Mega Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover - DIY!
- Thread starter SantaMonica
- Start date
FINISHED! Read the whole thing in...three days... omg. I'm going to try one on my overstocked 55 gallon Kenyi tank. Having to do 2 50% or larger water changes in one week to keep the Nitrates below 40ppm. If this works then it will be amazing. At first my grandmother was not happy with having an ugly bucket out in the open but then I told her it could reduce the need to do water changes and she wad happy about that.
This is actually the reason why I've decided to start a marine tank. If it works as well as everyone says then I won't need a skimmer or such.
I read everything in the thread and I only have one question. Why can't the bucket be below the tank? Couldn't you use another pump in the bucket to pump water back into the tank? And use a gate valve to restrict the water coming out of the tank to match the water being pumped out. I guess I just don't understand why putting the bucket on the floor is any different than putting a sump below the tank. My grandmother wont tolerate me putting it above the tank if it's at all visible.
I'm using two 65 watt bulbs on either side. They're Sylvania Spot-Gro bulbs... I'm no longer so sure that these are good.
http://www.sylvanialightbulbs.com/sylvania_15156_65br30_gro_rp_120v.html
This is actually the reason why I've decided to start a marine tank. If it works as well as everyone says then I won't need a skimmer or such.
I read everything in the thread and I only have one question. Why can't the bucket be below the tank? Couldn't you use another pump in the bucket to pump water back into the tank? And use a gate valve to restrict the water coming out of the tank to match the water being pumped out. I guess I just don't understand why putting the bucket on the floor is any different than putting a sump below the tank. My grandmother wont tolerate me putting it above the tank if it's at all visible.
I'm using two 65 watt bulbs on either side. They're Sylvania Spot-Gro bulbs... I'm no longer so sure that these are good.
http://www.sylvanialightbulbs.com/sylvania_15156_65br30_gro_rp_120v.html
So I haven't posted in a couple of months. Unfortunately I still don't have the 500 gallon set up...still need time and money. However...GREAT NEWS for freshwater! I posted pics a while back of my test scrubber on a 12 gallon tank filled with goldfish. The scrubber worked like a charm. I have since taken the tank down and the only tank I have in the house is a FW 6 gallon Fluval Edge. Well, I built a scrubber in the edge! It has only been up and running for a few days but I am already getting algae growth. It may not be large enough to keep the nitrates as low as I would like but we will see what my nitrate readings are once its been in there for a few weeks. I will post pics in a second.
This build was very very easy. For the scree I used a flimsy plastic $3 cutting board I found at Walmart. I cut it into a long rectangle, folded the sides up to keep the water from going of the sides, and bent it into a "V" sape with one end longer than the other. The short end is wedged between the media bag/filter and the wall of the filter.
Here is the tank with the lid on
Algae has just started to grow. I do not expect perfect results but I will be happy if I get some good out of it considering it is simple and fits in the tank without major adjustment. Initially I thought about routing the screen under the lighting already in the tank. However this would not work. The screen would have to be longer, sturdier, and routed to the right or left. In addition the screen would block the light to the tank and the 10 watt halogens get really hot up close. I was rummaging through my extra equipment to find a small light when I found my old baby bio-orb tank...which sucked by the way. I took the lighting unit directly out of the bio-orb and it fit perfectly into the top of the Edge with the lid on. The 5 watt halogen is also directly above the screen. Now I know the 5 watts are not much and the screen is too small but I think if it works it is well worth it for such a small tank.
Here is the tank with the lid on
Algae has just started to grow. I do not expect perfect results but I will be happy if I get some good out of it considering it is simple and fits in the tank without major adjustment. Initially I thought about routing the screen under the lighting already in the tank. However this would not work. The screen would have to be longer, sturdier, and routed to the right or left. In addition the screen would block the light to the tank and the 10 watt halogens get really hot up close. I was rummaging through my extra equipment to find a small light when I found my old baby bio-orb tank...which sucked by the way. I took the lighting unit directly out of the bio-orb and it fit perfectly into the top of the Edge with the lid on. The 5 watt halogen is also directly above the screen. Now I know the 5 watts are not much and the screen is too small but I think if it works it is well worth it for such a small tank.
That's a nice build. I hope mine turns out as well. I gatta go get some different screen though. I have a Tank divider and I probably need something else.
Here is the bio-orb lighting unit. I didn't disassemble it at all as it fit perfectly into the tank. For those of you who have a Fluval Edge and want to try this, I would be curious as to how you handle the lighting situation as not everyone has an extra baby bio-orb sitting in their garage!
Hey Santa, do you have any plans for a 500 gallon aquarium scrubber in the works? When I do set mine up I would love to buy one if you have any available.
Hey Santa, do you have any plans for a 500 gallon aquarium scrubber in the works? When I do set mine up I would love to buy one if you have any available.
Nice!
It works but would be noisy/splashy.
No, it was plastic honeycomb. It did not work at all.
Video won't play...
Yay!! Time to breathe...
It can, which would make it a sump. Must be set up right, so it does not overflow when power is off.
That's how you do it.
No, the way you vary flow is by a valve on the pump in the bucket.
No, they won't work... they are incandescent... very low power. Switch to 33 watt CFL's, they put out much more light, with less heat.
Another Yay!!
No, been working on the nano. For big tanks, you want multiple smaller scrubbers, for many reasons.
Yeah I'll replace the bulbs. I'm starting a marine tank too. 40 gallon breeder size. Wanna do a scrubber for that one too. I read that you can start it when you start the cycle? But that it won't grow much until there's something to feed it? Would the cycle itself feed it? Would there be enough to grow the bacteria beds in the rock and sand or should I put it into place AFTER the bacteria bed is established? Should I buy a skimmer for my Marine tank too?
Correct.
You can start it right away.
For a fish-only tank, probably. Although you can start without one and see how it goes.
For corals, probably not.
