Hiker4twenty
Reef enthusiast
That's cool. What do you feed it? I'm thinking it might be my next fish since I've just lost 3 this week.
Mega Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover - DIY!
- Thread starter SantaMonica
- Start date
That's cool. What do you feed it? I'm thinking it might be my next fish since I've just lost 3 this week.
PRC
Stop Quoting Me!
I feed him mysis mostly...he won't eat krill..I just recently purchased some "Trigger Formula"..my midas blenny loves it..My trigger eats the mysis. He's not starving to death...They suck mysis in like a vacuum..it's cool.
SantaMonica
Reefing newb
Although almost no aquarist knows this (athough every marine biologist does), algae produces all the vitamins and amino acids in the ocean that corals need to grow. Yes these are the same vitamins and amino acids that reefers buy and dose to their tanks. How do you think the vitamins and amino acids got in the ocean in the first place? Algae also produces a carbon source to feed the nitrate-and-phosphate-reducing bacteria (in addition to the algae consuming nitrate and phosphate itself). Yes this is the same carbon that many aquarists buy and add to their tanks. In particular, algae produce:
Vitamins:
Vitamin A
Vitamin E
Vitamin B6
Beta Carotene
Riboflavin
Thiamine
Biotin
Ascorbate (breaks chloramines into chlorine+ammonia)
N5-Methyltetrahydrofolate
Other tetrahydrofolate polyglutamates
Oxidized folate monoglutamates
Nicotinate
Pantothenate
Amino Acids:
Alanine
Aspartic acid
Leucine
Valine
Tyrosine
Phenylalanine
Methionine
Aspartate
Glutamate
Serine
Proline
Carbohydrates (sugars):
Galactose
Glucose
Maltose
Xylose
Misc:
Glycolic Acid
Citric Acid (breaks chloramines into chlorine+ammonia)
Nucleic Acid derivatives
Polypeptides
Proteins
Enzymes
Lipids
Studies:
Production of Vitamin B-12, Thiamin, and Biotin by Phytoplankton. Journal of Phycology, Dec 1970:
PRODUCTION OF VITAMIN B12, THIAMINE, AND BIOTIN BY PHYTOPLANKTON1 - Carlucci - 2008 - Journal of Phycology - Wiley Online Library
Secretion Of Vitamins and Amino Acids Into The Environment By Ochromanas Danica. Journal of Phycology, Sept 1971 (Phycology is the study of algae):
SECRETION OF VITAMINS AND AMINO ACIDS INTO THE ENVIRONMENT BY OCHROMONAS DANICA1,2 - Aaronson - 2008 - Journal of Phycology - Wiley Online Library
Qualitative Assay of Dissolved Amino Acids and Sugars Excreted by Chlamydomanas Reinhardtii (chlorophyceae) and Euglena Gracilis (Euglenophyceae), Jounrnal of Phycology, Dec 1978:
QUALITATIVE ASSAY OF DISSOLVED AMINO ACIDS AND SUGARS EXCRETED BY CHLAMYDOMONAS REINHARDTII (CHLOROPHYCEAE) AND EUGLENA GRACILIS (EUGLENOPHYCEAE)1 - Vogel - 2006 - Journal of Phycology - Wiley Online Library
Vitamins:
Vitamin A
Vitamin E
Vitamin B6
Beta Carotene
Riboflavin
Thiamine
Biotin
Ascorbate (breaks chloramines into chlorine+ammonia)
N5-Methyltetrahydrofolate
Other tetrahydrofolate polyglutamates
Oxidized folate monoglutamates
Nicotinate
Pantothenate
Amino Acids:
Alanine
Aspartic acid
Leucine
Valine
Tyrosine
Phenylalanine
Methionine
Aspartate
Glutamate
Serine
Proline
Carbohydrates (sugars):
Galactose
Glucose
Maltose
Xylose
Misc:
Glycolic Acid
Citric Acid (breaks chloramines into chlorine+ammonia)
Nucleic Acid derivatives
Polypeptides
Proteins
Enzymes
Lipids
Studies:
Production of Vitamin B-12, Thiamin, and Biotin by Phytoplankton. Journal of Phycology, Dec 1970:
PRODUCTION OF VITAMIN B12, THIAMINE, AND BIOTIN BY PHYTOPLANKTON1 - Carlucci - 2008 - Journal of Phycology - Wiley Online Library
Secretion Of Vitamins and Amino Acids Into The Environment By Ochromanas Danica. Journal of Phycology, Sept 1971 (Phycology is the study of algae):
SECRETION OF VITAMINS AND AMINO ACIDS INTO THE ENVIRONMENT BY OCHROMONAS DANICA1,2 - Aaronson - 2008 - Journal of Phycology - Wiley Online Library
Qualitative Assay of Dissolved Amino Acids and Sugars Excreted by Chlamydomanas Reinhardtii (chlorophyceae) and Euglena Gracilis (Euglenophyceae), Jounrnal of Phycology, Dec 1978:
QUALITATIVE ASSAY OF DISSOLVED AMINO ACIDS AND SUGARS EXCRETED BY CHLAMYDOMONAS REINHARDTII (CHLOROPHYCEAE) AND EUGLENA GRACILIS (EUGLENOPHYCEAE)1 - Vogel - 2006 - Journal of Phycology - Wiley Online Library
Piratefish
SPS Freak
Well crap ! I just wasted my money on Selcon.
