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04/18/2014, 08:33 PM | #1 |
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Reducing nitrates with Surf
I've been looking at the Surf (from Santa Monica), and I can't justify spending $480+ for what appears to be styrofoam with a few leds attached. I'm thinking of going back to algae scrubber, but the reason I took it down was because it was a mess and cumbersome to clean. Is there a DIY Surf or alternative to reducing nitrates. vodka dosing isn't doing the trick.
Thanks, Ali
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Originally Posted by Gogandantess "I'm totally frustrated by this disease. My display has been fallow for 2 months now. If ich happened to mysteriously appear again, I'm giving up and going back to African Cichilds." |
04/19/2014, 09:07 AM | #2 |
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never heard of it, have a link? Tried to look it up on Google but couldn't find it
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04/19/2014, 11:20 AM | #3 |
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Originally Posted by Gogandantess "I'm totally frustrated by this disease. My display has been fallow for 2 months now. If ich happened to mysteriously appear again, I'm giving up and going back to African Cichilds." |
04/19/2014, 11:36 AM | #4 |
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Interesting.
Vodka does work. How did you use it? Maybe biopellets and a better skimmer?
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Hobby Experience: 9200ish gallons, 26 skimmers, and a handful of Kent Scrapers. Current Tank: Vortech Powered 600G SPS Tank w/ 100gal frag tank & 100g Sump. RK2-RK10 Skimmer. ReefAngel. Radium 20k. |
04/19/2014, 09:53 PM | #5 |
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It does look like a floating styrofoam block that has some holes in the bottom to allow the water to get inside where the mat is, then it has an led on top. I have seen a few diy algae scrubbers, only prob I have with them is that from what I read is that you must keep up with them on a regular basis. What does the rest of your filter look like? Refugium? Reactors?
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04/19/2014, 10:18 PM | #6 |
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If you read santa monicas forum a lot of people have complaints about poor growth with the surf
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Larry |
04/19/2014, 11:51 PM | #7 |
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Have you considered using a sulfur denitrator? I have one on my 465 gallon SPS reef and it works great. Here is a typical commercially available model.
http://www.marinedepot.com/filters_k...trator-ap.html You can also DIY this, or probably convert a calcium reactor to do the job. I love mine. |
04/20/2014, 07:14 AM | #8 |
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Out of curiosity, does anyone know if any of the Santa Monica algae scrubbers work?
Ken |
04/20/2014, 07:28 AM | #9 |
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i setup a diy algae scrubber at one point. It kept my nitrates at 0. Problem was its messy and difficult to remove and clean. it's not plug and play.
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Originally Posted by Gogandantess "I'm totally frustrated by this disease. My display has been fallow for 2 months now. If ich happened to mysteriously appear again, I'm giving up and going back to African Cichilds." |
04/20/2014, 05:43 PM | #10 |
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Never heard of it. I use a biopellet reactor, that has done the trick for me, zero nitrates or phosphate since using it. Way cheaper than what you have described as the Surf
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04/20/2014, 07:09 PM | #11 |
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My plan is a DIY nitrate reactor, think that's what people are calling it. Basically a 4" pvc pipe with a long run of a small diameter hose coiled inside. Water pumps very slowly through it, from what I have researched they seem pretty maintenance free and seem to work.
Last edited by john08007; 04/20/2014 at 07:09 PM. Reason: typo |
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