Josh King
Active Member
I have been using this light for about 3 months. So far I have had pretty good growth. Maybe I will add a second opposite from it in the future.
Chaeto egg crate sandwich idea.
- Thread starter Rjramos
- Start date
- Tagged users None
I was having trouble with my chaeto floating and then dieing back so i decided to build one too. Here is my version.
It sits on a custom acrylic rack mounted with magnets. The divider is part of the rack forcing the water down one side and back up the other.
My zip ties took up too much space until I moved them in from the edge. It fits perfectly now. A snug fit is essential or I would have to add weight.
My sandwich is a little thinner since the middle spacer is in the same orientation as the top and bottom but gives slightly more space to grow. I can't wait to harvest.
It sits on a custom acrylic rack mounted with magnets. The divider is part of the rack forcing the water down one side and back up the other.
My zip ties took up too much space until I moved them in from the edge. It fits perfectly now. A snug fit is essential or I would have to add weight.
My sandwich is a little thinner since the middle spacer is in the same orientation as the top and bottom but gives slightly more space to grow. I can't wait to harvest.
This is the rack they sit on. The acrylic sheet forces the flow through the chaeto. It is separate from the sides so I can get it past the sump flange. The rare earth magnets are encased in acrylic. They are small Home Depot magnets so I have 3 pairs on each side which is just about perfect.
Parts
Some dirty chaeto.
Assembled. The difference from the original is the spacer strip is in the other orientation. You can see through all of it in the direction the light shines.
The chaeto is starting to grow out of the sandwich. It appears it will double in size in a week or a little less. I am wondering if I should have broken it up so there would be more ends. I am not sure if chaeto grows from ends or along its length.
The sandwiches are a little too tight in one direction and too loose in the other. They probably have as much air vuvvle volume attached as chaeto volume so they are very buoyant.
This is the rack they sit on. The acrylic sheet forces the flow through the chaeto. It is separate from the sides so I can get it past the sump flange. The rare earth magnets are encased in acrylic. They are small Home Depot magnets so I have 3 pairs on each side which is just about perfect.
Parts
Some dirty chaeto.
Assembled. The difference from the original is the spacer strip is in the other orientation. You can see through all of it in the direction the light shines.
Jimbo_Slice
Community Member
This is a great idea. I will be making one soon. Thanks
reefknight
Well-Known Member
I am loving this idea! I have been struggling with a way to add a refugium to my sump as it only has two chambers and would not be easy to modify at this time. My concern has been chaeto breaking free and clogging or destroying my return pump. I'm getting ready to install and run a Vectra L1 external and do not have a way of adding a last baffle before the chaeto would enter the bulkhead for the pump. Considering making a eggcrate baffle with needlepoint plastic as a safety to catch any that may break free. Has anyone attempted running these in a vertical position instead of horizontal? I have about 14" x 14" space to use and could stand a couple on end if made into rectangles. Just purchased a LED growout floodlight red/ blue as a light source. Would appreciate any thoughts, plan on working on this project this weekend.
OP
OP
Rjramos
Valuable Member
Hi reefknight! You can run an eggcrate sandwich vertically, although the water flow through it would not be the same. I run a refugium basket full of chaeto in the back of my biocube 29, which is lit from the wall behind the tank with a 4 LED light. I tried using eggcrate at first but then realized that the basket itself contained it really nice. It grows into a nice dense green brick which I can grab, pull up and trim half when needed.
Here are some pics
Here are some pics
reefknight
Well-Known Member
Thank you for the reply and the overall idea. I'm really looking forward to working on this. So the working theory is that the water flowing horizontally through the CS is more effective than if it were in a vertical position. The last baffle that I have set up in my sump is raised around 1" or so. So for maximum water flow across it mine would need to be submerged, correct? The surface of my water doesn't move all that much at the moment. Of course, that may all change once the new pump is installed.
OP
OP
Rjramos
Valuable Member
Well considering the needs of the chaeto for good growth, nutrients and light, then flow through and the most exposure to light is best. I run my refugiums with a mid water depth in and a surface overflow out. So a CS mounted horizontally and about 1" beneath the waters surface works best IMO. I have tried mounting diagonally where the end closest to the overflow is highest, even right at the waters surface, so as to have complete flow through. It grows uneven though, because the deeper chaeto has less exposure to light.As far as protecting the pump intake, after the overflow I run a course black sponge with a piece of blue bonded filter pad on top. I frequently remove and clean the blue pad that sits on top, but the black sponge only periodically. Surface overflow is important in not only removing surface films for your skimmer to export, but also sometimes you develop unwanted film algaes on your CS which can easily be stired up and sent over the falls and onto the blue pad. Here's a pic of the outlet end, hard to see due to the cabinet wood but you can make out the blue pad with black sponge under it.
reefknight
Well-Known Member
That's awesome! Appreciate the photo and the explanation of how you have yours arranged. Also I I hadn't even thought about bonded filter pads for some reason, great idea! I think that I'll have to experiment with the depth of the CS to get the flow right, as my sump isn't arranged as a typical refugium. I may even go as far as to put legs on it so that it stands off the bottom, but still benefits from the main through flow of the sump. Then building my screen at the end of the sump to protect the pump. The bulkhead will have a strainer. The screen will be made of eggcrate and will be covered with plastic needle point material. Since you mentioned bonded filter pad, I am thinking of a way of incorporating it as well. I can always attach it to one side, but thinking of sandwiching it between two pieces of eggcrate to hold it in place. Between the chaeto and the filter pad this should end the few micro bubbles that have been entering the display as well. Several issues resolved at once hopefully!
dough
Reefing since '95
Where did you get the refugium basket and the 4 LED light?
Joe Rice
Active Member
This looks like just the thing for my Eshopps R-300 sump. The flow through the refugium section isn't sufficient to tumble the chaeto so it just sits on the bottom. It'll be interesting to see how it works in this sump as the water will be flowing up through the algae.
reefknight
Well-Known Member
This looks like just the thing for my Eshopps R-300 sump. The flow through the refugium section isn't sufficient to tumble the chaeto so it just sits on the bottom. It'll be interesting to see how it works in this sump as the water will be flowing up through the algae.
This sounds like a good choice for your set up as it was mine. Mine flows up through the chaeto box as well. It has worked great on my system. Mine grows quite well, even though I forget to flip it over most of the time. I had a small clump that I loosely stretched across the box and within 6wks it had completely filled the box and was about an inch outside it. Within another month it was about 4" outside the box and I had to trim it back.
Looks great and good luck!
OP
OP
Rjramos
Valuable Member
On a 65 gal DT .
On a 120 gal DT.
I don't like to wait this long to trim it down to 1/2" lol[emoji16]! The flow thru decreases and some areas within the eggcrate die off. Then you have to open and replant these areas. I place a little saltwater in the bottom of the bucket and save all the amphipods, stomatella snails, mysis and small bristle worms that fall out. I place them back in the refugium. I get store credit at my LFS for the chaeto. And he moves it unbelievably fast!
Similar threads
