Mega Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover - DIY!

[Josh the Happy]

Update: Signs of scrubbers wearing out

Since my acrylic scrubber is approching one year old, it's the first one to experience signs of wearing out. Of course I'm also experimenting with large amounts of continuous feeding (which makes things worse), but I'm still seeing some of the same signs in other peoples' scrubbers, even though they are feeding normal amounts, and even though they've replaced the bulbs every 3 months. This is typically what starts happening:

Glass-cleaning is needed more often

Scrubber starts growing darker algae

pH stays at a lower point

Rocks get a light green covering

Cyano starts showing up

Nitrate and phosphate start staying at higher levels


What is probably happening (and what happened to mine) was that the flow had been greatly reduced to the scrubber. My screen is 22" wide, and only half of it was getting any flow at all (I'm surprised half of it did not die); the other half was still getting some flow, but it was so little that the bottom of the scrubber was almost dry. My problem was the pump:

This is a case of scrubbers causing their own unique problem. When you run a scrubber (without skimmers or mechanical filters), not only do the corals and small fish get much more of the food that you feed, but you will also grow all sorts of filter feeders like the ones you see all over the pump in the picture. They grew all through the display, of course (to be eaten by a wrasse), but they also grew up into the impeller area of the scrubber pump, which was the problem. Also in the pic, you can see the brown stuff which was the result of my experiment in large amounts of continuous feeding in a system with a poorly designed sump (which allowed too much settling). The case/impellor was so locked up that I had to soak it in pure vinegar for several hours to even get it open. So while waiting on that, I opened the Eheim 1262 (900 gph) that I ordered as a backup So now my scrubber pump is pumping 2X as much as my return.

Once the new pump was in place, there was a forceful waterfall across the screen again. There is so much water in the acrylic box now that it is 1" deep before it goes out the drain hole (whereas before it was almost dry).

Point is, check your scrubber pump often for internal fan worms or food buildup. Just like the lights, you may not be able to see the lower output (since it happens very slowly over time), so you have to open it up and check. Running the pump in vinegar every three months should keep it clear (vinegar disolves fan worms).

EEEWWWWWW!!! Please tell me this is not a problem in a Freshwater tank. I'm hoping they only hang out for pods.

Seriously this could be a deal breaker, but i really like the idea other than those.

 

[cohl120]

SM, does it hurt to run a uv sterilizer 24/7 with a scrubber in a saltwater tank?, also should i avoid using the new energy saving bulbs (for example output is 100 watts, only uses 24 watts), and just stick to old stryle bulbs?
thanks

 

[SantaMonica]

I don't know what may/might grow in FW. Probably not these fan worms though.

A UV should not affect the scrubber, but it may affect the pods. Always use CFL bulbs, and NOT the old style incadescent bulbs.

 

[MyFishEatYourFish]

santa monica, on the previous page you state that a wavelength of 550 nm(green light) is ideal and comes from bulbs rated at 3000k. i agree that low k readings are good, i think 2700 k is about the lowest you'll find, but green light is unusable. the algea we use to filter our water is green and it apears green becuase it reflects green light and does not use it.
green algae is green because it contains chlorophylls a and b, both do not use green light at all, hence the reflection and resulting green appearance. it turns out all the light coming from our bulbs between 500 and 600 nm, bluegreen to yellow orange, is being wasted and only light in 400-500 nm and 600-700nm range is being used.
k, or kelvin, is a temperature unit like farenheit or centigrade and is based on absolute 0 degrees, where o degrees kelvin is -273 c. thats why incandescents can't achieve high k ratings, the filament would have to actually get to 3000 k do produce that light wheras gases in fluorescents and other bulbs act like they're that hot via electric current and still stay relatively cool. the kelvin reading of a bulb doesn't tell you much but the overall appearance of light coming from the bulb, kinda like an average color. thats why with many bulbs you get a spectrograph showing spikes in many regions including green red and blue.

