Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everything
- Thread starter SantaMonica
- Start date
Re: Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everythin
Growth Sequence of New Acrylic Screen
The new acrylic scrubber is up and kicking. These pics were taken while the original bucket was still operating, so the growth is slower than it would have been otherwise. I'm running 3000K on one side, and 6500K on the other, as a test. It probably won't make much difference until the holes in the screen are sealed off, but here are the daily pics. The T5 light on the front has been removed so you can see the screen:
Day 1
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicDay01.jpg
Day 2
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicDay02.jpg
Day 3
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicDay03.jpg
Day 4
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicDay04.jpg
Day 5
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicDay05.jpg
Day 6
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicDay06.jpg
Day 7
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicDay07.jpg
Day 8
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicDay08.jpg
Day 9
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicDay09.jpg
Day 10
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicDay10.jpg
Day 11 (a huge growth increase):
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicDay11.jpg
Notice that it takes several days before you can see any growth at all. And yes, I did seed the screen. Going back one day to Day 10, here are some closeups:
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicCloseup1Day10.jpg
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicCloseup2Day10.jpg
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicCloseup3Day10.jpg
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicCloseup4Day10.jpg
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicCloseup5Day10.jpg
And here is a closeup from Day 11:
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicDay11closeup.jpg
And what it looks like out of the stand. Note the algae coming out of drain; it was almost 2 feet long before I pulled it out for this pic:
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicDay11heldup.jpg
Here's the growth on the 3000K side:
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicDay11out3000K.jpg
And the 6500K side:
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicDay11out6500K.jpg
Instead of following the rule of cleaning only one side at a time, I had to do both in order to measure the algae of the 3000K side versus the 6500K side. Here is what was pulled off, like pulling a rope:
Here are the algae amounts removed, after a cleaning:
And here's the screen after cleaning; this is why you don't clean both sides, becuase it leaves left nothing on the screen for filtering:
A few notes:
o The screen is only 1.5 inches from the acrylic wall, and thus some water does get on the wall. But this unit is currently not setup for airflow with a fan, and it has a lid, so the water never gets a chance to evaporate. As a result very little saltcreep forms. I think I wiped it twice during the 11 days; however it did not do anything, just redistributed the droplets. On day 11 there was a small amount of creep; when I pulled the screen out I just reached in an splashed some water on it and it came off.
o There was a great increase in algae between day 10 and 11. I've seen this many times: once the hair algae gets to a certain point, the next day it covers everything.
o When the screen get covered, algae start flowing down the scrubber and out the drain. Not a little, but a lot. It easily reached the botton of the sump 18" below. I just grabbed it and pulled it off. This might be a way to feed tangs, if the unit were placed on the hood of the tank.
Growth Sequence of New Acrylic Screen
The new acrylic scrubber is up and kicking. These pics were taken while the original bucket was still operating, so the growth is slower than it would have been otherwise. I'm running 3000K on one side, and 6500K on the other, as a test. It probably won't make much difference until the holes in the screen are sealed off, but here are the daily pics. The T5 light on the front has been removed so you can see the screen:
Day 1
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicDay01.jpg
Day 2
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicDay02.jpg
Day 3
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicDay03.jpg
Day 4
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicDay04.jpg
Day 5
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicDay05.jpg
Day 6
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicDay06.jpg
Day 7
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicDay07.jpg
Day 8
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicDay08.jpg
Day 9
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicDay09.jpg
Day 10
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicDay10.jpg
Day 11 (a huge growth increase):
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicDay11.jpg
Notice that it takes several days before you can see any growth at all. And yes, I did seed the screen. Going back one day to Day 10, here are some closeups:
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicCloseup1Day10.jpg
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicCloseup2Day10.jpg
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicCloseup3Day10.jpg
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicCloseup4Day10.jpg
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicCloseup5Day10.jpg
And here is a closeup from Day 11:
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicDay11closeup.jpg
And what it looks like out of the stand. Note the algae coming out of drain; it was almost 2 feet long before I pulled it out for this pic:
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicDay11heldup.jpg
Here's the growth on the 3000K side:
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicDay11out3000K.jpg
And the 6500K side:
Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/AcrylicDay11out6500K.jpg
Instead of following the rule of cleaning only one side at a time, I had to do both in order to measure the algae of the 3000K side versus the 6500K side. Here is what was pulled off, like pulling a rope:
Here are the algae amounts removed, after a cleaning:
And here's the screen after cleaning; this is why you don't clean both sides, becuase it leaves left nothing on the screen for filtering:
A few notes:
o The screen is only 1.5 inches from the acrylic wall, and thus some water does get on the wall. But this unit is currently not setup for airflow with a fan, and it has a lid, so the water never gets a chance to evaporate. As a result very little saltcreep forms. I think I wiped it twice during the 11 days; however it did not do anything, just redistributed the droplets. On day 11 there was a small amount of creep; when I pulled the screen out I just reached in an splashed some water on it and it came off.
