Lasses Dream Build

[That Crusso Kid]

New report

The filter clogged after 2 days - don't know why. I've now taken it out of use as I'll be away for a few days - this is what it looked like after 2 days - still lots of growth. I'm stopping the 2ml/day of ethanol too

​

Phosphate remained at 0.11 mg/L but I have had some trouble with the readings - have to do them several times with different samples - first reading is too low. New test - shows more realistic values. Arrow = change of GFO.

​

Will be back in a week

Sincerely Lasse

Happy travels, Lasse.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

Safe travels Lasse!

 

[Lasse]

Back in Sweden - new PO4 measurements after 5 days without the GFO filter - 0.22 mg/L - restart the GFO filter with rather little GFO and a lot of filter wadding. Also restart the vodka dosing into the filter but going back to 1 ml 40% etanol (Vodka) a day

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Lasse]

After one day with 1 ml vodka a day - still decent flow and also bacteria upbuild in the filter - the PO4 concentrations is still 0.21 mg/L - nearly the same as yesterday.

​

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Lasse]

Another day of the experiment - measurements at 19:00 yesterday was 0.19 and this morning 08:30 before light on was it 0.23 mg/L

​

The phosphate doesn't seem to be affected much by my bacteria treatment at the moment - a result that may contradict what I saw before my trip, but we'll see in time whether this is a good idea or not. However - this time with 1 ml of 40% ethanol per day - no clogging after 2 days - its still run a lot of water through the GFO reactor.

There is some indications that my phosphate readings with my Hanna Marine Master is not consistent - it may be some disturbance according to my way of handling the samples and the testing gear. However the the deviating results (very low) are not included in my graph - the graph shows the result after 1 to 2 retakes of the value. I will address these concerns in a separate thread because they may be general and worth making searchable in the forum.

The reactor after 2 days with 1 ml 40% ethanol a day

​

Still grow a lot of bacteria

Will be continued

Sincerely Lasse

​

 

[Lasse]

Right now my experiment seems to be pointing in different directions. Visible bacterial growth in the filter is high but PO4 is rising. In this run I have used a very small amount of GFO and more wadding. I have used 1 ml of vodka (40% Ethanol) per day directly in the filter.

After 3 days of 1 ml of vodka per day the filter looks like this.

​

I have increased my vodka dos to 2 ml per day as of 09:30 today,

Arrows

Blue - changing GFO

Red - stopped GFO filter and vodka dosing

Green - started GFO filter and vodka dosing

Yellow - increased from 1 ml vodka per day to 2 ml

The phosphate development is not quite what I expected. At the next cleaning I will increase the amount of GFO.

​

This is an ongoing project in the experimental stage and will be completed later without vodka dosing at all and with the corresponding dosage right into the water.

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Lasse]

Daily report

PO4 today 0,22

Filter

Still good flow - test will run further without cleaning

Sincerely Lasse

​

 

[Lasse]

Now my phosphate is in roller coaster mode. 0.26 today

However - the bacteria build up continue

​

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Lasse]

Graph

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Freenow54]

@klp It´s not an under gravel filter as 40 years ago - not even a reversed flow under gravel filter as EHEIM introduced in the eighties. It is intended to be a DSB but with a very tiny flow upwards. I´ll try to create a denitrification area in the bottom of the DSB and need a tiny flow just to have the water going through the bed and also for bringing down a fast organic carbon source to the denitrification point. Which source it will be – I haven’t decided yet. There is one source that no one use yet which I'm mighty tempted to test – skim mate from the skimmer. Pure bacteria that will create an anaerobic zone that in the long run can act as an internal fast organic carbon source. The environment I´ll create will also be rich in carbon dioxide and the pH up through the bed will hopefully act as an internal calcium reactor. The bottom water will be rich in both phosphate and ammonia and maybe I´ll use this resources also. Over the DSB I will have a reversed refugee of macro algae. If I succeed to have a tiny flow through the DSB upwards – I maybe only run the flow during night so I´ll bring up both carbon dioxide, phosphate and ammonia to the macro algae.

This build is a test aquarium where I have combined a lot of ideas. I´ll follow up it with measurements and also experiments to see if I will be able to regulate what’s happen. There is Dutch ideas that are rather similar with mine but how similar I do not know because I have not study their work at all.

