Reefless
Member
A few years ago I decided to try my hand at raising clownfish (successfully as it turned out). As part of that project I decided to build a phytoplankton reactor to supply a food source for the rotifers I needed to feed the clownfish fry. Really all you need is a few 2 liter soda bottles, but I wanted to do something a little more classy. I bought a 6' length of 3" diameter acrylic tubing from Tap plastics (about $30), as well as several pieces of 1/4" acrylic sheet from the scrap bin. I cut the tubing into 3 2' sections with a 45[SUP]o[SUP]bevel cut at one end. To the bevel end, I cemented a square piece of acrylic. This will be the bottom of the reactor. Next I drilled a small hole, just above the bottom, through the square acrylic piece. Next I cemented a small length (~1") of rigid airline tubing into the hole. This will connect to the air supply line. I also added another small piece of airline tubing through the top right corner of the square acrylic. The top and bottom rigid airline tubing were then connected with a length (~ 6") of silicone airline tubing. This small length of tubing can be easily removed at the top to drain the phytoplankton into another container for use. Using the scraps of acrylic sheet I fabricated a stand to hold three plankton reactors. Included in the stand is a bracket for each reactor, to ensure that the airline tubing for each rises above the maximum liquid level so that, in the event of a power failure, liquid does not siphon back into the air pump. Each reactor also has a bracket so it can slide on and off the stand easily. by having a stand of acrylic it allows the light source to come from either side. Each reactor is approximately 2 liters.
Last edited:
