Maybe sea grass tank... I have questions

[Bobbitworm13]

I may be doing a 75 gallon sea grass tank for my moms office. My main question is about filtration. Do I have to have a sump and protein skimmer or will weekly 5 or 10 gallon water changes and light fish stocking work with an Aqua Clear 110? Also, how much live mud do I need under my sand for shoal grass and a bit of turtle grass? Thanks in advance!

 

[Michael Hoaster]

No sump or skimmer necessary for seagrass. I would think a thin layer of mud would be helpful. Weekly water changes may be needed in the early months of the tank, especially if you're fighting algae. After the grasses get established, they'll filter the water for you, so less frequent water changes will be needed. You can also fertilize at the roots with plant tabs. If you were using a sump, you could add a trickle tower with bio balls to generate nitrate, which the grasses can use. Or you can dose the water column with potasium nitrate, which is also known as stump remover.

Look through my thread, Caribbean Biotope Seagrass Tank. Lots of good info in there. Also, in the "Old Helpful Posts", there is a ton of good info.

Good luck!

 

[BlueCat1949]

Turtlegrass needs a deep sand bed, 7inches+ and strong lighting, close to natural sunlight, as they are shallow water plants. It also needs a tall tank as it grows over 2 feet tall. When I had my seagrass tank going it was in a 70 tall tank that was 31+ inches in height.

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Wow, BlueCat1949, you had turtle grass over two feet tall? Impressive! Mine rarely gets that tall. I think a 75 should work. With current, the plants lay down a bit. I have some manatee grass blades over four feet tall in a 30 inch deep tank, and they're all good.

Turtle grass does need a very deep sand bed. If you don't want to go that deep stick with shoal grass and/or pretty much any of the other smaller grasses available. Another option would be to make a small, deep 'planter' section, just for the turtle grass, leaving the rest of the tank with a shallower sand bed.

 

[Bobbitworm13]

Thanks for the advice. So would the AC 110 work for filtration?

 

[Michael Hoaster]

Sure! Heavily planted tanks need little, to no filtration. Bio-filtration actually competes with the grasses for nutrients.

You may need more water movement than it makes, so add another water-moving device.

 

[Bobbitworm13]

Ok cool. I will make a build thread when I start on this.