Turning it off is critical; It can't work if you don't. That's why you still have nuisance algae. Do 18 hours, clean every 7 days, and report back in a month.
Mega Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover - DIY!
- Thread starter SantaMonica
- Start date
I like this idea but I'm kind of confused on how it would work if you don't have a sump. I understand the 5 gallon bucket deal but are you saying that the bucket would have to be higher than the tank in order for it to drain? That seems unsightly especially if you are like me and have a 120 gallon that sits on 3ft tall stand. I have an umbee cichlid and they are particularly sensitive to the nitrates and phosphates so this seems like an excellent idea for me to try but is there a way to hook the 5 gallon bucket type and have it sit under the stand instead of above it? If there is a simple answer to this that I'm not seeing then I apologize in advance but I'm not really the diy type so this would be an adventure for me. Thanks.
Okay thanks that is what I had thought. I'll keep this as an option in mind but I don't think I'll be able to do this anytime soon. The roomies would object to yet more tank things taking up the already tiny living room.
Hi Santa, it has been a while but ever sice I started cleaning the algae more frequrntly my nitrates have dropped significantly. However, I get an insane amount of evaporation. I am considering closing up the scrubber to reduce this. My question is ho0w much air, if any, does the algae need?
Also, can light go through glass and be as effective? I know it will work because sunlight shining on a tank creates algae however I know glass blocks uv rays. If I separate the screen from the light with glass will I lose efficiency?
It does not need air.
Glass is fine. It's still the distance of the bulb that is most important.
Glass is fine. It's still the distance of the bulb that is most important.
I put mine in the hood on my 150. Working in conjunction with a fresh water drip system all the bad stuff sits at zero. Search my name on this thead for pix.
All the brown algae is gone now. Forget how long it took to die off, but it was tough stuff. From Alpha Centauri I think.
!A
All the brown algae is gone now. Forget how long it took to die off, but it was tough stuff. From Alpha Centauri I think.
!A
Since I haven't read this whole thing, has anyone considered doing one of these in conjunction with a surge system? I could imagine putting the screen above the bucket instead of inside of it, then both could run off a single pump.
Not recommended. Too hard, noisy, unreliable, and cuts the water-contact time in half. And does not favor GHA, which is the highest filtering type.
