Algae Scrubber Basics

nanomania said:
hey floyd turbo, i recently read ur post on UAS and liked it..... since i tried the waterfall one, but my biggest issue is space, i cant go for it and since horizontal ATS is also not a good option, can i go for UAS? are u still using it? also would like to know any thread with before after pics of DT tank with algae...... i dont care about the test results, coz iv seen tanks with 0 N and P, with algae still growing......
Click to expand...

If you happen to search around (elsewhere) you will find another thread that fully documents my UAS test unit. At least for my particular unit, IMO, it severely underperforms. And I would not call it a slouch of a unit.

I am going to be adding a waterfall scrubber that is exactly matched as far as screen size and LED goes and see which one wins. Been talking about doing that for a while but actually going to do it now.

Just to make sure it's as close to an apples-to-apples test, I'm going to replace all the LEDs on both units with brand new Philips Luxeon ES LEDs. My UAS currently runs POC SatisLEDs that have been in place for a year.

Tank info, currently:
120g Reef
4 chromis
1 large sailfin tang
1 medium-large yellow tank
lots of corals & frags
8x54W T5HO on only 6 hours/day (or else I get huge algae outbreaks)
feed a little less than 2 cubes every 1 or 2 days (usually 2 days)
Only filtration is UAS 4x6 sq in screen w/6 deep red + 1 royal blue on each side, top of tank box
Tank water tests as of last night"
Nitrate 30-40 (up from a relatively stable 20)
Phosphoate 0.50 (up from what was a stable 0.20-0.25)
mag 1335
alk 9.35
cal 400
K 370-380
sal 34 ppt

And that was sample water after the tank was not fed for 24 hours.
Previous feeding was one packet Instant Ocean Gel krill, 24 hours prior to sample
24 hours before that ~2 cubes rod's pacific plankton
24 hours before that, I cleaned the screen. 3 weeks growth:

Screen w/bubble bar (rigid airline with holes poked in it)

013_zpsb9114160.jpg


014_zps480bfbbf.jpg


bubble bar (clogged)

016_zps4034b3a4.jpg


inside of box

015_zpsab187718.jpg
 
The outlet is a up-turned street elbow inserted into a bulkhead (not shown) so the drain is silent, but that's because I have to have the flow into the unit cranked way, way back. It's a MJ-900 with the feed hose essentially valved back about 75% or more. Any more flow that that, and the tank is flooded with microbubbles. For the first ~week after cleaning, the bubble bar is loud (dwarfs all other tank sounds, of which there are only 3 koralias) and drain pumps out lots of bubble still. About a week in the bubbles calm down.
 
nanomania said:
do u need to take a different screen size? any pics of ur uas if possible? before after dt pics?
Click to expand...

Here are pics I promised.

View of both ATS upper right, and UAS lower left. Sump area is a bit of a mess, currently.
resized_0032.jpg

'Screens' are clear acrylic with industrial velcro. There's a W shaped 'tray' at bottom that is glued to floor of sump that aligns and holds the bottom of the growth boards in place. One U of the W accepts the boards, where the other wider U section holds the air stone. The upper part is held by that little clip until I make something more sophisticated.
resized_0033.jpg

Left half of one of the screens was cleaned off a day or two ago - the right half is a week's worth of growth.
resized_0034.jpg

Currently competes with the ATS, but still gets so-so growth... Solid GHA though.
resized_0035.jpg

one light is LEDs (on both sides from previous setup). Will extend the fixture to point LEDs same direction and cover entire UAS scrubber eventually. The CFL reflector will then go bye-bye.
resized_0036.jpg
 
:fun5:
Floyd R Turbo; said:
Screen w/bubble bar (rigid airline with holes poked in it)
Click to expand...

you think an air stone would be better? It wouldn't completely clog as easily. Also i am assuming you light on both sides? Highly interested in seeing the results of your testing. One thing ive noticed is that you almost have to clean you glass surface more frequently than your screen. Otherwise light gets cut off quickly due to algae growth. So far, my understanding of general feedback is that UAS works, but hasn't quite proven itself on larger systems like the ATS has.
 
What we need to do is build a 2 same size tanks, add nutrients to make an algae bloom, then test 1 with ATS and 1 with UAS, see the results...... post pics..... wish i had space, as where i stay prices are like 1800$ per sqft. so im out of space lol, or wud have tried it myself..... i still feel rather than test, the algae in the DT should dissappear...
 
The outlet is a up-turned street elbow inserted into a bulkhead (not shown) so the drain is silent, but that's because I have to have the flow into the unit cranked way, way back. It's a MJ-900 with the feed hose essentially valved back about 75% or more. Any more flow that that, and the tank is flooded with microbubbles. For the first ~week after cleaning, the bubble bar is loud (dwarfs all other tank sounds, of which there are only 3 koralias) and drain pumps out lots of bubble still. About a week in the bubbles calm down.
Click to expand...

Yeah I could imagine you'd have to throttle down the pump. After building mine I ran it under the tub faucet and it can definitely keep up with a lot of flow, but I'm afraid it might get a little too loud for my liking. I haven't had a chance to test it yet though because my stand and tank are under construction right now. I hope I don't have to redo the draining on my scrubber......
 
I know this is probably somewhere on this enormous thread, but has anyone tried the 150w Kessil Red Agro LED on their ATS? I removed 4 of my cheapo Costco 19Watt LED spotlights and replaced them with a Kessil 150w 6500K LED as an experiment. So far it seems to be growing algae as well as the other LEDS with 42 watts less electricity. I would think the Red Agro Version should work even better. Just one fixture covers one whole side of my ATS really well.
 
I do recall seeing one that used a Kessil but it was not a red. What that you, on a horizontal scrubber in a sump?

I would think the red would do better but I haven't looked at that particular fixture. $$ anyways.
 
I decided to use magenta since it has a little blue in it which seems to be required. My scrubber hangs above a spare 75 gal that is plumbed to the sump.
 
Took down the ATS on my 114g last night. So nice how much room it freed up and how much cleaner it looks.. Solely on the UAS now, so we'll see if it continues to keep up.
 
Iv seen threads that has success with Horizontal scrubbers too, i think its the way u build it with right flow, is the main reason of success, be it water fall or uas or horizontal..... iv seen green thick algae growing on all of them... let see, ill be building UAS tonight, lets see... will post pics too....
 
Ask the people who have tried all three and the horizontal scrubber is by far the hardest one to get to work well, and 'well' is relative because they are not nearly as efficient as waterfall.
 
Here are the stuff i purchased....

Screen from ebay... bought for 12$ single screen...
IMG02317-20130216-2253_zpsd6df1064.jpg


Airstone bar, open only on the top for the bubbles.....
IMG02320-20130216-2300_zps0bc392f7.jpg


i cut a 4"x5" piece from the screen since i feed jus 2 pinches a day
IMG02321-20130216-2300_zps21b0298c.jpg


Any suggestions on how to connect them??
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

adova
300g DIY Acrylic Tank Recommendations
Replies
5
Views
172
griss
griss
Jyetman
All my corals and live rock now in my scrubber tank
Replies
2
Views
386
Jyetman
Jyetman
D
Can I use Fiji 12 Sump skimmer compartment for cheat fuge?
Replies
7
Views
427
griss
griss
A
Fleece filter bypass problems (Innovitech X filter)
Replies
1
Views
71
Vinny Kreyling
Vinny Kreyling
chemchris
WTS IM 14 Gallon complete setup $800
Replies
0
Views
324
chemchris
chemchris
Back
Top