mithun wrote:Whole sump top.. covering overflow as well will reduce noise too...
Any suggestions how to cover it up? Sealing the top permanently is out of question as we need access to the inside for servicing. Will duct taping the lid on top be the solution? I'll have to google this specific point, it seems.
mithun wrote:just turning off the CO2 solenoid will do it.. oxygen will be already enough if u run wet-dry filter/sump.
Hmmm..... you got a point there. The overnight pH stability may not be such a big problem as to warrant a second tank to support the first one.
mithun wrote:Ammonia is harmful for fishes and induces algae... Nitrate readily consumed by plants .. ammonia is not.. u are misinformed about this.. ammonia is broken into NO2 and then NO3- by bacteria then NO3- is consumed by plants..
I agree with the first part that Ammonia is harmful to fishes.
I disagree with the second part though. Plants rapidly detoxify ammonia, either by converting it to non-toxic ammonium (NH4+) or to use it immediately to synthesize proteins.
Briefly, the process of conversion takes place as follows : ammonia enters the plant cell by simple diffusion across the membrane and combines with a hydrogen ion to convert to non-toxic ammonium. This NH4+ can be stored in cell vacuoles. And in the second process, i.e., to use ammonia to synthesize proteins, ammonia is combined with stored carbohydrates to form ordinary amino acids.
Nitrate is not readily consumed by plants. It is your information that is not correct. Since we are both hobbyists without professional botanical background, I have to quote an authority here, Diana Walstad. "Most aquatic plants studied, when presented with a choice between ammonium and nitrates as their nitrogen source, take up ammonium exclusively. Only when ammonium is unavailable, do plants take up nitrates." (Ecology of the Planted Aquarium : A Practical Manual and Scientific Treatise for the Home Aquarist by Diana L. Walstad)(Italics mine).
Not only that, the nitrogen cycle that is carried out by our matured bio-filtration denies the plants access to ammonium and instead leaves nitrate as the end product of the cycle. I would quote, "Plants, algae, and all photosynthesizing organisms use the N of ammonium (not nitrate) to produce their proteins" (Lewis 1986, pp 34-41)(Italics mine). And from Diana Walstad again, "...when nitrifying bacteria convert ammonium to nitrates, plants are forced - at great energy - to convert nitrates back to ammonium." The cost to the plant in terms of energy spent to convert nitrate back in the two step reduction process is 83Kcal/mol which is a considerable waste and can be easily avoided by limiting the bio-filtration and progressively eliminating it altogether.
Thanks for the suggestion on the return line direction.
Happy fishkeeping!
Subroto