Algae Scrubber Advanced

Thanks for the feed back. If I build an external over flow I might be able to build it so I can light from both sides. But my calculations tell me I should not need to light it from both sides with ATS of around 594 sq inches. Correct me if I am wrong. Slanting the ATS 10 degrees should not be a problem at all.
 
How much are you feeding? 600 sq in is huge. 600 / 12 = 50 cubes/day, half that for single sided = 25 cubes/day, that's with 300W of fluorescent or 300W of LED.
 
That's what I figured too. I don't feed any where near that much. It sounds like it should handle the tanks load without any problem. Making it single sided would be much simpler and more compact.
Why would the LEDs need to be the same wattage as florescent? The whole point of LEDs is you get more light for a lot less watts.
 
oops. I meant about 150W of LED (for that size screen)

But you don't really want to greatly oversize the screen, that can cause the growth to try to spread out too much. Just size it according to how much you feed: 12 sq in for each cube of food per day, or for single sided, double that. Then once you figure up that size based on what you actually feed, don't go more than 2x that size.

So if you feed 4 cubes/day, that's 4 x 24 = 96 sq in, 2x that is about 200 sq in.

Now for lighting, for single sided, you want to shoot for the higher end light level once the screen is established, lower to start.

For LED, I recommend one 660nm Deep Red LED every 4-8 sq in. For so 100 sq in single sided, that's about 12 to start, 24 once the screen is going strong.
 
thanks Floyd It is easy to make it smaller. Smaller means it will be easier to remove for cleaning and need less light too. :)
 
If using a High flow pump to feed a scubber placed above DT, with ATS drain straight to display. cause the overflow to possibly be over matched.
I think my overflow is maxed out with just return pump (Ehiem 1262) running wide open.
I'm a little worried about adding another (Ehiem 1260) to feed ATS. that my overflow won't be able to handle the extra gph. Is this a flood waiting to happen?
 
any suggestions Floyd,
should I consider adding a gate vale on my return pump to slow the flow enough to handle an additional pump running the ATS. Seems simple, but i really just want to plumb this one time, " set it & forget it"

any suggestions appreciated,
 
not an option, it's too big.
it's an "original" Santa Monica 100
but I did think about it.. have tried different places near sump, but it just won't fit.
 
You did not say where the second pump would be pumping from. I am assuming you were planning to pump it from the sump. Why not T off your return pump? You could also use a smaller pump pumping from the tank or sump.
 
laverda, That is true.
I was also thinking maybe both of those options might work.
option #1 hang a MJ1200 power head from the rim of the tank and have it feed the scrubber. (not sure if it would be enough gph though) The Maxijet would only be about 10-12 inches from the scrubber.
Option #2, T off the main tank return pump (Eheim 1262) and hope that would supply enough gph to the scrubber. (this option would definitely have some head loss, due to the return pump being in the sump. And the scrubber being on top of the tank.

any others suggestions greatly appreciated
 
Newjack what size tank are you putting it on? You could get a little larger return pump if the head loss is to high. Personally I hate putting additional pumps in the tank or sump as they just run up the electric bill and at CA rates it is significant. Each pump also adds that much more heat to the tank, which can also be a problem in CA.
 
tank size is a Oceanic RR 75 gal. with a single overflow. my guess 1" bulkhead.
I also live in Cali, and I personally know about high electricity rates and just added clutter in general. I like to keep my systems as simple and automated as possible. (I'm a lazy reefer)
I'm really leaning towards the "T" off main return pump. ( & see how it goes) this way the return flow rate should not be anymore than it is currently. Does that sound right?
 
I agree with you on clutter. It is a little crazy how many electrical cords it takes just to run a small tank. It can be a challenge keeping them neat and tidy.
The return flow will probably drop a little due to the extra height and length of tubing to the ATS. That should not be big deal. Use a Y fitting instead of a T if you can to help minimize the head loss. The fewer fitting you have the better.
 
NewJack said:
If using a High flow pump to feed a scubber placed above DT, with ATS drain straight to display. cause the overflow to possibly be over matched.
I think my overflow is maxed out with just return pump (Ehiem 1262) running wide open.
I'm a little worried about adding another (Ehiem 1260) to feed ATS. that my overflow won't be able to handle the extra gph. Is this a flood waiting to happen?
Click to expand...

If I understand correctly, you're running the ATS drain from above, back to the display. How would that effect capacity of overflow to the sump?
 
Last edited:
because I was going to use a separate pump to run the scrubber. That would be placed in the sump. The drain from the ATS would then drop straight into the DT from above.
 
Makes sense, I thought it was from the display.
If it was me I would plumb it off the drain from display to sump. Avoids adding another pump and more electrical con$umption. I'm in SoCal too, know what you're talking about.
You don't have room under there? I tried an above display ats once because I couldn't fit it under the stand. It was noisy and messy, design it carefully.
 
NewJack, a couple things to consider

1) a 100 sq in screen is way too much for a 75. That's an 8+ cube/day scrubber. You probably need 1/4 of this size.

2) the SM100 will produce a whole lot of bubbles in your display tank if you terminate the drain into it. This is something you will discover once you set it up. It has a 1" drain, and if you feed it with 700 GPH like you are supposed to, the only way the drain can handle this amount of flow is if you terminate the drain below the waterline so that it forms a siphon. Without that, it will fill up with water and find a balance point where the head above the drain forces flow to increase until it matches the input, either that, or it overflows. Putting the drain below the waterline flushes out the box and it will suck air through the drain which is a) loud ad b) forms tons of bubbles.

3) an MJ1200 isn't even good for a 6" wide scrubber, they have horrible head loss characteristics. Not good for any scrubber, IMO

4) you could sink a pump into the tank for just the scrubber, but see #1, I think you would be able to fit a DIY 2 cube/day scrubber in your sump. This would save you space and electrical cost (both pump size and lightin requirements)

JMO though
 
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