Algae Scrubber Basics
- Thread starter srusso
- Start date
srusso
Active member
Week 2 update on my scrubber. Its more yellow i suppose... A little 'thicker' looking but really its not much material coming off the screen still. Any input on any changes i could/should make to get it greener and shaggier? Or just give it more time?
Your fine, normal growth for a two week old screen.
ats revisited
ats revisited
Hello,
I build an ats a few months ago with t5's however since I couldn't meet the specs, I eventually went back to cfl.
Too make a long story short, I was wondering if it was common to see your soft coral shrink or slowly die off at the initial changes of putting in an ats. I removed my filter sock and have my water drain directly into the scrubber. Here are the details below:
1. I have too much spray from my pvc. 400gph. 9.5" length for the pvc.
2. Its been two weeks into the scrubber and I have mostly brown algae growth with specs of red algae.
3. Yes, it is a black roughed up canvas, with a rough flimsy fabric that I put on top of the canvas to minimize the spray.
4. I have bio-pellets running and reef octopus skimmer currently operational. nitrates at 10 and phosphates at 15. I am afraid to put these offline in light of the recent die off/shrunken state of my bubble and frogspawn corals.
5. Lights are 4 cfl 20watts warm whites. running 18hrs on and 6hrs off respectively.
6. screen size 9.5" x 10"
Please advise what I can do to improve my experimentation/modification to my 100gallon reef system.
ats revisited
Hello,
I build an ats a few months ago with t5's however since I couldn't meet the specs, I eventually went back to cfl.
Too make a long story short, I was wondering if it was common to see your soft coral shrink or slowly die off at the initial changes of putting in an ats. I removed my filter sock and have my water drain directly into the scrubber. Here are the details below:
1. I have too much spray from my pvc. 400gph. 9.5" length for the pvc.
2. Its been two weeks into the scrubber and I have mostly brown algae growth with specs of red algae.
3. Yes, it is a black roughed up canvas, with a rough flimsy fabric that I put on top of the canvas to minimize the spray.
4. I have bio-pellets running and reef octopus skimmer currently operational. nitrates at 10 and phosphates at 15. I am afraid to put these offline in light of the recent die off/shrunken state of my bubble and frogspawn corals.
5. Lights are 4 cfl 20watts warm whites. running 18hrs on and 6hrs off respectively.
6. screen size 9.5" x 10"
Please advise what I can do to improve my experimentation/modification to my 100gallon reef system.
Attachments
Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
1) Make sure the slot is straight and even width. Also you may need to widen it slightly, just a little bit at a time, until the spray subsides.
2) Brown algae comes first, green should follow in a couple of weeks
3) I would not have used black canvas. This is an issue. Opaque material blocks the light to the lower layers. When these layers are under thick growth, every single bit of light counts. Also, you can't tell what color algae growth you're really getting when the substrate is black
4) Bio-pellets are interfering with your scrubber. If you want to do a scrubber, ween the BP offline a little at a time (see a prior post of mine within the last couple weeks regarding a similar question)
5 & 6) you are running a large screen on a system that already has competing filtration. 9.5x10 can handle 10 cubes of food per day, are you really feeding that much? 80W on a 95 sq in screen is under-lit, which means your scrubber filtration is lacking. I would reconsider your screen size based on the amount you feed, or more important, how much you plan to feed. You might be able to do a 40-50 sq in screen, say 7x7, use the same lights, and go by the new screen sizing and lamp photo-period guidelines.
2) Brown algae comes first, green should follow in a couple of weeks
3) I would not have used black canvas. This is an issue. Opaque material blocks the light to the lower layers. When these layers are under thick growth, every single bit of light counts. Also, you can't tell what color algae growth you're really getting when the substrate is black
4) Bio-pellets are interfering with your scrubber. If you want to do a scrubber, ween the BP offline a little at a time (see a prior post of mine within the last couple weeks regarding a similar question)
5 & 6) you are running a large screen on a system that already has competing filtration. 9.5x10 can handle 10 cubes of food per day, are you really feeding that much? 80W on a 95 sq in screen is under-lit, which means your scrubber filtration is lacking. I would reconsider your screen size based on the amount you feed, or more important, how much you plan to feed. You might be able to do a 40-50 sq in screen, say 7x7, use the same lights, and go by the new screen sizing and lamp photo-period guidelines.
srusso
Active member
No, soft coral are fine with ATS. Has any flow changed with the addition of the ATS?
Removing the filter sox is fine... That is what I would have done.
Brown growth is normal for up to the first 4 weeks... If after a month your not seeing green growth we need to troubleshoot the system.
Remove the fabric... ASAP it's blocking light. If your having issues with spray, make sure your slot tube is cut straight.
Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
Oh, I was wondering what that was in the 2nd pic. That is a big no no!!!!
The only spray you should need to worry about would be coming from the slot tube junction. It is generally not coming from the middle section of the screen.
The only spray you should need to worry about would be coming from the slot tube junction. It is generally not coming from the middle section of the screen.
Ats revisited
Ats revisited
Thanks for the input Floyd and srusso. My reef inhabitants appreciate it :lol:
I will make further modifications with a new PVC slot cut and new canvass. Will keep you posted on the progress.
Ats revisited
Thanks for the input Floyd and srusso. My reef inhabitants appreciate it :lol:
I will make further modifications with a new PVC slot cut and new canvass. Will keep you posted on the progress.
srusso
Active member
What size screen? Scrubber lighting? Tank size... Etc
I don't like telling people to remove things from their systems without knowing enough about their tanks. It will eventually die off, but I would say a safe place to say its ok to remove chaeto, is when it does start fade away. (~4-8 weeks depending on your build quality)
terahz
1x10^12 Hz
Ok I've restarted my tank and I'm planning to dedicate the fuge section of my sump to quarantine stuff as I fill up the tank, so I'm thinking, given the new sizing guidelines, that I can try a small scrubber. Few questions:
- I feed about a teaspoon of thawed frozen mysis or 15-20 formula two pellets with a pinch of cyclopeeze, is that considered 1 cube or more? How big is a cube?
- If the above is true, then I need a 3x4 double sided screen (that tiny?!?). Is there a minimum size screen from a practical stand point (e.g. 5x5?) that you guys would recommend even if the system can do fine with 3x4 scrubber as per the latest 'rules'.
- Given that my tank is basically pristine right now (not even much bacteria in it, let alone algae), is it worth it setting the ATS now, or wait after whatever cycle happens and/or the bioload starts increasing?
- I feed about a teaspoon of thawed frozen mysis or 15-20 formula two pellets with a pinch of cyclopeeze, is that considered 1 cube or more? How big is a cube?
- If the above is true, then I need a 3x4 double sided screen (that tiny?!?). Is there a minimum size screen from a practical stand point (e.g. 5x5?) that you guys would recommend even if the system can do fine with 3x4 scrubber as per the latest 'rules'.
- Given that my tank is basically pristine right now (not even much bacteria in it, let alone algae), is it worth it setting the ATS now, or wait after whatever cycle happens and/or the bioload starts increasing?
srusso
Active member
Yeah I'd say that's a cube. I believe it's cube as in one of the frozen cubes in common name brands. I think they all very a little...
Knowing you, this will be an LED scrubber... So, yeah a 3x4 is possible.
As for practical.., it all depends on the lighting.
Best to set it up now, with the cycle. I know what will happen but, will you please post the cycle test results. It would be nice for the thread.
JohnnyB in SD
New member
Phosphates are 15ppm, really?
So i just cleaned my screen and had pretty good growth this week. But after scraping off the growth my screen has brownish/yellow patches forming. It kind of looks like a cornflake thats been sitting in water. Is this good, bad or none of the above.
Steve
The yellowish patch looks circular telling me that this is where most of your light is focused. I have experienced the same thing on my scrubber. The yellowish area is likely a different type of algae (Beginnings of hair algae) than what you see on the other parts of your screen. I don't remember how many weeks your screen has been running but I would suspect the yellow will start turning more green over the coming weeks. Just keep an eye on it for a few more weeks. As long as you are continuing to grow algae in the yellow area that is about as thick as the darker areas I think you are on track. If it stays yellow you may need to do some tweaking of your setup but I think for now you are fine.
SPotter
Active member
Scrubber has been running since the beginning of august now and I have been playing with LEDS. I did add a few more reds on each side of the screen and now looking at the pattern of the yellow it does seem thats where the majority of the light is going. I have been using 3w leds and Floyd had made comments earlier that the 3w's might be too strong and suggested using 1w leds. I know he is working on an experiment with them now and I am starting to aggree that he is correct. It definitely seems like having more 1w leds is the better way to go.
ATS experiment
ATS experiment
4 weeks now with weekly cleaning, lit by 2- 23wt clf water flow is roughly 400 and I moved the light back an inch to 5in after the last cleaning but trying to figure out the burned out spot in the middle, Different relectors?
The growth around the middle is good.
ATS experiment
4 weeks now with weekly cleaning, lit by 2- 23wt clf water flow is roughly 400 and I moved the light back an inch to 5in after the last cleaning but trying to figure out the burned out spot in the middle, Different relectors?
The growth around the middle is good.
you can also shorten photoperiod.
Similar threads
