Algae Scrubber Basics

ok. day 5 of blue/white lights ... and here's the screen. I turned the lights off to try and show the true colors. This is just with my iphone's flash.

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/4AA72369-FBC8-4534-A820-D0C5B50959CC_zpsxiacuaw3.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/4AA72369-FBC8-4534-A820-D0C5B50959CC_zpsxiacuaw3.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 4AA72369-FBC8-4534-A820-D0C5B50959CC_zpsxiacuaw3.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/8AA4EABC-B038-4DEC-B524-0A72F6D5BE4F_zpsi6ztgig7.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/8AA4EABC-B038-4DEC-B524-0A72F6D5BE4F_zpsi6ztgig7.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 8AA4EABC-B038-4DEC-B524-0A72F6D5BE4F_zpsi6ztgig7.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/5A9F96E4-DA93-4D4D-9421-746784C3DFDE_zpsbcdpjfzz.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/5A9F96E4-DA93-4D4D-9421-746784C3DFDE_zpsbcdpjfzz.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 5A9F96E4-DA93-4D4D-9421-746784C3DFDE_zpsbcdpjfzz.jpg"/></a>

I'm starting to see a hint of green? or is that just wishful thinking?
 
SantaMonica said:
Weekend growth pics...
Click to expand...
I take it this is the new design.....must have more info now plz [emoji7] [emoji7] [emoji7] [emoji7]

Looking at pic one...I have no clue how this works....I see a nice red glow on the last pic, but can't tell where it would come from in pic one....very curious
Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
 
Last edited:
Ok... Red and white PAR came in at 360 but I attribute that to better wiring (lower resistance) since it also consumed more current ~ 10A total.

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/677FD06A-EF56-4ABB-80BE-AAA00892A195_zpshhgpcfcn.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/677FD06A-EF56-4ABB-80BE-AAA00892A195_zpshhgpcfcn.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 677FD06A-EF56-4ABB-80BE-AAA00892A195_zpshhgpcfcn.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/8D8146E2-21A7-4AB1-93A9-88DC6C91289C_zpsctnmxdun.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/8D8146E2-21A7-4AB1-93A9-88DC6C91289C_zpsctnmxdun.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 8D8146E2-21A7-4AB1-93A9-88DC6C91289C_zpsctnmxdun.jpg"/></a>

The wiring needs some improvement, but both the blue and red sides are up and running.

The power is ~ 10A per side for a total of 240W

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/4A5AB208-A115-484F-B455-D69075B177A4_zpsa9qqjvbg.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/4A5AB208-A115-484F-B455-D69075B177A4_zpsa9qqjvbg.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 4A5AB208-A115-484F-B455-D69075B177A4_zpsa9qqjvbg.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/B1FA73B6-D67C-47E3-9751-8F46554E5097_zps0oq0iwoh.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/B1FA73B6-D67C-47E3-9751-8F46554E5097_zps0oq0iwoh.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo B1FA73B6-D67C-47E3-9751-8F46554E5097_zps0oq0iwoh.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/F849EB7E-B7ED-49DB-ABAB-4854DA8D43F8_zpsytdd7exs.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/F849EB7E-B7ED-49DB-ABAB-4854DA8D43F8_zpsytdd7exs.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo F849EB7E-B7ED-49DB-ABAB-4854DA8D43F8_zpsytdd7exs.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/FD0E2FC8-83B6-48FC-90DE-6732D89F9B70_zps59resqmd.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/FD0E2FC8-83B6-48FC-90DE-6732D89F9B70_zps59resqmd.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo FD0E2FC8-83B6-48FC-90DE-6732D89F9B70_zps59resqmd.jpg"/></a>
 
Karim, I gotta tell you, while I applaud your DIY chops, I dont see your solution being viable long term. I give it 6 months to a year tops before corrosion becomes a real problem. IMHO you have to have these LEDs protected by something, bit it a thin acrylic or glass. While you may not like the fact that the protector gets dirty, its a hell of a lot better to have dirty glass than have salt spray on your LEDs, causing the same effect (blocking PAR), but also causing corrosion which will destroy the array.
 
hmmm.. you're going to make me share my dirty lil secret...

