Algae Scrubber Basics

Mackus,

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=24173782#post24173782

Added to my sig.

The mortar screen doesn't take long but has to cure for a few days, then you have to soak it for a week.

The rough-up method, I use 2 stages. Stage 1 is the same, use a wire brush crimp attachment on a drill

Stage 2 is using a saw blade, not a hole saw. The hole saw it difficult to manage without ripping the screen.

This is an older video, where I go kinda crazy on the screen.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-mrCWALt9Qs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Here is a time lapse where you can see I'm much more methodical about it now

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/VgG42A9GRPI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
_Mackus_ said:
About how long after starting using an ATS should the algae growth begin?
Click to expand...

It depends on a few things, but it should start showing signs of coloration within the first week, some slime within 2 weeks, some GHA definitely within 3 weeks, and full coverage between 4-6 weeks. Worst case (typically)

_Mackus_ said:
I've got about a 4"x4" roughed-up section of plastic mesh screen (I feed the equivalent of one cube give or take), two of these 10W LED light fixtures that are mounted about an inch or so from the screen on either side, and a 382 GPH Rio pump that I throttled down until it was cascading nicely off the end of the mesh without splashing everywhere (didn't actually measure to see if it's at 140 GPH for a 4" wide slit).
Click to expand...

_Mackus_ said:
Been running it 18/6 since Sunday afternoon, and don't see any growth yet. I figure that's typical and I won't get anything for a while. Mostly I just want to know when growth usually starts to take place so if I get much past that point without seeing anything, I'll know to try troubleshooting, starting with making the screen rougher. Or to know if I should just scuff it up more right away.
Click to expand...

Flow is probably good but LED lights that are ran too long or too close can prevent growth. 18 hrs/day on a new screen is too long, cut it in half.

They are probably too close if the fixture is 1" from the screen. Back it off to 3" away, you need to allow the light from the multichip to spread out. Otherwise you have a very intense spot in the middle that will photosaturate, and you will get zero growth (white screen)

As far as wattage goes, you are probably OK. the 10W fixture likely does not pull 10W if you measured it at the wall, probably more like 7-8 and some of that is loss in the electronics/driver. But even by the stock LED fixture guide, you're at (probably) 15W total light on a 16 sq in screen, so you're good there. Just need to play with photoperiod and distance
 
Got it up to test it, had a small leak in the box. Is my first time working with acrylic so I sort of expected it.
Question tho, I noticed a bit of uneven flow over the screen while I tested it. Would that be an issue at some point, and how much of one?

Corey
 
biecacka said:
Question tho, I noticed a bit of uneven flow over the screen while I tested it. Would that be an issue at some point, and how much of one?
Corey
Click to expand...

I noticed the same thing back in Sept '15 when I got my ATS running for the first time. As the algae starts to get hold of the screen, the flow starts filling in, that's assuming there is enough flow to start with. I would give it a bit of time to get settled in and going.
 
Thanks guys, I'm going back over e box as we speak with more Weldon and hen maybe some superglue if that doesn't work.

Corey
 
This is such a great thread and topic. Have been reading for weeks. (Floyd I even spent an entire flight reading all the posts listed in your signature -- so helpful to do that BTW).

Yet I'm still confused on how I should go about my design. So I apologize in advance but I'm gonna ask what might be dumb questions:


- I have the space and want to plan for eventually a high bioload. Right now I'm only at @2 cubes per day. Eventually I want to support about 5 cubes per day.

- I have a 75 gallon tank (4' long) as my sump to support the build, so I think I'm good on space.

- I can DIY everything needed but dont think I have the time to learn how to DIY the LEDS. I want pre-made LEDS on both sides.


Questions:

- what size should I start with?

- should I start out right away to support the 5 cubes? thought I read that might not be good.

- based on the above can you recommend a some LEDs I can buy pre-made?

Everything else I think I'm good to go. This could be the best addition I've ever made to my tank!



Thanks all
Bryan
 
I recommend not going too much over 2x what you feed, but that means don't build a scrubber made to aggresively filter 4 cubes/day and then put it on a 2 cube/day fed tank. That will result in the growth spreading out and it might not grow very green.

If you build a 4 cube/day scrubber and then use 1/2 the light or shorten the photoperiod, essentially you are limiting the scrubber capacity to match the tank. You will still get growth that is more spread out but it should still be OK, but if you built say an 8 cube/day scrubber and put it on a 2 cube/day tank, you might run into more troubles trying to limit capacity.

I would say, build your 5 cube/day scrubber and use a stock fixture that you would need 2 per side, but only buy 2 and use one per side. When you are ready for more filtration, buy the other 2.

If you look for IP66 or IP67 multi-chip LED fixtures in the growth spectrum, you should find many to choose from.

For 5 cubes/day = 60 sq in, you will want between .25-.50 w/sq in so between 15 and 30 W on each side. So shoot for the higher number of 30 per side (fudge factor for stock fixtures) and that means ideally 4x 15W fixtures. But since they typically come as 10, 20, 40, etc, go with 20W.

One 20W per side now, and then buy a second pair later.
 
Got mine holding water and running now!no more leaks. I'm running 2 cfl bulbs on it now until my LEDs get here.
63B1491A-0EF0-4508-BE0D-C6BBB8082BC6_1.jpg

Corey
 
Last edited:
yeah, generally with CFLs you can run them longer because they aren't as intense as LEDs, so really you could go to 18 hours right out of the gate, but I would go 12 and see how it starts. If by day 3 or 4 you have a good brown diatom/slime coating, go to 16-18
 
Floyd R Turbo said:
I recommend not going too much over 2x what you feed, but that means don't build a scrubber made to aggresively filter 4 cubes/day and then put it on a 2 cube/day fed tank. That will result in the growth spreading out and it might not grow very green.

If you build a 4 cube/day scrubber and then use 1/2 the light or shorten the photoperiod, essentially you are limiting the scrubber capacity to match the tank. You will still get growth that is more spread out but it should still be OK, but if you built say an 8 cube/day scrubber and put it on a 2 cube/day tank, you might run into more troubles trying to limit capacity.

I would say, build your 5 cube/day scrubber and use a stock fixture that you would need 2 per side, but only buy 2 and use one per side. When you are ready for more filtration, buy the other 2.

If you look for IP66 or IP67 multi-chip LED fixtures in the growth spectrum, you should find many to choose from.

For 5 cubes/day = 60 sq in, you will want between .25-.50 w/sq in so between 15 and 30 W on each side. So shoot for the higher number of 30 per side (fudge factor for stock fixtures) and that means ideally 4x 15W fixtures. But since they typically come as 10, 20, 40, etc, go with 20W.

One 20W per side now, and then buy a second pair later.
Click to expand...


Thanks for the feedback Lloyd. I'm totally clueless with the LEDS so did some searches for "ip66 led fixture 20w" and "20w led fixture ip66" and don't seem to be getting anything. Am I looking for these outdoor light fixtures?? What's the ideal configuration? Is it a single LED or a couple of them along a strip.
 
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