o There was a great increase in algae between day 10 and 11. I've seen this many times: once the hair algae gets to a certain point, the next day it covers everything.
o When the screen get covered, algae start flowing down the scrubber and out the drain. Not a little, but a lot. It easily reached the botton of the sump 18" below. I just grabbed it and pulled it off. This might be a way to feed tangs, if the unit were placed on the hood of the tank.
Varga
Well-Known Member
Re: Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everythin
I gave the scrubber a chance, but it did not put a dent in my N problems at all. I still have it running because it is a fun DIY project but I have no real reason to believe it provided any real benefits to my tank. It grows algae outside your DT which is great but my fuge still has the upper hand since it grows algae AND food for the fish
I gave the scrubber a chance, but it did not put a dent in my N problems at all. I still have it running because it is a fun DIY project but I have no real reason to believe it provided any real benefits to my tank. It grows algae outside your DT which is great but my fuge still has the upper hand since it grows algae AND food for the fish
Re: Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everythin
Hey varga I really think that getting a "pre grown" screen really helps out the process. I have no before and after numbers but I highly doubt they were this low before I started the scrubber. Phos .03 and nitrate was nearly undetectable. I have been skimmerless for over 3 months and have had the scrubber up for about 1.5 months and I have been over feeding like crazy. Im going to get some more test #'s this weekend to verify. I've personally noticed a lot of positives and no negatives thus far. Happy reefing.
Jake
Hey varga I really think that getting a "pre grown" screen really helps out the process. I have no before and after numbers but I highly doubt they were this low before I started the scrubber. Phos .03 and nitrate was nearly undetectable. I have been skimmerless for over 3 months and have had the scrubber up for about 1.5 months and I have been over feeding like crazy. Im going to get some more test #'s this weekend to verify. I've personally noticed a lot of positives and no negatives thus far. Happy reefing.
Jake
Re: Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everythin
Something is wrong then. If it's is large enough, with enough light, and if it's growing algae like you said it was, it has to pull N and P out. After all, that's what makes up algae. As for food, the swarm of copepods that I get seems to be plent of food for the filter feeders.
Something is wrong then. If it's is large enough, with enough light, and if it's growing algae like you said it was, it has to pull N and P out. After all, that's what makes up algae. As for food, the swarm of copepods that I get seems to be plent of food for the filter feeders.
Re: Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everythin
Reminder Of The Day: Flow...
The basic rule of thumb for flow for a standard pipe slot is 35 gph (US gallons per hour) (140 liters per hour) per inch (2.2 cm) of screen width. Thus a screen 2" wide would need 70 gph. This should cover the entire screen with a swift flow on both sides, and leave you with a little room for adjustment. The more flow, the better, but this amount has proven to work well. How tall the screen is does not change the gph, however; only the width does. Here is the chart:
Screen Width-----Gallons Per Hour (GPH)
2" 70
3" 105
4" 140
5" 175
6" 210
7" 245
8" 280
9" 315
10" 350
11" 385
12" 420
13" 455
14" 490
15" 525
16" 560
17" 595
18" 630
19" 665
20" 700
Reminder Of The Day: Flow...
