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

SantaMonica — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 03:11:30 GMT

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

If anybody has not yet hooked up their refugium or skimmer, or was just looking get rid of these things, then you might want to try one of these mega-powerful filters that I built. You build it with stuff laying around, and it can take as little as a few minutes, or up to a day. It will replace (or keep you from needing) a skimmer, refugium, phosphate removers, nitrate removers, carbon, filtersocks, and possibly even waterchanges. And while MD does have fine equipment like this for sale, the purpose of this post is the hope that some manufacturer will come along and build one of these so I don't have to spend my time on them

It's called a Turf Algae Filter, and it works in salt or freshwater. It's smaller than most pieces of reef equipment (yet it's more powerful), and it can be put into a bucket or your sump. It's most powerful feature is that it leaves food particles in the tank so the corals can feed, yet it removes nitrates and phosphates, most of the time down to zero. This is the OPPOSITE of what a skimmer does; a skimmer removes food particles (so corals starve) and then leaves the nitrate and phosphate in the water so you have to use other methods to get the nitrate and phosphate out. And how about all that gunk that your skimmer pulls out? Well, half of it is food that you just fed, and your corals wanted to eat it. What about the other half, the waste? Well, that's food too!

Here is my Turf Algae Filter in a 5-gallon bucket; it's the only filter I have of any kind on my 100 gallon reef:

Here is the filter in operation with the lights on:

Here is my tank:

Hi-Res: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/WholeTank.jpg

And here are the only things you need to build it:

My nitrate and phosphate are zero, and the only thing in my sump is: Water. I removed the skimmer, carbon, phosban, polyfilter(s), and filtersock; I don't use ozone, vodka, zeo or anything else. I'm feeding massive amounts too; enough that if I had my previous filtering setup, I'd have to clean the glass twice a day, and everything in the tank would be covered in green or brown algae. Amazing.

The process of using turf algae to filter aquariums has been around for decades, but the contraptions were huge and expensive, and for some reason nobody thought to make a simple one in a bucket or sump. So here is one you can make in a few minutes, or a day, depending on which one you choose. It's simple enough (and basically free) that you should try one on your system even if you have no intention of eliminating your skimmer/refugium, etc.

The principal is very simple: You have a screen; light is aimed at the screen, and tank water is streamed over the screen. What happens is that a type of algae called "turf" starts growing on the screen (it feels very similar to artificial turf on football fields), and this turf eats ALMOST ALL the nitrate and phosphate in the water flowing over it. However, the turf does NOT eat the food/pods/plankton in the water, so this food will stay in the water for the corals to eat. This is the OPPOSITE of a skimmer, which takes out the food/pods/plankton (so corals starve), but leaves in the nitrate and phosphate that you have to then get out using other means. What about fish waste that skimmers normally pull out? Well that's food too, for somebody. Only after waste decomposes completely into nitrate and phosphate is it no longer "food", and at that point the turf algae zaps it! After all, what do you think the green algae on your rocks and glass are eating? Food? No. Nitrate and phosphate!

You might ask why you have not heard of turf algae filters before. Well turf algae is actually used quite a bit in commercial/industrial areas to clean lakes and rivers, but the units that were built for aquariums were just too big (as big as the tank itself) and expensive ($3,000+). So they never caught on. But all they do is move water across a screen, and have a light. So putting the turf in a bucket or your sump works just fine.

The only thing you need to decide is how big your screen needs to be, and if you want it to be in a bucket or your sump. The basic rule is one square inch of screen for each gallon of tank water. A 5 gallon bucket (like a salt bucket) can hold a screen about 12 X 12 inches = 144 square inches = 144 gal tank; a 2 gallon bucket can hold about 7 X 7 inches = 49 gal tank; a one gallon bucket about 6 X 6 = 36 gal tank. Turf filters get really small as you can see. A 12 gal nano tank needs just 3 X 4 inches in a tupperware container! This small thing replaces the skimmer, refugium, phosphate removers, nitrate removers, carbon, filtersocks, and possibly even waterchanges (if the purpose of the waterchanges is to reduce nitrate and phosphate.) If your tank is bigger than a 144, then just start with a 5 gallon bucket size and see how it goes. You can always add a second one, or build a bigger one later.

My example bucket version takes about a day to build. Water goes in the pvc pipe at the top, flows down over the screen, then drains out the bottom. That's it! Oh, and it has clip-on lights and a fan. I can feed the tank as much food as I want, and anything not eaten by the corals or fish eventually ends up as turf algae on the screen.

Here are the sump versions (putting turf in the sump was thought of by RC user "biomekanic")...

Good: Takes a few minutes to build:

Better: Takes about three hours to build:

Best: Takes about a day to build:

The advantages of the sump version are:

o No extra space needed.
o Version 1 can be set up in a few minutes.
o Can make use of the wasted space once used by bio balls.
o Is fed directly from the overflow, thus eliminating the pump entirely.

Disadvantages:

o Pods produced by the turf have to flow through your return pump to get you your tank.
o If the top of your sump is closed, it may need to be drilled or cut open for air/light.

