Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everything

T

Tyro

New Member
Re: Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everythin

Tried to read the ADEY Basal Screen ........ however my eyes and my brain quickly began to glaze over so gave up. The thing about SantaMonica's Algae Scrubber is that all the data he uses may well have been part of general knowledge for many years but his ability to translate and bring it all together in an easily understandable logical fashion has inspired thousands to follow him. Me included. My first scrubber is around six weeks old and starting to work nicely but is far from a perfect. That is the beauty of the SantaMonica scrubber it is very forgiving of imperfections of construction.
 
Floyd R Turbo

Floyd R Turbo

RS Sponsor
Re: Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everythin

Very interesting. Notice that by adding the little vertical 'posts' at the intersections that the biomass production increased by about 50%. From what I could read from the first page or so (before it got into technical explanation of the screen itself) the idea behind this is to prevent detachment of filaments when diatom algae is the dominant algae. But yeah, 3D growth being better, who would have thunk it....
 
SantaMonica

SantaMonica

Well-Known Member
PREMIUM
Re: Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everythin

Yes I've been looking for screen material like this for a while now. Not available anywhere, and I've search for months.
 
SantaMonica

SantaMonica

Well-Known Member
PREMIUM
Re: Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everythin

Here is a complete cleaning video (with one hand, and with no sound) of a mature screen from one of the two scrubber on my tank. It shows how to clean the acrylic box, the acrylic window, and how to scrape off the turf. About one pound of algae (wet) is removed total, including the algae in the box. Most new screens less than a year old won't have any turf, but this screen is well-grown-in so the turf must be removed every 3 months or so, to give the green hair algae a place to attach to the screen.

Cleaning is done slowly, so you can see all the steps; if I were in a hurry, I could do it all in 5 minutes. Also, the box is full because I let it grow as much as possible (about 2 weeks) to show the 3D growth for the video; you would not normally let it fill up so much: YouTube - ‪SM100 complete cleaning‬‏

Shortcuts:

00:30 - 3D close up
03:45 - Turning off pump
06:10 - Removing screen
08:50 - Screen scraping
13:55 - Putting screen back in pipe
15:20 - View the algae in the box
17:35 - Putting pipe back in box
18:40 - Water flow again in clean box
19:00 - Cleaning window with toothbrush
 
Cloudburst2000

Cloudburst2000

Member
Re: Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everythin

Just curiuos if someone has done something like this for a 14 gallon biocube. My brother-in-law has a biocube and was interested in extra filtration. I really don't have time to go looking through 60+ pages of stuff for one post. Is there some way to rig something like this into the biocube. My brother-in-law has already modified the middle chamber into a fuge. He has a 9" Coralife CFL lighting the back of the tank (he scrapped the back of the tank so it shines in from the back panel.
 
SantaMonica

SantaMonica

Well-Known Member
PREMIUM
Re: Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everythin

You would have to replace the fuge with it. Fuge would not survive anyway. Or put it on top and have it drain back down, but that's an external one.
 
DrugMonkeyRX

DrugMonkeyRX

Member
Re: Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everythin

SantaMonica said:
You would have to replace the fuge with it. Fuge would not survive anyway. Or put it on top and have it drain back down, but that's an external one.
Click to expand...

Water changes seem easier to me than this whole process, but its def a cool design. Nice work SA
 
SantaMonica

SantaMonica

Well-Known Member
PREMIUM
Re: Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everythin

Except that water changes remove coral food. If you don't have corals, then water changes are certainly one option if you like doing them.
 
SantaMonica

SantaMonica

Well-Known Member
PREMIUM
Re: Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everythin

For those who are using tap water for top-off or water changes:

Tap water sometimes contains copper to kill unwanted things. Algae eats copper, as long as the copper is not added to much, too fast. If the copper is added too much, too fast, it will stop the algae from growing for a while. So to prevent your scrubber from being affected by this, try to make sure you have as much algae on your screen(s) as possible when you add the tap water. In other words, don't clean your screen(s) before you add the tap water.
 
SantaMonica

SantaMonica

Well-Known Member
PREMIUM
Re: Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everythin

Three things...

1: Here is a CFL reflector comparision video:
YouTube - ‪CFL Reflector Comparison‬‏

2: Here is a video of roughed-up screen material:
YouTube - ‪Roughed Up Screen Material‬‏

3: Here is a video of an encrusting yellow sponge:
YouTube - ‪Yellow Sponge Growth‬‏

More sponge pics; it came out of nowhere and started growing in low-light areas, especially towards the power head, since it needs lots of flow and food particles:

YellowSponge1.jpg


YellowSponge2.jpg


YellowSponge3.jpg
 
R

ryano1985

New Member
Re: Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everythin

apologies if this has already been addressed (don't have time to read through NINTEY-EIGHT pages!) but is anyone selling these turf algae filters to the less than capable/DIY people like myself? i know it's "really simple" to build, but sadly i'm the type of person who shouldn't even pick up a hammer :drool:. yet again, trying to buy myself out of a problem...pathetic, indeed. anyway, this sounds like it may be the answer to my high nitrate problems, and something that will prevent future issues, so i'm hoping there's someone who can help! i'm running a 75 gallon tank with an overflow box that runs down into my Shark wet/dry sump. here's a pic:

1000x500px-LL-c3ed1e99_sump.jpg


ideally i'd have a setup that's inside the sump as my space doesn't really allow a nice way to have a 5 gallon bucket setup.

kudos, santamonica
 
SantaMonica

SantaMonica

Well-Known Member
PREMIUM
Re: Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everythin

The next post here will actually be a cleaning video I just made of a ready made scrubber. However if you have rock and sand, you can do a lot by just removing all sponges and bioballs. The bioballs can come out1/3 at a time for safety.

You can get them at Santa Monica Filtration
 
Q

quicklynx

Member
Re: Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everythin

i have a question. Im wondering if you think this may work. I have an old Whisper Filter model, kind of like this one here. Tetra Whisper EX Series Filter Systems - Fish - Sale Category - PetSmart

My question is, in the sections where the carbon filters are put, if I cut out a screen and put it in those sections instead, then get 2 flood lamps and clips them on, would the screen still work even though its basically submerged in water?

Thanks
 
SantaMonica

SantaMonica

Well-Known Member
PREMIUM
Re: Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everythin

No it won't work under water.
 
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