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

rickandmel

rickandmel

New Member
I just got my first 90 gal reef tank. I have not built the stand yet. I would like to start with this system but not sure what all I need, like size pumps and if I would need a sump tank. I gotten lost in the threads because of all the modifications to existing system. Right now I don't have anything but a tank. I just wanted to ask the experts.
 
rickandmel

rickandmel

New Member
Still need a little help, are there any pics to show what it all should look like inside the cabinet so I am not missing something ( coming from tank and then going back to the tank)
Thanks for the help. Just new to all this
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
look at post 188 on page 4 for diagrams of differnt configurations.
Do you have a sump?
 
king_neptune

king_neptune

Active Member
I think the screen is showing too much warping. I see this might cause the screen to press up against the acrylic window, reducing its over all effectiveness. Also it might cause blockage which will lead to slurping.
It might be a good idea to consider some pegs or something at the bottom to hold the screen in a relative straight line.
Or something at the bottom of the screen to keep it straight.
 
santamonica

santamonica

Member
Interestingly the position of the screen doesn't have any impact at all on flow or growth. The only position that matters is the end, which gets less light, and doesn't grow green as much.
 
john rambo

john rambo

Member
After reading a lot of positive feedback I built a scrubber last week. It's an in-sump design and is on my 125 fish only. My nitrates have always been high
(160+ppm) so this should be an interesting test. Hopefully my water quality will improve like others. The screen is around 12x18 and is getting great water flow. The only thing I would like to improve is the lighting.
1st picture-seeding the screen.
2nd picture-scrubber set-up
3rd picture-pipes
4th picture- day 4 growth
5th picture- day 7 growth ( right side of screen has a lot of growth not visible because of bubbles in the water)
Towards the bottom of the screen you will notice very little growth. That is due to the water level sometimes raising when I need to top-off my aquarium. I have noticed a lot of evaporation since setting this up but if my water quality improves I don't mind at all.




 
john rambo

john rambo

Member
And a few more pictures. Including water flow and my water quality which has not changed yet (only 7 days into running scrubber though).
The design itself was easy to make, and I didn't have to cut into my wet/dry or mod it in any way. Running the pipe was a little tricky though because I had to cut into the existing pipe that ran entirely to the wet/dry and put in a splitter with a valve. The way it's set up right now I have some water still running through my wet/dry and the rest running to my scrubber. My water flow is excellent on the scrubber, It runs perfectly on the entire screen.


 
king_neptune

king_neptune

Active Member
Originally Posted by SantaMonica
http:///forum/post/3237475
Reflector? I did not see any light at all.
You have lights that run length of the unit on the outside of the acrylic panel, correct? Don't they have reflectors of some kind?
If not, maybe adding some will be an improvement to the design.
Hopefully to increase the light intensity near the ends of the screen.
 
reefkprz

reefkprz

Active Member
santa
how come in your vid you barely push against the algae with your thumbs and it comes right off the screen? I have to go at mine with a scraper to get it to seperate (usually a brand new razor) the stuff onmy screen is so tough I have a really hard time getting it off the screen. any theories on this? since your the long time screen runner I figured I see what you thought.
also your algal mass seems to get really long mine just gets about 1/2 inch thick on the screen and thats it. no giant mass of algae to remove? is my water too clean for bulk growth?
 
desertdawg

desertdawg

Member
Yeah, same here. My screen is 3 layers and I have to scrape/slice off the algae when I clean it, and the growth is a thick mass of algae.
 
king_neptune

king_neptune

Active Member
Originally Posted by reefkprZ
http:///forum/post/3237896
I have a really hard time getting it off the screen.
Mine comes off with about as much effort as you put into wiping with a paper towel. Its not hard at all to clean my screen. I usually use my thumb and slide it down, scraping everything off along the way.
 
santamonica

santamonica

Member
As your nutrients come down, the algae gets greener and more hairy, and will come right off (which is why you need a rough screen). So keep cleaning all the dark stuff off.
Also, more powerful lights will grow greener/lighter, but you are limited by CFL spots light burning the middle. That's where T5HO's come in... they put full power all the way across without burning the middle. Even the ends of my 100 are dark brown, due to less light, even though the ends have the most flow.
 
santamonica

santamonica

Member
Here is the initial design for a nano scrubber. Nanos have always been the hardest to DIY a scrubber for. This scrubber is designed to be mounted above the waterline of a nano, and then drain down into it, without needing a real sump below the tank. It will come with a pump that will go into the display (like a powerhead) or into the hidden "sump" section at the back of the tank. I'm building a test version of it now, and if it works out good I'll post the plans for others to build:
 
santamonica

santamonica

Member
What to dose when you don't do waterchanges
Many folks ask if anything needs to be dosed, if they stop doing water changes. If a reef tank, you'll certainly need to dose Calcium and Alkalinity. Then some Magnesium when needed. And maybe Strontium. The easiest way to dose Cal and Alk is by mixing some powdered lime with your topoff water. For details, search for "kalkwasser dripping". The powder is cheap from here: http://store.mrswagesstore.com/mrswagpiclim.html
Everything else is supplied by the food you feed, and by the organics from the scrubber. This includes all the trace elements that you always hear about. Remember that in the ocean, 90% of all life (besides bacteria) is algae. Algae provides all the food for everything that lives in the ocean, by coverting the sun into organics. And included in these organics are the trace elements that your tank needs too. Cal and Alk, however, are inorganic, and are used up quickly by corals and coralline, so you need to dose them often or continuously. Mag is dosed when your test says to. And the same with Strontium.
 
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