# Macroalgae Scrubber



## bioload (Oct 20, 2009)

How fast will Nitrate reduction take to occur...........Well Let's find out....sort of.

Tank 7"x7"x17"
Airline with valve
Terta Tec Deep Pump
Water volume = 3 gallons
Algae = Caulerpa and Chaeto

Setup









Day 1 - Noticeable change in Nitrate


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## bioload (Oct 20, 2009)

While were at it....added phosphate as well


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## bioload (Oct 20, 2009)

Day 2


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## bioload (Oct 20, 2009)

Day 3


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

thats awesome!!! Great photos


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## bioload (Oct 20, 2009)

Ciddian said:


> thats awesome!!! Great photos


Thanks Ciddian, 

Amazing that something so simple works so well, no messing with flow, anaerobic zones, advection, biodiversity etc. Not to say that I won't be trying other methods, but I may finally be able to start adding some corals to my tank soon.

I've turned on the maxijet connected to the tank to exchange water and start over. This time I've added a 13w compact fluorescent that I will run 24/7....lets see how it goes.

Current Setup


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## Ciddian (Mar 15, 2006)

Would you be able to provide some specs on the container, light and direction of flow for your set up?


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## bioload (Oct 20, 2009)

The container was made out of some scrap pieces of acrylic and measures approx 7x7x17. 

The was no supplemental lighting for the first three days. The light source was an adjacent window that lit the scrubber with indirect sunlight. 

The scrubber was actually a closed system with no flow to the tank, which was done mainly to see how fast the nitrates would be consumed.

Over the next couple days I'm hoping to see how the system will work with continuous lighting (13w Compact Fluorescent).

By transferring the approx 3gal of 0 nitrate water to the DT every few days I'm hoping that I will start to see a reduction in the DT as well......I'll keep all posted.


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## derekc85 (Oct 23, 2008)

good progress ... keep it up, btw what test kits are you using?


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## bioload (Oct 20, 2009)

The test kits are API-Nitrate & Hagen-Phosphate

Here are the Day 1 results with 24 hour lighting.


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## bioload (Oct 20, 2009)

I think I night have mixed up my samples earlier today, and the previous nitrate test does not seem to be accurate.

Here is what I just tested


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## bioload (Oct 20, 2009)

Not entirely sure what has happened? The day 2 test using 24/7 compact fluorescent lighting showed an increase in the level of nitrate.










I may have botched the last series of test and the results somewhere are not correct, or there is some nitrate being released back into the system with 24hr lighting. I guess that is why many test are required before coming to a conclusion, which is why I'll not make any regarding 24hr lighting at the moment....more to come.

Regardless, I think I can say that Algal tests were positive overall and I will continue to use on my 75gallon. I've started continuous flow between the scrubber and DT using the MJ400 and will monitor growth and system nitrate in coming weeks.

Keep in mind that the tank has no other means of export at the moment in the form of a skimmer or water changes and there are no plans currently to start.


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## bioload (Oct 20, 2009)

Day 2 - Didn't expect to much change


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## Byronicle (Apr 18, 2009)

is an algae scrubber basically a refugium then?


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## Cypher (Apr 15, 2006)

I think macro algea scrubber = very densely planted refugium.


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## bioload (Oct 20, 2009)

Byronicle said:


> is an algae scrubber basically a refugium then?


I would say it is. However, there is no substrate or additional rock that one might place into a fuge.....just algae.

Been a few days now and there hasn't been a noticeable reduction yet. Algae itself might not be enough, but we'll see.


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

bioload said:


> I would say it is. However, there is no substrate or additional rock that one might place into a fuge.....just algae.
> 
> Been a few days now and there hasn't been a noticeable reduction yet. Algae itself might not be enough, but we'll see.


Perhaps you need a bigger scrubber with more algae, more lights? Is your nitrate level rising, or steady? If it's steady then the scrubber must be consuming some nitrates.


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## ameekplec. (May 1, 2008)

Try an 8 on 4 off 12 hour light cycle to optimize growth - so the container will have to be completely in the dark. 

You're probably getting photoinhibition with 24hrs of continued lighing - plants do need some dark in order to grow.


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

ameekplec. said:


> Try an 8 on 4 off 12 hour light cycle to optimize growth - so the container will have to be completely in the dark.
> 
> You're probably getting photoinhibition with 24hrs of continued lighing - plants do need some dark in order to grow.


Good point. Didn't realize it was on 24hours.


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## bioload (Oct 20, 2009)

conix67 said:


> Good point. Didn't realize it was on 24hours.


Since connecting to the display I've been running 16hrs on and 8hrs off.

The closed system took approx 3 days for 3gal of to reach 0 nitrates. I would guesstimate the total water volume of the DT at 50gal which may take some time.....assuming nitrate is not being generated faster than it can be consumed.

Hard to say weather the levels are increasing or decreasing at the moment since the test kit has varying shades of red which I find difficult to differentiate. The only thing I can say for sure is less than, or greater than 20ppm, and it appears to be a lot higher than 20ppm


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## conix67 (Jul 27, 2008)

Maybe it's time for a better test kit. I recently purchased Salifert kits from BRS, for Calcium and Alkalinity, and I like them a lot. I plan to purchase ones for phosphate and nitrates. They provide finer scale of measurement, and appears to be more accurate than API.


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## bioload (Oct 20, 2009)

conix67 said:


> Maybe it's time for a better test kit. I recently purchased Salifert kits from BRS, for Calcium and Alkalinity, and I like them a lot. I plan to purchase ones for phosphate and nitrates. They provide finer scale of measurement, and appears to be more accurate than API.


Did a couple test with the API test kit and it would appear that the result may vary greatly depending on solution #2, which need to be shaken for 30 seconds before use.

The vial on the right was not, and the result indicates 0.


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## bioload (Oct 20, 2009)

Little did I know that when I added my air diffuser I would turn my algae into a rotisserie.


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## acer (May 18, 2010)

it's kind of hypnotic, haha.

Isn't that what macroalgae prefer? to be moving around and not stationary?


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## Cypher (Apr 15, 2006)

What's the reasoning behind adding the air diffuser to the 'fuge? Just curious.


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## wtac (Mar 17, 2006)

That's the PITA w/API NO3 test solution 2 as the metallic powder (Mg or Zn) is an important part of the test. Usually the better NO3 tests in the past were a 3 reagent test, where the powder was step 2.


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