Algae Scrubber Basics

Done and done. Thanks gents :). Let's get the growth on...
I was wondering after running this for a while if anyone thinks their tank is to clean? Or is that even possible?
 
I personally don't think so. The algae 'filtration capacity' kind of grows dynamically with the need the tank has (which is a nice feater of a scrubber). But I've never experienced it taking levels too low. I think I've come close with NO3, but I think that is due to a combination of filter methods, and not due to the scrubber on its own.

I think there are ways of being 'too clean', but those most commonly involve very heavy skimming, along with chemical phoshpate binding. Again, my debatable opinion.
 
Thanks for the advice SantaMonica.

It seems like a hassle to run the waterfall ATS off the drain like I wanted. I'd have to worry about reducing the flow for the small screen size that I would need for the amount I feed, as well as start up issues with the full siphon drain that is run from beananimal system. It just seems like it would be easier to run a seperate pump or a branch off my return to feed the ATS.

Next question: I'm wanting to run LED flood style lights from ebay to light my screen instead of DIY. I have seen two styles that people are using or have been suggested. One with a single multichip in the middle that runs 10, 20, 30, etc watt chips and the other style that uses several 3 watt leds that are run a 2watts each and they come in 12, 40, 60 watt versions. I'm thinking of going with the 20w multichip fixture. I like the other style better, but I think 12w would not be enough and 40w would be too much.

Which light should I go with and which wattage would be best?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/230950111502?_trksid=p4634.m570.l4456&_trkparms=gh1g%3DI230950111502.N8.S2.M236.R1.TR4

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221307240090?var=520187250419&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
 
Sorry i havent had time to read through this whole thread but would an ats help battle dinos? Also how long does it take to start producing algae? Thanks in advance.
 
IMO, dinos are usually something that happens along with the process of establishing a tank. Whatever you do will just reduce it's effect on the tank, time is what cures dinos. A scrubber can take weeks to establish, in some cases all you need is a bit of algae to make a difference, sometimes you need more. I wouldn't count on it solving an immediate problem fast.

My cure for dinos is to suck them out daily via a hard air line with a flex airline attached into a bucket. You can cover a 120g tank in about 10-20 mins and only remove about 1-2g of water each time. Don't change lights, but only feed every 2-3 days, very minimal, and only at about 10 min before lights out. Let photosynthesis (corals) do it's job.

Did you re-arrange your tank and/or dramatically change flow patterns about 4-6 weeks ago?
 
I added sand that I believe was bad. Dynos broke out almost instantly. I have removed the sand, tried a blackout with peroxide, stopped water changes, and nothing seems to help.
 
My cure was actually more (longer) light, cut feeding to minimum, manual removal 2x daily. Let corals and nitro-fixing bacteria burn it out. 2 weeks and gone. Then I started reading that everyone seems to have it last about 2 weeks and "what I did worked". Time worked. Everything else is just extra effort. Granted that without it, you would have dinos everywhere choking off everything, but zero light IMO causes more potential problems because it's another non-natural occurrence which can throw things worse out if balance (coral tissue not photosynthesizing, bacteria colonies changing).
 
Nope. Had an established scrubber running. It happened 6 weeks after I had to move all contents of tank into a temp tank when that tank cracked. Happened again 6 weeks after I moved everything again.
 
Floyd R Turbo said:
How big will your screen be? Lit from both sides? Tank size? Amount you feed? Other filtration?
Click to expand...

I will be feeding roughly 4 cubes a day once the tank, a standard 75 gallon with 20 gallon sump, gets set up and cycled. So that should give me a 48 total square inch screen, lit on both sides. I will be using the scrubber during the cycle. The only other filtration will be a skimmer and maybe a GFO and carbon reactor if I need them. I haven't figured the exact size of the screen yet, but it will have to be probably less than 10 inches wide to fit across the width of my sump.
 
Multi-chip should be better because of the spreading of the light. Wattage depends on screen size. 48 sq inch could use 24 total LED watts (12 per side), or more.

Dino's are usually the first thing to go away. The sand just had organics, which will go away.
 
elmatth1 said:
I'm wanting to run LED flood style lights from ebay to light my screen instead of DIY. I have seen two styles that people are using or have been suggested. One with a single multichip in the middle that runs 10, 20, 30, etc watt chips and the other style that uses several 3 watt leds that are run a 2watts each and they come in 12, 40, 60 watt versions. I'm thinking of going with the 20w multichip fixture. I like the other style better, but I think 12w would not be enough and 40w would be too much.

Which light should I go with and which wattage would be best?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/230950111502?_trksid=p4634.m570.l4456&_trkparms=gh1g%3DI230950111502.N8.S2.M236.R1.TR4

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221307240090?var=520187250419&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649
Click to expand...

elmatth1 said:
I will be feeding roughly 4 cubes a day once the tank, a standard 75 gallon with 20 gallon sump, gets set up and cycled. So that should give me a 48 total square inch screen, lit on both sides. I will be using the scrubber during the cycle. The only other filtration will be a skimmer and maybe a GFO and carbon reactor if I need them. I haven't figured the exact size of the screen yet, but it will have to be probably less than 10 inches wide to fit across the width of my sump.
Click to expand...

Ok the issue here then comes down to the dimensions. Because you will need to match the dims to the fixture.

The 40W fixture with individual chips is about 7 x 5 with the light concentrated more in the middle (those are the outer fixture dims) if you put that on say an 8x6 screen, that might work. 40W each side? In this case, it might seem like too much but then you just run them less time, or put a diffuser in front of it. The other issue is spectrum. Too much blue in that one IMO, 14 reds and 6 blues, should be more like 18 reds and 2 blues. I know that company will custom one for you but I also know someone who requested that and got 18 blues and 2 reds, and the company asked him to ship it back to china on his dime before they would replace it. So good luck.

The multichip 20W fixture is the same dims but 1/2 the wattage. Probably OK. 16 red 4 blue, all 1W...better mix, a little low on the wattage IMO. The 30W multichip is 24 red 6 blue and a little larger, 9x7.5 which is a really good match for your screen. That is the one I would go with. Plus no need to custom request the chip.
 
I should clarify. All LED chips are inherently dimmable. Not all LED fixtures (drivers) are. That is why there are dimmable and non-dimmable drivers.
 
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