Joined
·
980 Posts
OK a little back ground first...For years I had been battling high Nitrates and Phosphates in my reef tank(Do mostly to over feeding). I tried just about everything you can think of to bring them down and maintain them from the quick fixes to the more natural. I ended up Vodka Dosing and that worked. took my No3(Nitrates) from about 35ppm to 0 and Po4(phosphates) from 1ppm to 0 it did go up a little after I cut my dose in half but it's back on track now. So I wanted to keep the level but step away from the dosing. A few year ago I kick around the idea of adding a turf scrubber to my system, but after talking to a few other hobbyist I was told that was old technology so I abandoned the idea. A few weeks ago I came across the plans I had using a 5gal. bucket. Looked around and I had just about everything I needed to get it up and running. So here it is

The first pic is a run through just to see if I had it right. And this is it after I added all the pluming and laid out all the cpvc

Here's what I did...I took a old salt bucket and I'm sure if you have been in this hobby for more then a Month you might have 1 or 2 just laying around, drilled a 3/4" hole about 3" from the bottom of the bucket and added a 3/4" threaded male straight connect and used silicone on both sides to make it leak proof added about a 6" piece of 3/4" pipe and a elbow in side the elbow I used a 1/2" reducer to run 1/2" pipe about another 4" and added a ball valve(note: I started to use a gate valve but I found I had better control with the flow with the ball valve) then another 6" of 1/2" pipe. So that's the return end. I used 2 other buckets with lids to get it up high enough for gravity to push in down into the sump. On the feed end I used a Maxi-Jet 1200 with 3 holes drilled in the base(to pull more water) outside the impeller. Using the stock nozzle I used 1/2" ID (inside diameter) hose. ran that to a plug in elbow that was 1/2" on one side and 3/4" on the other. Using that as a end cap for a 12" piece of 3/4" cpve pipe. Now the fun part I had to come up with away to cut a slit down the middle of the pipe(note: a dremel with a cutting wheel works perfect) I used a small drill bit to make a few holes then took a hack saw blade and cut the slit leaving about 1" on each end. I found a AQ2 aquarium divider(most local fish stores have them) 10" x 12" It come with a piece of screen that is the perfect size for the slit I just cut. It also comes with side rails and a shorter stripe for the bottom and top, but you won't need the top. Sled the screen in the slit and added the side rails. Then I added a 3/4" end cap to seal off the far end. So now when you plug in the Maxi-Jet the water will flow right down the screen. I just laid the pvc pipe across the bucket and let the screen just hang down in the bucket.

For the lighting and this is important...I used a clip on light base you can find them a Walmart or any number of places. The bulb: You want to use a bulb that is atleast 5100k I found a flood light bulb that was 6500k for around $6.00 it's a 65watt bulb but only uses the same energy of a 15watt bulb.
O.K. Why a turf scrubber? Good question every closed system that you add light to is going to have algae, that's a given. But with a turf scrubber you can control where that algae grows. By running the water pass the light down the screen this is the most likely place for it to grow. To kick start the growth, you have to seed the screen. The way to do that is find some algae in your tank and with the Maxi-Jet off rub the algae on the screen you may or may not see the algae after you rub it in but the spores are there.
So just to recap...You may find another place where you draw your water from, but for me the Maxi-Jet pulls from the main compartment in the sump through the scrubber(that sits in front of the sump) and back into the return section of the sump over my return pump and then back into the tank. Here is another diagram for another way to set one up.
http://www.radio-media.com/fish/PunpFeed.jpg
And for those who are not running a sump yet here's one for you.
http://www.radio-media.com/fish/SumplessFeed.jpg
This is what I have so far:
Day 1

day 2

day 3

day 4

day5

day 6

day 7

day 8

day 9

I will keep you posted...It's funny I thought with a system with no detectable No3 (Nitrate) or Po4 (phosphates) I wouldn't have algae growth this fast but there I go thinking again. LOL If there is anybody that is currently running a turf scrubber I would love to hear from you. If you have any likes or dislikes about it. Let me know what you think about it.
The first pic is a run through just to see if I had it right. And this is it after I added all the pluming and laid out all the cpvc
Here's what I did...I took a old salt bucket and I'm sure if you have been in this hobby for more then a Month you might have 1 or 2 just laying around, drilled a 3/4" hole about 3" from the bottom of the bucket and added a 3/4" threaded male straight connect and used silicone on both sides to make it leak proof added about a 6" piece of 3/4" pipe and a elbow in side the elbow I used a 1/2" reducer to run 1/2" pipe about another 4" and added a ball valve(note: I started to use a gate valve but I found I had better control with the flow with the ball valve) then another 6" of 1/2" pipe. So that's the return end. I used 2 other buckets with lids to get it up high enough for gravity to push in down into the sump. On the feed end I used a Maxi-Jet 1200 with 3 holes drilled in the base(to pull more water) outside the impeller. Using the stock nozzle I used 1/2" ID (inside diameter) hose. ran that to a plug in elbow that was 1/2" on one side and 3/4" on the other. Using that as a end cap for a 12" piece of 3/4" cpve pipe. Now the fun part I had to come up with away to cut a slit down the middle of the pipe(note: a dremel with a cutting wheel works perfect) I used a small drill bit to make a few holes then took a hack saw blade and cut the slit leaving about 1" on each end. I found a AQ2 aquarium divider(most local fish stores have them) 10" x 12" It come with a piece of screen that is the perfect size for the slit I just cut. It also comes with side rails and a shorter stripe for the bottom and top, but you won't need the top. Sled the screen in the slit and added the side rails. Then I added a 3/4" end cap to seal off the far end. So now when you plug in the Maxi-Jet the water will flow right down the screen. I just laid the pvc pipe across the bucket and let the screen just hang down in the bucket.
For the lighting and this is important...I used a clip on light base you can find them a Walmart or any number of places. The bulb: You want to use a bulb that is atleast 5100k I found a flood light bulb that was 6500k for around $6.00 it's a 65watt bulb but only uses the same energy of a 15watt bulb.
O.K. Why a turf scrubber? Good question every closed system that you add light to is going to have algae, that's a given. But with a turf scrubber you can control where that algae grows. By running the water pass the light down the screen this is the most likely place for it to grow. To kick start the growth, you have to seed the screen. The way to do that is find some algae in your tank and with the Maxi-Jet off rub the algae on the screen you may or may not see the algae after you rub it in but the spores are there.
So just to recap...You may find another place where you draw your water from, but for me the Maxi-Jet pulls from the main compartment in the sump through the scrubber(that sits in front of the sump) and back into the return section of the sump over my return pump and then back into the tank. Here is another diagram for another way to set one up.
http://www.radio-media.com/fish/PunpFeed.jpg
And for those who are not running a sump yet here's one for you.
http://www.radio-media.com/fish/SumplessFeed.jpg
This is what I have so far:
Day 1
day 2
day 3
day 4
day5
day 6
day 7
day 8
day 9
I will keep you posted...It's funny I thought with a system with no detectable No3 (Nitrate) or Po4 (phosphates) I wouldn't have algae growth this fast but there I go thinking again. LOL If there is anybody that is currently running a turf scrubber I would love to hear from you. If you have any likes or dislikes about it. Let me know what you think about it.