# Goldfish Fort. Algae scrubber really working well! (page 3)



## CardBoardBoxProcessor (Sep 17, 2006)

I just got an Email that my heavy duty metal shelving has been shipped and will arrive on friday. 

OVERKILL! Stand (I don't know what size tank I will get 75 - 120 so better safe than sorry.


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## Dollface (Sep 30, 2008)

That is a huuugggeee goldfish, nice. 

Good for you for upgrading your tank, intresting DIY too, any reason why you decided to use half the tank for a sump instead of just getting a big HOB?


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## CardBoardBoxProcessor (Sep 17, 2006)

He is actually bigger but at that angel he looks small. 

here i will add better pictures. 

I am using a 55 gallon cause I have a spare. i am using that real open shelving and a large sump for extra water as well as openness. one real drive to overhaul my tanks and move them into the basement is the canister filters and not open enough. I wanna be able to get to the filters easier. HOBs are hard to do that to and canisters get water all over when something goes wrong or you need to open them.


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## Crystalview (Aug 10, 2007)

How old is your big fish. I saw one the size of my fist for $35 mine is an inch and $2.89. So your two fish will have how much room to swim in got kind of lost when mentioning the sump.


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## CardBoardBoxProcessor (Sep 17, 2006)

He is probably 3 years old. 

I am not sure. I am going to get something between 75 and 120. It depends which is the biggest for the buck. 

for example, once upon a wonderful time 75 gallons were $100 at petsmart and 120's were like $130. Obviously the 120 held more water for less money.


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## Crystalview (Aug 10, 2007)

Craigs list and Freecycle have had good buys or free tanks. Just have to ask for tank only for super cheap or free.


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## Axelrodi202 (Jul 29, 2008)

Maybe you could keep Riccia in your "sump". I think theres too many nutrients from the goldfish, hence all the algae.

My cousin has a quite impressive goldfish tank. It has several large rocks in the back that slope downwards towards the front, and they are covered with anubias and java fern. The goldfish have spawned several times. Maybe you could try something like that for your aqua scape.


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## CardBoardBoxProcessor (Sep 17, 2006)

lol. I will wait till the overhaul to worry about algae.


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## CardBoardBoxProcessor (Sep 17, 2006)

I got my shelving and built it. I am water proofing the plywood and painted the algae scrubber bin.


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## CardBoardBoxProcessor (Sep 17, 2006)

I ordered my Over flow box and my pump. Now I have three pumps. Hopefully the store will take this useless mag drive 2 back and this 4extra 300 GPH over flow box I bought can be used for something else. 

I learned my lesson on buying before I have researched correctly.


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## Vladdy (May 6, 2008)

That looks great. I can't wait to see the final product. My 10 gallon is getting tricked out. Check out my journal. It's in the link below.


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## CardBoardBoxProcessor (Sep 17, 2006)

I anti-photo degradation painted my tub & cut the pieces for the scrubber.


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## CardBoardBoxProcessor (Sep 17, 2006)

I scrapped my original Algae scrubber design and came up with an in sump all flow version. Just some simple old used up test bulbs. 

Here is the light. I made it all today in one sitting.


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## CardBoardBoxProcessor (Sep 17, 2006)

I got a 75E gallon tank. Dunno what the E is... it is a bit more than 75 I think cause it is 21" high instead of 20" like the regular 75 gallon. 

everything fits well.


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## Crystalview (Aug 10, 2007)

Here is a tank calculator to just what the 75E is 
http://www.petfish.net/calculators/utankcalc.php


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## CardBoardBoxProcessor (Sep 17, 2006)

78 gallon lol.

the tank is still n the van but I placed the sump and stuff there. 

The tank is being moved to the basement work room which has building area, storage, and weight set so the tank needed lots of protection. plus the industrial look of the shelve could make a nice theme. The blast doors hang on the front and window screen stops anything like flying bolts form bouncing off the wall and into the back but lets wires and such through. It also has thin ply board side armor. lol. 


#1 - the sump and algae scrubber light on. 
#2 - The "Blast Door #1" in place. 
#3 - the blast doors attach with hooks and stand off blocks to keep them straight up and down. Because wafer board corners are weak and fray I added metal corner pieces.


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## CardBoardBoxProcessor (Sep 17, 2006)

tanks are in, plumbing is almost completed.


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## CardBoardBoxProcessor (Sep 17, 2006)

bump. har har.


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## skratikans (May 23, 2008)

cant wait to see the tank filled with water


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## CardBoardBoxProcessor (Sep 17, 2006)

hood is constructed!


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## CardBoardBoxProcessor (Sep 17, 2006)

all done. now to move the fishies.


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## skratikans (May 23, 2008)

you need to post some updated pics!


