Algae scrubber as bio filter.

[markstrimaran]

My sump has become an algae scrubber of sorts.
It has been placed so that it gets at least 4 hours of direct morning sun, and a couple hours of indirect sun in the late afternoon.
The 180 gal tank with 2 sump boxes was started back early January of this year first with only plants, a few weeks later with more plants a number of tiny mosquito fish to start the tank cycling, and the first week in Feb about a dozen 3" to 5" fish.
March 10th another 3-5" fish were added.
There have been no detectable nitrates the entire time (including a few moments ago) using an API kit , I attribute this to the algae. The pH has been hovering between 7.8 and 8.2, using the high pH range API test (I don't bother using the low range with my water).
View attachment 1364948
beside the plants, and algae in the sumps, the astern panel of the tank has also been covered in algae, where the longest indirect sun hit, the tank is under a roof, so no direct sun.
View attachment 1364949
As you can see in the sump above the pump chamber is overgrown with algae, and the in lower eastern half the biomedia is choked in algae.
The floating plant in the sump is salvinia, which is known to be a heavy feeder. It didn't do well under the roof in the tank, but is doing well in the sump.
The tanks current stock is, a dozen Andianoacara coeruleopunctatus (Panamanian Green Terrors) 3-5", two Roeboides tetras, 3", a 4" Panamanian Pleco, a 5" Goby, and four 3-5" vampire crawfish.

Your in a sub tropic area?
How many total gallons, How big is the sunny side sump?

 

[duanes]

Isla Taboga is very close to the equator, considered a maritime tropical climate (average day temps 83'F).
Each sump is the same filled to about 15 gallons.
The sun is intense, UV alerts are common, and often when they state the temp it might be 87'F, (feels like 115').
Here instead of heaters for aquariums, chillers are common..

 

[markstrimaran]

Harvested algea today, ph reached about 8.5 then started to drop. Last week. The algea was thick enouph to block nearly all of the 100 watts of led.

Nitrate was 20ppm pre water change.

 

[duanes]

When I lived in Wisconsin, I grew algae in outdoor containers, with daphnia, artemis, and cichlid fry in spring, summer, and fall. I found most cichlids would lazily graze on it.

Now here in Panama I can throw a clump in from the filter daily, and the cichlids again graze most of it away by evening.

 

[markstrimaran]

Still going . but algea blocked out the lights due to minimal maintenance..
I slack off in the summer.

 

[markstrimaran]

Version 4.0. Self cleaning algea wafer pellet maker, cichlid pellet garden.

 

[markstrimaran]

It is currently on Arti Biochar as primary filtration. Nitrates are >1 ppm

 

[SuperNinja]

How are you using the arti biochar as primary filtration?

 

[markstrimaran]

With a converted water filter canister. As my only bio media. If it doesn't work my ammonia will climb.

 

[markstrimaran]

Basically it was built for 1 Watt Led chips, as times change, and lights burn out. The new and improved ones don't quite fit. So this summer when I was down to my last array of 15 watts @ 3 per chip. I pulled the plug, and am currently testing some 10 watt 660nm in my basement fish room. I going to pull the divider and remodel it once winter sets in, and it become too cold to play outside.