DIY Aglae Reactor

Noah's Shark · Mar 22, 2020

Good evening,
I have begun building my very own algae reactor completely from scratch. This will include making my own "media reactor" rather than buying a new one. I will post updates as the build progresses.
So far I have selected a sizable container that I will be using. I have just finished off a large bottle of turtle feed and will be using this for the project. I spent quite some time last night cleaning off the sticker area via soaking, peeling, scraping, and rubbing with oil. I left some olive oil on the surface of the remaining sticky parts last night and returned this morning to polish it up.

The next step will be installing some cpvc and bulkheads in the lid. I'll keep you updated!
Thank you and have a wonderful day.

Daniel@R2R · Apr 16, 2020

Hey! Cool project idea! How is it going?

Noah's Shark · Apr 16, 2020

Daniel@R2R said:
Hey! Cool project idea! How is it going?

So far so good, I have gathered all of the components needed except the chaeto that I was going to put in there.
I have some strip lighting that I had on hand from a room remodel a few years back. I will use this as the light source (obviously) after I wrap it around for the optimal amount of light.

In addition, I have created my flow pipe with an appropriately sized piece of pvc, a 90 degree fitting, and an endcap. I will drill a few holes into the endcap in the near future. I fed a small siphon that I had on hand into one end of it. This will be the feed tube for the container.

I am using a small 80 gph pump I bought for $10 off Amazon, and I will post an update later about it's usefulness. I also conducted a test run for the return siphon vs the pump and was very pleased with the results.