Might have better luck with that sand bed in a chamber before the refugium....maybe. Time will tell on my setup. I'll be keeping you guys updated! 💪
Kev, another great video. I'm new in the cichlids hobby. I keep watching videos so I continue learning and hopefully don't kill any fish. 🙂 Kev, do you recommend any particular food and feedings ideas? Thx
For Cichlids I use Northfin pellets and Seachem Nutri diet flakes 😁 If you're thinking about keeping African Cichlids Start with this playlist loaded with tons of info on African Cichlids - ru-vid.com/group/PLP5OXTIIDO8MG9hyJ8PjbC33zEbcyy8__ BTW, you should check out my new Aquarium Keeping APP designed for beginners! - aquabuildr.com
@KaveManAquatics mix of heavily stocked and lightly stocked over 12 tanks 125 gallons and down all canisters with back up hob, your biological filter is an expandable rubber band that expands and contracts to the size of the load. It will handle everything if you give the time to do so slowly, like adding new fish slowly allowing two weeks for it to catch up, everything else is fluff and for fun, adding additional bio filtration in the form of rings, filters, including your refugium, is not additive biological bacteria, it will only expand to the size of the load as needed and stop, but it is all u need for a healthy aquarium and happy fish! Long time experience and research as well as scientifically proven, so the bio load although relevant , it's does not matter due to its adaptive nature
You are correct in everything you said, it's all very well known to experienced hobbyists, all except your last sentence. Bio-load matters very much when you're stating how often you do water changes. I think you're confusing bio-load with biological bacteria or with biological filtration. Bio-load is forever changing. Your cleaning, your feeding, your stock amount, your stock size, your stock species...everything effects and changes your bio-load. A 100G tank with 1 Goldfish and a ton of plants will be fine with 1 water change a month, a 100G tank with 20 African Cichlids and not a single plant will not be ok with a monthly water change...because of the difference in Bio-load. Each tank will have its own specific amount of biological bacteria to keep the tank cycled, of course, thats very common knowledge, but thats not bio-load. Your bio-load is what determines how often or not you need to do water changes. Simply stating "I do water changes once a month" is without very important context.
@KaveManAquatics 100% understand what ur saying and agree, look at it like a circuit , your bio load is like a light (the user) the biological bacteria that runs the circuit is your power supply that keeps the power on 120 volts. I'm not confusing the two, what I'm saying is if you have a well-balanced relationship between the two no need for anything else
Easiest one is nitrate test as usual. If you have plants in the tank and you're constantly at 0 you MAY be removing too much and starving the tank plants. No plants in the tank, 0 is fine.
@KaveManAquatics I'm with you. I feel like leaving decaying stuff just makes things look dirty. Unless your aquarium is not a display tank at house, then maybe.. I always admire your channel about crystal clear water and how clean your set up is
More plants in that sump sir! Lol I know people with those same sump setups with plants and still do water changes weekly. Fresh clean water=colorful, healthy fish! Tanks looking good brother.
I wanted to start small to document the plants growth. With a tank this big I have to find ways to reduce water changes. But like I said I'll still do them every month or so for the other benefits. Glad you enjoyed the video brother 😁
@@KaveManAquatics don't reduce water changes. I have 8 tanks with central and south american cichlids. Every time these guys get that 50-75% water change, that fresh water helps keep them colored up and healthy. I don't if that's hornwort you placed in the tank, but when that stuff sheds, it makes a mess, trust me I've had it before and the last thing you want are leaves on it going into your pumps brother.
@@KaveManAquatics one more advice, if you would like. Add a couple pieces of long driftwood and utilize Java ferns, anubias and/java moss (lots of all these plants) and that'll help reduce nitrates plus ammonia. More plants and keep on with weekly water changes. This is for the 450. The fresh water also helps plants grow along with ferts. Or maybe for a month, you can try 2 weekly water changes and then get back on normal schedule for nitrates. Anything to help, just like you've helped all of us!!!
@@dennispeleg7843 Trust me bro, I know the benefits of water changing. You’re preaching to the choir lol But changing over 400G weekly in just 1 tank is not sustainable. I plan to dose trace elements weekly and monitor the tanks progress and make adjustments as needed. 😁 And no that’s not hornwort, it’s water sprite.
@@KaveManAquatics 10-4 on the water sprite. I hear ya also on the 400 gallons lol... Hmmmmmm what about and automatic water change system hooked up to your plumbing? Or algae scrubber in the sump! Grow the algae in the sump on that scrubber and it'll definitely help absorbs those nitrates also!!
