Algae Scrubber Basics

[srusso]

Here is word from the one and only SantaMonica himself....

"I'd remove the velcro part.

Also it might be more clear if you changed

2 sq. inches of screen per gallon, if lit on just ONE side.
(10 x 10 = 50 sq. inches = 50 gallons)
(Horizontal) - (can only be lit from one side, for obvious reasons)
4 sq. inches of screen per gallon
(10 x 10 = 40 sq. inches = 40 gallons)

...to this:

2 sq. inches of screen per gallon, if lit on just ONE side.
(10 x 10 = 100 sq. inches = 50 gallons)
(Horizontal) - (can only be lit from one side, for obvious reasons)
4 sq. inches of screen per gallon
(10 x 10 = 100 sq. inches = 25 gallons)

Otherwise looks great!

Lastly, if you could get www.radio-media.com/fish/AlgaeScrubbers.doc listed on the stick, it might be easier for new folks to understand."

 

[srusso]

I have a skimmer vs. scrubber question...LOL

My scrubber is on day 3 with a skimmer running. Scrubber screen is white as a ghost. Scrubber site said I should see something by day 3.

Is the skimmer running preventing algae from growing on my screen? Or am I being impatient? It's like watching grass grow over here

Edit: my set-up again:

40 BR, ATS lit on ONE side, so I did 8" W x 12" long = 96 squareinches
2 26W CFLs in a dome reflector, 4-5" from surface = 52 W
Powered by a MaxiJet 1200 = 296 GPH
Pump non-stop, light 18 hrs on, 6 off.

Your skimmer will have little impact on your scrubber. That said a picture may help us Figure out what maybe wrong... But as you said it's only been 3 days. Understand that you "could" see growth in as little as 3 days... For most of us the first 2 weeks are like watching paint dry. If it's built correctly and you have fairly clean water you should see the littlest bit of green growth on the 7th day. Clean it off anyway and repeat in 7 days again.

 

[bucks448]

I hit the 5 day mark with mine yesterday and just started to notice a spec of green here and there. I also am still running my skimmer and I have my sock in place still. +1 to give it more time.

 

[KafudaFish]

Can you explain on the horizontal vs. vertical, one side lit why the number of gallons is reduced by half on the 10 x 10 screen (50 vs. 25)?

Thanks.

 

[srusso]

I hit the 5 day mark with mine yesterday and just started to notice a spec of green here and there. I also am still running my skimmer and I have my sock in place still. +1 to give it more time.

And thats a good point! If your main filtration has been a skimmer DO NOT, repeat DO NOT remove it from your system until your scrubber has matured! This will take at least 2 - 3 months! (you could be ready before this but this is a safe time length before removing a skimmer)

if that is what your end goal is to do, replace your main filtration.

And this is only true if your scrubber has been built correctly.
Please understand your tank always remains your responsibility!

 

[srusso]

Can you explain on the horizontal vs. vertical, one side lit why the number of gallons is reduced by half on the 10 x 10 screen (50 vs. 25)?

Thanks.

B/c only one side of your screen can be lit when your screen is horizontal, which means half of the growing surface.

 

[KafudaFish]

Ok thanks for answering my question. I will chew it over on the way home.

 

[miguelp19]

woop! congrats on the sticky! im excited cuz now it'll be a little easier to find info on ATS. Im planning on changing my filtration from PS to ATS but in a few months. For now, i will follow along and absorb as much as possible. Thanks to all the gurus for the info and time put in to helping us newbs.

 

[srusso]

B/c there is a lot of info around the net on algae scrubbers don't be surprised if two gurus have different methods of running ATS. This sticky is to hopefully gather the options together and come up with a basic guild line for running one.

 

[bucks448]

B/c only one side of your screen can be lit when your screen is horizontal, which means half of the growing surface.

I think the question was two part...

A vertical scrubber's effectiveness with lighting only on one side is reduced by 50%, so you need to double the size of the screen so you can light the same amount of square inches as a double sided scrubber.