my argument is this,
27-3000k bulbs work because they supply red blue and green light. depending on the individual bulb, make and model, up to half of this light is wasted in the green spectrum with a little useful blue(400-500nm) light being produced and much more useful reddish(600-700nm) light being produced. higher k bulbs don't give the necessary red light and lower don't give blue, 2700-3000k is right in the middle which is why we are fooled into thinking it is the best choice for us, i don't believe it is.
-proof, under our lights, our turf appears very green, which means lots of light is wasted on our eyes!!!
i propose that at least two lights per area space close together, both a blue(400-500nm) bulb and red(600-700nm) are a better choice.
a simple test:
-if ordinarily green algae appears black or very dark under a certain light it is absorbing all the light from that bulb and making use of it, if green then it is wasting light. I just tested it and some bright green hair off the bottom of my screen appeared darkish brownish under my compact actinic and jet black under my blue leds, leds put out a vere specific wavelength(unlike fluorescents).
I think a red and blue bulb would give us the best growth possible if we could find a way to evenly spread it out.
I hope I am making sense, I’m very tired right now, sorry. I be back on tomorrow to respond and hopefully have gone out and gotten red and blue bulbs to test my untested theory.

 

[SantaMonica]

You are right in your thinking. But PC/CFL bulbs are not single-spectrum like LED's. They are broad spectrum. So although a 3000K appears greenish-yellow, the spectrum goes down to red and up to blue. White (daylight) goes even farther into the blue, but it does not help, since more light is needed in the red.

Yes, if you could have just red and blue bulbs, that would be best. But it's complex. Also, they already make this: They are called plant-grow bulbs, and they are pink. Why pink? Because Red + Blue = Pink, i.e., they give off just red + blue. Just look at the "Gro-Lux" bulbs. However I personally tested the pink bulbs on one side of my scrubber, against 3000K on the other, and 3000K won every time. So until someone else does a test, I'll have to say that 3000K (greenish-yellow) is better.

LED's are different... they are single-spectrum. So you need a red and a blue. When viewed from a distance, however, they look pink. Look here for many examples:

http://shop.sunshine-systems.com/product.sc?productId=10

 

[MyFishEatYourFish]

how long did you test the plant bulbs against the 3000k ones? remember the screens start out with the crappy brown and black and red and move to green hair and then finally turf. if you didn't give it time to get to totally green algae then the 3000k won because it was producing the most lumens, which is what counts for the nasty algae. i bet the plant bulb would have won out on a mature scrubber.

just an idea.
ps, i got a red and blue bulb and will be testing it as soon as i get around to getting them on the tank!

 

[SantaMonica]

I tested about six month.

 

[SantaMonica]

Final screen version

The previous screen material that I had people testing was starting to rip where the tie-wraps went through, so it was not working. I did find a custom manufactured solution to solve this, which used a solid sheet on the inside of the screen, but it was just too much money. So it looks like the best screen material for me to offer is extreme-roughened, double-layered, plastic canvas.

As you know, if you already tried to rough up plastic canvas, all the work is in making it rough. You have to use a hole-saw (by hand), since sandpaper does not leave the "jagged" pieces that you want. You really need the jagged pieces which will grab hold of the algae, so the algae won't let go and fall into the water. This is of course because more algae growth (i.e, more filtering) means more weight. You DO want lots of algae (weight), but you DON'T want it to fall off of the screen. And both sides of both layers needs to be rough, so that algae will stay on the inside (between the layers) of the screen after you clean the outsides. And since the algae stays on the inside of the screen, you can clean the outside as hard as you want (scrape all the algae off) without worrying about "keeping some algae on the the screen".

So since this material has already been proven by hundreds of people who are using it right now (athough I never see it roughed up enough), it is just a matter of how much money is fair for a completed screen. If there is enough interest, then I'll start selling them.

