Mega Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover - DIY!

[SantaMonica]

Here is the initial design for a nano scrubber. I don't know how many monster nano tanks there are, but if there are any, this might help.

Nanos have always been the hardest to DIY a scrubber for. This scrubber is designed to be mounted above the waterline of a nano, and then drain down into it, without needing a real sump below the tank. It will come with a pump that will go into the display (like a powerhead) or into the hidden "sump" section at the back of the tank. I'm building a test version of it now, and if it works out good I'll post the plans for others to build:

 

[Matt181]

hi, just a quick question

why cant you just lay these sheets down horizontally and let water flow over them? surely that would do the same thing right? aslong as there is algea growth on a surface it will still work right?

is it just for space that people put them vertically?

Thanks
Matt

 

[SantaMonica]

A vertical screen is "better". It is proven, and it is the smallest and most powerful for a given amount of space, flow, and lighting. Horizontal is OK if you want to experiment, but if you absolutely must have results, go vertical. The biggest operational problem with horizontal is that as algae builds up on the screen, it blocks flow to areas downstream from it. This is because the water is not flowing very fast, and it cannot "jump" up and over the new growth. So the more algae, the more blockage, and thus it self-limits unless you have a LOT of flow. With a vertical, however, the flow is rapid and goes right over new growth. (This is in addition to the fact that a horizontal still needs twice the screen area, since it is one-sided.)

 

[Accident]

Interesting that this question comes up at this time. I've just completed my 2nd horizontal AS. While they do grow algae, I haven't been able to get any nitrate data as I forgot to turn off my continuous drip/flush system. My nitrates were being flushed away by that, so, last week at start up, the Nitrates were zero (dang it!) The screen is 21.5x8" = 172 sq. inches. My tank is around 130 gallons w/out any sand, rocks, etc. I wanted to put in an AS because I was recently plagued with BLACK algae looking stuff all over the sand. Really ugly and some really bright green algae on the front acrylic. I forgot to take pix of the build, but it's super simple. These things are cheap to make to the point of being free, esp since I had most of the stuff laying around.

**all FRESH WATER! ***

The 1st set of pix is on my 125g tank. It's been on there for about 2 months. Not nearly big enough for the tank, but it grows thick sheets of algae that my S. Texas Red ear slider really loves to eat. It also adds some gas exchange/aeration. Water seems clearer now than before, but no real evidence of that. In the past, the more plants/algae I had in my outdoor ponds the more polished the water always looked, so I may be "wishing" the water clearer.

I want to personally thank Santa Monica for his excellent work in this arena. Amazing results and inventiveness. Better fish-keeping with less work always appeals to me.

Ok, here we go with the pix. Screen is roughly 10x8"=80 sq in. Single sided.

2 x 23watt Floro's.









The acrylic tray is sitting on top of a bucket of sponge filters and drains directly on top of the sponges. The best algae growth is in the fiercest flow. (no surprise to Santa Monica) I have turned off the drip system for a few days now. I'm hoping to get some nitrate buildup in the tank after a few weeks to get an idea how much nitrate this undersized AS will fix. The orange ramshorn snails are breeding under the screen like crazy and some pea sized guys are visible on top.

There was no algae problem in this 125. Just did it because I love the AS idea and wanted to experiment. Plus, I can drip less water thru the tank and save on my water use.

See next post for the 130 gallon tank.

!Accident

 

[Accident]

Now here is my problem tank before any AS. I have been flushing the tank with fresh water for about 4 weeks now and the Nitrate/Nitrites are at Zero. This didn't help one bit with that black crap. See the pictures. Queezy stomachs look away!















The fish root around in the sand and cover it up daily, but that dos not stop it from coming back.

Here's my acrylic tray AS. 21.5x8" = 172 sq in. Screens were in water and seeded for about a week and this has been running for 3 or 4 days. Water flow is unknown and stays about 3/4 of an inch over the screens. The water depth may be a negative factor. If I can't get the algae to grow well here, then, I will add more exits and reduce the water level over the screens. The screens want to float up as O2 gets trapped under them.






The AS tray sits under a Current 65 watt CF 6500k and it's sitting inside the hood directly under existing lighting.

I will update in a week or so.

 

[Accident]

Hope this adds to everyone's enjoyment of Algae Scrubbers.

!A

 

[Accident]

The fish pictured here is about all there is in the 130 tank. I try to feed every day. It seems like the tank load is too small to support all those plants AND algae. No ferts for the plants, just fish waste.

You can see the 'waterfall' bubbles created by the downspout of the AS. Looks cool.







!A

 

[Bizarroterl]

Hope this adds to everyone's enjoyment of Algae Scrubbers.

!A

Yes! Thanks for posting. It seems that almost all the AS info is based on salt systems. So much so one wonders if FW even exists.

 

[Matt181]

Awesome help, and pictures, thanks for all the info guys

i have worked out a way to get it so that i can mount it vertically, however the sheet would be oversized and i dont think there would be as much flow rate as recomended, would this be ok? also is there a guide as to how many watts pers sqaure inch is best?

thanks again for all the help

Matt

 

[SantaMonica]

Quick guideline:

0.5 actual (not equivalent) fluorescent watts per gallon MINIMUM.
1.0 actual (not equivalent) fluorescent watts per gallon for HIGH filtering.
1.0 square inches of screen per gallon, with bulbs on BOTH sides. (10 x 10 = 100 square inches = 100 gal)
2.0 square inches of screen per gallon, if ONE sided.
18 hours of lights ON, and 6 hours of lights OFF, each day.
Flow is 24 hours, and is 35 gph per inch of width of screen, EVEN IF one sided.
Very rough screen made of roughed-up-like-a-cactus plastic canvas.
Clean algae off of screen every SEVEN (7) days NO MATTER WHAT YOU THINK.