Micro-Small Algae Remover System for Nano's: Free!

[Kraylen]

*yawn*

[Jacobnano]

Hes still going, and going.

[JourneyReef]

These posts are filled with so much gibberish I don't even know where to start. There is a reason no public aquarium in the world uses algal turf scrubbers on coral tanks. It is not because someone learned how to "properly clean" them in the last 8 months, either. If the tank in your link is evidence of your method, it's not proving your point very well at all.

 

This is inaccurate. Smithsonian Aquarim in Ft. Pierce Florida use algal turf scrubbers. I saw their system and their tanks.

 

http://www.sms.si.edu/smee/smeehome.htm

[BLoCkCliMbeR]

Hes still going, and going.

 

we are all on ignore.....hes talkin to himself....

[lajz9]

Good f'n lord I can't believe this hasn't been closed or died yet...

[BLoCkCliMbeR]

Good f'n lord I can't believe this hasn't been closed or died yet...

 

i did a google search on ATS and the "other" sites arnt as mean to him....

 

i think he keeps posting to annoy us all...

 

and i read on one reef site that he is possibly selling these

[Mr. Fosi]

i did a google search on ATS and the "other" sites arnt as mean to him....

 

You mean they don't address his faulty (non-existent?) logic, his lack of knowledge, his deliberate mischaracterization informative articles and his other false claims regarding this nutrient export train wreck?

 

In that case, I'll stick with NR.com.

[lajz9]

You mean they don't address his faulty (non-existent?) logic, his lack of knowledge, his deliberate mischaracterization informative articles and his other false claims regarding this nutrient export train wreck?

 

In that case, I'll stick with NR.com.

Damn, that's spot on.

[yardboy]

http://forum.marinedepot.com/Topic100283-9-1.aspx

 

I'll leave the pseudo-scientific evaluation analysis and arm chair psychologcal determination to the nano-reef crew!

 

I also saw a demonstration of construction of a "bucket scrubber" yesterday at our local club, and since it is so simple to construct, have decided to evaluate one for myself.

Having been around the reefing community for quite a long time, I do recall an archenemy of the above reference link author who claimed that mocrioalgae was much more efficient than macroalgae at removing nutrients. Interesting how they seem to have convereged over the years. Regardless, I am going to try it and see if there is any validity in my experience.

[johnmaloney]

Fosi.... How are you? How are things?

 

I have seen the fort pierce aquarium, really cool seagrass lagoon they have there. Beware of chatting with staff though, if you thought you were addicted to the hobby, these guys will make you seem sane. nice people though...

 

yardboy

no reason you cant use both to really effectively remove nutrients. just be on the lookout for ph trouble and water staining. get come carbon, some frequent wcs and you should be on the right track. in any event nice to see they gave you something to DIY.

[Mr. Fosi]

If Eric is doing it, it is an impending trend. However, what Eric is doing looks a lot different than what SantaMonica is doing. Not just organismal differences but methodological differences as well.

 

This:

 

 

 

 

And this:

 

 

 

 

Are not this:

 

 

 

 

Or this:

 

 

John: Doing all right here. I'm in the market for another emerald crab already! The one in my display kicked over, so I preserved him in EtOH.

[yardboy]

You are right Isaac, but it's not radical organizational differences. The setups seem pretty much the same, though I'm not sure how Eric gets what looks nearly like chaetomorpha in the first pic, other than just maturity over time.

No doubt his presentation is different too, though not radically so. "Fun with Algae" ?

[SantaMonica]

Many folks have asked about plans for my scrubber, so here are some:

 

 

Click here for easier to read version

[Jacobnano]

Many folks?

[Mr. Fosi]

That's just SM using weasel words again. No real research or data, just anecdotes, so he uses weasel words to lend credence to his claims.

 

Typical of people who argue from ignorance or simple lack of data.

[wombat]

This is inaccurate. Smithsonian Aquarim in Ft. Pierce Florida use algal turf scrubbers. I saw their system and their tanks.

 

http://www.sms.si.edu/smee/smeehome.htm

 

I stand corrected. I just knew there'd be at least one...and I was familiar with this particular one!

 

Any info on the life support? I know there's a deep sand bed...do they run skimmers as well? Activated carbon? Water change regimen?

 

I think part of the issue with SM's threads is that so many of them seem to tout why ATSs are better than other filtration methods. This:

 

"It will replace (or keep you from needing) a skimmer, refugium, phosphate removers, nitrate removers, carbon, filtersocks, and possibly even waterchanges."

 

Is dangerous type of info to be spreading around to the newbs IMHO.

 

 

That's just SM using weasel words again. No real research or data, just anecdotes, so he uses weasel words to lend credence to his claims.

 

Typical of people who argue from ignorance or simple lack of data.

 

Would "costs and weighs nothing" be another example of weasel words?

[Nanoized]

Here he is again.

 

http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/genera...everything.html

[Mr. Fosi]

Would "costs and weighs nothing" be another example of weasel words?

 

No. That is an actual claim that he is substantiating with the veracity of his own word.

 

If it were weasel worded, it would go something like: "some say it costs and weighs nothing".

[yardboy]

Well, the good news is that a newb wouldn't likely be able to make heads or tails out of that drawing. Maybe that's why we've seen so many fire hazards in this thread.

