Algae Scrubber Basics

[Anycall2]

Red algae mixed with green algae

Red algae mixed with green algae

Hello, I have had ats producing red and green algae on my screen. I was wondering if red algae was a symptom of a ats not running properly.

More importantly I have some on sps unhappy while others ok in my display tank. I did add new live rock, and so it be anew cycle running, but not sure the cause of my unhappy sps. My mili's are doing great, but my acro's and bird nest are unhappy. I have a skimmer running with my ats and am using macrobacter7.

I also do not have calc reactor, but dose bi-ionic. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. My levels are on the high for my ph,calc, and Alk.led run lighting on my display.

 

[catman78]

building two acrylic boxes to house these:

http://ledwholesalers.hostedbyamazo...olor_map,price,size_name&searchRank=salesrank

 

[dano_b]

ATS flow is mostly to one side

ATS flow is mostly to one side

My ATS flow is mostly to one side. I cut the slot 1/8 inch and as straight as could make it. It looks pretty straight to me. the screen is 10 inches wide so i cut the slot 10 1/8 long to give the screen so wiggle room. How high should the screen be in the pipe?
any suggestions would be appreciated
thanks
Dan
PS great thread and thanks to all who have contributed

 

[Dustin1300]

I posted a couple weeks back and had just built an ATS on an "immature" system. Below are some shots on current growth.

Screen after 4 days:

Screen at 7 days (Before first tap water cleaning):

Screen today (11 days):

It's hard to tell from the pictures but the screen is getting green growth in the holes in the screen. Growth is dark on other portions of the screen and looks more like diatoms than anything but I'd say 5% is currently green 'good algae'. Too early to consider making any drastic changes yet...

 

[Thatgrimguy]

Looks about right. Give it 14 days before cleaning again to give the hair a chance to grow.


Sent from my iPhone4s using Tapatalk

 

[Dustin1300]

Looks about right. Give it 14 days before cleaning again to give the hair a chance to grow.


Sent from my iPhone4s using Tapatalk

I already cleaned the screen on Saturday and starting to get green growth on it....I've also moved the lights out an inch as it seems to be too much light in the center of the screens. You think I should wait two weeks before cleaning this round?

Screen before cleaning (Sorry but did not realize camera was out of focus and by the time I realized it, screen was clean)

80-90 mL of great smelling algae

 

[shikhyung]

What is the distance from the light to the screen? Doesn't it more light more green?

 

[srusso]

I already cleaned the screen on Saturday and starting to get green growth on it....I've also moved the lights out an inch as it seems to be too much light in the center of the screens. You think I should wait two weeks before cleaning this round?

Screen before cleaning (Sorry but did not realize camera was out of focus and by the time I realized it, screen was clean)

Yes, your lights are too close. Cleaning every 7 days is best

 

[redneckgearhead]

Does anyone else struggle with Alk and magnesium levels? No matter what I do I can't get them to come up...

 

[srusso]

What is the distance from the light to the screen? Doesn't it more light more green?

distance will verify with each setup, bulb, reflector etc.
Its about ~3 to 4 inches for most. My cheaper bulbs, in combination with the positioning my sweet spot is about ~2.5" inches...

 

[srusso]

Does anyone else struggle with Alk and magnesium levels? No matter what I do I can't get them to come up...

Its hard for me to remember exactly how the process works... but if I remember correctly. If a scrubber is not getting enough nitrates, meaning its nitrates limited it can start using Alk for a carbon source. This in turn will make your tank consume more Alk. I think the mag is a result of low alk...

I hope I got that right!

 

[salty joe]

Its hard for me to remember exactly how the process works... but if I remember correctly. If a scrubber is not getting enough nitrates, meaning its nitrates limited it can start using Alk for a carbon source. This in turn will make your tank consume more Alk. I think the mag is a result of low alk...

I hope I got that right!

It sounds as if you are implying that a scrubber uses nitrate as a carbon source, but nitrate has no carbon.

 

[redneckgearhead]

So I should feed more?

 

[JohnnyB in SD]

I don't think an ATS / nitrate reduction has much to do with Alk & Mg. You should check the threads in the Chemistry forum for better help than you'll probably get here.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

I know that algae will suck up Alk but I can't recall why, there is a mechanism for it though. Can't think of why Mag would be dropping for you though. I have zero problem keeping mag up, I maybe dose once every 2 months. Alk however, I put 7-9 fl oz of BRS Alk in a 5g top off bucket and that goes in 1.33-1.5 GPD, so roughly 2.5-3 fl oz of Alk daily just to keep it at 8.0 on a 144

 

[srusso]

I know that algae will suck up Alk but I can't recall why, there is a mechanism for it though...

Thank you! At least I know I am not losing it! lol

 

[srusso]

I got it, if the tank is it low on CO2, it can use alk in order to obtain carbon to grow, since water does not hold enough CO2.

Nothing to do with nitrate, its actually CO2 limitation... my apologies!

 

[mtrcyclefish]

I'm going to install an ATS in my system. I want to do a double screen so that I can just remove one every 5 days to clean without disturbing the other. I'm unsure which way I should go with this. Should it be A: a 1/8" slit with 2 screens back to back, B: a wider slit with 2 screens back to back, or C: two separate 1/8" slits with a small gap between them each with 1 screen? I'm using 1 1/2" pipe connected to my returns, so option C wouldn't be difficult. Please let me know what you think.

Thanks

 

[srusso]

I'm going to install an ATS in my system. I want to do a double screen so that I can just remove one every 5 days to clean without disturbing the other. I'm unsure which way I should go with this. Should it be A: a 1/8" slit with 2 screens back to back, B: a wider slit with 2 screens back to back, or C: two separate 1/8" slits with a small gap between them each with 1 screen? I'm using 1 1/2" pipe connected to my returns, so option C wouldn't be difficult. Please let me know what you think.

Thanks

Option C will work best for your build. Post your designs and we can help you before you start the build. Good luck, welcome to the scrubber club!

 

[divinedragon13]

? has anyony tryed building a flat/horizontal ats with light above it and water then runing across screen as a one side ats?