Further down, I'll show how to build the bucket version since I made it myself (and have pics), then I'll show you drawings of how you'd do the in-sump versions (since I don't have pics). The bucket version is overall the most powerful, flexible, and even portable. The in-sump version (especially version 1) is easiest to build, but about half as powerful, and a little harder to access once installed. But for now, here's how a turf algae filter (bucket version) compares to other filtering options:

o Will wipe out most algae growth in the display, since nitrate and phosphate will be LOW.

o Allows you to feed very high amounts without causing nuisance algae growth in the tank.

o Will finally allow coralline to grow, since the phosphate will be too low stop it.

o Does not skim out coralline spores like a skimmer does.

o Can replace waterchanges, if the purpose of the waterchange is to reduce nitrate or
phosphate or algae growth.

o Has the highest nitrate and phosphate removing power of any macro algae (because of
the high air and light levels it gets).

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 Is the very smallest size for the amount of nitrate and phosphate removing it does.

o High removal of nitrate and phosphate, low removal of foods (the OPPOSITE of a skimmer).

o Can entirely replace refugium, skimmer, DSB, carbon, phosban, polyfilters, etc. (although
you can certainly keep these items around if you want.)

o Grows copepods and amphipods that will drain right down into your display (if the bucket
is hung above the display).

o Bucket is easily hung above display with its handle, and is lightweight since it holds no water.

o Removes both nitrate and phosphate, unlike rock/sand (which removes only nitrate), or
phosban (which removes only phosphate).

o Bucket version is extremely easy to build, using just a bucket and pvc pipe.

o Version 1 of the in-sump version is so simple, it's just a few minutes to build.

o There are no moving parts at all.

o Provides cooling of water, using increased evaporation, especially with a fan.

o Does not form bacteria or slime like vodka dosing does.

o Increases pH.

o Increases oxygen.

o Does not release strands into the display like chaeto algae does.

o Will not spread into the display like caulerpa can.

o Gets strong light penetration into the turf, since there is no water standing over it.

o Easy to clean; just lift the screen up and "scrape" (i.e., "harvest") it.

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

o There is no odor from the turf (only a slight ocean smell when scraping it).

o There is nothing to break or clog.

o Bucket version is very quiet when flowing, similar to a tabletop decorative waterfall.

o Introduces no microbubbles when adjusted.

o Will not start growing turf in display tank.

o No filtersocks (or any mechanical filter) needed, since you want all the food in the
water to continue circulating until eaten by the corals.

o You do not have to turn a skimmer off when feeding, because a skimmer is not running in
the first place.

o Removes ammonia too, which takes some load off your rock and sand.

o You can even make the bucket portable! Just unplug the lights and fan, lift up the pump
out of the tank water, and go put it in your next tank (or your friend's tank). Don't let
the screen dry out though.

o Works in saltwater or freshwater.

How to build the bucket version: First, choose your pump size (or just try what pump you have; it won't hurt). For my example, about 350 gallons per hour was needed. Here is a guide based on the width of the screen (it does not matter how tall the screen is)...

Screen Width-----Gallons Per Hour (GPH)

2" 70
3" 105
4" 140
5" 175
6" 210
7" 245
8" 280
9" 315
10" 350
11" 385
12" 420
13" 455
14" 490
15" 525
16" 560
17" 595
18" 630
19" 665
20" 700

Also make your pump decision based on how high up the water has to be pumped; my bucket is on the counter by the sink, so the water has to come up 4 feet (4 foot head) from the sump to get to the top of the bucket. So I needed a pump rated anywhere from 500 to 700 gph to begin with, in order to have 350 gph at the bucket. Just make sure you have an adjustable pump output so you can reduce the flow to avoid over-spraying. Get some vinyl tubing of the size that will connect to the nozzle on the pump, and make it long enough to get to where you are going to set the bucket. Make note of the ID (inside diameter) of the vinyl tubing, and don't confuse that with the outside diameter. The ID needed to match my pump was 3/4"

Now, choose a WHITE bucket size that will hold your screen (you should have already figured out what screen size you need). I used a regular 5 gallon salt bucket. (I'd also recommend you get two buckets in case you mess up the first one.) If you don't know how to do plumbing/pipes/tubes/etc, here's how.

First, get one of these hose adapters:

...at your hardware store, or online like here:
Hosebarb fittings

...Choose the adapter size that matches the ID of your vinyl tubing (I used 3/4"). Next, get a bulkhead that matches the size of that adapter:

...at your hardware store, or online like here:
Bulkhead Fittings

...The "size" of the bulkhead is what you want to match to the adapter, and you want a "FIPT SLIP" (female international pipe thread). I used the 3/4" FIPT SLIP 1-3/8" 1", which means: the water passage area is 3/4", female threads, an outside diameter of 1-3/8", and 1" long. So make note of the outside diameter (D) of your bulkhead: this is the size of the hole you need to drill in the bucket. Also, get TWO of these bulkheads, and use the extra rubber washer that comes with the second one, so you'll have two washers together.

Now get a "hole saw" like this:

...at your hardware store

...and pick the size that matches the OD of the diameter of the bulkhead. (Note that these example holesaws also need an "arbor", which is the piece that goes into the drill; they are listed at the bottom of the same page). Take the nut from the bulkhead, and slide it down the inside wall of the bucket so that it just touches the bottom. If the bottom has a curved corner, don't let the nut on the curved part; you want the nut to only be on the flat part of the wall:

Now get a black marker pen and circle the INSIDE of the nut, nice and dark, so you can see the circle from the outside of the bucket:

Hold the bucket so light goes inside it, and you should see the circle from the outside; Now mark the circle on the outside:

Now use the hole saw to drill the hole in the bottom of the bucket. Clean up the hole very good so that there are not any scraps of plastic left over that will stop the rubber washers from sealing:

Insert and screw together the bulkhead, using TWO rubber washers on the outside (take one from a second bulkhead):

Screw in the hose adapter, using teflon tape to make sure it seals watertight:

Now put your finger over the hole to seal it, and fill the bucket up with tap water to make sure the bulkhead does not leak.

Now you need to make the "waterfall pipe". It's exactly like what is used on those tabletop decorative waterfountains. I used a 1" ID pvc pipe (1-1/4 OD), from any hardware store. Before you cut it, install a cap (I used 1") on one end, using teflon tape to seal it:

Cap fittings

You need to water-test the cap too, so fill the pipe up with water (cap at bottom) and check for leaks. If no leaks, empty water and dry off. Now set the pipe down on the top of the bucket and position it so that the cap touches the bucket:

Measure 1.5" from the outside of the bucket, mark the pipe, and cut it there:

Now get another hose adapter that matches your vinyl tubing size:

Hosebarb fittings

Find a "reducer" that takes the size of the pipe down to the size of this hose adapter; I used a 1" to 3/4":

Male Adapter fitting

Attach the reducer to the other end of the pipe using teflon tape:

And screw the hose adapter onto the reducer, using Teflon tape:

Screen: The screen pictured here is a plastic tank divider (get the biggest one, and cut it down), but almost any stiff and porous material will do, as long as it stands up straight:

Tank Dividers

Even if you don't use a tank-divider, get one anyway so you can use the plastic edges that come with it to hold your screen in place. Window screen (non-metal only) can work, but would not stand up by itself too well, so you'd still need to build a non-metal frame to hold it. What also works good is knitting backing material. Whatever screen material you use, get enough to make THREE full screens, because you are probably going to mess up at least one the first time.

Size the screen so it fits in your bucket, using the dimensions you get from measuring the bucket; make the screen a little bigger than you think you need so you can trim it to fit:

Cut the screen to shape, and attatch the edges (that come with the tank-divider); your screen should now have a "V" shape, and about a half inch of the screen should stick out past the edges on the top:

Now lay the bucket down sideways, and lay the screen on the bucket so that the extra half-inch of screen sticks out past the top of the bucket, and the edges are even with the top:

Now mark the bottom of the edges about 1/4" up from the bottom of the bucket. And mark the bottom of the screen about 1" from the bottom:

Cut the screen bottom, and edge bottoms, and clip on the small edging that comes with the tank-divider:

Cut 1/2" off the top corners of the screen, and use sandpaper to make the screen rough on both sides (turf will stick to it better).

Next is the waterfall pipe "slot" that the screen goes in. Start by measuring how wide the top of the screen is, then mark that length plus 1/4" more on both side so the screen can fit in easily. Then mark the slot to be 1/8" wide:

Don't mark the slot too wide; just start with 1/8", and you can increase it later if you need to, based on the flow you get. Now comes the only difficult part of the whole project, cutting the slot in the pipe. You may need to get help to make the cut; anyone who builds models, or does woodworking, should be able to help. I used a Dremel moto-tool with a "cut off wheel":

It might be a good idea to make TWO pipes in case you or your helper mess up the cut on one of them. Now install the pipe onto the screen/bucket by tilting the pipe and starting at one side, then lowering the pipe over the rest. You may have to wiggle the screen in some places to get it to fit in:

Now figure some way to hold the hold the pipe to the top of the bucket. I used office clips on both sides of the pipe, with a paperclip across them, but you can use anything that works for you (string, tape, clamps, etc.) You will be taking the pipe on and off several times as you make adjustments, so don't attach it permanently.

Now time to test! Connect up the pump to the pipe with vinyl tubing, and use sink or tub filled with tap water:

Run the pump and make sure the water covers most of the screen. Here's a video of the first time running water through this one:
http://www.radio-media.com/fish/FlowTest.mpg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MpRkeuClEcM

Adjust your pump output and screen placement in the pipe so that water flows out smoothly without spraying (the water should only flow down the screen; it should not shoot out sideways.) If water sprays sideways (hitting the side of the bucket), then the slot is too narrow, or the flow is too much. First try reducing flow with a ball valve, a smaller pump, or a clamp on the hose. If you can't do these, then widen the slot with a Dremel or file.

If, on the other hand, all the water flows out of the first part of the pipe and does not make it to the end of the pipe, then the slot is too wide or the flow is too little. You can fix this by adding more pump flow, or by adding extra layers of screen (making the screen thicker) at the part where it goes into the pipe. Last resort is to just make another pipe with a slot that is more narrow. If you just can't get total screen coverage with water, it's ok since those areas will be filled in once the algae grows in other places.

