# have you seen this?



## fishwolfe (Mar 27, 2005)

http://www.myfishtank.net/forum/saltwat ... r-diy.html
looks cool might give it a whirl.what do you guys think?


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## Dewdrop (Nov 20, 2007)

If I had the time and space, I'd try it. My pleco takes care of the algae but I sure could use some help with nitrates :x . Maybe this winter if things slow down :roll: I'll give it a shot. If you make one let us know how it works. Maybe even document the process of making it here for us to watch. That would be way cool too :thumb:


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## fishwolfe (Mar 27, 2005)

i have pretty much everything i need for it but the time to do it :roll:


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## xalow (May 10, 2007)

I wonder if it would be possible to use java moss sandwiched between two screens instead of algae. Looks like a really cool idea.


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## Mcdaphnia (Dec 16, 2003)

xalow said:


> I wonder if it would be possible to use java moss sandwiched between two screens instead of algae. Looks like a really cool idea.


 The point of the scrubber is the algal turf. It is more efficient than other plants and even than other configurations of algae. To overcome that advantage, your Java moss filter would have to be much larger than the algal turf filter. Sometimes this is done with terrestrial plants in soiless trays (hydroponics) at about the level of the top of the tank. Water is pumped from the tank to the highest tray and flows back through each tray until it returns to the tank.


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## brycerb (Dec 23, 2007)

If this worked would I be able to stop doing water changes and just top off the water as needed? I am willing to spend money if it means less work, more quality time with the fish.


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## fishwolfe (Mar 27, 2005)

> If this worked would I be able to stop doing water changes and just top off the water as needed?


well that's the theory.we need some people to check it out.I've been toying with it but i think my plants may suffer.


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## Guest (Sep 27, 2008)

I may try that sometime in the future. The concept of it seems like it should definitely work, as a massive algae culture should certainly eat up any available nutrients in the water.

If I do try it though, I'd likely try it using junk cichlids (dirt cheap ones, hybrids, etc) as I wouldn't want to risk harming any of the fish...

~Ed


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## fishwolfe (Mar 27, 2005)

how would it harm the fish?


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## Guest (Sep 27, 2008)

fishwolfe said:


> how would it harm the fish?


By not doing water changes. If I was going to try this and test the theory that it could reduce the need for water changes, if not eliminate it, I'd want to test it on cheap fish rather than quality fish and see how the fish's health is maintained, and test to see if the algae really dose rid the tank of pollution.

This sounds like a relatively new idea. Hopefully, maybe a university will pick it up for experimenting and maybe it will really improve the aquarium hobby after all and make it much easier for fresh and salt water tank keepers...

I can't see this being done on a large scale though, like at an actual Aquarium like the Georgia Aquarium which has like what, a 5 million gallon saltwater tank with a whale in it or something like that? You'd need like a algae water fall like the height of the empire state building! :lol:

~Ed


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## fishwolfe (Mar 27, 2005)

oh i see,i thought there was another "problem" other than no water changes.


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## kornphlake (Feb 12, 2004)

fishwolfe said:


> > If this worked would I be able to stop doing water changes and just top off the water as needed?
> 
> 
> well that's the theory.we need some people to check it out.I've been toying with it but i think my plants may suffer.


Healthy plants will remove nitrates and phosphates almost as efficiently as algae would. I don't think the algae filter has any place in a planted tank because it's just not needed, in a fish only tank it may be of some benefit but I doubt it could replace normal water changes. It may let you stretch the interval between water changes a week or so but wouldn't replace water changes all together.


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## Guest (Sep 27, 2008)

I found the same thing on another board: http://www.reefs.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=123711

The members weren't so nice to him, and even trashed him a bit...

I do agree with one of the members though that said:


vitz said:


> JohnHenry said:
> 
> 
> > It looks to me like that tank is overstocked, over-fed and/or under-skimmed. Any shots of the tank itself?
> ...


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## D-007 (Jan 3, 2008)

I think the scrubber is a pretty neat idea and may have to look into building one myself.


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## RyanR (Apr 29, 2008)

fishwolfe said:


> > If this worked would I be able to stop doing water changes and just top off the water as needed?
> 
> 
> well that's the theory.we need some people to check it out.I've been toying with it but i think my plants may suffer.


You'll always want to do water changes. There are lots of other "pollutants" and organic compounds produced by fish in the water that you simply can't measure in any practical way. This is why measuring nitrates is handy: in an unplanted tank, the amount of nitrates is sort of proportional to the amount of all of that other junk in the water, so measuring nitrate levels is an OK approximation of water quality.

I like the idea, though. I like any idea that'll improve water quality, though I'll still do weekly water changes. 

-Ryan


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## Chad_Asmus (Sep 27, 2008)

I have a 55gallon that i have been using this filter on for 11 months. I also us a mechanical filter to remove my dead plant matter, just a screen (i Have about 20 plants). I Have two angels, a dwarf garami, a couple tetras, a 7" pleco, and 4 mollies. I have not done any water changes in that whole time period, and have never had a problem. In Fact my angels have bread, my mollies have bread, and then the angels proceed to eat the mollies, CHEAP food is what i tell my wife when she tells me to seperate them.


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