The basic rule of thumb for flow for a standard pipe slot is 35 gph (US gallons per hour) (140 liters per hour) per inch (2.2 cm) of screen width. Thus a screen 2" wide would need 70 gph. This should cover the entire screen with a swift flow on both sides, and leave you with a little room for adjustment. The more flow, the better, but this amount has proven to work well. How tall the screen is does not change the gph, however; only the width does. Here is the chart:
Screen Width-----Gallons Per Hour (GPH)
2" 70
3" 105
4" 140
5" 175
6" 210
7" 245
8" 280
9" 315
10" 350
11" 385
12" 420
13" 455
14" 490
15" 525
16" 560
17" 595
18" 630
19" 665
20" 700
Varga
Well-Known Member
Re: Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everythin
I'm sorry to report that the scrubby did not put the slightest dent in my N.
I'm going to give it another few weeks before wrapping it up. putting this thing away will save me around 100W running 24/7.
I do feel I gave it a chance but the experiment did not yield any real benefits.
I'm sorry to report that the scrubby did not put the slightest dent in my N.
I'm going to give it another few weeks before wrapping it up. putting this thing away will save me around 100W running 24/7.
I do feel I gave it a chance but the experiment did not yield any real benefits.
Re: Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everythin
Yor problem may be related to running the light 24/7. I run mine 12/12. There is no place in the world that has 24 hours of light. Even algae needs a break from sunlight. Try doing that and lmk if that does anything.
Jake
Yor problem may be related to running the light 24/7. I run mine 12/12. There is no place in the world that has 24 hours of light. Even algae needs a break from sunlight. Try doing that and lmk if that does anything.
Jake
Re: Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everythin
"Sly" on the SWF site is getting great growth in just 6 days from his trashcan-scrubber with built-in surge device:
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
And what is this.... dinner?
...Nope, it a week of growth from just one side (the 6500K side) of my acrylic unit.
.
.
"Sly" on the SWF site is getting great growth in just 6 days from his trashcan-scrubber with built-in surge device:
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
And what is this.... dinner?
...Nope, it a week of growth from just one side (the 6500K side) of my acrylic unit.
.
.
Re: Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everythin
Well this one takes the cake. Not only is it the biggest, but it's also the first one to use halides for lighting. "Reefski" on the MD site has a 700g tank and 800g sump, and had the entire garage to use for fish stuff, so he spared nothing in building his scrubber:
By the way, if this weren't enough, his entire back yard is a koi pond
.
.
.
Well this one takes the cake. Not only is it the biggest, but it's also the first one to use halides for lighting. "Reefski" on the MD site has a 700g tank and 800g sump, and had the entire garage to use for fish stuff, so he spared nothing in building his scrubber:
By the way, if this weren't enough, his entire back yard is a koi pond
.
.
.
Re: Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everythin
Well I'm trying to get caught up with the posts; gonna have to combine a few here to get them out without postponing anymore. Seems to be a lot of interest in scrubbers that are unique, like the giant one, and the solar one. Well today is another unique one, but first here are some results feedback:
"Pong" on the RF site said "i had a lot of green hair algae growing on my screen. noticed that the red algae in my DT has lessened dramatically."
"Johnt" on the UR site said "I've always used phosphate remover. I've tried most makes but always ended back using Rowa. since running the scrubber I've stopped the phosphate reactor and despite the scrubber not yet being at the Turf Algae stage the phosphate readings are dropping."