If all looks well, then clip on the lights: My example bucket uses two 23 Watt, 5100K compact fluorescents "full-spectrum" (125W output equivalent):

http://www.buylighting.com/23-Watt-R40-Compact-Fluorescent-Flood-5100K-p/tcp1r4023-51k.htm

Any "grow light" used for plants should work. And the brighter, the better. If your screen size is very small, you may be able to use a light on just one side, and a mirror on the other.

Now put the pump and tubes in your tank/sump, clip the fan on the bucket, and go! You should start seeing algae in a few days! If you already have a skimmer or refugium or other devices, just add your new turf algae filter to your system. Then you can start reducing or turning off your other filters one by one. Just be sure to test for nitrate and phosphate daily as you do this. And do post your pics and stories!

The screen usually starts out with green hair algae in just three days (which still works great!), but after a few months you should start seeing the super-powerful dark brown/red stiff "turf" algae. The only maintenance is to remove ("harvest") some of the algae from ONE HALF of the screen once a week. Thus, since this screen has two sides, you just do one side per week. If you choose a one-sided sump screen (described below), then you just do half of that side per week. Remember you will see mostly a green hair algae to start with (for several weeks), but eventually you will have a stiff reddish brown turf (a few months). So when you do your weekly harvesting, remove/washoff the green algae first, and leave behind any reddish turf you find. Do this by "scrubbing" or "massaging" the green algae in your sink with tap water running over it, kind of like you are washing your hair. This will remove the green, but will leave the brown/red. And even when you are removing the green, don't clean it completely... try to leave a little bit so it can start growning again quickly. Do this for several months until reddish/brown turf fills the screen, like this:

At this point you can start removing the turf itself along with the green hair; do this by "scraping" it using a razor blade or metal scraper (it is much harder to remove this reddish/brown stuff). Don't scrape it super clean though; leave some roughness behind. And remove less of the turf, and less often, than you have been the green. The red/brown turf is a much stronger filter, and it grows much slower, so you want to keep a lot of it on your screen to do most of the filtering. But it can only do it's job if the light is not blocked out by the green, so always keep the green "rubbed" or "massaged" off of the red/brown.

Always throw the scraped material away; this is the nitrate and phosphate that was taken out of your tank! You never want to put it back (or feed it) to your tank. Also, always use tap water (fresh water) to do your screen washings/scrapings, because the fresh water will kill any pods living in the turf (pods eat turf.) Lastly, to make the turf grow even faster, you can try adding Kent's Iron liquid to the tank water, per instructions.

Here are some $ options to make your turf work better:

o Put a timer on the lights: 18 hours on, 6 hours off. This will give the algae time to
"rest". Make sure it's on during the overnight when your tank lights are off.

o Use metal halide or sodium plant-grow lights; the more light the better, and the lower
their K rating (more "red") the better. Don't melt the plastic parts though.

o Put a wavemaker (on-off-on) timer on the pump to simulate waves; gives the algae more
air between the flows. I used the JBJ Ocean Pulse Duo timer ($50 new), and set it to 30
seconds. (note: this timer has a quirk: if you cut the power to it, then restore it, it
keeps the pump "on"; to get the on-off-on function working again, you have to turn the
dial to the left and back again.)

o Hang the bucket up high, so it can drain right into your display; all the live pods that
grow in the screen will flow down right to your corals. Remember this height will reduce
your pump flow, so choose your pump accordingly.

o Get a screen with red/brown turf algae already growing on it; will save you months of waiting
for the high-power red/brown turf to grow (it will start working instantly; this is what I
did). Call Mike at Inland Aquatics 812-232-9000, and get a turf screen overnighted to you.
They charge $10 for 16 square inches (4 X 4), so just tell him how many square inches you
need. Then you'll need to pay for overnight delivery to your location. Already have your
bucket operating, though, so you can throw the screen right in; it will need lights and flow
immediately upon arrival.

How to build the in-sump versions:

There are three sump versions to choose from. Version 1 is the easiest to build, but less powerful because the screen is only one-sided, and also because the water is not flowing evenly across the screen. But it's the only one where you can keep your bio balls (maybe for a heavy fish waste load) if you want to. And it's so easy to build that you may as well start with it if you already have a sump with a "media tray" in it:

First, size the screen to fit in the media tray in your sump. Now, based on what kind of lid you have on the media tray (where the overflow pipe connects), you will need to drill out that lid so air and light can get through. If that lid is clear, then you need just enough holes to get air in. But if the lid is not clear and it blocks light, you'll need to make many large holes or cutouts in it (or replace it with a clear one). And that's it for version 1! Just clip on the light and fan, and you are done. Use the same light as the bucket version above.

In-Sump Version 2:

This version allows a more even flow of air/water over the screen, since the overflow is not pouring directly on the screen like version 1. Version 2 needs the same openings on the lid as version 1, however, and of course the bio balls must be removed. The media tray will spread out the water from the overflow into an even-drip across the screen. The screen must still get air, however, so if the media tray does not allow enough air from the fan to pass through, you'll need to enlarge the holes in it.

