Algae reactor advice...

[Dj City]

I am about to employ a diy algae reactor.

I have a large aquatop media reactor that is doing nothing at the moment. It is 5.5" wide and 24" tall.
I'm going to wrap 8ft. of red/blue led's around the outside and run it opposite the display lights (reactor lights on when display lights are off).

I have questions.

Will one reactor this size be sufficient for a 110gal display tank with about 30gal sump?

Will I need a dimmer for the led's?

Should I take gfo reactor offline?

Should I take skimmer offline?

How much flow should go through the algae reactor? Which pump should I use?

Should I double the algae reactor to make it a dual reactor?

Will the Triton system work with this set up?

Any and all advice is welcome.

 

[Dj City]

I built the algae reactor. It's installed on my tank.
I have a maxijet 1200 on it running wide open.
DAY 1
I will document this post as I progress.

 

[lion king]

I have a reactor on my 90g that's about 2" shorter and it's more than enough, so size wise I think it's perfect. Dimmer for the leds - unlikely. As far as taking the gfo offline it depends on your phosphate level. If the reactor is able to keep your phosphates where you like then yes; if you still need help keeping your phosphates in line then no. Don't take the skimmer offline. An mj1200, 262gph pump will suffice; you may even need to slow it down. You don't want the flow so strong that the algae is getting packed into the top. I don't think you will have to use a dual reactor, and I'm not familiar with the triton method. It's really not that complicated and it's an excellent addition.

 

[Dj City]

I have a reactor on my 90g that's about 2" shorter and it's more than enough, so size wise I think it's perfect. Dimmer for the leds - unlikely. As far as taking the gfo offline it depends on your phosphate level. If the reactor is able to keep your phosphates where you like then yes; if you still need help keeping your phosphates in line then no. Don't take the skimmer offline. An mj1200, 262gph pump will suffice; you may even need to slow it down. You don't want the flow so strong that the algae is getting packed into the top. I don't think you will have to use a dual reactor, and I'm not familiar with the triton method. It's really not that complicated and it's an excellent addition.

Thank you!
That is the kind of in formation I was looking for.

 

[Dj City]

These are my water parameters as of today.

Calcium......................420 (I want it higher)
Kh/Dkh.......................6 / 107.4 (Too Low)
Mag.............................1485 (kinda high)
PH................................8.0 (kinda low)
Nitrate........................just over 0
Phosphate.................0

I want calcium at about 460 to 480
I want Dkh at about 11
I want ph at 8.4

I don't dose anything right now butt may invest in soda ash to raise dkh and ph.

After I get levels where I want them, use either kalk or 2 part.

 

[SantaMonica]

Will one reactor this size be sufficient for a 110gal display tank with about 30gal sump?

Any algal-based filtration should be based on the amount fed, and the amount of phosphate-soaked rock, since this is the nutrients that the algae must absorb no matter if 10 or 1000 gallons.

Will I need a dimmer for the led's?

Probably not, those are very weak lights, and chaeto blocks light anyway from reaching much more than 1 cm into the growth so the inner layers are self-shaded and non-growing already.

Should I take gfo reactor offline?

Could try both ways.

Should I take skimmer offline?

Does not matter; they only remove food particles, not nutrients. And they don't remove any ammonia/ammonium/urea at all, like algae do; this is the main source of food for growth on your glass, and the first thing you want to remove.

How much flow should go through the algae reactor? Which pump should I use?

You would think more flow would be better, but chaeto acts like a floss filter and traps particles. So more flow causes more buildup and rotting of particles which should go to feed your animals instead.

Should I double the algae reactor to make it a dual reactor?

Since algal-based filters only filter when growing, two smaller ones is always better than one larger one because when you clean/harvest one you still have the other one growing.

Will the Triton system work with this set up?

Should be fine; I don't think the element-dosing system knows or cares how nutrients are removed.

 

[Dj City]

Day 3...

Algae in the reactor is growing.
I counted how many rows of lights the algae was up to when I first put it in. It was up to the 7th row. Three days into this and it is now up to the 8th row. It has also filled in the bottom of the reactor.

So far, so good.

I will test levels this week and report.
I dosed the seachem 2 part to raise my cal and alk.
I slooooowly added baking soda to slooooooooly raise my ph.
Those parameters are looking good today. I'm not posting them for a few days because I want to see if they hold and what the consumption will be but again, so far, so good.

 

[lion king]

Sounds good; but I would be careful chasing those ph numbers, I've known alot of people getting into trouble doing so. Depending on when you took your ph reading; like after the lights have been out for several hours, you'll find 8.0 is a common reading. Getting your ca and alk stabilized where you like it and letting the chaeto run on an opposite light cycle, you'll find your ph will likely normalize itself. Take the reading after the lights have been on for a few hours.

 

[Dj City]

Day 4
Algae growth

 

[Dj City]

Day 7

After adding seachem fusion 1 and 2 last week, I see that I need to start dosing a calcium supplement. After adding the seachem, calcium went up to 460 and Kh up to 9.
My calcium went from 460 to 420 in 7 days. Kh remains the same.

The algae reactor is working! For the 1st time in 4 years, I have 0 nitrates according to the test.

My water parameters as of today

Calcium......................420
Kh/Dkh.......................161.1 / 9
Mag.............................1475 (approximately)
Ph.................................8.0
Nitrate.........................0
Phos.............................0 (according to test)
Salinity........................1.024

Next choice I need to make is what to dose.
2 part or kalkwasser.

Again, any and all advice is welcome.

 

[Dj City]

Algae reactor progression

Day 1

Day 4

Day 7

 

[SantaMonica]

Yes algae is the world's natural filter

 

[Daniel Troconis]

what is your reactor flow in?

(I have a 110 GPH and wonder is that is enough?)

 

[lion king]

what is your reactor flow in?

(I have a 110 GPH and wonder is that is enough?)

I run CA MJ1200s on mine, rated for 262gph. It is a bit under powered but I would try it because slower really is better, macros have performed better for me when I used a slower flow rate.

 

[Dj City]

I no longer have mine online but I ran a maxijet 1200 and it was great.

You can add a valve like the one that 2little fishes sells and dial it back a little if you want. I had mine dialed back a bit and the chaeto really took off as you can see in the pics above.

Good luck.

 

[Daniel Troconis]

Thanks for the advise, I will run fully open Nano Sicce Pump at 110GPH to start with and see how it goes!

 

[Dj City]

Thanks for the advise, I will run fully open Nano Sicce Pump at 110GPH to start with and see how it goes!

How's it working out for you?

 

[Daniel Troconis]

How's it working out for you?

It works very well it keeps my phosphates at 0, I keep a running pump @ 110 GPH and have fed it LIVE phyto it has many copepods inthere, I have the light at 50% only.