And "thauro77" on the SWF site said "Here are my test results, the dates are the water changes dates as well:
08/28
Calcium 660mg/l (when I first used the filter)
Carbonate 196.9 ppm/kh
Phosphate 0.5
Nitrates 20ppm
09/04
Calcium 500
Carbonate 214.8
Phosphate 0.5
Nitrates 10ppm
09/09
Calcium 440
carbonate 143.2
phosphate 0.5
nitrates 10ppm
09/23
calcium 440
carbonate 214.8
phosphate 0.25
nitrate 5.0ppm
And now for the first screen on any thread to use LEDs! "Snailrider" on the AC site built it:
He knows that the part of the screen underwater will not contribute, so he made sure the part above the water had enough size to handle things. We'll see how LED's work!
.
.
.
Well I'm trying to get caught up with the posts; gonna have to combine a few here to get them out without postponing anymore. Seems to be a lot of interest in scrubbers that are unique, like the giant one, and the solar one. Well today is another unique one, but first here are some results feedback:
"Pong" on the RF site said "i had a lot of green hair algae growing on my screen. noticed that the red algae in my DT has lessened dramatically."
"Johnt" on the UR site said "I've always used phosphate remover. I've tried most makes but always ended back using Rowa. since running the scrubber I've stopped the phosphate reactor and despite the scrubber not yet being at the Turf Algae stage the phosphate readings are dropping."
And "thauro77" on the SWF site said "Here are my test results, the dates are the water changes dates as well:
08/28
Calcium 660mg/l (when I first used the filter)
Carbonate 196.9 ppm/kh
Phosphate 0.5
Nitrates 20ppm
09/04
Calcium 500
Carbonate 214.8
Phosphate 0.5
Nitrates 10ppm
09/09
Calcium 440
carbonate 143.2
phosphate 0.5
nitrates 10ppm
09/23
calcium 440
carbonate 214.8
phosphate 0.25
nitrate 5.0ppm
And now for the first screen on any thread to use LEDs! "Snailrider" on the AC site built it:
He knows that the part of the screen underwater will not contribute, so he made sure the part above the water had enough size to handle things. We'll see how LED's work!
.
.
.
Re: Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everythin
Reminder Of The Day:
Lighting Duration: Set up your scrubber lighting on a timer for 18 hours ON, and six hours OFF. The scrubber itself won't care when those hours are, but if you want, you can have them on when your display lights are off, so as to help balance pH in the system.
Reminder Of The Day:
Lighting Duration: Set up your scrubber lighting on a timer for 18 hours ON, and six hours OFF. The scrubber itself won't care when those hours are, but if you want, you can have them on when your display lights are off, so as to help balance pH in the system.
Re: Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everythin
.
Here is a note to skimmer manufacturers, as well as manufacturers of acrylics/plastics, lighting, and pumps. One way to benefit from scrubbers is to start building them, so as to make life easier for aquarists. There is no patent, and I have no interest in building them, although designing them is fun. Promoting them is fun too. But manufacturing is not my thing, so hopefully some folks will start making at least a simple version (like the Santa Monica 120) available. Look at it like this: Manufacturers of skimmers currently make an expensive product that has pumps and acrylic/plastic parts. Manufacturers of lighting currently make an expensive product that has bulbs, ballasts, and frames. Neither of these products has all these parts in one unit.
Scrubbers, however, do. Instead of viewing scrubbers as a make-at-home rig that stops people from buying skimmers, manufacturers should instead view scrubbers as a piece of aquarium equipment they can manufacture which includes acrylic, plastic, lights, pumps, timers, fans and complex parts, all woven together. Imagine the designs that could be achieved which would allow the most water flow, the most air, the most light, all in the least space possible, and for the best price. It's a designer's dream. Sure, many folks will continue making their own scrubbers, but at some point these folks will upgrade their tanks and will not want to hassle with building larger versions. So, here are some things I thought of that manufacturers could offer:
o A simple low-cost design; just an acrylic box, preferably with a mirror inside finish. The customer would add all other parts. This is what I built.
o Complex designs that would be needed to fit into the many different places that aquarists have: Above a crowded sump, behind the tank, vertically next to tank, next to a tank in a stand-alone furniture finish, or on the wall as a decorative item.
