Decadence August 28, 2014 August 28, 2014 I thought I'd share a little DIY project which I built last week. I waited a week before deciding if it was a success or not and it has proven to be just that. It is being fed from the overflow through the side. The bulkhead on the bottom is where the water leaves and water height is maintained through the stand pipe on the outside. The top overflow is for safety in case the first clogs with chaeto. The outputs go in to a mesh bag to keep chaeto from clogging my skimmer pump. So far, I have gone from a baseball-sized ball of chaeto to almost enough to fill the entire bucket in less than a week. I already pruned it and gave some away today. The light that I am using is a 40w 2700K CFL from Lowes and there is a powerhead in the bucket in addition to the 90 degree elbow keeping the water spinning very quickly. Enjoy!
AlanM August 28, 2014 August 28, 2014 !! This is what I want! Somehow I lost almost all my chaeto, I think when my nutrient levels get too low, and I get a ton of hair algae on it and if I get it spinning in my sump I get little bits of both hair algae and chaeto all over the strainer that I have on my pump intake. What bulkheads did you use and what size pipe is all that 1"?
wildcrazyjoker81 August 28, 2014 August 28, 2014 Just saw this in person and it is a flawless design and grows chaeto extremely fast. Thanks again for the chaeto you gave me.
Decadence August 28, 2014 Author August 28, 2014 It's all 1" piping. The fittings on the side are uniseals and the one on the bottom is a bulkhead. Being fed by the overflow, the massive ball of chaeto winds up picking up air bubbles which make it stay towards the top of the bucket. The egg crate material does a pretty good job of keeping the remaining smaller pieces of chaeto from finding the overflow at the bottom because all of it is spinning around but make sure you run a mesh sock after. A felt sock will clog too quickly. It's a chaeto-growing machine but I do believe that the aggressive flow and intense light/correct spectrum make all of the difference. FWIW, I carbon dose and have no detectible nitrate or phosphate and it is still growing like crazy.
Decadence August 28, 2014 Author August 28, 2014 Just saw this in person and it is a flawless design and grows chaeto extremely fast. Thanks again for the chaeto you gave me. Very welcome.
Decadence August 28, 2014 Author August 28, 2014 thank you for spelling it chaeto and not "cheato" #ocd
AlanM August 28, 2014 August 28, 2014 Is there a local source for uniseals? I will pick up a bulkhead from QR, but dont think they have uniseals. Could order from amazon, but still...
Decadence August 29, 2014 Author August 29, 2014 Is there a local source for uniseals? I will pick up a bulkhead from QR, but dont think they have uniseals. Could order from amazon, but still... I'm not aware of one. Congressional very well may carry them as they have a decent stock of plumbing odds and ends. Lol
flooddc August 29, 2014 August 29, 2014 Very Cool! my chaeto used to grow like crazy. but now almost all gone. Will have to give this a try. Thanks for sharing.
dave w August 29, 2014 August 29, 2014 That looks like a great design, made from a bunch of cheap parts. Way to go.
Tracy G August 29, 2014 August 29, 2014 (edited) Yeah I am looking for the Bulkheads and this will be done on my frag tank! Love it What about your light Cycle? 24 hours or opposite of the tank? Edited August 29, 2014 by Tracy G
Decadence August 29, 2014 Author August 29, 2014 Thanks guys. The light cycle is 24/7. You can run in opposite your tank but you will literally cut your growth in half with chaeto.
lnevo August 29, 2014 August 29, 2014 This is great. Do you think it could be fed by a separate pump and get enough flow? This way it could be attached like an external reactor. What did you use for the reflector?
Tracy G August 30, 2014 August 30, 2014 Is there a local source for uniseals? I will pick up a bulkhead from QR, but dont think they have uniseals. Could order from amazon, but still...+1 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Decadence August 30, 2014 Author August 30, 2014 This is great. Do you think it could be fed by a separate pump and get enough flow? This way it could be attached like an external reactor. What did you use for the reflector? Absolutely. The reflector is just a regular screw-in shop light fixture from Lowes. They are in the isle with the extension cords. There are four small holes around the edge and I stuck screws through them. I tightened each of the screws into a small piece of RODI tubing to get it to bite and put small washers on each side so that the light could sit directly on top of the bucket. +1 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk You best bet is going to be congressional in Rockville but I would call and ask first.
Decadence September 1, 2014 Author September 1, 2014 Can't wait to see pictures. Somebody liking one of my DIY projects enough to do one for themselves is about the coolest thing that I have had happen to me in this hobby.
YHSublime September 6, 2014 September 6, 2014 AWESOME. I don't know why I have not seen this yet, but what a cool idea. I might try doing this on my next build! Thanks for sharing.
Tracy G September 6, 2014 September 6, 2014 It works for sure. Mine has been up maybe a week and is pretty full Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Decadence September 6, 2014 Author September 6, 2014 Project commenced! Looks familiar! AWESOME. I don't know why I have not seen this yet, but what a cool idea. I might try doing this on my next build! Thanks for sharing. Do it, for sure. We filled a five gallon bucket completely with chaeto from the size of a baseball in two weeks, that's even with giving some away to a few different people. It works for sure. Mine has been up maybe a week and is pretty full Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Have any pictures?
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