a crazy idea for a bio filter.

[js97]

Well I've been reading up on a anaerobic de-nitrifyer(sounds very complicated) and other ways to maintain good water quality (outside of water changes). They all seemed very expensive/complicated/impractical. Through all this pondering, i came up with this idea for brackish tanks:
An algea sump/filter?
A sump(s) with algea growing (and maybe a few red mangroves) to help reduce/slow down build up of nitrates?

A simple tank/rubber maid, filled with egg cartons (or anything else to increase surface area for algea to grow on) lighted about 16-18 hours a day (overlapping nighttime perhaps?) Over flow as a source, and a return pump.

Used as a supplement to standard filter
anyone ever tried something like that? anybody know how effective the algea would be ? . I'm sure some of it would get into the tank, but i think thats a minor problem compared to the good it could accomplish.

[Pufferpunk]

You might be hard-pressed to find BW algae that would grow well for this appllication. What SG?

Veggie Filters:
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/articles/article69.html

[js97]

Sweet article,

thanks.. will eventually get it up to 1.015 so there are very few things that will grow in that.

[yoggi58]

I belive you are talking about what we in the saltwater world call a refugium. Same idea. Hope it helps.

[recombinantrider]

Well I've been reading up on a anaerobic de-nitrifyer(sounds very complicated) and other ways to maintain good water quality (outside of water changes). They all seemed very expensive/complicated/impractical. Through all this pondering, i came up with this idea for brackish tanks:
An algea sump/filter?
A sump(s) with algea growing (and maybe a few red mangroves) to help reduce/slow down build up of nitrates?

A simple tank/rubber maid, filled with egg cartons (or anything else to increase surface area for algea to grow on) lighted about 16-18 hours a day (overlapping nighttime perhaps?) Over flow as a source, and a return pump.

Used as a supplement to standard filter
anyone ever tried something like that? anybody know how effective the algea would be ? . I'm sure some of it would get into the tank, but i think thats a minor problem compared to the good it could accomplish.

This is not a crazy idea actually. I don't know too much about the algae's ability in denitirification, but when I was doing my undergrad lab rotation, we used algae we picked up from Nahant bay, dried them, pack them, and use them to absorb the heavy metal in different conditions. It was thought of as an option for treating heavily polluted water, e.g. sewage treatment for pipes leaving factories that use lots of heavy metals. We looked into packing algae into small cartridges and stick them into the pipelines and it worked wonders at least in small lab scale. I think you are onto some potentially great invention here....

If you're interested here's an article by the professor I worked with:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_o ... 10550f96a0