o Skimmers designed to work with scrubbers, by having one connect/feed the other.
o Scrubber lights with built-in timers, for nanos.
o Ultra small scrubber boxes for nanos, possibly with self-contained LED lights, the size of a cell phone.
o Nano hoods with scrubbers built into them.
o Sumps with built in scrubbers, instead of built-in wet/dry's.
o Display lighting-fixtures with scrubbers connected to the back of them, such that the scrubber uses the same light.
o Tank options, such as scrubber-on-backside.
o Auto-cleaners that clean/scrub/scrape the screen automatically.
o Hand/electric tools specialized to clean the screen.
o RODI sprayers that give the screen a FW spray periodically (to kill pods), possibly doubling as a top off.
o Non-destructive pumps to get pods from the sump to the display.
o Self-priming pumps built in to scrubber, for placement on top of displays with no sump.
o Quick-disconnect waterfall pipes.
o Double and triple thick screens, which allow algae to stick better during cleanings.
o Multiple screens, with large areas for large tanks.
o Ultra thin LED powered flexible screens, which could weave around obstacles.
o Fan on a temp controller, to keep water temp preset.
o Uniquely shaped T5 panels, such as 12 X 12, to perfectly fit a screen.
o Safety switches that cut off the lights and/or flow during certain conditions.
A great first model could be targeted to smaller tanks (SW and FW) that may not have sumps, and thus would include a self-priming pump inside the scrubber. It would sit on or near the display and would pull water up to it. It would drain right back to the display, and would give the customer the option of letting the algae grow out the drain (and into the tank to feed the fish), or removing the algae as it comes out of the drain, before it gets to the display.
.
.
.
Here is a note to skimmer manufacturers, as well as manufacturers of acrylics/plastics, lighting, and pumps. One way to benefit from scrubbers is to start building them, so as to make life easier for aquarists. There is no patent, and I have no interest in building them, although designing them is fun. Promoting them is fun too. But manufacturing is not my thing, so hopefully some folks will start making at least a simple version (like the Santa Monica 120) available. Look at it like this: Manufacturers of skimmers currently make an expensive product that has pumps and acrylic/plastic parts. Manufacturers of lighting currently make an expensive product that has bulbs, ballasts, and frames. Neither of these products has all these parts in one unit.
Scrubbers, however, do. Instead of viewing scrubbers as a make-at-home rig that stops people from buying skimmers, manufacturers should instead view scrubbers as a piece of aquarium equipment they can manufacture which includes acrylic, plastic, lights, pumps, timers, fans and complex parts, all woven together. Imagine the designs that could be achieved which would allow the most water flow, the most air, the most light, all in the least space possible, and for the best price. It's a designer's dream. Sure, many folks will continue making their own scrubbers, but at some point these folks will upgrade their tanks and will not want to hassle with building larger versions. So, here are some things I thought of that manufacturers could offer:
o A simple low-cost design; just an acrylic box, preferably with a mirror inside finish. The customer would add all other parts. This is what I built.
o Complex designs that would be needed to fit into the many different places that aquarists have: Above a crowded sump, behind the tank, vertically next to tank, next to a tank in a stand-alone furniture finish, or on the wall as a decorative item.
o Skimmers designed to work with scrubbers, by having one connect/feed the other.
o Scrubber lights with built-in timers, for nanos.
o Ultra small scrubber boxes for nanos, possibly with self-contained LED lights, the size of a cell phone.
o Nano hoods with scrubbers built into them.
o Sumps with built in scrubbers, instead of built-in wet/dry's.
o Display lighting-fixtures with scrubbers connected to the back of them, such that the scrubber uses the same light.
o Tank options, such as scrubber-on-backside.
o Auto-cleaners that clean/scrub/scrape the screen automatically.
o Hand/electric tools specialized to clean the screen.
