Jaubert plenum system

[roy]

Can anyone share their experience and success story using Jaubert plenum system ?

[stinky]

I tried few styles ... just to share ...

Used 4 inches of the smallest grain sand that I can find in KL (about 5mm) with plenum system. Used for > 2 years with great success. Great water quality!! I only need to clean the front glass of my tank once a month!!! Problem: water column tend to have "dust" floating in it. I think it is from the dirt on the sand. Also, 4 inches of sand + 2 inches of plenum = 6 inches!!!

Moved house, so removed plenum and re-used sand. Bad move ... the sand was full of waste, so, without plenum, system crashed!!!

Removed ALL sand, and kept sand-less tank. Water is good but not great ... but no floating "dust" in water. I have to clean the front glass of the tank once a week. But, saved 6 inches at bottom!!!

Going to move house again soon, and I plan to get very fine sand (2-4mm) for the bottom. With such fine sand, I cannot put in a plenum. However, only need 2-3 inches at bottom!!

Conclusion ... The plenum REALLY works for me. However, using a deep sand bed WITHOUT a plenum is not conclusive, so will give it another try again!!

[roy]

Originally Posted by stinky

I tried few styles ... just to share ...

Used 4 inches of the smallest grain sand that I can find in KL (about 5mm) with plenum system. Used for > 2 years with great success. Great water quality!! I only need to clean the front glass of my tank once a month!!! Problem: water column tend to have "dust" floating in it. I think it is from the dirt on the sand. Also, 4 inches of sand + 2 inches of plenum = 6 inches!!!

Moved house, so removed plenum and re-used sand. Bad move ... the sand was full of waste, so, without plenum, system crashed!!!

Removed ALL sand, and kept sand-less tank. Water is good but not great ... but no floating "dust" in water. I have to clean the front glass of the tank once a week. But, saved 6 inches at bottom!!!

Going to move house again soon, and I plan to get very fine sand (2-4mm) for the bottom. With such fine sand, I cannot put in a plenum. However, only need 2-3 inches at bottom!!

Conclusion ... The plenum REALLY works for me. However, using a deep sand bed WITHOUT a plenum is not conclusive, so will give it another try again!!

I only tried once but my tank at that time only had one shark but already donated to KLCC Aquaria because grown to big.

Anyway thank you for sharing and hope your new tank will have great success. By the way what kind of fish or coral you have at that time.(using plenum system)

[stinky]

Shark!!! That's crazy man. What are you planning for now?

As for me, I've always kept a reef tank. With the plenum, I kept about 15 to 20 fishes. Over time, they died. Now, I've got < 10 fishes.

My concept now is to focus on corals, and keep only fishes that help me maintain the tank. That way, I give minimal weekly feeding, only monthly 5% water change, and still get great water quality!!!