Hiker4twenty
Reef enthusiast
I see on your acrylic box model that you are using 2 sets of T5's with 2 bulbs in each fixture. That's just too much additional wattage for me to add. Would power compacts work instead of using T5's? I have some extra PC lights from an old light fixture.
SantaMonica
Reefing newb
Watts are watts. PC's are just less watts, in the same size.
Hiker4twenty
Reef enthusiast
They are 36W each.
SantaMonica
Reefing newb
If you are a U.S. patent attorney versed in foreign utility applications, please contact me about possibly working together on both published and unpublished utility designs...
Algae Scrubbers • View topic - Seeking Patent Attorney for partner
Algae Scrubbers • View topic - Seeking Patent Attorney for partner
SantaMonica
Reefing newb
Well it took a while to get time to take more pics, but here are the updated ones of my 100 gallon tank. The main thing to mention is that this tank is not for showing... it is for experimenting. Details are at the end of this post. There have been no waterchanges since August 2008. The only dosings are Mrs. Wages Pickling Lime in the top-off (for Cal and Alk), Seachem Reef Advantage mag, and Seachem Reef Advantage strontium. Feeding is 48 ml of skimmate... I mean... blended oysters, per day, 20 square inches of nori per day, and one silverside per week (for the eel). There are no mechanical filters, no chemical filters, and no sand. The only filters are the live rock (now 5 years old), and the algae in the scrubbers. The lighting is 2 X 150 watt halides, and one 96 watt actinic. The tank is 30 inches tall. Tests are Nitrate and Phosphate = 0 (Salifert), pH = 8.3 to 8.6, and the water is contantly filled with food particles:
High-Res: Click here
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High-Res: Click here
continued...
SantaMonica
Reefing newb
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SantaMonica
Reefing newb
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SantaMonica
Reefing newb
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SantaMonica
Reefing newb
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SantaMonica
Reefing newb
Videos:
Whole Tank:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xUl8FIQAxr0]YouTube - SantaMonica Oct 2010 Whole Tank[/ame]
Tank Right to Left:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=58pOisX2vSs]YouTube - SantaMonica Oct 2010 Right to Left[/ame]
Eel Eating:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kDZtHf-xXCc]YouTube - SantaMonica Oct 2010 Eel Eating[/ame]
continued...
SantaMonica
Reefing newb
Flower Pot:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMdllQSKU2c]YouTube - SantaMonica Oct 2010 Flower Pot[/ame]
Frag Tray:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtvF0ZbVX7w]YouTube - SantaMonica Oct 2010 frag tray[/ame]
Liquid Feeder:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOIx09XWYCo]YouTube - SantaMonica Oct 2010 Liquid Feeder[/ame]
Tube Anemone:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7TnVm19td4]YouTube - SantaMonica Oct 2010 Tube Anemone[/ame]
Here were the main experiments:
Iron Overdosing: I tried adding an iron supplement for many years, but never saw any affect. I always followed the instructions, such as Kent's Iron+Manganese "Add two teaspoons per 100 gal, per week". It had no visible effect. But after I started to read the literature about algae and iron, and after I realized that I now have much more algae in my system that the average tank does, I went out on a limb and poured in 8 ounces of Kent's. This is 24 times the recommended dosage for 100 gallons. But I reasoned that it's not the gallons that matter, it's the amount of algae. And it worked. The algae in the scrubber, that previously was yellow and hard (due to lack of iron), turned solid green and fluffy. Growth was much faster that week too.
So if more was better, much more should be much better. So I poured in a HALF GALLON of the Kent's. This is 225 times the recommended dosage, and over 9 times more than what I put in before. This was the biggest mistake I've made yet on this tank (coral-wise). Within a few hours, both of the bubble corals shrank up to nothing, and started letting pieces go. The next day, my 3 year old 5" litho was half gone. And by the end of the week about 30 of my 60 corals were completely wiped out. Iron was even beginning to deposit on the inside of the tubing that feeds the scrubbers. Well, I never did a waterchange, and things have gone back to normal, but now I know the power and the problems of adding iron. The more algae you have in a system, the more iron it can use; but don't add too much. How much is too much? The green soft corals (like a green bubble) seem to be affected first, so watch those.
Over Feeding: When my scrubber (only one unit at the time) was basically not filtering at all (before I knew about pumps clogging, and lights getting weaker), I increased feeding to 128 ml of skimmate... I mean blended oysters... per day, along with 5 frozen cubes per day, and one silverside per day. No waterchanges of course. So with this high level of import, and with almost no export, nuisance algae began to explode in the tank. I must say, the few SPS I had really grew at that time. The over feeding made up for the small 150 watt halides in a 30 inch tall tank.