Will be curious to hear about your results. I have a 75g sump on my 210g tank and I tried pothos, hornwort, duckweed and salvinia and they grew fairly well but after 2 weeks my nitrates would still be high enough to warrant a water change. After the water change, my plants would slowly dieback. So it was an ugly cycle and I’m not sure how much benefit I got from it considering now I have plant decay in my sump. My water is super hard so there’s a chance they couldn’t absorb the nutrients as easily as if the water was a little softer. I even tried dosing potassium and micro nutrients to see if it helped the plant grab the nitrogen better but no luck. After over 2 years of tinkering with it, I took all the plants out of the sump and I’m trying peace lily and monstera at the top again, the monstera seems to be doing very well so far, fingers crossed ..
@@KaveManAquatics I ran it for 24/7 for a solid month at one point.. from what I read, aquatic plants can have a hard time absorbing nutrients as well in pH over 8 🤷♂️
@@robertjohnston25 Yes that’s true. My pothos over the top of my African tank does not grow the way all my other Pothos does. That tank is at 8.0. But it does still grow. Also, next time try running refugium light only at night. Let the Refugium plant rest during the day. While plants in the tank do the work.
@@KaveManAquatics yeah I’ve tried all different light settings. I’ve tried 24/7 I tried 16 hours, I tried 12, 8, tried 4 hours on 4 hours off cycle, I’ve also tried 3 hours on, 3 off and probably a few more. I tinkered with everything for over 2 years and just couldn’t get the results I was hoping for. Die off everytime I water changed. So do the tanks with less than 8pH show a significant reduction in nitrates? I’ve always cursed my hard water and I’d love to have another good reason with certainty lol.
lol, The tanks with less than 8 and softer water do have much better plant growth. My pothos over the tank is all over the floor behind it. I'll be adding a hang on back refugium to the African 8.0 tank soon with a full video. Will be interesting to see how well it performs in that brackish hard water. Stay tuned for future updates!
you don't need to feed so often. I have 6 discus, no algae, and I haven't done a water change in several months. All water parameters are within range. It wasn't always like this. Before this, I was feeding too often. I feed every 3 days, once each time. That's what made my love for my fish much easier.
@KaveManAquatics they do not need to be fed that often. I have raided mine for over 6 years and don't fight algae or high nitrates. Every fish utube video I see, talks about feeding like you do, but also follows up with how to fight algae and nitrate issues. Stop over feeding and other issues disappear.
Glad you're happy with your discus growth rate. Feed them more, they'll grow faster. Do more water changes, they'll grow faster. This is all very well known. Doesnt mean they need this, you can feed them once and never water change, your discus wont grow at the rate they should be. But they'll survive.
after watching your vids i got into cichlids and went and got rid of all my other tanks to make space for my 65gal tank for the cichlids. However all the fish poop and stuff just settles on one side of the aquarium which is the side with the filter intake and wave maker. What can i do to get the filter to pick up everything?
The simple answer is to get a better, stronger wavemaker. But if you cant right now try adjusting its position and angle until you can see it lift the detritus up off the substrate.
Doesn't look like your Discus are growing any, very strange. You would expect them to grow like weeds in a tank that large. I wonder what your missing ?
Brother, you dancing around a dirted tank like m'f'r -- LoL. I get it, you want to keep massive fish which can attack your plants so you use a refugium. I guess father fish/walsdadt aquariums are self-standing refugiums. I still conduct weekly water changes b/c I use aquarium water to water my moss poles, but they are right, it's nearly impossible to raise nitrites and nitrates to toxic levels in an planted aquarium b/c the plants and lower plants (algae) will use it all up.
No one disagrees with that. Still need to water change. Even with a Refugium, even with a planted tank. No amount of dirt can be an excuse for not water changing. Not dancing around anything. I will never claim that water changes aren’t necessary, like some people out there claim.
@@KaveManAquatics fo sho there are other things in there like hormones & chemicals expelled fm fish & plants. And nature does her own water changes so I'm all for it. Updated my notifications so I don't miss your next livestream - looking forward to it. Thanks for this video!
I really wish people would stop putting that in the title as most dumbasses dont watch the video which has the context in it and they go oh ive seen lots of videos saying stop doing water changes so that means i dont need to change my water anymore, then fish die.
If ur tank is moderately to heavily planted Frequent water changes aren't that necessary. The plants do a really good job combined with good filtration. But i could see how u mite need it with a cichlid tank
@@shawn1819 that’s true, but there are other benefits to water changing that have nothing to do with what a planted tank provides. Nitrate removal is only 1 aspect.
