Ha! I did something very similar a few weeks ago. I upgraded the lights too right after this. Mine has been growing algae so I'm hoping it will exploded with growth here soon
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Interesting.Yes, I would recommend gha over Chaeto for a low nutrient tank. If I was OP, I would have dosed iron. Photosynthesis is not limited by the most abundant nutrient, it is limited by the least abundant nutrient.
I have no idea as to best flowrate. I would think that light intensity is more important than flow rate.
Agree. Flow is a huge factor. I have about 10x turnover on my fuge. Dont dose anything other than 2 partInteresting.
Randy always seems to think enough iron should be coming in with food and water changes.
Me, dunno.
I kinda feel flow is an issue. Isnwoth coral and terrestrial plants, as far as boundary layers too.
Ha! I did something very similar a few weeks ago. I upgraded the lights too right after this. Mine has been growing algae so I'm hoping it will exploded with growth here soon
Ha! I did something very similar a few weeks ago. I upgraded the lights too right after this. Mine has been growing algae so I'm hoping it will exploded with growth here soon
Sorry I didn’t respond sooner. I took it offline as I had a bout with cyano in the tank and that’s all that was growing in the reactor.Any updates on the conversion?
Ok, it’s been 50 days since I put it in the sump with a little algae rubbed into the screen.
i pulled it yesterday and cleaned it / harvested. Got way more than I thought I would based on how little algae I had to try and seed it. It was enough to fill a red plastic cup 1/3 of the way!
Hello,you still use it,what was your results on the phosphate and nitrate?
Cool idea + thread! To get some more air/water interface action going on, maybe you could route an airline in through the outlet standpipe, and then back down (up and over so to speak) to one of those flexible airstone/bubble wand type of things (bent into a ring arrangement), so as to create a 'curtain' of bubbles upflowing against the inner surface of the screen. I think the air build up would still be able to escape the reactor through the outlet, but might result in some weird gurgling noises...?
Or, perhaps more simply, maybe an airline hose (w/valve + some kind of silencer) could be affixed to the pump intake to create an aspirating venturi (err... I guess this would be like a needlewheel, but just with a normal impeller), hopefully resulting in frothy/turbulent conditions.
Come to think of it.... a cheapo HOB protein skimmer could be modded fairly easily into what I'd imagine would be a pretty powerful algal turf scrubber. I'm thinking LED strip wrapped around the outside, along with maybe a submersible glass one hung in through the middle (where the foam would normally collect), such as to light both sides of a tubular screen (much like your design). Probably wouldn't want the bubble density too high though, as I'd imagine this might impede light transmittance to the screen (actually, unlike a skimmer, larger bubbles might be better in this case...).
Anyways, sorry for the long + rambling post; keep us posted on the algal harvests!