Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everything

[Herefishyfishy]

Perhaps the title being: "Mega-Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium, Everything"

is quite controversial and perhaps argumentative in itself? If this thread was in the DIY forum, would be more on topic and less distractions. I've always wondered why some threads are moved and others left.

 

[MtnDewMan]

You know, you are right, this is more DIY than anything else. Good call.

 

[SantaMonica]

N: 10 today woo hooo. not sure why. I dont have a P test but no algae issues knock on wood. my scrubber is in an empty 55g that has some egg crate in it and the egg crate is covered with HA and Cyano but virtually no trace of it in the DT. Does a fuge lower N?

Yes they do. It's algae just like a screen. But here are some comparisions...

Algae scrubbers:

o Reduce N and P to much lower levels than fuge/macro can.

o Is very quick to respond to excess nitrate and phosphate spikes (the turf "screen" always
stays the same size after it is trimmed); much quicker than refugiums/macros which have
smaller surface areas after they are trimmed.

o Traps no waste/food like a refugium or DSB does; waste/food flows right past the screen.

o Does not release strands into display, like chaeto.

o Does not go sexual, like caulerpa can.

o Is 1/2 or 1/3 the size.

o Weighs nothing.

o Cools the water.

o Is free.

o Is portable.

o Can run two, for backup.

 

[SeaMonster]

my clowns attack me too! its very annoying, I have resorted to hitting them back!!! it works

why DO you love the scrubber so much SM? I hear what you're saying about the benefits but why are you so passionate about it? I'm just curious

I just like to experiment for myself. you know how it is, people tell you don't do it, but you just have to see for yourself. If I just did what more experience folks told me to do, I would just get bored with the hobby very fast. and its not like I have a high caliber SPS tank. I have hard to kill animals and I keep a pretty close eye on them.

So any Ideas why the HA and cyano has stayed in my empty 55g and not in DT? I have plenty of unclaimed areas in the DT where some of that cyano could be growing.

 

[trido]

my clowns attack me too! its very annoying, I have resorted to hitting them back!!! it works

So any Ideas why the HA and cyano has stayed in my empty 55g and not in DT? I have plenty of unclaimed areas in the DT where some of that cyano could be growing.

I dont blame you for hitting the fish back! I would do, and have done the same.

As far as the cyano. My guess is the spectrum of lighting over the tank.
I have the same thing happeneng on my system. No cyano in the dipslay, frag tank, fuge, or crytpic fuge, just the sump. At first is was in only the fuge, but then it moved to only the sump and only on one pane of glass.
AS long as I dont see it spreading I dont worry about it. In reality, its time for some big WC's.

 

[SantaMonica]

jski711 on the RS site says his scrubber fixed up his pH:

"my ph was dropping too low because i wasn't running my skimmer. the skimmer would help get rid of a lot of the co2 that was comming from the effluent of the reactor into the tank. so i turned my reactor off and i couldn't run my skimmer because of a medication i put in my tank, the skimmer would just overflow with bubbles in a matter of seconds. so i was running no skimmer and no reactor for about a month and a half. then after installing the scrubber i noticed that my ph was on the rise and has been high sometimes 8.5ish. so i figured the extra co2 from the reactor would bring the ph down and also help with micro growth. no more ph problems, im amazed at how much this scrubber has raised my ph. again awesome idea santamonica!!!"

 

[Herefishyfishy]

What the heck does "my ph was dropping too low because i wasn't running my skimmer" mean??????? The guy from (RS?) thinks his skimmer balances his PH???

Hallelujah brother, another true believer!

http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38723

 

[Scooterman]

How can this replace everything? I see this as just another way of doing things, good or bad doesn't matter. Skim or not to skim doesn't matter, fuge or not. because anyone can run a tank just fine without any of them, many people do.
This is just another way to process N & P simple as that, looks like it should work well & a good improvement over the older ways of doing it, same goes with anything, we always improve things like skimmers, refuges. RDSB, DSB, LR, LS whatever it is, It just is a tool. IMO the title should be changed as it is very misleading, sounds like an advertisement & it isn't, not even new, but Improved yes I like that. The titles sounds like your a salesman or an inventor, only credit here is the details & the presentation that should be credited.
Of course we all have opinions

 

[freetareef]

my clown is just a false perc but i gave her a ceramic tile and a cave and moved the frogspawn over to her corner and they love their little corner.

my ats is getting some green hair built up and is looking good. i'll test the water tonight and post tomorrow.

 

[DonW]

jski711 on the RS site says his scrubber fixed up his pH:

"my ph was dropping too low because i wasn't running my skimmer. the skimmer would help get rid of a lot of the co2 that was comming from the effluent of the reactor into the tank. so i turned my reactor off and i couldn't run my skimmer because of a medication i put in my tank, the skimmer would just overflow with bubbles in a matter of seconds. so i was running no skimmer and no reactor for about a month and a half. then after installing the scrubber i noticed that my ph was on the rise and has been high sometimes 8.5ish. so i figured the extra co2 from the reactor would bring the ph down and also help with micro growth. no more ph problems, im amazed at how much this scrubber has raised my ph. again awesome idea santamonica!!!"

As suggested before I'd keep this just a DIY specific thread. Post like this are a waste and make no sense what so ever. They prove nothing but ignorance to the science and basic chemistry of the hobby.

