Mega Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover - DIY!

[Jschoon]

scrubber build for a 10 gallon sump

Here it is assembled but not installed. I used a secondary pump pumping about 90 GPH. I have several options for adjusting flow. Will wait and see how it works before messing around too much.

Installed scrubber. Current water tests are SG = .023, temp = 76, PH = 8.1, Ammonia = 0, Nitrite = 0, Nitrate = 0, phos = .25, Calc = 380
0 mesaurements = undetectable on scale.
I need to buy a new clamp on light. That is why there is only one pictured. The other one was broken beyond repair. I have a CF 23 w 2700k.

 

[ali1]

very interesting read

 

[SantaMonica]

Yes. Put both lights on one side if you can.

 

[andysgirl8800]

Yes. Put both lights on one side if you can.

If I put both lights on one side, which I think I can get away with, how often would I clean the now single-sided screen?

 

[ali1]

They say about once a week, but I'd imagine it depends on your bioload and how often you feed

 

[andysgirl8800]

I don't feed often, and have a low bioload at the moment, but not sure if I should wait the full week if I only have a one sided scrubber set up. I would think I'd need to clean it more frequently if I haven't got two sides growing.

 

[SantaMonica]

Andygirl: Still once a week.

Schoon: 90gph is barely enough for a 3 inch wide screen. Either do try to get more gph, or reduce your screen width to 3 inches. Otherwise your screen will end up just a lot of cyano.

 

[Jschoon]

thanks will do.

 

[andysgirl8800]

This is day 4 of my scrubber.....EWWWW!

 

[SantaMonica]

That's very good growth for four days. It will be full of green algae by the third cleaning.

 

[SantaMonica]

Success Updates:

Coolhandgoose on the scrubber site: "Since I installed the new light two weeks ago my nitrates have gone from 20 to 0. The cyano in my display is now starting to disappear."

Desert_Fishy on the SWF site: "I started my 75g reef 5 months ago (2nd venture w/SW) and decided to start up with a scrubber and no skimmer due to this thread. All I have are powerheads, lights, scrubber and a heater. My water readings are perfect, corals are really flourishing, fish are happy and I spend 10 minutes a week cleaning the algae off the scrubber - although that is becoming a bigger and bigger job. My only problem now is that copepods, feather dusters and some other small pink bug-like creatures that live on the glass are multiplying out of control. I have feather dusters everywhere!"

Toddo on the MFK site: "This is my 125 freshwater tank with medium bio load. I have an XP3 with Biomax/mech pads, and this scrubber as the only filtration now. Its been 12 days with just the scrubber for nitrate control. Nitrates and ammonia are still at zero. No water changes. This is significant, as my well water is 35-40ppm Nitrates. It grows enough algae to need weekly cleaning now. I had a specific freshwater requirement for low to no nitrates, and I have met that, using my scrubber. It was properly designed and built using info provided, and is now functioning as expected."

DeathWish302 on the RC site: "The turf scrubber slowly drove out the cyano, and has been amazingly processing EVERYTHING I have thrown at the tank in regards to food."

AlgaeNator on the scrubber site: "I have been running a version of ATS for about 2 months, and have been skimmerless for 4 weeks now, and am very happy with the ATS concept and performance so for. I have been running my prototype Victory Scrump for about 3 weeks now, to prove the concept and it's working VERY well. My corals are healthier than EVER, Two of MY RIC's that were dying going clear, are now SPLITTING after removing the skimmer. Im amazed actually at how well my other softies are doing too. In my case, I might not be typical though, as I think i was OVERSKIMMING my tank with my larger skimmers i build and sell, removing the good stuff with the bad"

Manuelink on the scrubber site [from spanish]: "with algal over 4 months without water changes, no skimmer, no additives anything, just food and my corals growing like additives. the coralline algae and is infested by all sides, that speaks of good levels of alk and calcium. is a wonder this invention"

 

[SantaMonica]

I now have a system to make double-layered, cactus-rough, plastic canvas screens:
Algae Scrubbers • View topic - Now Available: Screens you can buy

If there is a sales or vendor forum where this would be better placed, let me know.

