Mega Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover - DIY!

[SantaMonica]

22 hours.

[yongshun]

22 hours.

ok sure. thks for the advice

[xiggie]

Hi santaMonica ,

I'm gonna build an upflow scrubber , a quick question if you don't mind.

Does the light source need to be 3w leds or can I use those light panels with small leds(pic attached) light and screen are gonna be like 2-3 inch apart, so I was wondering can smaller led be used?

That's a 9watts led panel bytheway.

[SantaMonica]

You can use the panels but they need to be the 45 watt ones.

[yongshun]

hi santa, the amount and colour of the algae after switching to 22hrs

[SantaMonica]

Now let it grow another 10 days.

[pentel3]

_hi..

_{is PL light good for algae scrubber?}

[SantaMonica]

Yes if it is 2700k or 3000k ("warm" or "soft"), and has a reflector to make all the light reach the algae.

[pentel3]

ok.. thanks for the fast response.. =)

[pentel3]

hi...

i finally just DIY-ed my algae scrubber..

please give pointer on where n what i can improve.

thanks in advance..

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[SantaMonica]

What is the wattage and color of light?

Also, you will need to be able to remove the screen from the pipe, for cleaning.

[pentel3]

the light is 15w and color is white

[SantaMonica]

You will probably need much more wattage.

[xiggie]

You will need a cover for that , an clear acrylic enclosure , this will help with the salt spray and stray jets of water when the algae builds up and the pipes start to clog..

I been there .. Trust me you won't want a damp or flooded sump area... !!

I've swapped to a UAS now ,

[pentel3]

You will probably need much more wattage.

what wattage will be gd?

You will need a cover for that , an clear acrylic enclosure , this will help with the salt spray and stray jets of water when the algae builds up and the pipes start to clog..

I been there .. Trust me you won't want a damp or flooded sump area... !!

I've swapped to a UAS now ,

try out this 1st bro... thx for advice

[SantaMonica]

Scrubbers are sized according to feeding. Nutrients "in" (feeding) must equal nutrients "out" (scrubber growth), no matter how many gallons or liters you have. So...

An example VERTICAL upflow or waterfall screen size is 3 X 4 inches = 12 square inches of screen (7.5 X 10 cm = 75 sq cm) with a total of 12 real watts (not equivalent) of fluorescent light for 18 hours a day. If all 12 watts are on one side, it is a 1-sided screen. If 6 watts are on each side, it is a 2-sided screen, but the total is still 12 watts for 18 hours a day. This screen size and wattage should be able to handle the following amounts of daily feeding:

1 frozen cube per day (2-sided screen), or

1/2 frozen cube per day (1-sided screen), or

10 pinches of flake food per day (2-sided screen), or

5 pinches of flake food per day (1-sided screen), or

10 square inches (60 sq cm) of nori per day (2-sided screen), or

5 square inches (30 sq cm) of nori per day (1-sided screen), or

0.1 dry ounce (2.8 grams) of pellet food per day (2-sided screen), or

0.05 dry ounce (1.4 grams) of pellet food per day (1-sided screen)

High-wattage technique: Double the wattage, and cut the hours in half (to 9 per day). This will get brown screens to grow green much faster. Thus the example above would be 12 watts on each side, for a total of 24 watts, but for only 9 hours per day. If growth starts to turn YELLOW, then increase the flow, or add iron, or reduce the number of hours. And since the bulbs are operating for 9 hours instead of 18, they will last 6 months instead of 3 months.

HORIZONTAL screens: Multiply the screen size by 4, and the wattage by 1 1/2. Flow is 24 hours, and is at least 35 gph per inch of width of screen [60 lph per cm], EVEN IF one sided or horizontal.

FLOATING SURFACE SCRUBBERS WITH RIBBONS: Screen size is the size of the box (Lenth X Width), and is 2-sided because the ribbons grow in 3D.

LEDs: Use half the wattage as above. 660nm (red) is best. You can mix in a little 450nm (blue) if you want.

Very rough screen made of roughed-up-like-a-cactus plastic canvas, unless floating surface, which would use gravel and strings instead.

Clean algae:

Every 7 to 21 days, or

When it's black, or

When it fills up, or

When algae lets go, or

When nutrients start to rise

[Powder blue Tang]

This is ATS right?

[Powder blue Tang]

This is ATS right?

[SantaMonica]

Yes

[Ccccz]

I bought this nitrate remover polymer or something from Madpetz.

Small tub. less than a 100.

Have to run through canister filter.

Not too bad.

[Jonathan Tan]

Cool, something new to learn

[SantaMonica]

Coming this summer 2016:
Waterfall algae scrubber
Version 2
 
After I invented the waterfall scrubber in 2008, it's great that so many people got to DIY it, and it's also great that lots of builders/sellers used it as their design up until the current day. It's had over 7 years to gather hobbyists.
 
2012 was a good year though, when I introduced the upflow scrubber. It's only had 3 years to gather hobbyists, but offers them what they did not have before: a compact place where they can put a scrubber that does not spill over when it fills up.
 
Now that the upflows are established, it's time to do some more work on the waterfalls. They've been unchanged since 2008, and almost every part of them can be improved. So over the next year or two I'll post up the improvements piece by piece. Hopefully the improvements will be useful to all.

[SantaMonica]

Ready for the first new waterfall algae scrubber since 2008? Here it is... see if you can find some good DIY ideas:

[SantaMonica]

Here is the video:

https://youtu.be/uo0kOIns0GE

[SantaMonica]

Advanced Aquarist Feature Article for December 2013: Coral Feeding: An Overview
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2013/12/aafeature

The picture in the article shows that in the 1000 litre test tank:

  98% of the food particles go to the skimmer when there are 2 coral colonies
  71% of the food particles go to the skimmer when there are 40 coral colonies
  92% of the food particles go to the skimmer when there are 2 coral colonies, when skimming is cut in half
  55% of the food particles go to the skimmer when there are 40 coral colonies, when skimming is cut in half

"This trade-off between food availability and water quality can be circumvented by using plankton-saving filtration systems, which include [...] algal turf scrubbers" 

"Corals are able to feed on a wide range of particulate organic matter, which includes live organisms and their residues and excrements (detritus)."

"...bacteria [...] can be a major source of nitrogen." [corals need nitrogen]
 
"...when dry fish-feed or phytoplankton cultures are added to an aquarium, a part of this quickly ends up in the collection cup of the skimmer.

"...mechanical filters (which can include biofilters and sand filters) result in a significant waste of food."

"Detritus is a collective term for organic particles that arise from feces [waste], leftover food and decaying organisms. Detrital matter is common on coral reefs and in the aquarium, and slowly settles on the bottom as sediment. This sediment contains bacteria, protozoa, microscopic invertebrates, microalgae and organic material. These sedimentary sources can all serve as coral nutrients when suspended, especially for species growing in turbid waters. Experiments have revealed that many scleractinian corals can ingest and assimilate detritus which is trapped in coral mucus. Although stony corals may ingest detritus *when* it is available, several gorgonians have been found to *primarily* feed on suspended detritus."

"Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is an important food source for many corals. [...] scleractinian corals take up dissolved glucose from the water. [algae produces glucose] More ecologically relevant, corals can also absorb amino acids and urea from the seawater" [algae produces aminos]