Greetings AC filter owners, as some of you know I have another thread which brings us to the starting point of this thread where I previously split & stacked the AC 110 sponge to create a reservoir behind the sponge so that hydraulic water pressure is used to filter water over an area twice the size of the stock while also increasing performance.
I also added the mod of raping the front of the sponges with Polyester batten to see if polishing could be accomplished without the early clogging experienced with the stock configuration. Now having run the filter this way for 40 days non-stop this thread will show the results and proceed to the 3rd level modification the AC Nitrate Filter.
The Aqua-Tech HOB Nitrate filter was the prototype having used many plants have finally confirmed that the house plant Pothos is the fastest growing, lowest diseased, lowest light requirement, highest disease resistance, and lowest maintenance bare root plant for effective removal of Nitrates from the aquarium. My 60 gallon Oscar tank consistently having the highest nitrates before each water change, now has the lowest from 40 PPM to 10 PPM. Something that cannot be done by simply placing the plant roots in the aquarium itself or stagnant water as there must be a delivery system for all nutrients in the aquarium to continually pass by the root system many times per hour in order for nitrates to be introduced and absorbed by the plants bare roots system, converted nitrates into rapid plant growth.
So we start where we left off after 40 days of using the Polyester batten over the AC sponge filter with impressive but limited results. As you can plainly see the Polyester captured dirt that the sponge filter allowed to escape, however only the top half portion of the sponge and polyester caught any dirt while bypass occurred on the bottom half.
Bypass on the bottom occurred because of the AC basket grate holes in the front and sides that limit the 6 straws ability to space the filter front in order that water can pass from the reservoir through the sponge, but in fact some water is bypassing from the first 2 rows of grate holes in the AC basket as you can see below.
Even so the performance of the filter Mod has proven to be much better then stock configuration we can improve filtration further by blocking those first two rows of bypass holes eliminating all bypass on the bottom. I recommend that the time be taken to plug these grate holes using Silicone sealant however, since I like and have never had a problem using aluminum tape on my filter modification and to expedite this modification I will be using aluminum tape instead.
Now as you can see below when the straws offset the front of the sponge with spacing to allow for water flow front to back ,no bypassing in any relative amount will occur and the bottom portion of the sponge will become inundated with dirt as well.
You will note below the proof in that no water now passes out of the ends of the straws as occurred before without the grate hole blocking. So one could re-wrap the front in new polyester batten and expect greatly improved results for polishing however, for the next step in converting the AC filter to a nitrate filter we will use the naked sponge so that high water flow GPH will guarantee nutrients delivery to our bare root Pothos plant insert.
We start with our $5 potted Pothos house plant from Lowes. Normally in summer the outside hose water is warn enough to wash off the bare roots but because of winter temps we must do this in the bathtub with buckets to wash off the soil with warm 80F water and dump the soil outside.
Now further wash and separate the individual root stocks by size so that you use the larger to smaller, placing them at the location near your HOB for installation.
You will need a cheap waxed dental floss to hang the plants stocks inside and over the HOB reservoir and 1” finisher nails to secure the dental floss to the drywall and a small hammer to drive the nails into the drywall at a 20 degree angle.
Use a slip knot in the dental floss so that you can adjust the size of the look over the tallest leaf stock and so that the slip knot will self adjust as the plant grows not cutting off circulation. The dental floss should be long enough to reach the nail with plenty of slack to rap around the nail several times (NOT TIE) for later adjustment (shorten or lengthen ) as needed.
Arrange each plant starting from the center with the largest stock working your way out on each side of the HOB reservoir using 1 nail to tie two stocks up at a time. Make sure the roots lay inside the reservoir just under the water line with the filter shut off (no water flowing yet). If adjustment is needed simply unravel the slack at the nail just like re-tying a boat line to a pier cleat.
That’s it, turn on the filter, adjust root line underwater as necessary. Pothos will grow with ambient room and distant window light but recommend augmentation by flipping your 18-24 Watt fixture on its side for at least 4 hours a day. DO NOT use incandescent or hot lights as it will fry the plant. Plant should start removing nitrates after initial transplant shock in 2 weeks, be patient and you will see great results.