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## CardBoardBoxProcessor (Sep 17, 2006)

I did at the Beginning of the thread. I just edit the first page xP


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## CardBoardBoxProcessor (Sep 17, 2006)

here you go.










here is the algae scrubber. You can't really see but it has green growing on it already.


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## hydrophyte (Mar 1, 2009)

holy smokes you have mad DIY skills! i can't believe this isn't getting more forum responses because this whole concept is fascinating. where did you get the algae scrubber idea? have you read that Adey and Loveland book, _Dynamic Aquaria: Building Living Ecosystems_?

that filter box is really something--built like a tank. is it very heavy? i have built a few things with that sheet PVC and it is fun to work with--like hobby plywood, but you can put it under water.

what is DSB?

i like your idea for creating an "industrial" exposed hardware appearance for this setup, and this idea goes along with the whole concept. i have put together a few aquariums with the idea of using relatively inexpensive/easily-assembled components that aren't hidden in any way, but accentuated to make some kind of design statement. what do you think about just leaving that bottom door off, so that everything will be visible? i think ti would be really cool to find a way to expose and showcase that algae scrubber. it will surely look really gunky as it starts to work, but it would be so neat to directly illustrate its function.

it could also be worthwhile to explore adding real plants to the sump in addition to the algae. looking at it from an ecological standpoint, higher plants might utilize nutrients (read, _pollutants_) in ways that the algae might not quite be able to do, thus rendering a more complete "scrubbing" of the water column. the algae scrubber will intercept a lot of light, but maybe there will be enough bouncing around for plants in that space beneath(?).

i love that fish. a few other visual design ideas come to mind. it could be cool to set the display area apart and have it look refined to contrast with all of the other hardware. have you thought about painting the rear pane of glass in the display area. i think that some "gawdy" yet visually balanced decor would look awesome with that fish. do you have any specific pieces of decor in mind?


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## CardBoardBoxProcessor (Sep 17, 2006)

Yeah. day 4 and it is already getting thicker. 









24 hours after that picture.


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## CardBoardBoxProcessor (Sep 17, 2006)

I added even more rocks and replaced a single t8 tube with a brand new one. what a difference.


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

interesting use of algae.

People have used water loving plants (not necessarily aquatic plants ) with great success like peace lilies, water hyacinth, duckweed etc.. They absorb massive amount of waste nutrients and you don't have to supply CO2 to them since they grab it from the air.


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## CardBoardBoxProcessor (Sep 17, 2006)

mistergreen said:


> interesting use of algae.
> 
> People have used water loving plants (not necessarily aquatic plants ) with great success like peace lilies, water hyacinth, duckweed etc.. They absorb massive amount of waste nutrients and you don't have to supply CO2 to them since they grab it from the air.


I don't use Co2 either. Just whatever is coming out of the filter media lol. I have had duckweed swarms before many of the. nothing has worked like this has. Usually when I start a new tank some little algae specs have grown on the glass by now. with this running 18 hours a day I have yet to see anything.


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## CardBoardBoxProcessor (Sep 17, 2006)

day 6. Before I was miss counting by a day or two for some reason @[email protected] 

at first not much change to bee seen but it is darker. However, the second picture is a picture showing what the mat of algae is actually made of. Thousands, if not millions of tiny, 5 - 8 inch long filaments of algae. @[email protected] it is really getting thick. tomorrow is cleaning day (every seven days) 

















There is also some brown algae growth. a sign of needed cleaning as I recall.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

Watt for watt, N for N, you'd do better using a auto drip continuous water changer, or use plants will export far more biomass than the tiny amount that algae do. 

See "plant filters".

Very effective for wastewater.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## ZooTycoonMaster (Jan 2, 2008)

Wait wait wait why are you growing algae in your tank? It looks really dirty for the Goldfish


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## CardBoardBoxProcessor (Sep 17, 2006)

nah. I am good. but thanks for the advice. This is nice and simple. and I never had any luck with plants.


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## CardBoardBoxProcessor (Sep 17, 2006)

ZooTycoonMaster said:


> Wait wait wait why are you growing algae in your tank? It looks really dirty for the Goldfish


it is not in the tank. it is outside. in the sump actually. it consolidates algae growth in the sump and not the tank @[email protected] it works well..


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

can you post some numbers so we can see how well it works?


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## Aubzilla (Mar 2, 2008)

This is pretty much the same thing my friend does with her salt water tank. Seems to work for her excellently.


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## CardBoardBoxProcessor (Sep 17, 2006)

I have no NO3 test kit.


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## CardBoardBoxProcessor (Sep 17, 2006)

I should update this.


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## Chaos_Being (May 18, 2010)

It looked like a neat build...how has it been doing?


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