Mega Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover - DIY!

[stevenkoh08]

My virgin Scrubber.

Just completed my 10"x 9" scrubber and temporally using 30W LED lite for testing. I'll be going to IKEA to source suitable holder and bulb on coming Tuesday .

Currently the scrubber is inside the overflow due to limited space in my sump .

Please comment and feedback !

hi where u buy the screen

[qwertman321]

Hi SM , seems like my screen only grows diatoms..... does it do the same filter as green algae?

[stevenkoh08]

Sharing here my new scrubber set-up for my new tank. After unsuccessful search for a dremel, I was so glad that my dad-in-law actually have this in his storeroom...a metal grinder! It works great and very easy to cut the slot on the pipe.

Using the bottom of a pair of scissors and even a long screw driver thread to rough up the screen by dragging along the screen. The surface was very rough after that. But avoid using the inner cutting edge of the scissors to prevent cutting the screen.

hi bro where u got the screen

[peacemaker]

Hi Bro Peacemaker

You can find this type of plastic screen in those big knitting shops. l bought mine at Golden Dragon (Jin Long) shop at People's Park Centre, opposite Chinatown Point Shopping Centre. It's located within that Centre at 2nd floor (shop is hidden inside). There are a few sizes and even colors to choose from. The one l bought cost about $6 each.

Cheers.

stevenkoh08 ^^

[SantaMonica]

Hi SM , seems like my screen only grows diatoms..... does it do the same filter as green algae?

Yes but there seems to be a problem. You should have changed out that screen for some plastic canvas, roughed up with a hole saw, not sandpaper. What bulbs do you have?

[stevenkoh08]

Hi SM

As i've see the recent post of the screen u've, does it really needed to have hole in between the two sided screen?

Cause i'm using the same type of material, but no hole between it.

[qwertman321]

Yes but there seems to be a problem. You should have changed out that screen for some plastic canvas, roughed up with a hole saw, not sandpaper. What bulbs do you have?

i have changed my screen to plastic canvas already and rought it up with a hole saw too. i have 13w warm white light on both sides 2 cm away from the screen

[Jameshong]

Yes but there seems to be a problem. You should have changed out that screen for some plastic canvas, roughed up with a hole saw, not sandpaper. What bulbs do you have?

Can those halogen bulb be used for scrubber?

[Jameshong]

hi where u buy the screen

I bought from one small freshwater LFS in Jurong west area.

[stevenkoh08]

Can those halogen bulb be used for scrubber?

no can't really help as what i've posted in the earlier in this tread.

it have abit of green algea on it but not growing well

by the way i'd like to know where u got the screen it your last post pic??

[stevenkoh08]

I bought from one small freshwater LFS in Jurong west area.

so do u know the address or the shop name, cause it won't be easy to go round jurong west as it not small

[SantaMonica]

i have changed my screen to plastic canvas already and rought it up with a hole saw too. i have 13w warm white light on both sides 2 cm away from the screen

Move the lights away to about 4 inches. Make sure the lights are CFL, not incandescent. They should have a spiral.

Can those halogen bulb be used for scrubber?

No. CFL or T5HO only.

[qwertman321]

Move the lights away to about 4 inches. Make sure the lights are CFL, not incandescent. They should have a spiral.

No. CFL or T5HO only.

Yup mines the spiral kind

[Eniram]

I used my return down pipe to direct water to the scrubber instead of a separate pump. Using cable tie to secure the long pipe from the cabinet ceiling.

Bought 2 cheap $12 clip-on study lights from a neighbourhood shop, one of those shops that sell lots of cheap electrical/household products. Using 15W energy saving warm white bulbs. Also recycled some old acrylic sheets to shield front and back for minor water splashes, in case water splashes into the lightset.

Rapid water flow as compared to my previous horizontal screen.

So far, there were some patches of brown algae growing after 3 days.

Hey Underwater where do stay? Have been trying really hard to find those clip on lights and the screen.

Also here is an update on week 3 of my scrubber, showing signs of green and brown algae. YES it does smell like the ocean when you clean it! Really seeing results and hopefully bye bye N03!!