In-Sump Version 3:

This version is basically the same as the bucket version described above, but it is contained in the sump. You need to cut away most or all of the lid and the media tray, and connect the overflow directly to a waterflow pipe (shown in the pic as a green "spraybar"). This version is also the only one that allows lighting from both sides of the screen, thus doubling the filtering power of it, as well as being more open for light and air.

The advantages of a sump version are:

o No extra space needed outside of tank.
o Can be set up in a limited fashion in a few minutes, as a test.
o Can make use of the wasted space once used by bio balls.
o No pump required!

Disadvantages:

o Since it is fed from overflow, you get no option to use a timer on the pump for on-off-on
wave action.
o Pods have to flow through your return pump to get to your tank.
o If the top of your sump is opaque (blocks light), it will need to be drilled or cut open
for air.
o It is not portable.

That's it! I hope some folks give it a try! Do post your pics and stories...

(edited 8/11/08 argi)

So I'm ready to start adding livestock

Chronicj7 — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 23:16:18 GMT

I was kind of leaning towards getting the rest of my cleanup crew and was wondering what types of crabs, snails, shrimp you'd recommend. I already have 5 mexican turbos and they seem to be pooping all over the place which is kind of a concern for me. I have been looking in to peppermint shrimp but am unsure if all of them clean the same. I was also interested in the blue legged hermits.

They will be an addition to my 55g tank. If you guys could give me some advice on what type of shrimp/crabs to get and how many. I'd appreciate it. I also have three damsels in the tank at the moment but plan on adding my Antennata lionfish in the next couple of days.

TEST KITS

shs1451 — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:24:59 GMT

I've been using the Salifert brand of testing. Haven't really experienced any problems other than "color" issues (instructions for one of the tests indicate a "clear blue" color, and I have never seen "clear" blue on that test...but then, my wife says I'm color blind!!).
I need to reorder the magnesium test kit. Anyone with experience with Elos brand, or others?
I'm interested in opinions/results, etc.
Thank you.

Refugium Help

felixc395 — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 12:33:28 GMT

I've recently decided to try a refugium for my 37 gallon aquarium. My aquarium's water quality isn't doing the best now, so I've decided to try a refugium and see how it would help. I have no idea how it should work or what I should do. I don't have one at the moment, but I'm willing to get one.

Any advice on refugiums that would be help?
Thanks!

black naked clowfish

pink crab — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 10:57:58 GMT

i dont no if any1 else heard about this but ora is in the works of a all black naked clown.i heard they will be selling them in about 6 months. i cant wait 2 see pics because i want 2 of them bad.

Water Flow

shs1451 — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 14:45:35 GMT

Need some advice:
I have a 130 gal tank. My return pump is a Mag12, and my line out from the aquarium is only a one inch. That limits the amount of water that I can move back into the aquarium. I'm also using one EcoTech power head, i think it's rated at a max of 3000 gals/hr. According to what I read/hear, my water flow is not nearly enough.
Advice/suggestions?

porcupine puffer

steven1 — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:07:23 GMT

are porcupine puffers reef safe

Coral emergency

PlatypusKing — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 08:29:18 GMT

I am baffeld. Of the eight different corals I had in my aquarium, only one is left alive. The stoney corals were the first to go, followed quickly by my soft. My bubble coral has held on the longest, but it is on the way out as well. I have tested the water and all of my levels are good, and I also haven't lost any fish yet. I am soooooo confused. The only thing I can think of is the fish store is using synthetic water, and since I am getting mine out of the ocean, my coral are going into shock and dying, but wouldn't that effect my fish as well? Any help and advice if more than welcome!

Soft coral issues

tanklady — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:26:47 GMT

We have a Green Kenya Tree, that looks more brown than green. We are not sure if it is the lighting or if it is the water. We have a 29 Gal Biocube. It looks brown during the day but often at night it is bright green. Would like to know if there is more for us to do to keep the bright colors all day. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Odyssea Lights

uk_sub — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 07:42:02 GMT

Hi All You Marine Guru Types....
I know this may have been talked about before, but couldn't find any recent posts addressing Odyessea equipment build quality. So I thought I'd ask...
I'm still a newbie around here, I have a 180g W 40g sump FOWLR setup, with an enclosed canopy, I have 4 4" vent fans for cooling, the tank is covered with the glass cover / lids. Lighting currently is 2 36" Sunpaq retrofits giving a total of 192 Watts. Been set up and running since Jan this year. Whilst I'm not wanting to move heavily into corals, I have recently got a few LPS frog spawn things, some polyps and other small bits and pieces which I'm told will thrive with a bit more light.
I've been attracted to the Odyssea brand - edited link out (argi 11/17) not allow by forum policies looks nice, but is very cheap. I would not put this unit inside my canopy, rather cut a hole in the top and mount it above to mitigate any associated heat gain.
My question is, does anyone have any experience with this product? For the price I could by a new one every couple of years and still be ahead...
I had heard mention of fire hazard with them, any comments? Has this product evolved since these early reviews?
I am on a fairly tight budget, so this light does look attractive.
Any advice / warnings / ideas would be gratefully received.
Thanks in advance.

lighting and corals

KPclown — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 17:31:48 GMT

With a stock or factory setup on a 3 gallon JBJ picotope what are the ideal corals that would thrive? I assume only mushrooms and soft corals would be suitable for the tank.