Non Feeding: After realizing the non-flow in the scrubber (due to the clogged pump), and the worn out lights in the scrubber (should have been replaced 9 months earlier), I got the export back into operation. But to speed up the removal of the nuisance algae in the display, I stopped all feeding for 2 months. No blended oysters, no nori, no cubes, nothing. Only one silverside for the eel, but only every 2 weeks. Well, another big lesson learned: If corals have been growing based on high amounts of food in the water, they cannot survive on less. In other words, if the food in the water was always low, the corals would not have developed a need for food. But since they were fed large amounts of food for a while, they grew and needed those large amounts at all times. When the feeding was stopped, I lots about 4 corals in the first 4 weeks, and another 10 corals in the next 4 weeks.
So the pics you see are what's left after the iron, the over feeding, and the non-feeding. I don't recommend these tests for anyone else; I did them so that I would be able to recommend safe feeding and filtering methods for others.
end
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MMdllQSKU2c]YouTube - SantaMonica Oct 2010 Flower Pot[/ame]
Frag Tray:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AtvF0ZbVX7w]YouTube - SantaMonica Oct 2010 frag tray[/ame]
Liquid Feeder:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOIx09XWYCo]YouTube - SantaMonica Oct 2010 Liquid Feeder[/ame]
Tube Anemone:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p7TnVm19td4]YouTube - SantaMonica Oct 2010 Tube Anemone[/ame]
Here were the main experiments:
Iron Overdosing: I tried adding an iron supplement for many years, but never saw any affect. I always followed the instructions, such as Kent's Iron+Manganese "Add two teaspoons per 100 gal, per week". It had no visible effect. But after I started to read the literature about algae and iron, and after I realized that I now have much more algae in my system that the average tank does, I went out on a limb and poured in 8 ounces of Kent's. This is 24 times the recommended dosage for 100 gallons. But I reasoned that it's not the gallons that matter, it's the amount of algae. And it worked. The algae in the scrubber, that previously was yellow and hard (due to lack of iron), turned solid green and fluffy. Growth was much faster that week too.
So if more was better, much more should be much better. So I poured in a HALF GALLON of the Kent's. This is 225 times the recommended dosage, and over 9 times more than what I put in before. This was the biggest mistake I've made yet on this tank (coral-wise). Within a few hours, both of the bubble corals shrank up to nothing, and started letting pieces go. The next day, my 3 year old 5" litho was half gone. And by the end of the week about 30 of my 60 corals were completely wiped out. Iron was even beginning to deposit on the inside of the tubing that feeds the scrubbers. Well, I never did a waterchange, and things have gone back to normal, but now I know the power and the problems of adding iron. The more algae you have in a system, the more iron it can use; but don't add too much. How much is too much? The green soft corals (like a green bubble) seem to be affected first, so watch those.
Over Feeding: When my scrubber (only one unit at the time) was basically not filtering at all (before I knew about pumps clogging, and lights getting weaker), I increased feeding to 128 ml of skimmate... I mean blended oysters... per day, along with 5 frozen cubes per day, and one silverside per day. No waterchanges of course. So with this high level of import, and with almost no export, nuisance algae began to explode in the tank. I must say, the few SPS I had really grew at that time. The over feeding made up for the small 150 watt halides in a 30 inch tall tank.
Non Feeding: After realizing the non-flow in the scrubber (due to the clogged pump), and the worn out lights in the scrubber (should have been replaced 9 months earlier), I got the export back into operation. But to speed up the removal of the nuisance algae in the display, I stopped all feeding for 2 months. No blended oysters, no nori, no cubes, nothing. Only one silverside for the eel, but only every 2 weeks. Well, another big lesson learned: If corals have been growing based on high amounts of food in the water, they cannot survive on less. In other words, if the food in the water was always low, the corals would not have developed a need for food. But since they were fed large amounts of food for a while, they grew and needed those large amounts at all times. When the feeding was stopped, I lots about 4 corals in the first 4 weeks, and another 10 corals in the next 4 weeks.
So the pics you see are what's left after the iron, the over feeding, and the non-feeding. I don't recommend these tests for anyone else; I did them so that I would be able to recommend safe feeding and filtering methods for others.
end
Hiker4twenty
Reef enthusiast
Looks very nice!
PRC
Stop Quoting Me!
As always good info Santa Monica.
dcantucson
Reef pro
SantaMonica that Orange Flower Pot is incredible as is everything else.
:question: How do you get your battery powered air pumps to go on automatically if the power goes off?
Thank you for all the information you post and for sharing your knowledge. :bowdown:
:question: How do you get your battery powered air pumps to go on automatically if the power goes off?
Thank you for all the information you post and for sharing your knowledge. :bowdown:
Piratefish
SPS Freak
WOW ! I dont even have the words to say how sweet your tank is ! Thanks for doing the testing for us.
kevvin27
Reefing newb
You can buy them in the store. They have a plug to plug into the wall and when the power goes off it switches on and uses the battery until the power goes back on and it turns off. Priceless insurance if you ask me.