o RODI sprayers that give the screen a FW spray periodically (to kill pods), possibly doubling as a top off.
o Non-destructive pumps to get pods from the sump to the display.
o Self-priming pumps built in to scrubber, for placement on top of displays with no sump.
o Quick-disconnect waterfall pipes.
o Double and triple thick screens, which allow algae to stick better during cleanings.
o Multiple screens, with large areas for large tanks.
o Ultra thin LED powered flexible screens, which could weave around obstacles.
o Fan on a temp controller, to keep water temp preset.
o Uniquely shaped T5 panels, such as 12 X 12, to perfectly fit a screen.
o Safety switches that cut off the lights and/or flow during certain conditions.
A great first model could be targeted to smaller tanks (SW and FW) that may not have sumps, and thus would include a self-priming pump inside the scrubber. It would sit on or near the display and would pull water up to it. It would drain right back to the display, and would give the customer the option of letting the algae grow out the drain (and into the tank to feed the fish), or removing the algae as it comes out of the drain, before it gets to the display.
.
.
Re: Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everythin
.
Results of the Day:
"darkblue" on the RP site says, "Been running a 4"x10" OHF [over head filter scrubber] version on my 15g for almost 2 months already. My Nitrate reading started dropping after around 3 weeks. I've had 0 Nitrates for a month now. I'm using Seachem for my tests. The screen is just partially covered with what I think are patches of brown turf."
And "jfdelacruz", also on the RP site, says "I recently implemented this on my tank. I [originally] had an overhead filter to try and filter out a lot of detritus, and changed out filter foams every week. nitrates and phosphates were high and I had brown algae (kinda like cyano) on my sandbed already too thick to fight. I did the 2 days lights out and it took out the brown film algae. I bought a 10watt fluorescent light from carti and then cut a right fit cross-stitch cloth as my screen and layed it flat on my OHF and took out the foam. lights are on 24/7 [temporarily]. I'm on my 5th day and algae is basically non existent in the tank, while the whole cloth is covered in the same brown film algae that covered my sandbed and is starting to grow the green algae. 10,000K ung fluorescent and after day 2 it already had algae on it. on day 3 the whole cloth was lightly covered. im still waiting for day 10. also Im going on a 2nd week no water change just to try it out and so far everything's doing good. coral's are happy and clam is happy. inverts and clownfish is also happy and eating lots of cyclopeeze everyday!
Also, I'm putting together a little series on how nutrients work in our aquariums. It will hopefully help folks better understand what affects what, and how we can make things work their best. Here's the first one below. I use Salifert for my testing, so I'll just refer to them:
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Results of the Day:
"darkblue" on the RP site says, "Been running a 4"x10" OHF [over head filter scrubber] version on my 15g for almost 2 months already. My Nitrate reading started dropping after around 3 weeks. I've had 0 Nitrates for a month now. I'm using Seachem for my tests. The screen is just partially covered with what I think are patches of brown turf."
And "jfdelacruz", also on the RP site, says "I recently implemented this on my tank. I [originally] had an overhead filter to try and filter out a lot of detritus, and changed out filter foams every week. nitrates and phosphates were high and I had brown algae (kinda like cyano) on my sandbed already too thick to fight. I did the 2 days lights out and it took out the brown film algae. I bought a 10watt fluorescent light from carti and then cut a right fit cross-stitch cloth as my screen and layed it flat on my OHF and took out the foam. lights are on 24/7 [temporarily]. I'm on my 5th day and algae is basically non existent in the tank, while the whole cloth is covered in the same brown film algae that covered my sandbed and is starting to grow the green algae. 10,000K ung fluorescent and after day 2 it already had algae on it. on day 3 the whole cloth was lightly covered. im still waiting for day 10. also Im going on a 2nd week no water change just to try it out and so far everything's doing good. coral's are happy and clam is happy. inverts and clownfish is also happy and eating lots of cyclopeeze everyday!
