3
3. Components
3.1 Mechanical prefilter
The water return from the aquarium is delivered via a 32mm union to the top compartment
of the prefilter. The water flows over a trickle plate and on through a filtration sponge where
coarse suspended waste is retained. The sponge should be washed regularly in tap water.
Other filtration material such as activated carbon such as
carbolit
or
phosphate remover such as
antiphos
may be placed in bags below the
sponge.
3.2 Protein Skimmer
The Reef 500 utilises the
Turboflotor 1000
as its protein skimmer
Working principle
Protein skimming is a method of physical water treatment. It utilises the phenomenon of
adsorption of surface active substances to air water layers. In daily life it is seen that if a
drop of oil is placed on a water surface it will form a thin film. This is one molecule thick.
Surface active compounds like proteins behave in the same way. The
Turboflotor 1000‘
s air
bubbles create a huge water surface to which the waste substances can attach.
The
Turboflotor 1000
is a new type of protein skimmer, developed and patented by
. The rotation of the
needle wheel creates a reduced pressure
area so that not only water but also air is drawn into the pump housing. The air is cut into
fine bubbles by the needle wheel and the air/water mixture is pumped into the reaction pipe
in such a way that the air bubbles have a long retention time in the counter current. To
further extend the contact time a rotational movement is created in the lower part of the
pipe. Enriched with organic substances, the bubbles rise to the top of the reaction pipe and
form a strong foam. The conical shape of the collection cup inner tube dehydrates and
concentrates the foam before it overflows into the cup. Thus organic wastes are removed
from the aquarium water before they become integrated into the biological waste treatment
cycle. The needle wheel system also significantly reduces the noise generally associated
with power venturis and when coupled with very low power consumption, optimum
skimming efficiency is achieved.
The efficiency of protein skimming is not only measured by the quantity of injected air, but is
also dependant on the total engineering of the skimmer. Air quantity, turbulence and calm
areas must be in the right relationship to each other to guarantee the optimum efficiency
that is achieved in the
Turboflotor 1000
3.3 Trickle Filter
The output from the protein skimmer flows into a trickle tower filled with
Bactoballs
.
These have an extremely high surface area (300m
2
/ m
3
) and this, coupled with
the fact that the water has already been totally skimmed enables the biological process to
be undertaken in a very small volume of filter. The output of the trickle filter is returned to
the sump for onward return to the aquarium. The use of a suitably sized
Ocean Runner
pump is recommended for this purpose.
