Algae Scrubber Basics

[srusso]

Floyd,
With your T5 Setup who much does a bulb change cost you.

Another question, I see you said #7 mesh is the best. I am running one size smaller because I did not know better when I started my scrubber. What are your thoughts on this?

I can answer for Floyd here, I have asked him in the past. I believe he pays about $5 per bulb. I will let him comment on the location of where he purchases the bulbs.

As for #6 mesh... I would assume it will be fine, and would make a very small difference.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

I think the #10 is smaller, kind like gauge of wire or shotguns. 10 holes per lineal inch.

You should be fine. I don't know that there's any data showing that it's worse. The holes being a little smaller means less space for algae to fill in as the screen matures, and more space is taken up by the plastic itself. But I think you may only lose 10% space, and don't think it will make much of a difference. I wouldn't go any smaller than the #10 though.

As for the lamps, I get them in 8 packs for $32 no shipping from aghydroponics

 

[jrp1588]

Why would t5ho's only last for 3 months if they last over a year on the main tank? Seems like spectrum shift would be the same regardless

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

It's not about spectrum shift, it's about intensity drop-off. There is a significant drop in intensity at the 3 month point. This is why you see advise to replace refugium lamps at a similar point in time. Corals can use a wide range of spectrum and variances in intensity. When you are dealing with primary photosynthetic production for the purposes of filtration, it makes a difference.

A few years ago, when the vertical scrubber design was really in it's infancy, people developed problems growing algae as the screen matured and eventually is was attributed to old lamps. You can stretch the 3 month rule a little, as long as you know what to look for. The drop in growth is more gradual than the drop in intensity as algae will adapt to a certain extent, so it's a little hard to notice. But if you're feeding heavy and have a large bio-load, lamp replacement is not an area you want to skimp.

Also there are some that feel you should replace T5HO display lights at the 9 month point. It depends on what corals you are keeping to some extent, but that's a while different thread (run by the Grim Reefer)

 

[jrp1588]

Yeah, I feel sorry for old grim, he's got a full time job in that thread.

 

[srusso]

Why would t5ho's only last for 3 months if they last over a year on the main tank? Seems like spectrum shift would be the same regardless

Its rather simple...

Your T5's run for 12 hours a day... = 4,272 hours a year
Your T5's run for 18 hours a day... = 6,408 hours a year

Additionally, the increased time per day weighs heavy on the longevity of the bulb.

Like Floyd said, you maybe able to stretch a little....

 

[jrp1588]

I was just curious, i run cfl's

 

[flyhigh123]

i was at home depot and the CFL i saw went up to 150w equivalent which was like a 40 something watt bulb... how are those?

Also, i saw some bulbs in 5k and some in 2700k(phillips) which one is the best?

 

[jrp1588]

you saw a 40watt cfl? Highest I could find was 26watt.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

40W CFL is fine, but you will have to place it further from the screen because it will create a large hotspot on the screen. More lamps of lower wattage is generally better as even coverage is the biggest problem with CFL.

The 2700K will get better growth than the 5000K, but remember that flow and even coverage / proper intensity trumps spectrum.

 

[Robert Patterso]

Those should work good with a rigid backing of some kind. Srusso's build uses shop lights (they're the yellow ones in the summary) and that stuff works well for that style of reflector. If you don't have a rigid backing, you'll have to find a material to make a 'frame' out of, then glue it on to that frame.

Was thinking of using something like 6" pvc pipe and cut in half. So they would be a 6x6 and then cover them with the mylar. That would reflect alot of the light with the lights being hung vertically.

 

[jrp1588]

Nice idea, 6" pvc is pretty expensive though, and the shortest lengths I've seen it in is 5'. perhaps a 6" coupler would work better.

 

[Robert Patterso]

Nice idea, 6" pvc is pretty expensive though, and the shortest lengths I've seen it in is 5'. perhaps a 6" coupler would work better.

Trust me I will look for the cheapest route to go. With pvc you wouldn't have to worry about corrison though.

 

[TheFishMan65]

It is not 6 inches (only 4), but drain (for rain water) PVC is really thin walled so it would be easy to cut and hang. They also make coupling for drains. And much cheaper than regular PVC. I am just not sure 4 inch will be enough.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

You could also take a sheet of thin acrylic or polycarbonate and heat it up with a hair dryer and bend it too. That might be even cheaper.

 

[Robert Patterso]

You could also take a sheet of thin acrylic or polycarbonate and heat it up with a hair dryer and bend it too. That might be even cheaper.

I like that idea,

 

[kcress]

Keep in mind they sell LARGE PVC that's thinner wall 1120. It's called well casing. It comes in 8", 10", 12", 14", 16", and 18" and it's pretty inexpensive. Like $1~$2 a foot. The pipe caps are a different story..

 

[SPotter]

ATS after one week....

ATS after one week....

Tomorrow will be 7 days that I have been running my ATS and within the last two days the amount of growth has been amazing!!!! I do have to make some adjustments with the size of the zip ties i am using and move them out to edges of the screen. I also need to adjust how high up screen is in the pvc since I seem to get more flow on side of the screen than the other.

Should I have equal water flow on both sides of the screen?

Refresher on my ATS design....
-DIY box built with black acrlyic

-5 x 3w LEDS (3 warm white and 2 red) on each side for a total of 30w's.
-18 on and 6 off
There was a question of heat concerns because my box was closed. I used my dremel to drill 8 holes directly behind the heat sinks on each side and I have not noticed any heat issues so far.

-10"x10" mesh canvas
-manifold fed from my main system but I am strongly considering a dedicated pump.

Finally, here's a picture that I took last night....not a great picture because of the angle and it was with my cell phone. I will get a much better picture tomorrow night when I do my first cleaning.

I havent tested my phosphates or nitrates at all this week but my last readings before firing this up were 5ppm for nitrates and .035 po4.

 

[srusso]

Tomorrow will be 7 days that I have been running my ATS and within the last two days the amount of growth has been amazing!!!! I do have to make some adjustments with the size of the zip ties i am using and move them out to edges of the screen. I also need to adjust how high up screen is in the pvc since I seem to get more flow on side of the screen than the other.

Should I have equal water flow on both sides of the screen?

Refresher on my ATS design....
-DIY box built with black acrlyic

-5 x 3w LEDS (3 warm white and 2 red) on each side for a total of 30w's.
-18 on and 6 off
There was a question of heat concerns because my box was closed. I used my dremel to drill 8 holes directly behind the heat sinks on each side and I have not noticed any heat issues so far.

-10"x10" mesh canvas
-manifold fed from my main system but I am strongly considering a dedicated pump.

Finally, here's a picture that I took last night....not a great picture because of the angle and it was with my cell phone. I will get a much better picture tomorrow night when I do my first cleaning.

I havent tested my phosphates or nitrates at all this week but my last readings before firing this up were 5ppm for nitrates and .035 po4.

I must say, I do love your scrubber. Its a very nice build! Do you mind posting the total cost to build?

It does seem to be progressing nicely. As for flow, it's nice to be able to use the overflow for the needs of your scrubber but "if the glove doesn't fit..." at least that's the point I am at on the topic.

Looking forward to your future posts.

As for N and P... Consider that good as gone now.

 

[SPotter]

All in I'm around $200. The acrylic was $80 and the rest was for the LED's. I am getting ready to add another larger tank to my collection. With the addition of the new tank I will be building a much bigger sump and will build a bigger ATS for that. At that time I will explore overflow feed for the ATS.