Algae Scrubber Basics

biecacka said:
How long do you suggest running the lights. I run mine about 16 hours but don't get great growth. My screen is larger and I'm not fully feeding all the cubes the screen can handle yet.

Corey
Click to expand...

I did 12 for 3 weeks then 18 hours.

then after 8 weeks moved my lights closer in
 
OK so I have a question on running an ATS from startup.
I have setup a 28g nano cube. I have setup an up flow ATS in the main overflow chamber as my primary filtration. I also run some carbon an matrix now that I cycled. I have been running for almost 3 months now. Nitrate is 10 and I am not measuring phosphate yet.
I have not found much on running one right from start. My ATS does not really seem to be producing so far. I have gotten a very light coating of bromide so far and not much else.
My screen is 4x6, and I am using one of the 20 watt led flood lightbfrom,amazon the I learned of from this thread.
I feed only 2 clowns and my cuc a so far with one leather coral.
Is there just not enough nutrients in my tank to support algae growth yet?
I just don't want to be missing something as I really would like to run this tank without a skimmer.
 
I may be paranoid... I just couldn't use a wire brush, manual or on a drill... Just worried that tiny flecks of copper or metal wire may get lodged in the plastic?
 
bheron said:
Oh man that along with what Tony sent sounds like this product is definitely not recommended! This think should've stood up to the spraying from my ATS for sure. Will see if I can contact the seller or MFR for details.
Click to expand...

The problem I see with the LEDs form ebay that say they are IP65 is this:

The front face is made from thin steel and it is secured to the rear cast aluminum housing with only four screws, one in each corner. This allows the front part to flex, especially in the middle of the longest side between the two screws. I laid down a generous bead of black RTV along the back at the gap where the front flange meets with the rear of the enclosure. I think that will stop water ingress.

Of course, it is still good practice to have drip loops and use GFCI outlets and unplug the LEDs when servicing the scrubber.
 
To 'rough up' my screen,
I used a hand held wood rasp, using the coarser end rubbed it awhile, it was sort of furry,
it's been working well for months.

Just another- perhaps easier option? FWIW
 
herring_fish said:
Quite some time ago, I read that Floyd was doing this process so I winged it, guessing what would work before he gave us his first detailed explanation. By luck, I did it just the same way for the roughing part except for the following two steps that are not necessary and may not even help but it is food for thought.

Before doing the rest of the process as described by him, I sanded the surface(s) with fine sand paper. This took the sheen off, leaving a mat finish. Then I use more and more course grit until briefly using the coarsest sand paper. This added super fine abrasions and a variaty of fine cuts before I followed the rest of the process. I believe that this resulted in more cut size variations for algae to take hold of after the mortar sloughs off. It’s like a tree, going from main branch to a smaller one, to the stem and then to a twig. Many of the large branches will be scraped off after several cleanings but some of them will be pressed down into the voids of the screen.

The brush made the screen look hairy and the saw acted like a plow, digging down into the screen making rough gashes to create stubble. Up close, the stubble and hairs looked more like a feather. It was sort of fuzzy at the very ends of the branches.

Floyd ….. I put the screen on hold after that and am about to get started again. I don’t thing that I did the curing process as well as yours. Do you think that I should re-do it to get better results?
Click to expand...

The reason I use the brush is because sandpaper only gets right at the surface. The brush gets deep into the holes as well. So you could do brush -> sandpaper -> saw blade, I suppose.

There is a point of diminishing returns, however. No matter how prickly you make the screen, in the long term, all those prickly parts will eventually tear away and what you are left with is the surface within the holes. That is why I feel using the wire brush + drill method is really necessary.

karimwassef said:
I may be paranoid... I just couldn't use a wire brush, manual or on a drill... Just worried that tiny flecks of copper or metal wire may get lodged in the plastic?
Click to expand...

jrp1588 said:
You're being paranoid I think. If it's too small to be visible, it's not going to hurt.
Click to expand...

I thought about that too, but I have never seen any small flecks of anything, even after looking over an entire screen with my kid toy microscope. I do get the occasional broken strand of the brush, but those are pretty easy to spot. Also, after both the scuffing and rouging stage, I shake off the loose plastic, either by blowing it off or rubbing between my hand vigorously. I forgot to add that little detail. After the roughing stage, you have a lot of loose plastic chunks and dust, and if you don't shake/rub this off I would think it would tend to cause the mortar to slide off easier, or at least not be as "sticky" quite as easily.

That shaking/rubbing process likely removes any residual metal also. But you could rinse & dry the screen just to be sure, that doesn't hurt.

Sweeper65 said:
OK so I have a question on running an ATS from startup.
I have setup a 28g nano cube. I have setup an up flow ATS in the main overflow chamber as my primary filtration. I also run some carbon an matrix now that I cycled. I have been running for almost 3 months now. Nitrate is 10 and I am not measuring phosphate yet.
I have not found much on running one right from start. My ATS does not really seem to be producing so far. I have gotten a very light coating of bromide so far and not much else.
My screen is 4x6, and I am using one of the 20 watt led flood lightbfrom,amazon the I learned of from this thread.
I feed only 2 clowns and my cuc a so far with one leather coral.
Is there just not enough nutrients in my tank to support algae growth yet?
I just don't want to be missing something as I really would like to run this tank without a skimmer.
Click to expand...

I would agree that you just need to give it time. Also read #15 here http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-01/eb/
 
MidwesternTexan said:
To 'rough up' my screen,
I used a hand held wood rasp, using the coarser end rubbed it awhile, it was sort of furry,
it's been working well for months.

Just another- perhaps easier option? FWIW
Click to expand...

I've tried many different methods, not this exact one, but it's an option. I've found that since the saw blade however has very sharp teeth and they are tightly packed, you have some fine control and get a nice result. But it's a bit rough on the wrist and shoulder

I might have to go get one and try it out
 
Thank you both. Floyd that article is very helpful. I thought I was being patient being 3 months in but I understand now the patience is subjective and my tank really will not fully mature for about a year.
I will keep the course and report back here as things start to change.
One other question. Do the size of bubbles in and upflow scrubber matter. Mine are rather fine but I have seen some ran with slits in air line tubing resulting in rather large bubbles. I know total air is important to drive the flow but not sure about the size.
Any suggestions for one vs another?
 
Large bubbles cause more water motion - early versions used airstones with fine bubbles, these don't do much to cause the fast/random motion. So big bubbles is the way to go
 
Polycarbanate versus acrylic

Polycarbanate versus acrylic

Is there a preference for one over the other for the construction of a turf scrubber?
 
Acrylic is clearer, polycarbonate is tougher but softer and doesn't cut or bond the same. Poly is "grabbier" so when it comes to routing, you must use a template. Normal acrylic solvent doesn't work on poly, so you need a specific type.

Simpler overall to use acrylic. It doesn't have to be top quality either.
 
Floyd,

Yes I use the fine, medium and then rough sand paper PLUS I follow your method afterwards, to the letter.

Do you think that the longer curing method is important enough to start over?
 
If you sandwiched between wax paper and placed a towel over it, you're good. I just use the container because I made more than one at a time
 
Does anybody have a link to a thread to explain how to make your own led light. I like the lights I have but would like them a bit smaller. I seen heatsinks that are 6x6x2. But kinda confused as to drivers and power supplies.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk
 
I redid my overflow ATS on an eggcrate base and I let it float... looks much better now

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/8BBKxxg2Pok" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
 
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