[Phyto4life]

Many folks have asked about plans for my scrubber, so here are some:

 

 

Click here for easier to read version

 

Great job thanks for the design I recently pretty much gave my mrc away took a $200 dump I can't wait to finish this design on my 90G that dam skimmer sucked the life out of my tank finally I can dose food knowing it will not be wasted keep up the good work

 

Finally I can dose phytoplankton without the tad bit of inorganic left over from unused fertalizer a dream come true for me

 

I'll be copying this design

 

 

 

[SantaMonica]

What is a boundary layer, and why is it important? It the layer of water that is microscopically close to the algae; the water molecules that actually touch the algae:

 

 

 

 

 

This boundary layer area of the water has zero flow, because it has to have the same flow as the algae, which of course is zero. Since there is no flow (velocity) here, nutrient transport through it is slow. The faster the water flow, the smaller the boundary layer, and the faster the nutrients can get to/from the algae from the water.

 

One point to clarify about nutrient exchange: Contact with air is not needed. Scrubbers operate the same whether they are sealed or open (except for cooling/evap), because the exchange is not with the air; it's with the water. The reason algae grows better in an overflow, or where water hits a scrubber screen, or where waves hit the beach, is because the flow is higher here and thus the water's boundary layer is thinner, which allows for better nutrient transfer between the algae and the water. This is what a vertical waterfall scrubber tries to achieve: Fast flow from top to bottom. Further info can be found here:

 

Seagrasses: Biology, Ecology, and Conservation, p 199, by AWD Larkum, Robert Joseph Orth, Carlos M. Duarte:

 

"As water flows through seagrass [or algae] beds, a boundary layer develops on the sediment surface, as well as on each seagrass [and algae] component exposed to the moving water. The faster the water moves, the thinner the diffusive boundary layer (DBL) becomes, and consequently, the faster the transfer of molecules from the water column to the sediment and/or seagrass [or algae]. It follows then that when currents [flow] are weak, the flux of molecules to the seagrass [or algae] surface may be limited by diffusion through the [boundary layer] (i.e., physical limitation). Under those conditions, many biological sites or enzymes in the seagrass [or algae] tissue are available to assimilate molecules when/if [!] they reach the plant's [or algal] surface.

[lajz9]

Still goin... If this is what it takes to maintain a "nano-reef" I'm outy. Jesus.

[Whacked]

How to take a elementary fluid mechanics diagram and make it important looking.

First, add some research facility name

But thats doesnt bring out the "ohhh' factor.

So lets add the NASA logo.

 

Sure it may be possible that glenn research is doing stuff for nasa

but it doesnt hide the fact that the diagram is,...

come on, say it with me

 

you can do it

 

Elementary Fluid Mechanics

[SantaMonica]

Several Updates:

 

1. Change CFL or T5 bulbs every THREE MONTHS!

 

2. Wattage recommendation: 0.5 Watts per gallon for medium filtering. 1.0 for high filtering.

 

3. CFL bulbs: 55W is the max that works good. If you need more watts, get two or three smaller ones, or go to T5HO (best)

 

4. Skimmer overflow: Be careful of your skimmer overflowing (if it does not have an overflow tube.) The rotting food in the skimmer cups has been growing bacteria, and thus producing ammonia, so if it overflows into your sump, the ammonia can kill things. If this happens, then a scrubber removes this ammonia from the water (skimmers do not remove ammonia; they only make ammonia in the cup.)

 

5. Current best place to get plastic canvas: www.EverythingPlasticCanvas.com

 

6. Surges are not recommended for scrubbers, because (1) the have not shown to improve operations, (2) they are hard to diy, (2) they are noisy/messy, and (4) they reduce the filtering contact time with the water.

 

7. Cleaning: If your screen goes up into the pipe, you can clean the screen extra good in that area, so that less algae will grow up into the pipe.

 

8. Purple growth: If your screen is new, and you are getting thin purple growth in spots, it is probably cyano because of weak lighting. If your screen is 3 months old or more, and you start getting purple growth, feel it. If it's is furry, then it's turf. If it's not furry, then it cyano.

 

9. Never run the lighting 24/7.

 

10. Cyano in display: Sometimes, after an algae scrubber has removed most of the nuisance algae in a tank, cyano will grow a bit more. This is normal, because cyano does not eat the same thing that nuisance algae does (thus, the cyano now has less competition). But the cyano will reduce too eventually. The cyano occurs because it has the capability of getting nitrogen directly from the water, without needing Nitrate, Nitrate or Ammonia/Ammonium (which is what algae gets nitrogen from). But as the scrubber continues to filter, the cyano will have a harder and harder time holding on.

 

11. Why "polished" water is bad: The "clean" water look you get with a skimmer and other mechanical filters is because the food (i.e, waste "protein") has been removed from the water. This is what you want if you have just large fish. But if you want a "real" natural reef, you don't want to do this. Go diving some time and look at the water on a natural reef; there are millions of specks and dots and particles and things floating in the water in a super thick soup. And that's just six inches in front of your face. These things are what feed everything, including small fish.

[MGDMIRAGE]

Dang write a book and be done.. You can slap a NASA logo and some US government top secret project letter on the bottom, and the best part, print millions and charge nothing and spend all your time promoting it.

 

I've seen this on like 6 other sites so far, why are you working so hard to sell free information?