chaeto reactor?

discotu

discotu

Discotu
has anyone tried or successfully running chaeto in a substrate reactor? I was thinking about putting some in a clear tube substrate reactor and lighting it from the outside. I figured this would be the most efficient way of using chaeto for nutrient export since you could maximize flow through it...
 
Thought about building one with some leftover skimmer tube I have and linking it up so it would sit on my balcony and be fueled by sunlight.
 
guess you wou ld have to open it up every so often and get rid of some of it, to prevent clogging

cool idea though
 
I would think you would reach a point where it was too dense to get light from only one side. That and the maintenance of removing chaeto and cleaning the tube of surface algae might be a little more work than a conventional fuge.

That being said, liquid algae culture is run in tubes (even up to like 18" diameter or more) but it is circulated so even the algae in the middle gets plenty of light, chaeto wouldn't move as much so a smaller tube would probably work better (4-6" maybe).
I would love to see how it turns out.
 
The only problem i would see is the clear tube would grow algae on the inside and end up blocking the light, so you' d have to take out the chaeto and clean that out every now and then, but i cool concept nonetheless.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11620945#post11620945 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by luke33
The only problem i would see is the clear tube would grow algae on the inside and end up blocking the light, so you' d have to take out the chaeto and clean that out every now and then, but i cool concept nonetheless.
Click to expand...

I was thinking this as well, wouldn't coraline build up on the tube enventually and block the light?

Too bad there wasn't a cool was to light it from the inside. I'm sure this can be done with a little creativity.
 
I'm wondering how much of the usable light would be blocked/absorbed by the plastic. Who's a plastics engineer?
 
Cool concept.. but I see some problems

- "almost" sealed chamber allows little to no air exchange, which is needed in Photosynthesis->Respiration process
-Algae will grow inside and can become a maintenance headache
-The chaeto will eventually settle on one side (the direction of the flow) and block the flow, trapping detritus that can lead to poor water quality

Give it a try.. it would be interesting!
 
while there's no solution to normal maintenance, here are some of my thoughts to some issues raised above:

surface algae - I do not run a 24h photo period on my current fuge. I was thinking of running a 12h PP on alternating sides...so 12 hours on the right side, off, 12 hours on the right side, off and so on...that way, each side of the tube would get 24hrs "rest" before getting hit full blast. And if you did run 24hrs, you'd still get 12hrs rest. Hopefully this would limit coraline algae too.

air exchange - is this really an issue? does any macro algae require exposure to air? My understanding is that water flow is the critical factor for macro algae respiration. Obviously the water stills needs to be aerated, but I've got tons of surface area (225g) plus the skimmer.

detritus - I intended to feed with post filtered water to limit detritus build up....filter sock -> skimmer -> chaeto reactor

light through plastic - non issue. Most acrylics have better light transmission than glass.

Lighting from the inside - I thought about this too. Design would be similar to a typical UV sterilizer...and you could probably add a wiper for the inner light tube for surface algae (Aqua UV). This would be a custom build so it'll have to wait ;)

Chaeto bunching up on one end - not sure if this is an issue...yet. It appears that my chaeto grows at a certain density in my fuge without any restrictions (flow or size volume)...my plan is to add enough chaeto to fill up 1/4 - 1/2 of the tube and see the growth patterns.

Here are my assumptions: 1, the cheato will continue to grow at the same density and fill up the tube (path of least resistance). This is when I'll need to trim back to prevent the chaeto mass from becoming denser due to volume restrictions. 2, The cheato structure is rigid enough to allow good water flow through it without the water pressure compressing it. 3, there is a sweets spot for flow rate to maximize nutrient export. Course I'll need to confirm all this through trial and error.

For starters I'll be using a 26" precision marine substrate reactor fed buy a small powerhead and regulate the flow with a valve. Hopefully I'll have this up and running this weekend...and yes, I'll post pics ;)
 
it doesn't need to be a tube. It would be better if it was flatter, like the shape of a big book, and it had an intake on one corner, and an output on the opposite corner. That way the light could penetrate the "clump" much easier. I've thought of making something like this often, but figured that using a hob filter with e light on top is the easiest chaeto factory there is (aquaclear works best)
 
chaeto reactor updated

chaeto reactor updated

okay...had some other "honey dos" to get outta the way...but finally got a simple chaeto reactor setup.

equipement:

26" precision marine substrate reactor (removed sponge pads top and bottom to allow more flow and replaced the supplied 3/8" barbed fittings with 1/2 OD JG fittings for easy servicing.

feed pump is a Maxi-Jet 600, and coicidentally the output pipe of the 600 is 1/2OD..so I used a 1/2OD JG couple to connect the pump to the input tube...nice and clean.

Lighting is supplied by a Current-USA Nova 24" 14W T5 (10k). the bulb is probably close to the end of it's effective life, but since it's so close to the reactor I think it'll be fine. I also had a generic reflector laying around so i tossed that into the mix.

Initially I felt the flow might be too low, but on second thought it might allow better contact time with the chaeto. I plan to actually measure this sometime this weekend. I don't have it valved down so if I want more flow i'll need a larger pump.

I am not acutally sure how to track the effectivness of the chaeto reactor other than to monitor the growth. My water parameters are good so I shouldn't see a change there.

anyway, here are a few pics:

IMG_2429.jpg


IMG_2430.jpg


IMG_2433.jpg
 
did you ever see any beneficial results from this?
Are you still running it? Did you have any major issues with it?


thanks,

cristina
 
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