It looks like I can make them for 20 cents per square inch. This is equal to:

0.20 USD per square inch
.032 USD per square cm
2.65 MXN per square inch
0.43 MXN per square cm
0.22 CAD per square inch
.035 CAD per square cm
0.14 EUR per square inch
.023 EUR per square cm
0.12 GBP per square inch
0.02 GBP per square cm
0.28 NZD per square inch
0.45 NZD per square cm
0.28 SGD per square inch
.045 SGD per square cm
1.49 ZAR per square inch
.024 ZAR per square cm
1.31 FRF per square inch
0.21 FRF per square cm
2.20 NLG per square inch
0.35 NLG per square cm
70.0 PHP per square inch
11.2 PHP per square cm


Shipping would be extra of course. Also, the screen area is just the finished screen size; you don't have to think about the multiple layers. So as an example:

A 10 X 10 inch screen = 100 square inches = $20 USD = $265 MXN = $22 CAD etc.
A 40 X 60 cm screen = 2400 square cm = $76.80 USD = $1032 MXN = $84 CAD etc.
A 3 X 6 inch nano screen = 18 square inches = $3.60 USD = $48 MSN = $3.96 CAD etc.

So post on here if you would get one at this price. There needs to be enough people otherwise it is not worth setting up to do it. If there is enough interest (at this price), then I will make them.

 

[cohl120]

SM what is the best CFL light you have found so far, if you have a link where it can be purchased that would be great. thanks

 

[SantaMonica]

Algae require different light than your eyes do. Algae likes a "redder" light. So get something in the 3000K range, although up to 6500K will work. The cheapest, lightest, proven light would be a CFL floodlight like this:

http://www.buylighting.com/23-Watt-R40-Compact-Fluorescent-Flood-2700K-p/tcp1r4023.htm

It just needs a clip-on socket like this:

This bulb is very lightweight, so the clip-on won't start slipping. And it does not require a metal reflector (although clip-on's normally come with a reflector; just unscrew and remove it, and it will be very lightweight). For a screen 12" X 12", you'd want one of these bulbs per side. For a bigger screen, or for more powerful filtering, use two per side. ALWAYS point the bulbs to the middle of the screen, not the top.

Next up in power (and cost, weight, and electricity) are the high power CFL's that are specific plant-grow lights, like these:

http://www.stealthhydroponics.com/product.php?xProd=58&xSec=3

And for big screens like 24" X 24", and heavy-nutrient breeding or predator tanks, a mega-power CFL grow-light like this on each side of the screen will work:

http://homeharvest.com/hydrofarmcompactfluorescents.htm (2700K version lower on page)

No matter which one you get, replace the bulbs every three months, unless you want to "experiment" with how weak they can get before you have problems.

CFL Reflectors: Although it would just be easier to use CFL floodlights (which do not need a reflector), below are some reflectors you can use with regular CFL bulbs. You can find many others by searching for "CFL reflector", or by going to any hydroponics or gardening store:
http://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/grow-light-reflectors-c-338.html
http://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/reflective-film-c-125.html

For those who wish to experiment with LEDs, start out by trying one of these on both sides of your screen:

http://shop.sunshine-systems.com/product.sc?productId=10

Now for those of you who are serious about DIY, the most powerful and compact setup will use T5HO bulbs. Here are the lighting units:

http://www.marineandreef.com/Nova_Extreme_T5_Aquarium_Lighting_Current_USA_p/rcu01127.htm

But you have to replace these bulbs. Here are the replacement bulbs: F24T5HO/830. They are 24" long, 24 watts, 3000K, and are found here as well as hundreds of other places:

http://www.marineandreef.com/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=RCU02118&CartID=1

The reason you need the replacement bulbs is that the unit comes with two bulbs: 10K and Actinic. But you don't want the actinic, since we are not lighting corals, and even the 10K are too blue. So you replace them with "algae friendly" bulbs.

Here is a nano version for a 9 to 12 inch screen:

http://www.nanoreefsupply.com/index.php?aquarium=detail&detail=496

This is too small to worry about replacing bulbs; just use as-is.