What's the scoop on plenum systems are they worth it

[Jyetman]

When I bought my 75 Gallon acrylic tank 12 years ago they built in a plenum system which I still use today. Are they considered beneficial today or a potential disaster waiting to happen?

[ridetheducati]

I think I saw one at the Smithsonian.

[tidalwave1]

I asked the same question on another forum a few months ago and everyone said don't do it accident waiting to happen.

[Jyetman]

Just wondering if its contributing to problems with some of my zoas closing though all my other corals are fine. My water parameters are always in check. I've had my tank setup and running four years now previously five years never had concerns until now. What potential problems can arise? One nice thing is the fixed plate provides strengthen support for my rock work.

[Joel_155]

So what exactly is the built in plenum system?

[Jyetman]

If my plenum is causing problems what can I do without tearing down the tank to help counteract any adverse effects?

[buffalo123]

I ran one for 7yrs the last time i ran a plenum i removed it so i can have the additional space in the aquarium. One issue i had after running for a long time was phosphate build up. Testing for phosphate didnt show high levels. But the test kit might not have been that good. I did not run any phosphate remover or did i have a sump. I ran phosguard for the first time and things did improve. Thats a long time ago.

[Jyetman]

I ran one for 7yrs the last time i ran a plenum i removed it so i can have the additional space in the aquarium. One issue i had after running for a long time was phosphate build up. Testing for phosphate didnt show high levels. But the test kit might not have been that good. I did not run any phosphate remover or did i have a sump. I ran phosguard for the first time and things did improve. Thats a long time ago.

My phosphate test is new and it reads 0 ppm. I also have a make shift algae scrubber with loads of cheato so that may be eating the p04 not sure. Just to be safe I'm running seachem seagel plus a poly filter. Just added those several days ago so hopefully I'll see a change. Someone mention that it could be my system is too clean causing the zoas to close up.

[Bilk]

When I bought my 75 Gallon acrylic tank 12 years ago they built in a plenum system which I still use today. Are they considered beneficial today or a potential disaster waiting to happen?
There's lots of info on plenum systems out there. I ran one for almost ten years and never had any issues with it. The only thing you don't want to do is disturb the lower volume of water or the substrate above it, with any livestock or corals in the tank. That would be a disaster.

You should read up on plenums first before deciding to do anything with it. I was going to put one in my new 200, but instead went with just a DSB without the plenum.

[ridetheducati]

Plenum #1 (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/6/aafeature)
Plenum #2 (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/7/aafeature)
Plenum #3 (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/9/aafeature)

[Jyetman]

One thing that could be wrong is my sand bed depth is only 3.5 inches. Trying to add more but so expensive.

[ca1ore]

Never ran a plenum (concluded early on it was probably bull$hit). Nor do I run tanks with deep sandbeds - too difficult to remove if something goes wrong. My preferred approach is to run a remote DSB, in a separate tank. Easy to service, though obviously requires another tank.

[Jyetman]

Just in case my plenum is causing issues I took the advice and did a little vacuuming see if that helps. To get at those tight spots I made a nifty sand vacuum worked quite well ha.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/44432146/newvac.JPG

[Jyetman]

bump

[buffalo123]

The reason i had done away with my last plenum was i wanted the space the sand and plenum was occupying. A remote plenum certainly would be ok for me . They work and fairly low maintenance.