Before week 1 then week 3

[Underwater]

Hey Underwater where do stay? Have been trying really hard to find those clip on lights and the screen.

Also here is an update on week 3 of my scrubber, showing signs of green and brown algae. YES it does smell like the ocean when you clean it! Really seeing results and hopefully bye bye N03!!

Before week 1 then week 3

l stay at Hougang Central. The shop is directly opposite the 24-hr NTUC Fairprice, selling those cheap DIY, electrical and household stuff. Should be able to find such shops in most neighbourhoods. Screens can be found in most big knitting shops like mentioned in earlier postings.

[Eniram]

l stay at Hougang Central. The shop is directly opposite the 24-hr NTUC Fairprice, selling those cheap DIY, electrical and household stuff. Should be able to find such shops in most neighbourhoods. Screens can be found in most big knitting shops like mentioned in earlier postings.

okie thx

[Jameshong]

Move the lights away to about 4 inches. Make sure the lights are CFL, not incandescent. They should have a spiral.

No. CFL or T5HO only.

Hi SM,

Is this the correct one?

11watt Warm White equal to 65watt incandescent !

[Jameshong]

Hi SM,

Is this the correct one?

11watt Warm White equal to 65watt incandescent !

Should be 13 watt Warm White equal to 65watt incandescent .

[SantaMonica]

Yes those are good.

[SantaMonica]

Several updates:

1. The algae that does the filtering in the oceans (algae is 90 percent of all life, except for bacteria) is planktonic, meaning they are small particles floating in the water. This is why the ocean is greenish in color. The tiny bit of algae on the beaches is not enough to do any filtering for an entire ocean.

2. Brown-to-Green. Algae on your screen will start off brown, then go to green, after several cleanings. But brown aglae STILL filters; it's just that it's the type of algae that grows when nutrients are high. If your screen never turns green, you are still getting filtering from the brown; it's just that your scrubber is not strong enough to get nutrients low enough to grow green (based on how much you are currently feeding).

3. Real turf algae (the kinds that is tough like carpet) is not needed. Last year I posted that real turf was best, but now it's been shown that in DIY aquarium scrubbers, green hair and even brown slime filters just as well. And that's a good thing because real turf almost never grows because it gets covered up by green and brown (unless you use a surge, which kills the green and brown with lack of flow.)

4. Fish-only tanks don't need tiny particles of food in the water, and thus don't benefit as much from scrubbers. However if you are going to run a skimmerless fish-only tank, and if you are not going to have any mechanical filter at all (like a filter sock), one thing you can do is use very little flow in the display, so that all fish waste will fall to the bottom. Then, make sure you have enough cleanup's on the bottom to break the waste up into tiny particles. The quicker the particles are broken up, the quicker bacteria can convert them into ammonia, nitrate and phosphate, and the quicker the scrubber can absorb these things. However if you are going to have any mechanical filters at all (including a skimmer), then you want high flow along the bottom of the tank so that the particles will get taken away to the filters for removal.

5. T5 bulbs are better, for the same wattage, because all the power is distributed evenly across the screen. CFL bulbs have to be moved further away, because the center spot gets too much power, but the farther spots don't get enough. T5 scrubbers are MUCH harder to build, however.

6. I keep hearing "Yes, skimmers DO remove nitrate and phosphate! They just do it by removing organics BEFORE they break down into nitrates and phosphates". That's just great. Organics, before they "break down", are called FOOD. Yes, FOOD. So yes, skimmers DO remove FOOD (i.e, "protein"). But saying that removing FOOD is the same as removing nitrates and phosphates is like saying removing BEER, before you drink it, is the same as removing the pee after you drink it. Wouldn't you rather have the beer, and then remove the pee? Skimmers remove the food that you put in the tank. Scrubbers remove the "pee" after the tank eats the food.

7. Horizontal (one-sided) screens are only recommended for nano tanks, and only if the screen is narrow (no more than 4 inches wide) so that the water flows like a river. If you try to do horizontal screens on bigger tanks, the screen will have to be wider, and what will happen is that when algae tries to grow thick, it will block the flow from getting past it (it will even block flow to itself). If the screen is 4 inches wide or less, and if the flow is very high, the water will pile up and get over the algae. But on wider screens it won't, and any algae downstream of the thick algae will have it's flow cut off. And for any horizontal screen, make sure you put a solid sheet under it, to keep the water from falling through.

