Jaubert Plenum System

[ozy]

Hi bro May&bruce,

In the construction of your plenum system, did you incorporate a little bit of pressure? when i last used a plenum in my current tank, i created a plenum somewhat like those that you can purchase off the shelves in LFS. what i did was to use an acrylic tube which connects to the apparent vacuum of the plenum and conect this tube to the inlet of a small powerhead.

Correct me if i'm wrong but i remembered seeing of the Jaubert plenum links on the net when i started constructing mine, a part of the idea of a plenum is to create small pressure of currents towards the bottom part of the tank (plenum) such that this dynamism becomes some what like a turnover rate for the denitrifying bacteria?

but i have to say that im regretting the idea of removing the plenum because i used to achieve 0-10ppm with heavy feedings, and alas now, i have chosen the way of no return like many others... DSB

perhaps perhaps, im getting silly, more cautious like many other old folks, getting more and more equipment (im thinking of H&S sulphur denitrator, after tempting by Tigger), just to assure a sound piece of mind when i go travelling and do not have to worry about the tank at home...

?

I thought the whole idea of DSB and Plenum is to allow diffusion to take it's place to control the level of dissolved oxygen to the right level within the plenum. That is why the amount of water flow in the tank, the size of the sand use and the depth of the sand bed is all inter related and inter dependent to reach that optimum configuration.

By introducting a power head to pump water into the plenum, the system is just a normal undergravel filter, which is of an even older origin than the Berlin system.

Contrary to what most people believe, plenums are not nutrient sinks as the conditions in the plenum has been tested to be dynamic.

[May&Bruce]

Thanks Ian, but I don't think that I will need them. Main tank is already set up using the store bought plastic tiles with 1" PVC tube spacers, and our little 1.5 foot tank that we just set up is not using a plenum...I just threw 2 cm of sand over the bottom, a few live rocks and share the water with the main tank sump.

I still have a few tiles left too, but they come in handy for making things from time to time.

[taylapong]

Hehe... so what's the verdict?

I'm agreeable to the idea that we should just stick to whatever works... but, what i'm unsure about is the mixed results of people who have tried BOTH methods... and they still have differing results!!

[Rocfella]

Bumping 2 decade old thread to see if we have more info on what substrate thickness is best for a plenum to work in the most efficient way! TIA.

[dragon1188]

On 8/6/2022 at 6:41 PM, Rocfella said:

Bumping 2 decade old thread to see if we have more info on what substrate thickness is best for a plenum to work in the most efficient way! TIA.

You can read the article on plenum by Bob Goemans. 

http://www.saltcorner.com/Articles/Showarticle.php?articleID=23&i=1

I setup my plenum in 2004 and its still in my tank today...after 18 yrs. Do note that plenum system is meant to tackle the nitrate issue only. However, there are still other major issues like phosphate,  hardness, etc that we still need to tackle. 

I also diy and setup an algae turf system in 2005/6 and it is my main filtration ever since. I even retired my skimmer shortly in 2007.  Algae turf can tackle both nitrate, phosphate and other nutrient issues as algae is so efficient and dynamic. Just my thoughts and sharing my experience. 

Cheers