Also, I'm putting together a little series on how nutrients work in our aquariums. It will hopefully help folks better understand what affects what, and how we can make things work their best. Here's the first one below. I use Salifert for my testing, so I'll just refer to them:
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Re: Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everythin
Correct... the Organic N and P are bound to Carbon, which makes them food. Thus they are not detected with hobby kits.
Correct... the Organic N and P are bound to Carbon, which makes them food. Thus they are not detected with hobby kits.
jenglish
Member
Re: Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everythin
IDK if there still is but there used to be commercially built ATS available online. I bought one in probably 01 or 02. It was a dismal failure but it was a poor design. I think most major designers (skimmer and other aquatics producers) have not picked up on this due to its somewhat spotty performance on the tests that were ran back in the day. I'm not saying the concept doesn't work I'm just saying the way it was tested 10 or more years ago were spotty. I know at one point there were some patent issues with the Inland aquatics dump bucket style a few years ago. I have no idea if those were ever resolved but I think that may have given major companies a bad taste in their mouth. Just my 2 cents
IDK if there still is but there used to be commercially built ATS available online. I bought one in probably 01 or 02. It was a dismal failure but it was a poor design. I think most major designers (skimmer and other aquatics producers) have not picked up on this due to its somewhat spotty performance on the tests that were ran back in the day. I'm not saying the concept doesn't work I'm just saying the way it was tested 10 or more years ago were spotty. I know at one point there were some patent issues with the Inland aquatics dump bucket style a few years ago. I have no idea if those were ever resolved but I think that may have given major companies a bad taste in their mouth. Just my 2 cents
Re: Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everythin
That design was probably the "dumping" one, that filled up and tipped over. Was discontinued due to a lawsuit over the patent, correct, although the patent expired in 2003. Was a very large contraption, noisy, salt spray, and you could never put it under your tank. Plus, folks back then did not clean the screens in their sinks, and thus got yellowing. Plus plus, those units started at $800, and went to $3000. Wow.
That design was probably the "dumping" one, that filled up and tipped over. Was discontinued due to a lawsuit over the patent, correct, although the patent expired in 2003. Was a very large contraption, noisy, salt spray, and you could never put it under your tank. Plus, folks back then did not clean the screens in their sinks, and thus got yellowing. Plus plus, those units started at $800, and went to $3000. Wow.
Re: Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everythin
.
Builds Of The Day:
This one is from "Sandztorm" on the RP site; it is a version of the nano that I listed on page 1, where a simple screen replaces the foam filter in the hood, and a light is added on top:
This one from "Coopattack" on the FG site wraps the PVC around the bottom of the screen to hold it in place:
Here is a trough version by "framerguy" on the CR site (the lights have since been lowered closer to the trough):
This one from "Labman" on the MD site wanted a taller one in a more narrow size, so he attached two plastic canvas screens together:
"Johntanjm" from the MD site placed screens on both sides of the bulb, instead of a bulb on both sides of the screen:
"Mrobo77031" on the UR site just attached the pipe and lights to the stand, and put some reflective material around it:
And "Mudshark" on the MASA site just drilled the pvc with holes, and wrapped a screen around it:
.
.
.
Builds Of The Day:
This one is from "Sandztorm" on the RP site; it is a version of the nano that I listed on page 1, where a simple screen replaces the foam filter in the hood, and a light is added on top:
This one from "Coopattack" on the FG site wraps the PVC around the bottom of the screen to hold it in place:
Here is a trough version by "framerguy" on the CR site (the lights have since been lowered closer to the trough):
This one from "Labman" on the MD site wanted a taller one in a more narrow size, so he attached two plastic canvas screens together:
"Johntanjm" from the MD site placed screens on both sides of the bulb, instead of a bulb on both sides of the screen:
"Mrobo77031" on the UR site just attached the pipe and lights to the stand, and put some reflective material around it:
And "Mudshark" on the MASA site just drilled the pvc with holes, and wrapped a screen around it:
.
.