8. Cloudiness is caused by underlying algae layers dying (from not cleaning); if you look at these layers, they look like wheat, and they fall right off of the screen. Green or yellow water, however, is caused by cleaning the screen in the water, without removing it first and taking it to the sink; the strands of algae break and put colored stuff into the water.

9. Algae video:

[Jameshong]

Hi SM,

unable to watch the video !

Several updates:

1. The algae that does the filtering in the oceans (algae is 90 percent of all life, except for bacteria) is planktonic, meaning they are small particles floating in the water. This is why the ocean is greenish in color. The tiny bit of algae on the beaches is not enough to do any filtering for an entire ocean.

2. Brown-to-Green. Algae on your screen will start off brown, then go to green, after several cleanings. But brown aglae STILL filters; it's just that it's the type of algae that grows when nutrients are high. If your screen never turns green, you are still getting filtering from the brown; it's just that your scrubber is not strong enough to get nutrients low enough to grow green (based on how much you are currently feeding).

3. Real turf algae (the kinds that is tough like carpet) is not needed. Last year I posted that real turf was best, but now it's been shown that in DIY aquarium scrubbers, green hair and even brown slime filters just as well. And that's a good thing because real turf almost never grows because it gets covered up by green and brown (unless you use a surge, which kills the green and brown with lack of flow.)

4. Fish-only tanks don't need tiny particles of food in the water, and thus don't benefit as much from scrubbers. However if you are going to run a skimmerless fish-only tank, and if you are not going to have any mechanical filter at all (like a filter sock), one thing you can do is use very little flow in the display, so that all fish waste will fall to the bottom. Then, make sure you have enough cleanup's on the bottom to break the waste up into tiny particles. The quicker the particles are broken up, the quicker bacteria can convert them into ammonia, nitrate and phosphate, and the quicker the scrubber can absorb these things. However if you are going to have any mechanical filters at all (including a skimmer), then you want high flow along the bottom of the tank so that the particles will get taken away to the filters for removal.

5. T5 bulbs are better, for the same wattage, because all the power is distributed evenly across the screen. CFL bulbs have to be moved further away, because the center spot gets too much power, but the farther spots don't get enough. T5 scrubbers are MUCH harder to build, however.

6. I keep hearing "Yes, skimmers DO remove nitrate and phosphate! They just do it by removing organics BEFORE they break down into nitrates and phosphates". That's just great. Organics, before they "break down", are called FOOD. Yes, FOOD. So yes, skimmers DO remove FOOD (i.e, "protein"). But saying that removing FOOD is the same as removing nitrates and phosphates is like saying removing BEER, before you drink it, is the same as removing the pee after you drink it. Wouldn't you rather have the beer, and then remove the pee? Skimmers remove the food that you put in the tank. Scrubbers remove the "pee" after the tank eats the food.

7. Horizontal (one-sided) screens are only recommended for nano tanks, and only if the screen is narrow (no more than 4 inches wide) so that the water flows like a river. If you try to do horizontal screens on bigger tanks, the screen will have to be wider, and what will happen is that when algae tries to grow thick, it will block the flow from getting past it (it will even block flow to itself). If the screen is 4 inches wide or less, and if the flow is very high, the water will pile up and get over the algae. But on wider screens it won't, and any algae downstream of the thick algae will have it's flow cut off. And for any horizontal screen, make sure you put a solid sheet under it, to keep the water from falling through.

8. Cloudiness is caused by underlying algae layers dying (from not cleaning); if you look at these layers, they look like wheat, and they fall right off of the screen. Green or yellow water, however, is caused by cleaning the screen in the water, without removing it first and taking it to the sink; the strands of algae break and put colored stuff into the water.

9. Algae video:

[SantaMonica]

On youtube, search for UCtelevision

[Eniram]

Any updates so far on those new scrubbers?

[SantaMonica]

Which new ones?

[Eniram]

Sorry SM what i meant was any updates on the N03 being reduced for some of the newly installed scrubbers?