I believe horizontal scrubber's effectiveness is reduced even more because of the water flow and surface area exposed to the air, so you need 4 times the surface area of a double sided vertical scrubber.

When I was building mine I was really considering either a single side or horizontal scrubber because of space constraints. It was stress to me to go with a double sided scrubber.

 

[srusso]

I think the question was two part...

A vertical scrubber's effectiveness with lighting only on one side is reduced by 50%, so you need to double the size of the screen so you can light the same amount of square inches as a double sided scrubber.

I believe horizontal scrubber's effectiveness is reduced even more because of the water flow and surface area exposed to the air, so you need 4 times the surface area of a double sided vertical scrubber...

+1 I should have also mentioned that flow is another reason it is even less effective then the vertically hanging screen.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

Floyd Turbo, that is a very nice scrubber you built.

What is the inside width?
You get 3D growth, right?
Is the aluminum angle heat sink all you need to keep your rig cool? No fans?
Really nice looking scrubber!

Inside of the box is 1.75" (just enough to get the fitting in place)
Center of bulb to center of bulb is 5.5 and change

Here's the heat sink:

I was going to add a fan to the whole system to keep the ballast and lights/etc cool but it runs fine w/o it. Tank is starting to heat up now but that's due to the location and HVAC issues in the building. So I have to get a controller and rig up some kind of cooling fan system.

Yes I get a lot of 3D growth. What I'm really curious to find out is what effect increasing the flow to the screen will have. I need to swap out the return hose from the pump since it's improperly sized too small and that should up the flow.

 

[srusso]

Cooling your water when you have an open or basic algae scrubber like mine, is extremely easy! Point a fan fan your screen, allowing the air pass to over the water flow. Done, I have never had need for this so I will allow someone who has done this to comment.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

Well with removal of the skimmer pump, that killed a major heating issue in the tank. Before that the tank rarely got below 79 in the winter, they had to open all the cabinet doors at night. This winter they could leave it closed an it wouldn't go over 78. The other weekend was sunny and warm (over 40F) and tank is built into a wall that recesses into a south facing vestibule so it got toasty in there and heated the tank up. Summer is going to be the real issue. Last year the tank got up to 86 one day (before ATS)

 

[kcress]

This is an ATS I built as a test bed. It sat across the top of a 55g. It was LED powered and used a heavily corrugated acrylic sheet as the screen.

.
.
.

I thought I could get better growth if I reddened the light so I did. I think it helped a little.

Summary.
1) The acrylic screen was too smooth and could never be made rough enough.

2) These super bright LEDs were not super enough. You'd need HBLEDs to really make it crank.

3) My water distribution at the top had too many dribble and leak issues that caused water to go places it shouldn't - like down the front window where algae would grow.

4) This was before we realized that you need an ATS big enough or it will never convert to the light green efficient algae. Exacerbating this was the fact that my tank was running a little over 1,100ppm nitrate.

I subsequently converted it to horizontal and learned even more about the issues of horizontals.

 

[BluScrnOdeth]

here's a pic of the screen I plan on using:

purchased from walmart

where did you find that screen at?

 

[srusso]

I have never looked in walmart myself but I would imagine that it's in the crafts section. First find the section that has yarn and stuff... Then ask people who work in that section for it. Ask anyone else and your likely going to get pointed to some type of paint department, with a weird blank look on their faces.

 

[CLINTOS]

This thread has been stuck.

Awesome, brovo, time to move this hobby forward.

 

[BluScrnOdeth]

I have never looked in walmart myself but I would imagine that it's in the crafts section. First the the section that has yarn and stuff... Then ask people who work in that section for it. Ask anyone else and your likely going to get pointed to some type of paint department, with a weird blank look on their faces.

I have looked at Walmart and asking someone who works in my local Walmart.

Let's say you would have a better chance asking a random blind person.

 

[CLINTOS]

I have looked at Walmart and asking someone who works in my local Walmart.

Let's say you would have a better chance asking a random blind person.

lol so true It's one of those thing's u need to find on your own

if you look long enough you should find it. craft/sawing/material section. took me 20 minutes