This might finally catch fishermans attention

sltloser — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:19:10 GMT

I was looking at my msn home screen today and saw this article on huge jellyfish that have been "terrorizing" the fishing industry in Japan. I though to myself maybe this will show the fisherman that they need to do more for the oceans? guess we'll see

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33959849/ns/world_news-world_environment//

Musings on patience -- how reef tanks are like campfires

Reefmo — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:00:46 GMT

Just the other day, I was intently peering into my tank wondering what needed to change -- if I needed a new this or that, perhaps a calcium reactor... and I realized that I basically had the same internal discussion every day. This threw me back to my childhood.

When I was a kid, my parents would take the family out camping to a lake in New Mexico (yes, they do exist!). On occasion my sister, cousins, and I would pile into my Dad's boat and he would drive us to the other side of the lake to collect firewood for a night time bonfire. What fun! When we got back to shore and unloaded the boat, I would immediately set into building the fire. Kindling and newspaper first, then small sticks, followed by larger ones. I always was trying to figure out the best way to arrange things for success. Would a teepee shape work best? How about trying a criss-cross pattern this time? Little tweaks and mods to make a better fire.

Eventually, the sun would set, the mosquitoes would come out in force, and it would be time to light the fire. On occasion, I would dry light it, but usually my family wasn't quite patient enough to wait for me to nurse a small flame into a large fire and the "scout water" would come out. A couple of squirts and a single match later and FOOOM instant bonfire. We would settle back into our lawn chairs to enjoy the blaze -- marshmallows and stories for all.

All except for me that is. I could never sit still. I always had to fidget and fuss. Poking the fire with a stick here, adjusting the log there. Putting a new log in... never really satisfied. Eventually my mother would grab me and squeeze me tight and force me to quit playing around. At the time, it was torture. I could not understand, nor imagine why she would put me through such torture! Didn't the fire need tending? What if I didn't poke it, or add more fuel! This is important stuff here. Eventually, I would be let out of quarantine -- only to resume my actions, albeit on a somewhat more restrained and smaller scale.

I never understood why she did this until I was an adult. For me, having a fire was an excuse to experiment, adjust, muddle, and middle. All good and noble things -- but I missed out on the bigger picture. I completely forgot to enjoy the fire. To lose myself in thought as I watched the flames lick the logs. To enjoy the company and the warmth. To laugh when my cousins got smoked out. I was so involved in making fire, I forgot to enjoy the fire. Not only that, but my antics and actions would draw others away from enjoying the fire.

Now, as an adult, I catch myself "playing with fire" in my reef tank. It is absolutely fun to "hobby" with the tank. Making this or that, adjusting this, tweaking that. But I need to remember to sit and think. Or sometimes, just sit. It is nature after all. In a tank or outside, nature happens. And if you simply park it and take time to look, you will generally be amazed at what there is to see. I can imagine the inhabitants of the tank as my family and cousins sitting around the fire. If I would just sit for a while, I bet I would learn to enjoy their company -- and they would probably appreciate me settling down a bit.

Pass the marshmallows and chocolate please.

Reefmo

MarineDepot.com Forum Giveaway

argi — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:45:33 GMT

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR 5 PRIZE WINNERS!*

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MarineDepot.com Forum Giveaway

To all you literalists, we are not actually giving away our forum. We are, however, giving away five really cool prizes to five really lucky winners.

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Frozen/Home made mush

Fishbeers — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:34:41 GMT

Just bought a copperband butterfly last week, that hasn't shown any interest in any flake/pellet or frozen Mysis, brine, or bloodworms. I bought some live mussels to try to stimulate feeding, and just put one with a cracked shell in the tank, and he has been picking at it now for about a half hour, seems to reallly like it. After doing some research, I found alot of people feed them and many other fish in their system with a homemade mush, that they freeze, and break chunks off of for feeding time.

Problem is, I cant seem to find any recipes for this mush. Does anyone here make their own mush to feed their fish, or have recommendations on what to put in the mush? I have clowns, copperband, sailfin, chromis, coral beauty, diappearing and sixline wrasse, banded goby, purple firefish, lawnmower blenny, hippo tang, some kind of hawkfish in my systems. All of my fish aside from the copperband/lawn mower/hawkfish eat pretty much whatever I put in there. So I would like a mush aimed more towards those fish. The lawn mower blenny seems happy just eating stuff off my rock and sides though, so I am not sure if I even need to provide him another source of food.

-Rob

Green Algae

bavass — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 15:02:44 GMT

I have been redoing my tank. My nitrates were thru the roof 160ppm+. That was 3 weeks ago maybe 4. They are down to 5ppm now. I have started to notice green algae on one of my rocks. Does not look like green hair algae just looks like part of the live rock is turning green. Is this good or bad? Could be the lighst they are kinda old. But the new ones will be here tomorrow. My phosphates are 0. I did just add over the last few weeks 40lbs of reef rock to the exsiting 55lbs of live rock to try and get more surface area for bacteria.