Don

 

[Skimmy]

here's what this thread needs:

http://www.rathergood.com/buildings/

because as it is now,

 

[SantaMonica]

Here are some interesting technical points taken out of the current issues of Advanced Aquarist:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2008/8/aafeature3
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2008/9/aafeature2


"Greater than 97% of the organic matter in the oceans is in the form of DOC"

"The majority of the DOC in the oceans is consumed over a time span on the order of hours-to-weeks."

"The generally accepted value of deep ocean TOC (DOC in this instance) ranges from 0.45 - 0.60 ppm, a number that appears to be insensitive to collection location. On reefs, however, the DOC (and TOC) value is considerably higher. Even with this point noted, the values of DOC on reefs from the South Pacific to Japan to the Caribbean to the Red Sea are remarkably consistent in their range: 0.7 - 1.6 ppm"

"Bacteria are a critical component in the food web of the reef, as they occupy the role of 'middle man' in the transfer of energy from the source (sunlight) to the consumers on the reef"

"sponges are some of the most prolific repositories of marine bacteria. In fact, some sponges have been studied as effective bioremediation agents in marine aquaculture as a consequence of their exceptional ability to absorb TOC"

"Where does the DOC go ... studies suggest that it is rapidly consumed by bacteria that live in and on the coral itself and not by bacteria present in the water column. Shutting down these endogenous bacteria by antibiotic treatment abolished DOC uptake."

"In total, these data unequivocally demonstrate that the [skimmer] is not required to deplete the aquarium water of TOC. Apparently, naturally biological processes are sufficient in and of themselves to return the post-feeding TOC levels to their pre-feeding values after about 4 hrs or so ... Clearly the skimmer is doing something, given the copious residue accumulated in the collection cup at the end of the week. Perhaps, however, the residue removed by the skimmer is only a rather small, even inconsequential, portion of the entire TOC load that develops in the aquarium water over the course of a week."

 

[jimw369]

As suggested before I'd keep this just a DIY specific thread. Post like this are a waste and make no sense what so ever. They prove nothing but ignorance to the science and basic chemistry of the hobby.

Don

Dont post here hardly at all but I got Santa on another site as well as reading his threads on 4 other sites. Has anyone seen a pic of an ATS on a tank of his own? I see pictures of buckets with the scrubbers but thats it. He posts pics of his tank but no proof anything is hooked to it. He is asking for pictures and params of others ATS. Seems to me hes gathering info for a project or gonna market something like that acrylic ATS he built and was going to install on his own tank on 9/11.

I gotta say what he built looked very proffessional.

But yeah, hes making some statements that seem a little off. If you read his threads from all the sites he is tweeking them to counter some of the questions that arise from time to time.

Nonetheless interesting and informative. Its good to see some one revive whats almost been forgotton in the reefing hobby.

 

[jimw369]

here's what this thread needs:

http://www.rathergood.com/buildings/

because as it is now,

LMAO!:lol:

 

[burning2nd]

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OMG rofl rofl coppter!


i see a closure to this comeing......




i thought it (the hole thread) was a good idea, the hole algae cultivating thing was cool... Im my head tho Fourm follows function, and that just doesnt seem functional 2 me....... (not in the sence that it doesnt work)

you can by a 911 Gt2 and put it in the garage,
you could by it and race it
you could by it and detail it every day admiring how nice it is.
or you could drive it to work


i bet that doesnt mean anything to most of you, but somewhere out there someone got it,

 

[miwoodar]

RF too? I wish I had a NASA style control room full of computer screens so I could follow all of these threads simultaneously.

The ceiling cat is hilarious.

 

[SantaMonica]

Has anyone seen a pic of an ATS on a tank of his own

See page 1.

I gotta say what he built [acrylic] looked very proffessional

Thanks, but I'm not expecting anyone to go as far as using acrylic. I just had a space limitation above the sump.

 

[SantaMonica]

Today's build-of-the-day is the very first solar powered screen that I've seen on any thread. Lighting will not be a problem with this one. Uses a simple pressurized pvc frame:

 

[jimw369]

See page 1.



Thanks, but I'm not expecting anyone to go as far as using acrylic. I just had a space limitation above the sump.

I have looked at page one. I dont see anything hooked to your tank. I see a bucket next to a sink and some other on the floor but no pic of anything that tells me this is YOUR research. There is nothing posted in a scientific manner. Ordinarily I wouldnt pursue some one for answers to this extent but when some one posts the dogmatic statements you have about other forms of filtration and skimming I think some credentials other than "here try this" need to be shown.

The only thing I am asking is for a pic of that ATS hooked up to your tank and some test results laid out in an organized manner. You seem to only be interested in others pictures as you ask for them to be posted BEFORE the screen gets cleaned as well as some ones params. Looks to me like you are using others to gain some info that maybe you havent gathered on your own.

Please prove me wrong and post some pics of your tank hooked up to the ATS that you used to gather the information you are posting.

This is the third site I am asking for pics on. Why arent you posting pics of your set up on any of these sites?

 

[miwoodar]

Here are some before and after pics...

Before:
http://www.ratemyfishtank.com/friendemail.php/10522

And after:
http://radio-media.com/fish/TankNew.JPG