200 Gal DIY Project W/D Sump&Canopy
- Thread starter Triton
- Start date
that's the algae scrubber. there's a thread in here about it... super mega powerful something something. great read. i strongly suggest reading it
You're right loogielv, that is an algae scrubber/Mega Nitrate,Phosphate remover thingamajig. I had already made the wet/dry sump and had it running, when I started reading about how the scubber works. It seemed like an easy addition, so I got a deep 25 gal rubbermaid, an old tank divider and leftover pvc pipe parts. I did go to Home Depot and get 2 65W "Daylight" flood lamps as a light source.
I had to turn off the sump pump and cut the return pipe to hook another line that will go to the scrubber. This line has a valve in it so that I can throttle the flow to the scrubber as well. I am also going to connect the sump and the scrubber together with a 1 inch pvc pipe.
So now I have a wet/dry to take care of the ammonia and debris, the scubber to keep the algae out of the tank and I have an HOB to provide additional mechanical filtration.
The only thing left on the algae scrubber is hooking the 1 inch pvc pipe to the sump tonight. Once I get it started, I'll report on my algae (hopefully) going away to an unnnoticable level.
Lastly, just wanted to say thanks to those who have commented and offered their advice. This place is a great resource and motivator for keeping aquatic life happy (& their owners
).
I had to turn off the sump pump and cut the return pipe to hook another line that will go to the scrubber. This line has a valve in it so that I can throttle the flow to the scrubber as well. I am also going to connect the sump and the scrubber together with a 1 inch pvc pipe.
So now I have a wet/dry to take care of the ammonia and debris, the scubber to keep the algae out of the tank and I have an HOB to provide additional mechanical filtration.
The only thing left on the algae scrubber is hooking the 1 inch pvc pipe to the sump tonight. Once I get it started, I'll report on my algae (hopefully) going away to an unnnoticable level.
Lastly, just wanted to say thanks to those who have commented and offered their advice. This place is a great resource and motivator for keeping aquatic life happy (& their owners
).Just a quick update...
Got the algae scrubber up and running. I removed one of the lights so I could get a better picture. Ammonia & nitrites levels almost gone, so I did a big water change (60%) and started adding fish and rocks/gravel/plants. Right now just the young goldfish, some plants and two rocks are in the tank. I'll be transferring the rest by Monday.
I was thinking of putting my java moss in the scrubber to let it grow out. My Pleco seems to have a taste for it for some strange reason.
Got the algae scrubber up and running. I removed one of the lights so I could get a better picture. Ammonia & nitrites levels almost gone, so I did a big water change (60%) and started adding fish and rocks/gravel/plants. Right now just the young goldfish, some plants and two rocks are in the tank. I'll be transferring the rest by Monday.
I was thinking of putting my java moss in the scrubber to let it grow out. My Pleco seems to have a taste for it for some strange reason.
hellz jeah man. Very clean, but very DIYish looking. I really like it. When you show something beautiful on top, and then open the cabinet and show your friends something ugly that works..it's a great thing. kudos. update as you go. pics of the tank as it stands?
You did a great job and that was a really good price for your tank and cabinet! Your fish will definitely like their new home. What other fish are you thinking of adding?
I started adding some fish on Monday, when my hand accidentally knocked the return pipe. This caused the pipe to disconnect at the 'T' connection that goes to the algae scrubber. Seems to be the one spot I forgot to cemet together. Needless to say, a few gallons ended up being pumped onto the carpet. The carpet had just started drying from a week before, when I spilled about a gallon of water on it. 
I had to pull everything out from under the tank and mop up the mess. It took me about an hour before I could hook everything back up and get the sump running again. Hopefully, there weren't too many casualties in the good bacteria department of my sump.
With the temps outside and the floor under the house at 30F, along with heating the house to only 70F, its going to be awhile before the carpet is dry again.
I now have very thick plastic trash bags under the sump,the scubber and all piping. If anything leaks in the future, it will be an easy cleanup.
I also had to cover my algae scrubber with plastic, because it was giving off a 'low tide' smell. My wife didn't notice any smell today,so I guess its working.
On a side note, (on Monday) while I was transfering fish from the 55gal to the 200 gal, I had removed the cover for the 55 gal for easy access. While the first fish was in a bag getting used to the 200 gal, I was doing other stuff around the house. After about 30 min of adjusting it to the water & temp, this was when I knocked the return pipe loose. After I turned off the pump and shut the valves, I went to look under the 55 gal stand for something. As I was moving things around, I noticed something white in the back (like a wash cloth or peeled banana). When I picked it up, I realized it was Sharkie! His scales were already dry and I thought he was dead 
. I put him in the water and he didn't move. I nudged him and prayed he'd come back. He just floated aimlessly.
My wife will kill me, if she finds out her favorite fish died because I took the cover off and he jumped out.
He slowly began to jerk a few times. A few minutes later, he was swimming a little erratically. Then after ten minutes he seemed to back to his old self. Talk about a miracle! That sharkie is one tough goldfish!
I'll have some pics of my progress soon. I'm still recovering from all of Monday's drama.
I had to pull everything out from under the tank and mop up the mess. It took me about an hour before I could hook everything back up and get the sump running again. Hopefully, there weren't too many casualties in the good bacteria department of my sump.
With the temps outside and the floor under the house at 30F, along with heating the house to only 70F, its going to be awhile before the carpet is dry again.
I now have very thick plastic trash bags under the sump,the scubber and all piping. If anything leaks in the future, it will be an easy cleanup.
I also had to cover my algae scrubber with plastic, because it was giving off a 'low tide' smell. My wife didn't notice any smell today,so I guess its working.
On a side note, (on Monday) while I was transfering fish from the 55gal to the 200 gal, I had removed the cover for the 55 gal for easy access. While the first fish was in a bag getting used to the 200 gal, I was doing other stuff around the house. After about 30 min of adjusting it to the water & temp, this was when I knocked the return pipe loose. After I turned off the pump and shut the valves, I went to look under the 55 gal stand for something. As I was moving things around, I noticed something white in the back (like a wash cloth or peeled banana). When I picked it up, I realized it was Sharkie!
His scales were already dry and I thought he was dead . I put him in the water and he didn't move. I nudged him and prayed he'd come back. He just floated aimlessly.My wife will kill me, if she finds out her favorite fish died because I took the cover off and he jumped out
. He slowly began to jerk a few times. A few minutes later, he was swimming a little erratically. Then after ten minutes he seemed to back to his old self. Talk about a miracle! That sharkie is one tough goldfish!
I'll have some pics of my progress soon. I'm still recovering from all of Monday's drama.
deny deny deny "wasn't me"!
lol i killed my wife's goldfish that i won from a damn carnival. him and 3 others...she named him rambo because the sucker would NEVER die. all the others died and then we broke up (before we were married) for a month or so and she never changed the water. the water went completely black she said. like tar. eventually it cleared up and he was still swimming around (that's when she named him rambo)
we had him for 7 years and then I was changing the water and i had to use ice cold water (long story) and i accidentally dropped him into the tank..he died on the spot i was devasted. he had an actual personality...
anyway, I denied that like a crackhead. got away with it
lol i killed my wife's goldfish that i won from a damn carnival. him and 3 others...she named him rambo because the sucker would NEVER die. all the others died and then we broke up (before we were married) for a month or so and she never changed the water. the water went completely black she said. like tar. eventually it cleared up and he was still swimming around (that's when she named him rambo)
we had him for 7 years and then I was changing the water and i had to use ice cold water (long story) and i accidentally dropped him into the tank..he died on the spot
i was devasted. he had an actual personality...anyway, I denied that like a crackhead. got away with it
Well, due to work, I haven't been able to get as much done as I would have liked. I managed to get all the fish in the new tank, but Sharkie was being picked (biten) on by the smaller fish for some reason. So I put him back in the smaller tank with the blue lobsters for now.
All the snails ( a dozen Nerite, wish I had bought more!), the gold fish (6), the pleco, anubias on driftwwod (2), a few anacharis that I'm growing out, two patches of microsword, and a few crypt wendtii are now in the big tank. The tree stump will go on the left side of the tank, but that won't be until I get back from vacation.
Originally, I had the water return coming back into the tank at a 45 degree angle across the tank. This caused a little bit of a circular current in the tank. The Black Moors didn't really care for it that much, they would find low flow areas and just sit there. So I redirected the flow to go across the back of the fish tank. Still some circular current, but I hope with the tree stump and more tall plants, the flow will be less felt in the middle and top swim areas.
The algae scubber is coming along fine. A good layer of algae is forming on the screen and with the help of the snails and the pleco, I haven't noticed any algae growing in the tank. I also noticed that all the foreign snails that used to be in the tank are gone. I think the goldfish must have eaten them all??
Here are some pics so far (about75% complete)...
All the snails ( a dozen Nerite, wish I had bought more!), the gold fish (6), the pleco, anubias on driftwwod (2), a few anacharis that I'm growing out, two patches of microsword, and a few crypt wendtii are now in the big tank. The tree stump will go on the left side of the tank, but that won't be until I get back from vacation.
Originally, I had the water return coming back into the tank at a 45 degree angle across the tank. This caused a little bit of a circular current in the tank. The Black Moors didn't really care for it that much, they would find low flow areas and just sit there. So I redirected the flow to go across the back of the fish tank. Still some circular current, but I hope with the tree stump and more tall plants, the flow will be less felt in the middle and top swim areas.
The algae scubber is coming along fine. A good layer of algae is forming on the screen and with the help of the snails and the pleco, I haven't noticed any algae growing in the tank. I also noticed that all the foreign snails that used to be in the tank are gone. I think the goldfish must have eaten them all??
Here are some pics so far (about75% complete)...
