kenny b
03/13/2013, 01:01 AM
I'm returning to the hobby from an 9 year hiatus with quite the DIY project. During that 9 year hiatus, I graduated high school, earned a B.S. in mechanical engineering and a M.S. in engineering mechanics and now I'm working on a PhD in Electrical/Optical engineering. There have been some significant advances in the hobby in those 9 years as well, particularly with LED lighting. Anyways, this project is going to be a beast and here's what I've been designing.
All acrylic 12"x12"x20" (~12.5 gal)with an internal 4"x12"x12" (~2.5 gal) section partitioned off via overflow as a filtration and utilities compartment.
For utilities, I'm going with a single Maxijet 1200 (295 GPH at 0 head) to power everything and a 50W Eheim Jaiger heater. I've designed a miniature Ca reactor/protein skimmer unit with some unique self-contained features that will fit within the filtration compartment. There will be a refugium compartment with 6" sand bed, and a continuously dosing phytoplankton culture (~1 drip per minutes).
The skimmer is contained with a 2"ODx1/8" thick acrylic tube, will be approximately 8" in length and will have 3 rings with tubes 1 3/16"ODx1/16 and 1/2"ODx1/16 (Outer-spinning downflow, intermediate-spinning upflow, inner-downflow to exit). Water enters the skimmer from the pump return by first going through a self-cleaning spinning 0.5 micron PTFE coated polyester filter to prevent plankton from entering the skimmer. The filter is self cleaning so the plankton can be returned to the water column without getting trapped. The plankton filter is attached to the top of the Ca reactor so that the impeller driving the filter to spin also drives by a shaft an impeller in the Ca reactor for CO2/water mixing. The skimmer collection cup will have a needle value drip option into the phytoplankton culture. Air bubbles are introduced via an air stone and air pump since the air pump is also needed for the phyto culture.
The flow in the calcium reactor od 2"OD tube by about 6" in length is driven by the impeller attached to the spinning self-cleaning plankton filter. CO2 is provided to the reactor by chemical reaction in a separate compartment. A strong acid (Nitric or Hydrochloric) will be drip controlled via a needle value (or solenoid in future expansion) into a small tube of aragonite. Tank water is supplied to the Ca reactor via needle value attached to the skimmer input after the plankton filter. The reactor exit tube will feed into the skimmer inlet to help remove any excess CO2 and bring the PH back up.
The best CO2 producing reactions choices are
Nitric acid + Aragonite = CO2 + water + Calcium Nitrate which is a fertilizer and the product solution can be fed to the phyto culture.
Alternatively, Hydrocloric Acid + Araggonite = CO2 + Water + Calcium Chloride which is often used as a liquid calcium supplement
The CO2 gas produced is fed into the Ca reactor. The drip rate of the acid determines the CO2 addition rate into the Ca reactor.
The internal phyto culture poses several additional technical challenges. Rotifers and all other zooplankton must be removed from culture entering tank water. Tank water free of zooplankton will come from the skimmer feed after the plankton filter. Water born bacteria may also cause problems since academic research shows several marine bacteria strains that target and kill a variety of phytoplanktons. Although at this time, I'm not including a UV sterilizer, the ability to install an inline mini sterilizer (must be fabricated to be less than 3" in length and 1.5" in diameter) for incoming tank water will be included.
That's the summery of some of the features. Drawings are coming however, drawings of the spinning plankton filter will be exclude since this may be a pantentable item if it works like I think it will. The past couple days I've been experimenting with the table router I bought learning how to cut acrylic adequately. Making all the parts will take some real effort.
All acrylic 12"x12"x20" (~12.5 gal)with an internal 4"x12"x12" (~2.5 gal) section partitioned off via overflow as a filtration and utilities compartment.
For utilities, I'm going with a single Maxijet 1200 (295 GPH at 0 head) to power everything and a 50W Eheim Jaiger heater. I've designed a miniature Ca reactor/protein skimmer unit with some unique self-contained features that will fit within the filtration compartment. There will be a refugium compartment with 6" sand bed, and a continuously dosing phytoplankton culture (~1 drip per minutes).
The skimmer is contained with a 2"ODx1/8" thick acrylic tube, will be approximately 8" in length and will have 3 rings with tubes 1 3/16"ODx1/16 and 1/2"ODx1/16 (Outer-spinning downflow, intermediate-spinning upflow, inner-downflow to exit). Water enters the skimmer from the pump return by first going through a self-cleaning spinning 0.5 micron PTFE coated polyester filter to prevent plankton from entering the skimmer. The filter is self cleaning so the plankton can be returned to the water column without getting trapped. The plankton filter is attached to the top of the Ca reactor so that the impeller driving the filter to spin also drives by a shaft an impeller in the Ca reactor for CO2/water mixing. The skimmer collection cup will have a needle value drip option into the phytoplankton culture. Air bubbles are introduced via an air stone and air pump since the air pump is also needed for the phyto culture.
The flow in the calcium reactor od 2"OD tube by about 6" in length is driven by the impeller attached to the spinning self-cleaning plankton filter. CO2 is provided to the reactor by chemical reaction in a separate compartment. A strong acid (Nitric or Hydrochloric) will be drip controlled via a needle value (or solenoid in future expansion) into a small tube of aragonite. Tank water is supplied to the Ca reactor via needle value attached to the skimmer input after the plankton filter. The reactor exit tube will feed into the skimmer inlet to help remove any excess CO2 and bring the PH back up.
The best CO2 producing reactions choices are
Nitric acid + Aragonite = CO2 + water + Calcium Nitrate which is a fertilizer and the product solution can be fed to the phyto culture.
Alternatively, Hydrocloric Acid + Araggonite = CO2 + Water + Calcium Chloride which is often used as a liquid calcium supplement
The CO2 gas produced is fed into the Ca reactor. The drip rate of the acid determines the CO2 addition rate into the Ca reactor.
The internal phyto culture poses several additional technical challenges. Rotifers and all other zooplankton must be removed from culture entering tank water. Tank water free of zooplankton will come from the skimmer feed after the plankton filter. Water born bacteria may also cause problems since academic research shows several marine bacteria strains that target and kill a variety of phytoplanktons. Although at this time, I'm not including a UV sterilizer, the ability to install an inline mini sterilizer (must be fabricated to be less than 3" in length and 1.5" in diameter) for incoming tank water will be included.
That's the summery of some of the features. Drawings are coming however, drawings of the spinning plankton filter will be exclude since this may be a pantentable item if it works like I think it will. The past couple days I've been experimenting with the table router I bought learning how to cut acrylic adequately. Making all the parts will take some real effort.