 

[Gigaah]

Thanks to everyone involved here. I'm new to saltwater and I was just happily trodding along digging up info on building a refugium/sump..then I found this thread. It has made everything soo much easier and doable..and from the sounds of thing more effective. I was going to buy a 20g tank for the refugium..instead now I can feel good about using a bucket or an old 10G for my 55g tank. Thank you. Thank you. I've been hoping that there is a "better way". I was going to build the sump and refuge..then spend more money on a skimmer..well now I can build a nice algea filter to put my tank in check! Now I just have to dig up a bucket, some lights, some screen and pipe and select a pump. I'm soooo happy right now!

 

[SantaMonica]

Do post pics and progress...

 

[SantaMonica]

The trick of skimmer popularity

In my reading of what is going on lately with the discussions of skimmer vs. skimmerless tanks, I'm seeing the same fallacy repeated over and over and over, usually by the most experienced reefers who have been around the longest: "Because everyone uses skimmers, a skimmer must be required or else they wouldn't use one." Or, "Every Tank-Of-The-Month has a skimmer, therefore a skimmer is required to give you the best chance of a TOTM."

It's all completely irrelevant. I can't believe how many people fall for this line of reasoning. This trick is taught in Debate class in high school; It's called "Appeal to Poplulariy", otherwise known at Argumentum ad populum...

Argumentum ad populum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

On a side note, realize that many people are paid to promote skimmers. Millions of dollars are put into the marketing and promotion of skimmers, and some of that money goes into the pockets of the people who are posting reasons to have skimmers. Also, there must be a hundred companies who make skimmers, and all of them have promotion budgets. The job of promotion is to "get the word out". How many Algae Scrubber companies have promotion budgets? Zero, because there are no companies. Scrubbers are DIY. This is why the "popular thinking" is to use a skimmer... because skimmers are all anyone reads about. Promotion is my day job, and this is exactly how it works.

 

[Gigaah]

I started my algea scrubber. Built from a cheap tote from walmart. I did find a pretty slick easy way to mount the FCL flood lights. Home depot sells "weather proof" sockets. They have a rubber surround where the bulb screws in. If you just make a 1" hole in the tote..stick the bulb thru it and screw it into the socket the rubber tightens up and securely fastens the bulb in place.

This is only half the size the unit will be. I'm a lil money crunch so I couldn't afford another two floods and two sockets

The Home depot skew for the sockets is 078477839591 @ 3.27 each.
Of course you have to do a little wireing. I used some good solid speaker wire, wire nuts, and an old PC power cord I had laying around to wire it up.

Still working on it. right now its 8.5"x10" of screen(Above water line) in the end it will be 17x10 running a 55G tank. I might even divide it and cycle the lights opposite each other.

The lights sit about 2.5" from the screen....just the way it works out..

 

[dcantucson]

That electrical set-up looks like scary to me. Water and light scockets?

 

[Gigaah]

Yeah the set up needs a little refining. I'm going to drill the holes large so only the glass portion of the bulb is inside the unit with a silicone seal. This is all learn as I go. I'm work in a factory doing maintenance so I fully understand the risks of water and electricity and wiring. HOWEVER I did NOT expect the outlet of the pump that was returning water to my tank to SYPHON the water back out down the outlet back thru the pump. Imagine my my scramble to plug the pump back in as my tote filled up to the level of the holes(no electrical lights were installed at the time. I realized I have to make sure there return into my tank is juuust belown water level. Hehehe. I'll post progress as I make It i have some re-fabrication to do.

 

[bjohanson1234]

I would also recomend not using speaker wire for your wiring. Speakers run on low voltage and the rating of the insulation is most likely not rated for 120v AC. Spend the extra couple bucks and get some wire made for 120v. Other than that, looks good and keep us posted on updates

 

[SantaMonica]

The rubber-surround socket seems handy, although I guess I'd have to see for myself how much salt creep it could really prevent. A silicone-seal works, but has to be cut out to replace the bulbs.