A Look Back at the Aquaricare Algal Filter

Well without getting into all that - and it worked great for him - sometimes you have very limited space - such as in my case and horizontal is the option. Additionally, the design shown here has ramps on top and bottom to channel the water through the plates and create turbulence.

 

Thanks for the replies. I have no doubt that SantaMonica knows much about algae scrubbers and what I know now is in some part from the info I have read of his posts. Especially like the info about roughing up the screen to facilitate the adhesion of algae. I have noticed on the MMFI scrubber there is a small bump just before the drain that keeps the water at a level right above the screen which in some way would simulate the thin film of water that occurs on a vertical scrubber. I also remember Mr. Reinke telling me to regularly change my filter as to decrease the bioload. The bioload comprised of not only the fish and the decaying waste but also the bacteria that broke down the fish waste so by changing the filter often you limit the growth of those bacteria. He thought that the algae more readily consumed ammonia than N. ?


Seems to me the light requirements of marine algae which to some extent consist of chlorophyll c and chlorophyll d i.e. red and brown algae are different than for freshwater algae i.e. chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b. This being a fairly general statement. Would that be somewhat correct? I have not tested. Thanks for any replies.

 

Then make a low-profile vertical; only 6.5 inches high, and MUCH easier to get the screen out:


Full size plans: http://www.radio-media.com/fish/100.jpg

Is irrelavant, when you consider the drawbacks of a one-sided horizontal design. If you want to see turbulence, you should see the waterfall on the vertical screen, and the pooling at the bottom which floats the GHA strands into 3D suspension.

Actually, the opposit. You never want a standing layer of water over a screen; it totally defeats the boundary effect, which is the root reason of the effectiveness of scrubbers:

 

Thanks for the reply. I could adapt what I have to include a spray bar and angle the screen from one side. I never had a problem with effectiveness when I last had it running. Trying to make use of what I have. Taking some measurements the egg crate material keeps the screen precisely at the boundary layer of the water and the air. The flow is fairly turbulent sending water through the screen. The whole tray holds less than an inch of water. Are there better ways? sure This tech is old but it worked for me. Are there different light requirements for freshwater algae scrubbers and saltwater? Any help would be appreciated.

 

That's not the boundary, but it ok if it's working for you. No difference in FW.

 

I'll check it out.

Other designs are cool to see but it is not irrelevant when the thread is about the Aquaricare Algal filter.

 

Thanks for the replies. What I was referring to is called the atmospheric boundary layer I could of been more clear. The point being the screen is being held in an area with a good deal of turbulence setting up times when a very thin layer of water is occurring at the surface of the algae. I realize you are referring to the boundary layer between a solid(algae) and a liquid. My concerns over the difference between fw and sw for algae scrubbers stem from what I have read so far about different makeup, types of chlorophyll, of FW and SW algae. Given the extremely narrow frequency of colored leds there would be an increase of importance of having the right kind of light. The many benefits of leds is driving me to find a way to use them correctly. Anyone have recommendations for lighting my MMFI algae scrubber? Any help would be appreciated.

 

Wanting to post some pictures of the algae growth and my LED setup but for some reason the attachment button doesn't do anything.????

Well quick update anyway.

My discus fish, which I saved from certain death from the LFS, are now much

larger, healthy, and IMO happy i.e. vigorously feeding and trying to breed.

Why more people don't try algae scrubbing is beyond me I have nothing but

success. The only thing filtering my tank is an algae scrubber.

In fact in all the years that I have taken care of fish this is the only

way that I have maintained my tanks. I have not done a water change in

months. Only finding a need to top off the water is quite a time saver.

And for the most part the only maintenance that I do is to change a small

square of filter floss (cut from quilt batting that is cheap) which is located at

the outlet section of the scrubber.

Matt have you made any attempts at using algae?

If you need any help don't be afraid to ask.

 

Hit 'manage attachments' below message box, then hit the 'browse' buttons on the popup to locate your images on your computer, THEN - hit the upload button at the bottom of the window. Close popup. If you did it right, there will be the photo names below the 'manage attachments' button. Post. If they don't upload - your photos are too large - use the 'photo tools' app in action panel in right nav to lower the size and save to your computer again. Reupload using steps above.

I do use an algae filter now (refugium) look at what I built on my build thread in my sig. Glad yours is doing well.

matt

 

Thanks for the reply.

Started to read over some of your posts. You obviously have a lot of

experience. And while this probably isn't new to you I will mention it anyways.

What makes a scrubber work well is if you can remove the

algae from the system in mass. The picture I posted is only 5 days growth

and will be cleaned off. Hence the nutrients taken up by that algae will also be

removed from the system every time I clean the screen.

Hope this helps.