What is it you hope it will accomplish? Reduce algae in your tank? I am not familiar with this idea, and nutrient export . . . huh? Thanks.
Wanted to start a thread on my latest diy gadget. I understand that many discus keepers like to keep it simple, with tried and trued methods, like BB, sponge filters and large daily changes. I also realize that many members are open to the use of technical components and other diy gadgets that can better their overall experience.
I will say I understand nothing takes place of wcs but if something works why not utilize it.
My new diy project is an algae reactor. As I know the benefits of scrubbers I wanted to experiment with something similar without the large space requirements. My hope is to see the results in two different areas for myself. One obviously is nutrient export between wcs. Yes I will still do my normal wcs but I would like to see if there is any change on params.
The other is I have had a bit of trouble this summer with some green algae. My guess is the amount of sunlight the tank gets from the kitchen window here in sunny California. I can't get the wife to stop opening the blinds while I'm at work so here I am.
This project may show positive results and may not but as a person that likes to tinker and diy I figure it's worth a shot.
In an earlier post I diy'd a purigen reactor. Essentially what I have done is taking the existing reactor (obviously removed purigen), placed plastic knitting mesh inside and wrapped with a warm led strip light.
I have been running approximately 12 hour light cycles thus far. I will be adding a wemo switch so that it's automatic but have been manually turning off and on at this point.
I installed Saturday and today see noticeable algae growth. Now we shall see if there are results. If not, didn't cost much more than an led strip from Amazon.
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Im not illiterate...only my phone's auto correct is
What is it you hope it will accomplish? Reduce algae in your tank? I am not familiar with this idea, and nutrient export . . . huh? Thanks.
My hope is by growing the algae where I want it it will keep it out of my tank as well as suck up nutrients at the same time. Same principal as an algae scrubber. I've seen this applies to salt tanks so figured I'd give it a go since its so simple. As i said I like to tinker
Im not illiterate...only my phone's auto correct is
Interesting experiment.
Following to see how it goes.
Have you gotten your hands wet today?
Interesting baby girl keep us posted on the effectiveness...
Neat idea. Might be able to put some pothos cuttings in the tank to compete with the algae as well if u like the look of them
Nice Naquadah generator Ryan.well as a stargate fan thats what it looks like to me!
Seriously though will you be monitoring and testing any parameters? At the least I think you can get some interesting data on Nitrate levels.
al
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One week later.
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Im not illiterate...only my phone's auto correct is
This thread got me thinking, What if you used a cheap protein skimmer instead of a reactor, that would keep the algae well oxygenated and could have better growth.
Interesting Ryan, didn't know what a wemo switch was so I looked it up. High tech little bugger..
That LED strip is a DC right? They make a real inexpensive DC timer you could wire inline...I have a few here I picked up on ebay for a few bucks.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1PC-Fashion...kAAOSwfa9Zp3MB
al
AquaticSuppliers.comFoods your Discus will Love!!!
>>>>>I am a science guy.. show me the science minus the BS
Al Sabetta
Simplydiscus LLC Owner
Aquaticsuppliers.com
I take Pics.. click here for my Flickr images
Very interesting idea ! I really want to set up an algae scrubber/reactor, the benifits can be huge.
I have even seen people run full salwater tank on algae scrubbers alone.
You could even add some sort of moss onto the mesh.
I might even try a HOB version of this, thanks for the idea !
Im not illiterate...only my phone's auto correct is
FYI these are pretty common on the saltwater side. You can buy some really spendy commercial ones!!
You should try adding some red to your LED's, might help with faster growth.
The really expensive ones use violet based phosphors for a better photosynthetic curve.