I´m aware of that I´ll maybe will construct one of the best hydrogen sulphide reactors in the world – therefore I will handle my return pump in such a way that it will not start in 15 minutes after a power break – it will not start before the skimmer working good. I will also have at least one oxydator in the sump, maybe a small one over the DSB also (oxygen neutralize hydrogen sulphide momently)

If all of this work the way I want – I will have a stable biological driven system – and that´s the goal

Back to the build – It will not be any pictures today because I realize that I have to test the whole system for leakage – before I mount background and build the DSB :)

Sincerely Lasse

OLD BUT MODERN I Find this absolutely intreging

 

[Lasse]

New update

Today 0.21 ± 0.02 mg/L PO4 - still a roller coaster.

And the filter not clogged yet

​

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Lasse]

I´m going away for a couple of days - I decide to change both wadding and GFO in my reactor. 200 gr GFO and a small bit old wadding. I also discover that in this last run - I had bacteria growth even in the GFO - never seen this since I started with wadding a year ago

Old media reactor

​

New

​

PO4 today 0.22 Blue arrows - change of GFO

I expect PO4 to decrease with the new GFO - the question - will it - after the decrease - stabilize on a lower level?

Sincerely Lasse

 

[jeep and goose]

I was wondering about the triton method, do you use the subscription on the website?

 

[Lasse]

I was wondering about the triton method, do you use the subscription on the website?

I use their Balling solution - Core7 - I buy it at my LFS.

Have been away for a day. No measurements Saturday. Today - still 0.21 mg/L PO4 but the wadding was very compressed.

Filter after 2 days!

​

I decide to change wadding and do a run without adding any organic carbon directly into the filter.

Start

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Freenow54]

Sometimes you chose to use equipment's in a way its not intended to be used but solve a problem. In nearly all
active GFO filters, the water flow is from the bottom up.

One problem that at least I have had with GFO filters is that they clog due to particles and bacterial growth – and this means that the lifespan of your GFO media will be shorter.

You can solve the problem of bacterial film on the GFO media itself by having synthetic filter cotton at the bottom of the reactor, but it would be very inconvenient to change this without having to take the media itself out into the sink. I have an Aquaforest Media reactor 90 and it is possible to reverse the flow from going from bottom to top to going from top to bottom in this reactor and thus have the synthetic filter cotton at the top - easy to change without causing problems. I change the synthetic filter cotton every ten days.

I have now been doing this for over six months and it has worked well and the time between changes of the GFO media has increased.

​

Synthetic filter cotton after 10 days

​

Sincerely Lasse

was hoping to find an absolutly clear phot of how this is made and installed. I found this . Is it simply installed with the pump in the sump , and the green tube attached some how to introduce air to creat bubbles then put through the filter itself with the pipes not glued to allow removal and maintainance ? Where does the discharge go ? Also not a clear view if Iam correct as to how the green tube is attached and where. Any other info would be greatly appreciated.

Regards : Wally

 

[Lasse]

​

The green tube and pipe is there I add the etanol- The green tube is connected to a continuously operating dosing pump and supplies the inlet to the submerged pump with a weak ethanol mixture. Between 7 - 14 ml vodka to one liter of RO water and my rate is 0.1 ml/min

The connection between pump and reactor is secured with a cable tie - white arrows

When I should disconnect the pump - I just slide the zip tie upwards and disconnect the pipes (I have shout down the pump before disconnection.

The outlet is in the same compartment as my return pump. Blue arrow

No air in this construction although it has been considered

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Freenow54]

Thank You I will have to give some thought as to how to dose the vodca unless you have more input. I really appreciate the detailed answer and the time you took

Wally

 

[Freenow54]

I will investigate the dosing system . One I am familiar with is an injection pump that is attached screwed onto the top of a 5 gallon container, The flow through the pump " draws " the fluid in the container out into the water flow. They are used to inject peroxide into Potable water. are about 1 inch thick and 3.5 inches in diameter . I am sure I could rig something up that way and regulate it or I guess " assume " they are available to buy . I am going to make one for sure. I built Paul Bs Filter . This seems even easier . I like the idea because I use floss already but it just sits in one of my sump baffles . This would defiantly be more efficient and maybe versatile.

Thank You yet Again : Walter

 

[Lasse]

I use a GHL doser 2.1 in continuous mode

Sincerely Lasse

 

[Freenow54]

Do you have the reactor hooked up for reverse flow? I see the pump side piping on the outlet side am I correct?