Drip method phytoplankton reactor?

[Constantin]

any plans out there for one? does the concept work, e.i does phytoplankton grow in 1.025-26 salinity?

if it does, it would be easy to design a unit that would drip tank water slowly into the reactor, and slowly drip water out.

I'm a relative newbie, but looking for an efficient way to dose phyto to my tank without messing with soda bottles all the time and storing them.

 

[roshi719]

Phyto does in fact grow at reef salinity, hence why it is found at all in nature.

The main issue with doing the drip method that you refer to is that there are things living in reef tanks that eat phyto. Namely, rotifers and zooplankton. And yes, you can have rotifers in your tank even though you never fed them in your system, they can come in in liverock, frags...
The main way I have seen people deal with this issue is by running the water through a UV sterilizer first then into their phyto drip. I have even seen people go one step further and add a second reactor fed from the first one that cultures rotifers. Then you would be feeding your reef phyto and enriched rotifers!!

 

[Constantin]

is it worth it vs traditional methods? you could also drip RO and drip some ferts, but i feel that the UV method is better... smallest size UV would suffice i guess?
are there similar products on the market, is there a DYI guide for it anywhere?

 

[roshi719]

I don't believe there is a guide for it, but it wouldn't be to difficult to hook up say a small maxi jet feed it through the UV then have a small ball valve to control the drip rate going into the reactor, and have the reactor overflow into the tank.

 

[Constantin]

yeah, i was thinking of whether i should get a custom acrylic tube and what diameter is best, i would also need an air pump, unless i make it into a recirculating reactor..... its not as easy as it sounds because basically i would need a recirculating reactor so that i can control the effluent, maybe using a cheap calc reactor is best.

 

[coralfragger101]

While phyto does grow at 1.025 - 26 SG it will grow much faster in lower salinity and warm water (comparably).

Phyto cultures crash - it's just that finicky. Trying to set up a stable culture that will overflow into the tank like a kalk reactor does sound good in theory but I think you'll end up with more problems than it is worth to try and feed how many rotifers in your tank? OH - that's right, we don't know. So there would be no way to tell if we are even doing any good or not. Rotifers are much better for your corals if gut loaded as an empty rotifer is almost non nutritious.

It would be better to start rotifer cultures and then choose to make phyto just to feed the rotifers or to feed the rotifers with a concentrated algae paste (doing away with culture crashes and messy bottles). Then you can gut load your roti's and put them into the tank and you know you are doing something that should make a difference.

More work - yes. Worth it - up to you.

 

[Constantin]

well, rotifiers I will do, but i would like to be able to have a constant production of phyto.

Questions -
Will UV absolutely surely kill any rotifiers that might be in my tanks water? and also, wont it heat the water that goes through it too much (considering that i am going to be dripping water at several drops per minute, it will take a considerable amount of time for water to pass through even the smallest of UV filters).

I was planning of running a rotifier reactor in series after the phyto one...

It would really be great to know if anyone on these forums tried these before or if anyone knows of a similar design.

 

[coralfragger101]

With algae paste you can make yourself up a constant phyto production without the worry of crashes.

Simply mix up 5 gal at a time (or whatever) and drip into the tank if that is what you are trying to do. No bottles, extra lights, etc to mess with.

If you want to culture rotifers to add to the tank as well these cultures can be fed with the greenwater you make up from the paste.

A lot less headaches.

Oh - and no need to even have the UV with this set up as well.

 

[Constantin]

i found it for $35 online, for 500ml, how much do i need to delute in lets say.. 2l bottle.
In other words, how long would a 500ml bottle last me?

 

[HeneryH]

Here is a summary of my experience... YMMV

I bought two AquaMedic reactors and made my own light for the phyto reactor. Notes below the images...

Sorry if these notes ramble a bit...

1) the fittings that Aquamedic included were total crap and had to be replaced with regular J-G fitings.

2) I thought that I could top-off the phyto reactor then gravity would make it flow from the phyto to the rotifer. The goal was to make this automated. This did not work because the bubbles at the bottom continued to force phyto into the rotifer reactor even when the phyto level dropped below the rotifer level. The bubble pressure overcame the gravity pressure. Maybe if I went with peristaltic low-flow pumps I could overcome this problem but I ran out of money.

3) My first batch went really well for months then I made a mistake and left one of the valves open during the daily 1/3 flush. Drained a whole phyto into the rotifer then all over the floor. I was p**ed. It taked daily careful water changes to keep healthy.

4) I lost another batch when the air hose at the check-valve cracked and leaked a whole reactor onto the floor. I have since worked out many of the mechanical/plumbing failure points.

5) After my initial good luck with my first batch, I had three crashes in six months. I got frustrated and took a break.

6) I use filtered water pressurized off my return pump to top-off the phyto tank. This is supposed to be a valid method compared to boiling salt water but maybe I have some chemical pollutants causing me trouble. This may be a contributor to the crashes.

7) I use my 1.026 tank water for top-off. Maybe lower is better.

8) anyone want a reactor setup???

 

[HeneryH]

BTW here is the aquamedic manual which has instructions for culturing your own.

http://www.aqua-medic.com/products/docs/Plankton_Reactor_both.pdf

 

[cantagious]

Well I can say thanks for this thread and to HeneryH for the pic I got this two weeks ago and just did not know where to begin to find out how to set it up .

 

[HeneryH]

Looks like you just need the bottom tee's, valves and check-valves for the air bubbler connection.

The problem I had was mating the soft air hose to the more rigid John-Guest fittings. I am not sure the terminology for the clear hose but play along with me as I call it rigid clear hose.

The rigid hose pushes over the nipple on the air check-valve but is stressed and may split. Note the blue check-valves between the clear hose and the green air-hose. After loosing a culture due to this splitting, I ended up placing the air check-valves higher up on the board (using longer rigid hose rather than the short 1" piece) so if they split no harm would be done.

 

[cantagious]

Well all this came with it

 

[Constantin]

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how long would a 500ml bottle of algae paste last me? as compared to making my own phyto

 

[cantagious]

Well I have some spare time got to get mine hook up and working

 

[cantagious]

just notice mine is upside down

 

[Plan>B]

any updates on these... also, what size tanks are you using these on?

 

[cantagious]

still setting up

 

[Sig45]

I designed phyto/rotifer reactors years ago. They work well but rotifer water gets foul quickly and shouldn't be added to your system in larger quantities.

Roti-Rich powder is a good dry substitute for phyto enriching rotifers. As stated earlier, rotifer nutritional value is related to their previous 12-24hr feedings.