designing a low maintenance system
- Thread starter Richie10093
- Start date
weekly harvest isn't that bad. But what would happen if the system was left running for 2 or 3 weeks before a harvest? would it cause the system to not function or just be a little less than ideal?
would it have the potential to be a deadly amount of die back? or would it be likely a small issue?
well then. I may try to transition the system from using primarily floating plants to vine type terrestrial plants and algae to control the nutrients. any tips to help provide lots of surface for the algae to grow on and be easy to harvest? perhaps try using the material often suggested for saltwater diy algae scrubbers?
As for the UV I was just looking into getting one that is massively overkill for the size tank. 36 watts stainless steel. I was also planning on a fairly low flow rate to try and give myself as good a chance as possible to break down the growth hormones if it is even possible with a UV sterilizer. Can any negatives be expected putting a sterilizer meant for a 4000 gallon pond on a 40 gallon tank with a sump?
As for the UV I was just looking into getting one that is massively overkill for the size tank. 36 watts stainless steel. I was also planning on a fairly low flow rate to try and give myself as good a chance as possible to break down the growth hormones if it is even possible with a UV sterilizer. Can any negatives be expected putting a sterilizer meant for a 4000 gallon pond on a 40 gallon tank with a sump?
For growing algae erect a screen with water from tank constantly going over it, point some lamps facing towards both sides of it
Didn't read all the replies but here's what I've learned from various methods I've tried : floating plants, submerged plants, pothos (garbage for nitrate reduction but looks cool) algae scrubber, purigen reactor, purigen filter, and deditrate filter (anaerobic bacteria)
It's all mainly relative to the bioload. For the most part all methods can work for a little while at least.
I feel like the most promising if I/you can muster enough patience is the algea scrubber I didn't give it enough time to call it a total failure.
markstrimaran
is a resident scrubber expert.
Purigen absolutely works. I used a large amount of it stuffed into a 4 inch pipe and hooked a pump up to it. Kept nitrates at almost 0. Issue is recharging all of that purigen was not sustainable.
Set up an hob off your sump and cram it with purigen but as others mentioned you still have to do wc's to replenish tank water and remove hormones and other organic build up
It's all mainly relative to the bioload. For the most part all methods can work for a little while at least.
I feel like the most promising if I/you can muster enough patience is the algea scrubber I didn't give it enough time to call it a total failure.
markstrimaran
is a resident scrubber expert. Purigen absolutely works. I used a large amount of it stuffed into a 4 inch pipe and hooked a pump up to it. Kept nitrates at almost 0. Issue is recharging all of that purigen was not sustainable.
Set up an hob off your sump and cram it with purigen but as others mentioned you still have to do wc's to replenish tank water and remove hormones and other organic build up
