designing a low maintenance system

[Richie10093]

if you don't mind me asking, what were the ways the other methods failed?

I didn't know that purigen actually removed nitrates! I knew it could do a lot, but that was not a property I was aware of! Thanks for sharing that! (but I am probably not going to try to use that particular route for the same reason you mentioned.)

Any input regarding the UV sterilizer before I order one? It seems plausible that it could help break down organic compounds. especially at higher wattage and low flow rates. Should I try to go larger, or just keep the flow rate really slow (<100gph) through a 36 watt unit?

 

[jaws7777]

if you don't mind me asking, what were the ways the other methods failed?

I didn't know that purigen actually removed nitrates! I knew it could do a lot, but that was not a property I was aware of! Thanks for sharing that! (but I am probably not going to try to use that particular route for the same reason you mentioned.)

Any input regarding the UV sterilizer before I order one? It seems plausible that it could help break down organic compounds. especially at higher wattage and low flow rates. Should I try to go larger, or just keep the flow rate really slow (<100gph) through a 36 watt unit?

For me if I have to endlessly tinker to get something to work wc's are more efficient.

Plants vs my bioload didn't work long term. I filled my sump with water lettuce. At 1st it made a slight improvement but fish grow. So does bioload plants will consume what they need and not a drop more.

Purigen reactor needs lower gph to get the beads to tumble. The lower gph would cycle my tank quick enough to combate the "new" nitrates produced daily.

The denitratefulter did work. Braught nitrates to 0 for a week or two but needed constant tinkering. Plus the low gph of the filter was sensative to fluctuations of the water level in the sump. As water would evaporate from the sump the level would drop exerting less pressure on the pump. At these lower gph rates it would impact gph and cause it to almost cut in half. It evemtuaeve became non effective.

Purigen's main function is nitrate reduction so not sure what you read. My tank needed allot I mean way more than anyone would use. Recharging it was a pain. For your 40 gal 3 or 4 bags of 100ml would be a breeze to recharge.

The algae scrubber was my fault. I just didn't have the patience to tinker with different LEDs and methods. I tried and uplow and moved on to other applications. Check out marks threads it's not an easy project by any means BUT he's having great results.

At the end of the day if the health of your fish is a main concern then you aren't going to be completely doing away with water changed. Imo even if these methods all worked it's allot of tinkering and a simple wc would be less hassle. There is no quick fix if there was it would be mass produced like other filters

 

[jaws7777]

Uv imo would be a waste of $$$ for what your attempting to use it for.

tarheel96 did some extensive tests with different species of pothos and for the most part found it to be not effective.

I have this 75 gal with a good sized plant growing out of it. The only occupant is the little catfish. I don't see any great reduction in nitrates. Plant is soley for looks.

 

[markstrimaran]

The incredible fluidised algea scrubber, about a year old. The ball's are self cleaning, and will self support algea consuming fish.

It has no media, it has about 15 African cichlids in 75 gallon volume.

The algea convert ammonia into green stuff by passing the nitrogen cycle.
The current low maintenance up flow scrubber. It uses a sand impregnated screen that holds long strand algea. It requires more maintenance.

Both use custom DIY WATER PROOF 660NM Leds.

 

[markstrimaran]

Algea scrubber as bio filter, thread title

And Santa Monica makes great submersible lights at around $200.00

 

[Richie10093]

Endless tinkering is a giant pain. Especially for a system gearing itself toward low maintenance.

i actually think there is a chance that the plants don't use nitrates when the concentration is too low in the tank. in the case of water lettuce, perhaps that limit is around 80 ppm...

I always thought it functioned nearly like carbon. Removing tannins and other impurities out of the water. The more you know!

Water changes with our current knowledge are unavoidable for the health of our aquatic buddies. But if there was a obvious fix that was compact, it would absolutely be mass produced and someone would make a killing. But learning as a group from each others experiences can help us advance as a community. which is the most beautiful thing about this type of forum.

(I like the wee catfish!)



that is one heck of a sales pitch you have for that algae ball! is that really enough surface area to make a difference to a substantial bio-load? you seemed to cover a load of info in your thread! one of the largest I have ever read entirely instead of skimming... good read!

my main question is why have most of your lighting attempts been diy rigs? I've played around with hydroponics and am used to using led grow lights that are in the 130 watt range. would that power bump be usefull for the type of algae you are trying to grow? or just grow potentially less desirable types more quickly?

