Algae Scrubber Basics

[Floyd R Turbo]

Few questions now that mine has been running for 2 days. How long before we typically see any brown slime or residue on the screen? Any ideas on a contraption to help contain the light. Right now with the temporary cfl lights I'm getting a ton of spillage into the room. I am sure it will be similar when the LEDs get here.

Corey

there are plenty of ways to do this, if you want to get really simple, you can find a few sheets of black plastic or styrene etc (try a model train/airplane hobby store) and cut and glue together to form a 4-walled box and hang it in some way such that it is not actually in contact with the tank water (this way you don't have to worry so much about "reef safe"). Then cut holes for the lights to shine through, and you can probably bond clear plastic over the holes to protect the lights.

That might turn out pretty janky but it would get the job done. So would cutting up a cheap plastic garbage can.

Or any other plastic container, like a water pitcher, etc. Using a clear container and painting parts of it with black Krylon might work.

You can also take it a step up and get some acrylic and cut and weld together to make something that is for-sure reef safe. You don't need to make it a watertight box, blocking the light sideways only requires 4 sides, you can leave the top and bottom open. That means your bonds can be weak and look horrible and it will still be perfectly functional.

The only thin in all of this that you have to account for is the proximity of the light source to the clear window. CFLs get hot and can cause plastic to melt, warp, etc. LEDs will do this too, it just takes longer. I've see a royal blue LED running at just 700mA burn a hole in acrylic diffuser when it's less that 1/4" away from it.

 

[biecacka]

For the last example, would I need to enclose the whole ATS or not?

Corey

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

It depends on how much light you want to block. If you want to block light coming out of the bottom of the unit, then you're talking 5-sided. but if you wanted to just block light mostly, you can extend the box to under the water and then just have a piece of acrylic there to block light and let the water would just flow around it and out cutouts or holes that are not sealed with bulkheads, etc.

 

[outy]

If you only feed 1 cube/day, then you technically only need a 4"x3" screen, but I always recommend a 4x6 or 2 cube/day screen as a minimum, just because it's generally easier to light. in most cases.

for yours, since you're over the 150-200g mark, you could probably double it again to 4 cube/day screen (~48 sq in) and still be fine, making it a bit longer compared to what you would a 2 cube screen.

But 12x18 is upwards of 15 cube/day capacity if constructed right. You could make it that large and then only light a portion of it, but if you try to build it and light it all appropriately (using the suggested wattage ratios, etc) it will most likely result in thin growth and a hard time getting GHA to fill in. I think you may have gone off the OP and were using tank-volume sizing? See my sig for the more current Basics posts, and updates to them

Thanks Floyd.

I'm just going to light one side well, and see how it goes.


It will be a exposed basic ATS that's easy to tear a part and clean.

 

[outy]

You could make it that large and then only light a portion of it,

That's exactly what I will do

 

[hkgar]

Referencing the above

8x13=108, .25-.50 w/sq in per side, so between 25+ and 50+ per side, so you will want to shoot toward the higher end or 40-50W per side IMO - so 2x20W per side, which would probably work better than a single 40W since you can center one on each half (each covers an 8x7 area, roughly)

Would this be a good match for what you are describing?

http://www.amazon.com/GLW-Hydroponi...4&sr=8-6&keywords=led+grow+light+30+watt+30+w

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

@hkgar, that's it. As you can see, the housing is similar. The problem you run into with chinese made is that they use the cheapest components they can get away with. I haven't torn into many of these myself. I think you can find less "foreign" manufacturers but you pay more. What would be nice is if someone came out with one that was just the chip and housing, and you used your own power supply. Because then you could use one that was actually reliable and good quality.

 

[hkgar]

@hkgar, that's it. As you can see, the housing is similar. The problem you run into with chinese made is that they use the cheapest components they can get away with. I haven't torn into many of these myself. I think you can find less "foreign" manufacturers but you pay more. What would be nice is if someone came out with one that was just the chip and housing, and you used your own power supply. Because then you could use one that was actually reliable and good quality.

The 1 watt leds would be acceptable then? I have been looking for 3 watt leds. I have a 180 gallon display and typically feed about the equivalent of 4 cubes per day. I just upgraded my screen from 6x8 to 7x9 and light each side with a 26 watt CFL

 

[biecacka]

Got my lights today. I'm starting off with 2 10wt LEDs like some above. It turns out, due to the red light, it appears more dim than my CFL bulbs. So I might not need to build an enclose. Or no yet at least.

Corey

 

[biecacka]

Going to be running 2 of the 10 watt lights. How long to start, 9-12 hours?
Question 2) on a HOG scrubber what is everyone using to build the unit. Is an air stone used or just tubing, does bubble size matter. Are they typically 1 or 2 sided. I would assume 1 because of the light. Is the only flow in them from the little holes.

