Joe Lydon
New member
Thanks a lot! I am going to seal any possible exposed electric with silicone. I will play with the light schedules and see what I can come up with. Thanks!
Algae Scrubber Basics
- Thread starter srusso
- Start date
Thanks a lot! I am going to seal any possible exposed electric with silicone. I will play with the light schedules and see what I can come up with. Thanks!
knight2255
New member
How far away do 3w leds have to be from the screen?
What do most people use to reflect the light on the sides of led fixture(mirror, foil, etc)?
What is the consensus for diffusion grating vs saran wrap?
Just to make sure, I'm planning on a 6x6 inch screen lit from both sides with 18w of leds per side. An eheim 260gph pump will supply the flow. This should allow me to feed 3 cubes a day....if the feeding requirements go up, do I just add more length to the screen(from 6x6 to 6x10 e.g.)?
What do most people use to reflect the light on the sides of led fixture(mirror, foil, etc)?
What is the consensus for diffusion grating vs saran wrap?
Just to make sure, I'm planning on a 6x6 inch screen lit from both sides with 18w of leds per side. An eheim 260gph pump will supply the flow. This should allow me to feed 3 cubes a day....if the feeding requirements go up, do I just add more length to the screen(from 6x6 to 6x10 e.g.)?
Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
1) 3W LEDs should be about 2" away with diffusion grating in between the LEDs and the screen. I like to put the 1/2 way in between, that way there is a little spread of the light before it hits the diffusion grating, then a little 'blend' area between that and the screen. Seems to work well. You can put farther away and use no grating. The distance decreases the light intensity slightly, but so does the grating, so it's about the same IMO.
2) you don't need any reflective material on the sides of the LED fixture, so I'm not sure what you're referring to here. LEDs are highly directional, most of them have 120 degree dispersion, meaning that about 90% of the light is directed within a cone that extends 60 degrees off perpendicular. So not much light gets thrown sideways, so there's no need to capture it.
3) Saran wrap is a technique to keep the spray from the slot pipe from hitting the lights or going everywhere in the sump. Diffusion grating is for blending light as described in #1
4) I'm guessing you're using the Eheim Compact 1000? Don't use it. The head loss (figure 13" vertical, then fittings, etc) drops it to about 200 which seems perfect for a 6" slot, but when algae grows into the slot the head loss drops it way down, and then the pump itself has a very small inlet grating at the bottom which clogs easily with tube worms, etc, and the the built-in flow control create more restriction. After 2-3 months with a full screen of growth and built-up gunk in the pump, your flow will drop to 60-75 GPH. Trust me on this one. Go with a Rio Plus 1100 UL pump, then put a ball valve in between the pump and slot pipe to knock it back a bit, and when you get a lot of growth and your flow is more even and consistent, open up the valve and your growth will be awesome.
5) adding more length to the screen is fine. Just remember you will then need a larger pump (possibly)
2) you don't need any reflective material on the sides of the LED fixture, so I'm not sure what you're referring to here. LEDs are highly directional, most of them have 120 degree dispersion, meaning that about 90% of the light is directed within a cone that extends 60 degrees off perpendicular. So not much light gets thrown sideways, so there's no need to capture it.
3) Saran wrap is a technique to keep the spray from the slot pipe from hitting the lights or going everywhere in the sump. Diffusion grating is for blending light as described in #1
4) I'm guessing you're using the Eheim Compact 1000? Don't use it. The head loss (figure 13" vertical, then fittings, etc) drops it to about 200 which seems perfect for a 6" slot, but when algae grows into the slot the head loss drops it way down, and then the pump itself has a very small inlet grating at the bottom which clogs easily with tube worms, etc, and the the built-in flow control create more restriction. After 2-3 months with a full screen of growth and built-up gunk in the pump, your flow will drop to 60-75 GPH. Trust me on this one. Go with a Rio Plus 1100 UL pump, then put a ball valve in between the pump and slot pipe to knock it back a bit, and when you get a lot of growth and your flow is more even and consistent, open up the valve and your growth will be awesome.
5) adding more length to the screen is fine. Just remember you will then need a larger pump (possibly)
srusso
Active member
The goodies have arrived!
Most importantly potassium test kit and potassium sulfate.
Going to work through the instructions for the salifert potassium test and post my results.
I do know the test results could be a little off, due to the trail dosing of "no salt" potassium chloride I did about two/three weeks ago.
Most importantly potassium test kit and potassium sulfate.
Going to work through the instructions for the salifert potassium test and post my results.
I do know the test results could be a little off, due to the trail dosing of "no salt" potassium chloride I did about two/three weeks ago.
SantaMonica
Well-known member
If you get the "Lambertian" ones, which are wide-angle 120 or 130 degree beam spread visibility, they should be good up to 2 inches from the screen, without diffusion. If it's an upflow scrubber with lots of bubbles (which diffuse), you can probably get to within 1 inch if the LEDs are not too close together.
nanomania
New member
nanomania
New member
JustinGr
Clown Pimp
I have Mini (Hang-on) 75 Inland ATS like in the attached article. If you have a tall canopy, you can't see it, and it is great for us that don't have space under the tank or want to build your own.
Plus the dump surge is kind of zen calming!
PS.. Not associated with Inland... Just a happy customer.
Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
LOL I like how they call that one "Mini" considering it's size.
Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
nano, you are double-posting a lot. Here's a hint for you - RC servers are funky. If you click to reply and get the "please wait 30 seconds between posts" error message, highlight your message in the message box and copy it to your clipboard (ctrl+c) then hit your 'back' button on your browser, then 'reload' the page and 95% of the time your post will be there.
If it's not there, then 'paste' your message into the quick reply box and submit it again (that's why you want to copy it - just in case)
RC servers are so overloaded that it thinks you clicked submit twice or something like that.
If it's not there, then 'paste' your message into the quick reply box and submit it again (that's why you want to copy it - just in case)
RC servers are so overloaded that it thinks you clicked submit twice or something like that.
JustinGr
Clown Pimp
Yes, I know. Have you ever seen the big one? Lord.... But I love mine.
They don't make these anymore, he has a new style now.
I run ATS only on my 240 gallon SPS dominant tank for the past 3 years. I have to remove my Deep Sand Bed to get my phosphates to drop to zero. Occasionally I'll run charcoal for a week or two, but that's it. Parameters are spot on. I added MH's to my T5 setup and since then I've had some algae grow on my return LocLines, but other than that and scraping the glass, I've had no noticeable algae in my tank for years.
Thanks, Tim Barrett
Thanks, Tim Barrett
nanomania
New member
No skimmer, never ran one with ATS.
No filter sock except when blowing off rocks and recirculating water.
I have a home made waterfall ATS made to the old specifications with 4 100 watt eq. CFL's. I power it off my Dart return pump. I'm looking at switching to LED's and changing my sump, but that's moving slow.
I do water changes of 60 gallons every 3 to 6 months during deep cleanings, but I probably don't have to. I dose Calc, Alk, Mag and occasionally Red Sea colors A-D.
I feed liberally, but on no particular schedule. Frozen, flake, Nori, DT's, Coral Frenzy, Reef Chili...
My rocks are in more of a bonsai arrangement, bottoms cut flat and stacked with fiberglass rods to support structure, to allow good water flow in my tank. Probably less than 1/2 pound per gallon.
Thanks, Tim Barrett
Similar threads