May the Father of lights grant you a blessed Christmas.
I also added the mod of raping the front of the sponges with Polyester batten to see if polishing could be accomplished without the early clogging experienced with the stock configuration. Now having run the filter this way for 40 days non-stop this thread will show the results and proceed to the 3rd level modification the AC Nitrate Filter.
The Aqua-Tech HOB Nitrate filter was the prototype having used many plants have finally confirmed that the house plant Pothos is the fastest growing, lowest diseased, lowest light requirement, highest disease resistance, and lowest maintenance bare root plant for effective removal of Nitrates from the aquarium. My 60 gallon Oscar tank consistently having the highest nitrates before each water change, now has the lowest from 40 PPM to 10 PPM. Something that cannot be done by simply placing the plant roots in the aquarium itself or stagnant water as there must be a delivery system for all nutrients in the aquarium to continually pass by the root system many times per hour in order for nitrates to be introduced and absorbed by the plants bare roots system, converted nitrates into rapid plant growth.
So we start where we left off after 40 days of using the Polyester batten over the AC sponge filter with impressive but limited results. As you can plainly see the Polyester captured dirt that the sponge filter allowed to escape, however only the top half portion of the sponge and polyester caught any dirt while bypass occurred on the bottom half.
Bypass on the bottom occurred because of the AC basket grate holes in the front and sides that limit the 6 straws ability to space the filter front in order that water can pass from the reservoir through the sponge, but in fact some water is bypassing from the first 2 rows of grate holes in the AC basket as you can see below.
Even so the performance of the filter Mod has proven to be much better then stock configuration we can improve filtration further by blocking those first two rows of bypass holes eliminating all bypass on the bottom. I recommend that the time be taken to plug these grate holes using Silicone sealant however, since I like and have never had a problem using aluminum tape on my filter modification and to expedite this modification I will be using aluminum tape instead.
Now as you can see below when the straws offset the front of the sponge with spacing to allow for water flow front to back ,no bypassing in any relative amount will occur and the bottom portion of the sponge will become inundated with dirt as well.
You will note below the proof in that no water now passes out of the ends of the straws as occurred before without the grate hole blocking. So one could re-wrap the front in new polyester batten and expect greatly improved results for polishing however, for the next step in converting the AC filter to a nitrate filter we will use the naked sponge so that high water flow GPH will guarantee nutrients delivery to our bare root Pothos plant insert.
We start with our $5 potted Pothos house plant from Lowes. Normally in summer the outside hose water is warn enough to wash off the bare roots but because of winter temps we must do this in the bathtub with buckets to wash off the soil with warm 80F water and dump the soil outside.
Now further wash and separate the individual root stocks by size so that you use the larger to smaller, placing them at the location near your HOB for installation.
You will need a cheap waxed dental floss to hang the plants stocks inside and over the HOB reservoir and 1” finisher nails to secure the dental floss to the drywall and a small hammer to drive the nails into the drywall at a 20 degree angle.
Use a slip knot in the dental floss so that you can adjust the size of the look over the tallest leaf stock and so that the slip knot will self adjust as the plant grows not cutting off circulation. The dental floss should be long enough to reach the nail with plenty of slack to rap around the nail several times (NOT TIE) for later adjustment (shorten or lengthen ) as needed.
Arrange each plant starting from the center with the largest stock working your way out on each side of the HOB reservoir using 1 nail to tie two stocks up at a time. Make sure the roots lay inside the reservoir just under the water line with the filter shut off (no water flowing yet). If adjustment is needed simply unravel the slack at the nail just like re-tying a boat line to a pier cleat.
That’s it, turn on the filter, adjust root line underwater as necessary. Pothos will grow with ambient room and distant window light but recommend augmentation by flipping your 18-24 Watt fixture on its side for at least 4 hours a day. DO NOT use incandescent or hot lights as it will fry the plant. Plant should start removing nitrates after initial transplant shock in 2 weeks, be patient and you will see great results.
May the Father of lights grant you a blessed Christmas.