Corey

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

The 1 watt leds would be acceptable then? I have been looking for 3 watt leds. I have a 180 gallon display and typically feed about the equivalent of 4 cubes per day. I just upgraded my screen from 6x8 to 7x9 and light each side with a 26 watt CFL

almost all multichip lights you see on the market are 1W chips, meaning the cluster of 9 LEDs that make up the multichip are individually 1W each. Notice 9 chips = 10W? Again, marketing at work. this is why you have to watch the "rating"...but yes, the multichip fixtures are OK to use, one reason could be that the density of the grouping of 1W LEDs works to increase overall intensity compared to 9x 1W chips spread out in a wider pattern. This may be why the multichip fixtures seem to work so much better than the ones where 6 or 9 1W chips are spaced out and placed with individual reflectors.

Going to be running 2 of the 10 watt lights. How long to start, 9-12 hours?
Question 2) on a HOG scrubber what is everyone using to build the unit. Is an air stone used or just tubing, does bubble size matter. Are they typically 1 or 2 sided. I would assume 1 because of the light. Is the only flow in them from the little holes.

Corey

With LED growth spectrum, I typically recomment 9 hours/day to start, and if you start to see growth within a few days (a brown coating within 3-4 days) then you are on the right track. You can either leave it be, or increase to 10-12 hours/day.

What you are watching for is zero growth. That tells you that your lights are too close, or you are running them too long. If the screen is bare white, either completely or mainly in the middle, that's photosaturation and you need to back up the lights or reduce the photoperiod.

Multichip fixtures tend to create a bare spot in the middle, but this generally goes away after the screen matures and that area ends up with the best growth.

 

[Spar]

What you are watching for is zero growth. That tells you that your lights are too close, or you are running them too long. If the screen is bare white, either completely or mainly in the middle, that's photosaturation and you need to back up the lights or reduce the photoperiod.

That is what I am experiencing. I get great growth all the way around the screen, but there is a 3x3 area in the center that is completely bare. I moved the lights back an inch to see if that helps. If that doesn't work I am going to lower the photoperiod I suppose.

I started at the full 18 hours rather than slowly working my way up.

 

[biecacka]

Up and running

COREY

 

[Jade5051]

Looks good Corey! Hope to get mine up and running in the next month or so...

 

[SantaMonica]

Does my overflow scrubber count as new?

Well I have seen these versions before

215g display tank. 1 cube a day. clean water LPS

Wow you could certainly be putting a lot more food in there. But then again, if it's overflowing already...

Will only light one side due to the low nutrient levels

You still want 2-sided if you can, for any nutrient levels. Die-off from dead roots does not help any system.

If you want less filtering, just reduce the screen size.

mainly cyano under the weak 13w CFL light I have in there now

Yes weak light is often too low for GHA, and only cyano will grow.

How long before we typically see any brown slime or residue on the screen

5 to 10 days

My red LEDs seem to be working well, The thing is growing all sorts of slimy stuff as well as algae

Yes red has really been great. In my opinion it's easier to look at. And you don't need to complicate things with blues, which I've read sometimes can cause crazing of acrylic.

Would this be a good match for what you are describing?
http://www.amazon.com/GLW-Hydroponic...t+30+watt+30+w

I have that light, and have been cycle testing it for a while. Does put out some good light, and does get warm (power supply is inside it). Have not measured the V and I yet.

How long to start, 9-12 hours?

18 hours

on a HOG scrubber what is everyone using to build the unit. Is an air stone used or just tubing, does bubble size matter. Are they typically 1 or 2 sided. I would assume 1 because of the light. Is the only flow in them from the little holes.

To build a DIY similar to a HOG, just use a thin black plastic tray from a TV dinner. Sliced airline is better than an airstone because it won't clog every few days, and if it does clog you just clean inside the slices. And if you only use a screen or gravel, it's 1-sided; if you add strings, it's more work but it's 2-sided because light gets to both sides of the strings. Yes the only flow is from the holes. If you don't have animals which will go inside and eat your filter, you can make bigger holes if you want but more light will spill out. I like to keep the holes small and just brush them clean every week.

there is a 3x3 area in the center that is completely bare

Increase flow will help. Or adding iron. Or diffusing the light. Last resort is backing the light away further, or reducing wattage.

 

[Jade5051]

...And if you only use a screen or gravel, it's 1-sided; if you add strings, it's more work but it's 2-sided because light gets to both sides of the strings...

@SM, I want to use gravel or quartz to line the inside of my UAS. Do you have an affordable product that you would recommend for this? Got a link?

How and what do I use to adhere the gravel or quartz and string to the inside of the UAS? Silicone?

My grow area will be about 6" wide and 8" tall. How big of an air pump do I need?

 

[trueperc]

Concerning these led
http://www.amazon.com/GLW-Hydroponic...t+30+watt+30+w

would you buy the 20w or the 50w?

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

The link you pasted doesn't work, the "..." are actually in the link

 

[trueperc]

Sorry it was the amazon link the page before, I believe this might be better:http://www.amazon.com/GLW-Hydroponi...4&sr=8-6&keywords=led+grow+light+30+watt+30+w

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

It's a vBulletin thing. You can't highlight and copy the text, you have to right-click -> copy the URL then paste it again, and the forum software will then create the hyperlink again.

As for your question, I scrolled back and don't see your previous posts, at least not on the last 2 pages, so I don't know what size scrubber you're putting this on. It depends on that