 

[markstrimaran]

Endless tinkering is a giant pain. Especially for a system gearing itself toward low maintenance.

i actually think there is a chance that the plants don't use nitrates when the concentration is too low in the tank. in the case of water lettuce, perhaps that limit is around 80 ppm...

I always thought it functioned nearly like carbon. Removing tannins and other impurities out of the water. The more you know!

Water changes with our current knowledge are unavoidable for the health of our aquatic buddies. But if there was a obvious fix that was compact, it would absolutely be mass produced and someone would make a killing. But learning as a group from each others experiences can help us advance as a community. which is the most beautiful thing about this type of forum.

(I like the wee catfish!)



that is one heck of a sales pitch you have for that algae ball! is that really enough surface area to make a difference to a substantial bio-load? you seemed to cover a load of info in your thread! one of the largest I have ever read entirely instead of skimming... good read!

my main question is why have most of your lighting attempts been diy rigs? I've played around with hydroponics and am used to using led grow lights that are in the 130 watt range. would that power bump be usefull for the type of algae you are trying to grow? or just grow potentially less desirable types more quickly?

One algea ball, no but 20 yes. Each ball has about 8 square inches.

Most scrubbers are 4" x 6" or about 3 algea balls.

I have 4 different scrubbers, at commercial prices, that's over $800.00 in leds.

Or DIY at $2.00 in leds, plus a second hand 9 volt power supply for a buck.

I started with CFL lights, and tested some for Santa Monica Filtration

 

[Richie10093]

Just for raw surface area to grow algae, the balls seem promising. But would it be better to have consistent light over an area rather than having the algae be inconsistently exposed to the light? I don't know what algae would prefer, which is why I am asking.

I believe a lot of that price comes from hobbies pricing things far over normal levels. The products may also pass through too many hands and slowly raise the price due to middle men. regardless, I like the posibility of using easy to find led lighting intended for plant growth to grow the algae. Such lights (cost around 90 bucks) could pair well with a fluidized bed to gain some extra surface area then into the mechanical media to reduce the amount of debris that makes it to the display tank. Just some thoughts!

I may try to get some pictures of my setup posted soon as well as a bit of a more formal update.

 

[markstrimaran]

Just for raw surface area to grow algae, the balls seem promising. But would it be better to have consistent light over an area rather than having the algae be inconsistently exposed to the light? I don't know what algae would prefer, which is why I am asking.

I believe a lot of that price comes from hobbies pricing things far over normal levels. The products may also pass through too many hands and slowly raise the price due to middle men. regardless, I like the posibility of using easy to find led lighting intended for plant growth to grow the algae. Such lights (cost around 90 bucks) could pair well with a fluidized bed to gain some extra surface area then into the mechanical media to reduce the amount of debris that makes it to the display tank. Just some thoughts!

I may try to get some pictures of my setup posted soon as well as a bit of a more formal update.

Most plant lights are heavy on the 640nm spectrum. Which does not grow algea very well.

I use a 4 sided box with leds at north and south, with mirrors on east and west.
On 24 x 7 x 365. 90% 660nm 10% 453nm
A 8" air stone help rotate the balls along with 200 gph water flow.

The 10 watt led chips would probably bleach out a screen in the center.

 

[Richie10093]

so. here is a couple pictures of my setup. One with the sump light on,


one with light off



The largest koi is currently about 4.5".

A water test yesterday put the nitrates around 60 ppm. I fully attribute this to my gradual conversion to using the sump for growing algae as opposed to primarily water lettuce. from the picture below, how does that algae look? Is it a not so bad turf algae? It seems like it may be due to its tough fibrous nature. But it is currently just growing on the top of the water in a 1/2" thick mat.



also, here is a shot of my sump, but it may be partially obstructed...



As you can see, I also ended up getting the 36 watt sterilizer since there seems to be a chance it may help. I'm not doing this experiment to be "cheap" by avoiding water changes. I am doing this to provide as good of conditions as possible for some koi for the hopefully short time I will care for them in this aquarium.



also, the water is slightly cloudy I believe due to my complete lack of mechanical media in the system since that would clog quickly and possibly cause an issue long term without changing it.

Any advice, discussion, or comments would be appreciated!