DIY Chaeto Reactor

[GenericReefer]

Bear with me and my reefing inadequacy, and prepare for a whole lot of ridiculous questions from me ;P

My nitates are on the high side (40 ppm) and pH is a bit under 8. I monitor the amount of food fed and the stocking consists of 2 small ocellaris clowns, 5 snails, and some isolated xenia but nitrates are still sky high. I've tried larger water changes but the nutrients just bounce back... I was planning to get a refugium, but it didn't work out

I've seen several people using a media reactor with strip LEDs wrapped around to grow chaeto inside. But another hurdle, of course, is budget. Not really an that much of an issue, but media reactors go for much much more than they can be DIY-ed for.

-A container [what is the biggest container I could go for? is bigger the better true in this case?]
-Tubing
-Pump
-Gel superglue
-LED Lights [https://www.amazon.com/Topled-Light...UZ4C/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8&th=1]
If you have any suggestions for the materials, please let me know

And here is how I (think I) assemble the reactor.
1. Drill 2 holes in the lid of the container
2. Put two pieces of tubing through each hole and create seal with superglue
3. Place pump in tank and connect one tube to it. The other tube will also lead back to the tank but won't be connected to anything
4. Hook up LEDs and wrap around
5. Fill with chaeto and water
6. Turn on pump

Another (of course) question I have is how this will affect the ATO. When the algae grows and is removed the water level will change. What can I do as so the reactor doesn't interfere with the ATO?

I really want to create the best environment for my tank inhabitants so I really like your thoughts and comments!

 

[Mandelstam]

Not saying you can't make a chaeto reactor, but have you checked this out?
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/poor-man-nutrients-control-donovans-nitrate-destroyer.302685/

 

[GenericReefer]

Not saying you can't make a chaeto reactor, but have you checked this out?
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/poor-man-nutrients-control-donovans-nitrate-destroyer.302685/

The bacteria reactor needs carbon dosing, which I understand is removed by the skimmer. I don't have a skimmer and it looks to be looked down upon to carbon dose without a skimmer.

 

[Mandelstam]

The bacteria reactor needs carbon dosing, which I understand is removed by the skimmer. I don't have a skimmer and it looks to be looked down upon to carbon dose without a skimmer.

I'm no expert but yes I do think a skimmer is almost necessary when carbon dosing. But this is done inside the reactor and not in the tank and I'm not sure if that makes any difference. I know Donovan only runs his skimmer at nights for a few hours.

Sorry I wasn't of any help with the chaeto reactor! Good luck!

 

[GenericReefer]

Thanks

 

[lion king]

Marine Depot has a nice algae reactor package put together for around $140. I even built one from a brs reactor; I had the stuff laying around but to purchase I believe it would be around $85-90. I don't know what your budget is, but sealing and plumbing a container from scratch wouldn't be worth it for me.

As far as size goes, how big is your tank. The larger the reactor, less maintenance. I harvest my macro once a month. I have the brs running on a 90g and it's working really well. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/brs-reactor-algae-reactor.319128/

I've found macros respond better to white light primarily in the 6000k range. The red and blue usually grow other obnoxious algaes and even cyano. Red and blue work very well on scrubbers.

 

[GenericReefer]

Marine Depot has a nice algae reactor package put together for around $140. I even built one from a brs reactor; I had the stuff laying around but to purchase I believe it would be around $85-90. I don't know what your budget is, but sealing and plumbing a container from scratch wouldn't be worth it for me.

As far as size goes, how big is your tank. The larger the reactor, less maintenance. I harvest my macro once a month. I have the brs running on a 90g and it's working really well. https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/brs-reactor-algae-reactor.319128/

I've found macros respond better to white light primarily in the 6000k range. The red and blue usually grow other obnoxious algaes and even cyano. Red and blue work very well on scrubbers.

I actually found another person selling their media reactor for only $25. So the issue of the reactor is taken care of. I thought that chaeto needed red and blue lights, no? The same person selling the reactor used them for his own algae reactor, and it looked fine. Other members on the same forum even complained about using white LEDs but got cyano instead. ;P

I'll take your word and try out the white LEDs. Besides, I found this light, which is a killer deal to me. https://www.amazon.com/LEDMO-Strip-...15460843&sr=1-4&keywords=led+white+strip&th=1

Doing further research, people have usually gotten faster nutrient reduction using hair algae, so could it be used in the reactor?
I'm still confused about the ATO, too... do I replace the displaced algae with new saltwater?

 

[patfat]

I used white lights for my reactor didn’t have any issues with it or any types of algae..yes red lights do make algae grow a lot faster..When I added a reactor like that to my tank I did it during a water change and make a little extra salt water to displace what went into the reactor..from the tank..even though the algae will grow and fill that reactor most of the water level won’t change..and what I found best is when you trim your algae is to do your water change so that your level of water stays the same..hopefully that helps answer your question