Algae Scrubber Advanced

[Brummie]

Algae Scrubber Advanced

Cheers

Never had an algae problem to be honest but I think my asterina stars may have something to do with that.

It's just a piece of Perspex which has been bent at one end to slide over the edge of the sump so that I can alter the height of the screen. This then has a standard canvas mesh zip tied to it. On the right of this next pic, the slanted piece is a Perspex piece with no mesh, just as a test. The depth of the screen is 6 inches on this cycle. As far as I know, this is the first Diatom Algae Filter Test;

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

The brown growth looks like diatoms, is that correct?

 

[Brummie]

Algae Scrubber Advanced

The brown growth looks like diatoms, is that correct?

Probably but I don't think a definite distinction can be made between diatoms or Dino's without lab analysis. Either way, the D.A.F.T. acronym stands

 

[Buzz1329]

Cheers

Never had an algae problem to be honest but I think my asterina stars may have something to do with that.

It's just a piece of Perspex which has been bent at one end to slide over the edge of the sump so that I can alter the height of the screen. This then has a standard canvas mesh zip tied to it. On the right of this next pic, the slanted piece is a Perspex piece with no mesh, just as a test. The depth of the screen is 6 inches on this cycle. As far as I know, this is the first Diatom Algae Filter Test;

Thanks!

Incidentally, if our nations were at war, your use of "œPerspex" for acrylic (same thing, right?) would have tipped me off that you're a spy.

Mike

 

[jedimasterben]

Probably but I don't think a definite distinction can be made between diatoms or Dino's without lab analysis.

Nah, just a quick look under magnification is all you'd need.

 

[salty joe]

When I finally get my system running, I'll be using a calcium reactor. I'm thinking about dripping the effluent just ahead of the algae filter to let the algae mop up CO2. Good idea, bad idea, what do you guys think?

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

That will work. Garf/Brummie did quite a bit of CO2 experimenting, so he can comment from experience, I don't think it hurts but it didn't seem worth the effort to inject CO2 just for sake of the scrubber, but you might as well use it if you have it readily available.

 

[D0GFISH]

Thought I'd share my results of a partially submerged scrubber. This has probably been done before but I hadn't seen it. I like the simplicity (no plumbing) and that it doesn't require another pump.
In my sump I created a very low volume section (high flow) against the outer glass. Basically just a 2" wide x 14" long section on the far left of sump. This is the home for the ATS screen. I use cheap chinese LEDs to shine through the glass about 1" from the screen. While I was running GFO the growth was terrible as I should have expected. I removed the GFO and it started getting interesting. Initially my phosphates shot up from 0.00 to 0.1. Four weeks later and the phosphates have dropped steadily every week - now down to 0.04. We will see how low it gets. I should also mention the nitrates were always between 1 and 3 but today have dropped to 0.5.
The top 4" of the screen is out of the water and operates like a waterfall scrubber as water comes over the sump baffle onto the screen. At this point the growth of the submerged and exposed sections is similar. I thought I might get a lot of algae growth on the inside glass between the scrubber and lights but so far this hasn't been a problem. 20W of LEDs and an extra sump baffle aren't a bad tradeoff for being able to remove GFO and lower nitrates.

 

[jedimasterben]

I'm getting about the same results, dogfish, though I'm pretty sure that I'm overlighting my scrubber still. 4x 660nm, 4x 450nm, 4x 430nm, and 2x 2700K for 14 hours daily (I thought that it was on 12, whoops). I turned it down to 10 hours after cleaning it on Sunday, but I'm doing a blackout this week to try and kick more dinos in the face, so in a couple weeks we'll see how it all does.

 

[salty joe]

Your blackout doesn't include the scrubber, does it?

 

[jedimasterben]

Your blackout doesn't include the scrubber, does it?

Yes, all light.

 

[.Chris.]

I'm planning a soft coral reef and was wondering if anyone could tell me whether building an algae scrubber would be worth it considering softies like much dirtier water. Do they really need to have all of this nutrients exported or would it be more beneficial for the corals to have them remain in the water column?

 

[jedimasterben]

No corals 'like' 'dirtier' water. Most soft corals like particulate matter, yes, elevated nutrient levels, not so much.

 

[SantaMonica]

Just adjust your scrubbing to do what you need.

 

[Crispy001]

Are there some texts/articles/white papers covering algae scrubbers you guys would recommend? I'd really like to learn more about the research and development of scrubbers; while this thread is great, I feel the information is too scattered for my purposes. Any links or recommendations for books would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

Not really. Dr Walter Adey did the most research and published it in his book Dynamic Aquaria. If you are looking for textbook-like content, and you are an insomniac, it's just right for you.

The "Basics" posts (post #'s in my sig) are also still relevant, at least on how to actually build one.

 

[SantaMonica]

Start with the video series on marine biology:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfMaBeLwiO4 - Ocean Productivity
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d96F0ak4uY - Photosynthesis part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTBlq3gUv5Y - Food Chains vs. Food Webs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwZDIU6sM_4& - Nutrients and Primary Production
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnlCx7mVcZ4 - Chlorophyll
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtZ75KW2t-U - Zooplankton and Primary Production
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quH4x640Jgs - Bacteria
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdIjMQATQks - Food Webs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc_fGWjmNeI - Microbial Food Web
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQaE0e0iD3s - Trophic Pyramids


And then:

ALGAL TURF SCRUBBER (ATS) FLOWAYS ON THE GREAT WICOMICO RIVER:
http://www.researchgate.net/profile...ATE_AND_CHEMISTRY/file/e0b49529cdbccf1cc3.pdf


Nutrient Cycling In The Great Barrier Reef Aquarium
http://www.reefbase.org/download/download.aspx?type=10&docid=10506

Google:

THE BENTHIC ALGAL COMPOSITION, STANDING CROP, AND PRODUCTIVITY OF A CARIBBEAN ALGAL RIDGE - Adey 1977

US4333263 Algal Turf Scrubber - Adey 1982
US4966096 Water purification system and apparatus - Adey 1990
US5851398 Algal turf water purification method - Adey 1997
US8375627 - Adey 2013

Community structure and productivity of subtidal turf and foliose algal assemblages - 2009
Community structure, biomass and productivity of epilithic algal communities - 1992

 

[SantaMonica]

And to see more of what Adey has been researching for 40 years, type "adey" in the search box here:

http://reefbase.org/resource_center/publication/main.aspx

 

[Lavoisier]

And to see more of what Adey has been researching for 40 years, type "adey" in the search box here:

http://reefbase.org/resource_center/publication/main.aspx

Nice resource. Thank you.

 

[Brummie]

Algae Scrubber Advanced

That will work. Garf/Brummie did quite a bit of CO2 experimenting, so he can comment from experience, I don't think it hurts but it didn't seem worth the effort to inject CO2 just for sake of the scrubber, but you might as well use it if you have it readily available.

Yep. I found a doubling of algal mass but no noticeable reduction in nutrients, and a lot of sleepless nights. I would emphasise that algae do not possess stomata to benefit from gas phase CO2. They rely on hydrated forms of CO2, which passes through the external cells, hence bubbles cannot directly provide CO2. In most cases a reduction of pH facilitates this, along with the alkalinity in saltwater. CO2 from a calcium reactor (low pH) is probably the most efficient means of supplying excess CO2 but whether this equates to increased nutrient reduction is dependant upon the CO2 (alkalinity) being deficient in the first place (very unlikely).