Book for Corals

iyaoyas75 — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 12:20:48 GMT

I am wondering what book you would recommend for caring for corals. I would like to know how to propagate and care for different types of corals. what book comes with good descriptions.

thanks,

chad

Happy Anemone

jackieg — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 06:35:32 GMT

In June I wrote about my bubbletip anemone not attaching, as suggested I made a rock pile for him and he seemed ok but remained unattached. Earlier this week I did a majo clean in my tank and popped him back in the rock pile, hey presto today he has attached to the rock, only taken 5 months. The one thing I have learnt from marine fish keeping is patience!

jackie

Fiji rock ban?

KPclown — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 19:23:56 GMT

I just lloked at Marcorocks website to order some Fiji rock and they seem to be out of stock. There is also a flag on the page saying that there is a ban in effect on importing rock, Anyone know anything about this?

Best way to not have so many power strips

tlhreefer — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 10:14:22 GMT

Hello, I am starting on making a 120 stand and trying to find ways to not have so many power strips and to have them all in one spot. Is there anyone out there that knows alot about electrical stuff and ways to do what I want to do by putting all outlets in one spot and have 1 to 2 power cords.

Thanks

Travis

Stopping in to show new video of my micro reef and freshwater globe ecosystems

brandon429 — Sat, 03 Oct 2009 20:26:55 GMT

You know for the better part of a decade I slung stills of these rascals around any url that'd accept me. at least now I'm rollin some video of one heck of a gathering of unique aquariums. I see some of my old friends on here from back in the day you never saw this stuff in live motion man till now!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_XOsitYhihc

b429

some pics of my corals

pink crab — Wed, 21 Oct 2009 13:16:16 GMT

click on the pic too blow it up

Daily Special?

TimOHMD — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:20:33 GMT

was really liking the daily special feature on the home page. was this temporary or coming back?

thanks!

Giveaway

koga57 — Sat, 17 Oct 2009 08:02:25 GMT

Thanks for the opportunity to WIN, WIN, WIN.

David

Flower Pots in 28g Tank

breareefer — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 13:52:29 GMT

Anyone know why flower pots aren't recommended for nano reefs? I love the movement of them and would love to have one in my tank, but have heard discouraging things about their longevity in a nano system.

Threadfin Butterfly dies overnight

HI35G — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 11:57:53 GMT

MY Threadfin died this morning after finding him breathing heavily laying on the bottom of the tank and an hour later he died. Water quality is ph 8.2, ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 20 salinity 1022, temp 77 degrees. Any idea why this happened, he was eating fine last night and when he was on his last fins he didnt even loose color. Anyone experience this? Tank has been running for 5 months.

When is kalkwasser kalkwasser?

Reefmo — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 13:24:09 GMT

Hey all,
I am too lazy to mix and drip kalk in my current setup. I have an ato and was looking at a kalk reactor. Then I realized I am a cheapskate and didn't want to spend $300 on a reactor. I instead took a 1 gallon glass jug with a plastic lid and put some rigid airline tubing through the lid. This contraption sits between my fw resovoir and my sump. FW is drawn out of the tub and is drawn through the kalk in the jar. It then goes out of the top of the jug and into the sump. No air is in the jug.
My question is regarding stirring the kalk. I notice that most purchasable reactors stir the kalk some way (magnetic or pump). My sweet system does not have a stirrer, but the topoff water still has a really high pH. Is my kalk faulty because I don't have a stirrer to make sure it is "saturated?"

Pic's of MACNA

argi — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 07:54:35 GMT

Well I finally got around to downloading one camera of pictures from MACNA. I will apologize ahead of time for the bad pictures. Hopefully the next round of pictures (taken on a better camera) will be much better.

Blue Hippo tang, problems, any solutions? (also posted in fish problem forum)

Marchingbandjs — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 18:26:52 GMT

bought a blue hippo tang at macna. If anyone went it was from the tanks at the marco rocks, nice and small 2". It eats everything i give it and is happy or so i think. As soon as i put it in tank it went into hiding. I found a little nook and it fits in. for a while it used to lay, yes lay on the rock inside... and it would look terrible somedays and somedays it would be perfect. It turned to purple then back to blue, and didnt seem to show any bad signs besides stress... then today i thought it was time to do something. It looks like she has cuts, or holes on her one belly side, and on the other she has these bumps (10 in one small area). She also seems to be doing a rubbing motion on a rock...

Parameters;

1.026
Ph: 8.2
nitrate, ammonium, nitrite: 0

(if you need more i can do other tests)

Use RO/DI water.

theres other fish in there all seem to be doing fine. None are bullying tang, and i have watched for many hours to see if this was the case. She seems head shy, but i dunno..

was told this is the place to go if i had a problem, so here you go... I can get pics for you tomorrow once i move her to QT...

Thanks,

JS

Live Rock dying off (turning white and lots of brown algae)!!!!!!!!!!

HI35G — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 11:10:24 GMT

Lighting is on for 10 hours, then with LED moon lights for 5 hours. Then 9 hours no lights. Nitrates are low with this timed setting (around 15-20) and the fish seem to be happy with it. Any sort of snail or crab or shrimp that would help cut down on the dark brown buildup and is there any chemical treatment for this?

