Will Jaubert system work?

[Frank A.1]

Hi,
This is my first post and what I feel is important because I'm going to be setting up my freshwater tank in the next couple of days. The question I'm asking is"will the Jaubert system work in a freshwater tank"? Please reply soon.

Thanks,
Frank A.

 

[Anonymous]

Not practical IMO, although it's arguably possible.

 

[Anonymous]

No reason in a FW tank.

Unlike Sw systems there are plenty of true live plants with circulation systems.
They will do all the jaubert is supposed to do and more.

 

[James S. Baker]

There’s a lot of debate in the hobby regarding the value of the plenum used in the Jaubert system, but with or without a plenum, sandbed nitrification/denitrification will work just as well in a freshwater tank as in a marine one.

 

[Anonymous]

There’s a lot of debate in the hobby regarding the value of the plenum used in the Jaubert system, but with or without a plenum, sandbed nitrification/denitrification will work just as well in a freshwater tank as in a marine one.

There's one critical difference, though. In freshwater aquaria, you have a (near) complete lack of substrate dwelling microfauna. Hydrogen sulfide production is therefore more likely to occur in a deep substrate in a freshwater tank than in a marine one.

The niches filled in saltwater by copepods, amphipods, spaghetti worms, etc etc are mostly filled in freshwater by the aquatic life stages of insects. In general, even if you could introduce these organisms to your tank you wouldn't want to. Some are predatory, and all will eventually turn into non-aquatic insects that will seek to escape the confines of the aquarium.

There are substrate-dwelling burrowing snails commercially available in the freshwater hobby. I don't honestly know if having a population of them in a tank with a deep substrate would provide enough stirring activity to prevent the formation of H2S or not, but it'd be worth investigating.

Anyway, in this regard, I think the plenum might be the more suitable choice over the equivalent of a deep sand bed, in a freshwater tank. But honestly, I'm not sure it'd even be worth pursuing as freshwater has such a powerful method of denitratification in the form of aquatic plants at it's disposal.

 

[Frank A.1]

Hi everybody,
Thanks for all the info, I'm setting up the tank with a plenum and four in. of sand.I've already bought a lot of plants for it also.I'm thinking of getting some blackworms for the substrate altho I don't think they will last long with the fish.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi everybody,
Thanks for all the info, I'm setting up the tank with a plenum and four in. of sand.I've already bought a lot of plants for it also.I'm thinking of getting some blackworms for the substrate altho I don't think they will last long with the fish.

sound good.

the plants will maintain the system IMHO.

Hopefully the plenum and deep sand will not starve the system of nitrates. Which can and will lead to cyano bacteria problems because cyano takes its nitrogen from nitrogen gas.

my .02