ReefCowboy
New member
Trying to ditch GFO and carbon dosing, so figured would give the scrubber and chaeto a try for my new build.
Here is a pic of the sump and the room I had to play with. It is 39" long, 18" wide and 18" high.
There was a bit of room towards the back wall, and the previous dedicated area for the calcium reactor(right) will now become a small fuge(10"x9"x9.5")with Chaeto. Having a scrubber and chaeto will be a guess game as one might overtake the other down the road when No3 and PO4 drop down to low levels.
During this experiment I will evaluate which one is more effective and which one I will keep permanently. Maybe both will be needed with the bioload, who knows.
The chaeto fuge will be lit by a Kessil H380 Grow light. It is overkill but I want to get the best performing light to evaluate the nutrient export.
My idea is fed heavy and export well.
The tank will be a 150 gal sps only with maybe 20 fish, being fed 2x a day. Active fish such as anthias, chromis, clowns, and maybe 2-3 tangs.
So here is the starting sump:
First on to the fuge. I made an acrylic piece to close the back side of the fuge area, inittialy open for the CaRx. There is a pump(behind skimmer) moving water that will hit the rear fuge perfurated baffle and pass through the rear and left pieces of the refugium compartment. There will be enough flow to tumble the chaeto.
I dont like chaeto pieces flowing to the return pump chamber and eventually clogging/requiring maintenance so I decided to make a clear lid, perfurated to allow water to flow up, placed brackets allowing the lid to sit 1/2" below the sump water level. Granted some small chaeto pieces can still make through, but will sure be in less quantity.
I read chaeto, when in contact with the air can leach tanins, making the water a bit yellow. The lid should keep the algae fully submerged, helping with that potential problem.
Now on to the Scrubber. Reading online, found many DIY projects, but found this product to have the best and simplest set up, with a removable cover enclosing the algae screen and light from bleeding all over the sump area while keeping the whole package pretty neat.
The main issue is the screen is only 4"x3", making its export capacity limited IMO. For its retail price( around $350)I figured would build one myself out of acrylic, matching my sump and allowing for a larger screen.
Behind the now fuge is the only spot I had available, along the rear sump wall, over the heaters. I made acrylic brackets to hold the bottom tray of the scrubber. I also made small clear brackets to hold it In place.
So here is the bottom tray. I attached a 3/4" bulkhead to the right where I will connect the pipe tower(supporting/feeding water to the screen). I will then run a silicon hose to a feeding controllable pump underneath the tray, that will connect to the pipe tower and feed water to the algae.
The hole to the left will allow water to leave the tray.
Here is a pic of the sump and the room I had to play with. It is 39" long, 18" wide and 18" high.
There was a bit of room towards the back wall, and the previous dedicated area for the calcium reactor(right) will now become a small fuge(10"x9"x9.5")with Chaeto. Having a scrubber and chaeto will be a guess game as one might overtake the other down the road when No3 and PO4 drop down to low levels.
During this experiment I will evaluate which one is more effective and which one I will keep permanently. Maybe both will be needed with the bioload, who knows.
The chaeto fuge will be lit by a Kessil H380 Grow light. It is overkill but I want to get the best performing light to evaluate the nutrient export.
My idea is fed heavy and export well.
The tank will be a 150 gal sps only with maybe 20 fish, being fed 2x a day. Active fish such as anthias, chromis, clowns, and maybe 2-3 tangs.
So here is the starting sump:
First on to the fuge. I made an acrylic piece to close the back side of the fuge area, inittialy open for the CaRx. There is a pump(behind skimmer) moving water that will hit the rear fuge perfurated baffle and pass through the rear and left pieces of the refugium compartment. There will be enough flow to tumble the chaeto.
I dont like chaeto pieces flowing to the return pump chamber and eventually clogging/requiring maintenance so I decided to make a clear lid, perfurated to allow water to flow up, placed brackets allowing the lid to sit 1/2" below the sump water level. Granted some small chaeto pieces can still make through, but will sure be in less quantity.
I read chaeto, when in contact with the air can leach tanins, making the water a bit yellow. The lid should keep the algae fully submerged, helping with that potential problem.
Now on to the Scrubber. Reading online, found many DIY projects, but found this product to have the best and simplest set up, with a removable cover enclosing the algae screen and light from bleeding all over the sump area while keeping the whole package pretty neat.
The main issue is the screen is only 4"x3", making its export capacity limited IMO. For its retail price( around $350)I figured would build one myself out of acrylic, matching my sump and allowing for a larger screen.
Behind the now fuge is the only spot I had available, along the rear sump wall, over the heaters. I made acrylic brackets to hold the bottom tray of the scrubber. I also made small clear brackets to hold it In place.
So here is the bottom tray. I attached a 3/4" bulkhead to the right where I will connect the pipe tower(supporting/feeding water to the screen). I will then run a silicon hose to a feeding controllable pump underneath the tray, that will connect to the pipe tower and feed water to the algae.
The hole to the left will allow water to leave the tray.
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Last big project for me is the DIY stand though.