Any help would be great!

apatasia

snowman — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 14:37:19 GMT

I can't belive there is nothing to rid this guys without taking your tank apart. If any one has had good result a little help I can use. I have never post anything so who knows if anyone will even get this. Thanks for your patients with me. Ron

T5 Lights not working

Brian — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 11:27:37 GMT

I have owned a set of T5's for about 8 months with no issues. I have 4 55W 24" bulbs run by a Icecap 660 Ballast. Yesterday I noticed my lights went out a little early. I figured nothing of it and assumed my timer was a little off. Today my lights did not come on when they were supposed to. I have done some trouble shooting and have taken out the trimmer to eliminate it as the culprit so I now go wall to powerstrip (cord not long enough) to ballast to lights, and have found the lights flicker on for 1/2 a second then shut off. When I unplug and replug I get the same results. Anyone have any ideas to attempt a fix.

Thanks
Brian

amphiprion percula or amphiprion ocellarus

tmhartle1s — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 23:25:38 GMT

I have asked this question on here before and was told they are both false but the more i read and more pictures i see i still wonder. I read that perculas are often more bright orange and ocellarus are more dull. Also if you zoom in on the fish the bright orange one has black feathery gills while the dull ones are orange. Also the brighter fish has much thicker black borders on its fins than the dull one which i read is a difference between the two. The brighter also has slightly thicker black borders on its white strips especially on its first stripe behind its eyes. I am so curious because I cant tell if they are mated up or not and they have been in my tank for nearly four months. They hang out at times but are apart just as often. They do exhibit the twitching behavior and all that but I am basically wondering if they are different and if they are will they still mate up? I am including a picture and be sure to zoom to really see the difference. Thanks for any help.

cover on tank

geoplane2 — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 14:17:42 GMT

hello what is the pros and coms on having your tank cover ? i know you lose a little light and you save a little water !!! for the most part i see a lot of tanks uncover ? does it really make that big of a diffrence ?

thanks george

protein skimmer

aba418 — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 19:01:07 GMT

I just added a aquaC remora skimmer about 3 weeks ago Its pulling quite a bunch of gunk out daily, my question is should this be running 24-7 or just a few hours a day/ week
Any help would be appreciated!!
Thanks

Flow Rates

uk_sub — Sun, 27 Sep 2009 17:45:54 GMT

Hi Chaps
I need a bit of advice.
I have a 180 g FOWLR and a 40 g sump. about 160 ish lbs of LR
Mag 12 main pump Mag 9.5 servicing a AquaC EV180 skimmer and 2 Hydor Koralia No4 power heads.
This was set up at the beginning of this year, and is running fairly well. I'm doing a 10 - 15% water change around every 3 weeks, all levels are OK. I'm thinking about getting some simple beginner anemones like frog spawn or similar. I all ready have a colony of mushrooms and some leathery tree type coral that came with the live rock. It is fairly lightly stocked with 1 juvenile Harlequin Tusk, 1 Copper banded Butterfly 2 -3", 1 juvenile Big eye Squirrel, a pair of adult Clown fish, 2 Damsels and a juvenile Volitan Lion.
I just brought a Red Sea Wavemaster pro wavemaker....
My question is, what flow requirements do I need?? Should I get 2 more No4 power heads or would that make too much flow? Can you have too much flow? I did my original sums on 180x20 when I was setting up the system...Which is where I came up with the 2 No.4 powerheads and the Mag12 = 3600 gph...
Any ideas, words of wisdom / experience would be gratefully recieved..
Thanks in advance.
UKsub

Algae

lmgoga68 — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 17:57:35 GMT

I have a 60 gallon tank with live sand and rock. I have the following in my tank: 2 clowns, 1 damsel, 1 black cardinal, 1 gobie, 7 hermit crabs and 6 snails. My tank readings are: Nitrates - zero, Nitrites - zero, Ammonia - zero, PH - 8.6, Phosphates - .1 My problem is I have green hair algae. I have read this is a sign of a healthy tank, is that correct? I see it is quickly spreading on my live rock. How can I keep this to a minimum?

Beautiful fish

reefdiculous — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 22:20:29 GMT

Does anyone have any idea what type of tang that is?

Clown won't bond

PlatypusKing — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 08:23:32 GMT

I recently introduced a bubble-tipped annenome into my tank along with a black clown fish. Even though the clown was playing with an annenome at the LFS, it will have nothing to do with the one I have in my tank. Any thoughts?

major flatworm help needed.

karazy — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 14:56:51 GMT

here's the issue.

ive got flatworms.They are in my sump, fuge and main tank. Ive tried using flatworm exit twice. first time i put in the normal amount and turned on the carbon reactor in about 5 minutes.
i wake up and there are still some left. i decided after hearing some opinions that i didnt leave it in long enough or didnt add enough.
so the second time i try it i dose enough for my 40 gallon system, and wait half an hour. almost all die, but there are still some left. i siphon them out, but within ten minutes more appear.
so, half an hour after the first dose i for another 40 gallons. same result.
so, after an hour of starting dosing, i add another dose.
still some left. these fricken things are invincible. and ofcourse by the next day they are full tilt reproducing again.

so my question is, what can i do to completely kill every single flatworm?
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