I have a large UV LED strip (96" x 4") on my DT and a small CW+WW LED plate (9" x 6") on my sump Xenia/Chaeto box.

I've been using saran wrap for years now... It's a little embarrassing, but the stuff works for low power applications. I have better (more expensive) plastic sheeting, but this is adequate.

These have been up for ~2.5 yrs. They require a little maintenance once a year

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/BE39BEE3-8447-414B-8C87-45EFE86F4784_zpsnk4esqum.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/BE39BEE3-8447-414B-8C87-45EFE86F4784_zpsnk4esqum.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo BE39BEE3-8447-414B-8C87-45EFE86F4784_zpsnk4esqum.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/D5EDE1ED-88F9-447B-8576-6640E38D202E_zpsavxjf3yt.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/D5EDE1ED-88F9-447B-8576-6640E38D202E_zpsavxjf3yt.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo D5EDE1ED-88F9-447B-8576-6640E38D202E_zpsavxjf3yt.jpg"/></a>

I'll do the same or use the better plastic film.
 
by the way, these lights are made of small groupings of 3 LEDs. one small set can fail without the whole thing failing. I've experimented with this a lot over the last 3 years..
 
Day 6

Blue facing side (some areas look pink due to red light bleed through from behind).
<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/E9177C27-E8CC-4925-B5BC-6CDAC5A30891_zpsdiv0wzco.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/E9177C27-E8CC-4925-B5BC-6CDAC5A30891_zpsdiv0wzco.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo E9177C27-E8CC-4925-B5BC-6CDAC5A30891_zpsdiv0wzco.jpg"/></a>

Red side (technically day 1, but the blue light was shining through for the first few days, so maybe we'll just let the 5 days offset go?)

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/4A7E5999-2627-48A2-A35A-F793920F4B16_zpsjn7ma8yr.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/4A7E5999-2627-48A2-A35A-F793920F4B16_zpsjn7ma8yr.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 4A7E5999-2627-48A2-A35A-F793920F4B16_zpsjn7ma8yr.jpg"/></a>
 
Hey guys/gals
Im building my basic scrubber
question:
I have a pump hooked up to my BSR dual reactor then flows through my UV.
Can i have the water running out from the uv flow through the algae scrubber.
Im just not trying to add an extra pump
tks shawn
 
it may be hard to get it started since UV kills algae cells.. but you can probably seed the mesh with some hair and that'll get it started. Or just turn the UV off for a couple of weeks to get the culture going.
 
karimwassef said:
it may be hard to get it started since UV kills algae cells.. but you can probably seed the mesh with some hair and that'll get it started. Or just turn the UV off for a couple of weeks to get the culture going.
Click to expand...


kewl will do, just didnt want to buy another pump
 
Does an algae scrubber replace a remote DSB in a bucket? Seems like they both remove nitrates. Anybody run both?
 
I have an inline DSB but with low flow... and a few scrubbers. Redundant systems are always good.

DSB convert nitrate to nitrogen.
ATS converts N and P into their physical tissue to grow and must be exported to work.
 
Tomorrow will be a full week... Seeing some green

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/0A9C434A-1988-48E6-9B04-8C7CB5A64E3D_zpslcwzsgta.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/0A9C434A-1988-48E6-9B04-8C7CB5A64E3D_zpslcwzsgta.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 0A9C434A-1988-48E6-9B04-8C7CB5A64E3D_zpslcwzsgta.jpg"/></a>

<a href="http://s1062.photobucket.com/user/karimwassef/media/12F1BC3E-73E6-45BA-AB21-DBFBA531A607_zpsbzrzpvdd.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1062.photobucket.com/albums/t496/karimwassef/12F1BC3E-73E6-45BA-AB21-DBFBA531A607_zpsbzrzpvdd.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 12F1BC3E-73E6-45BA-AB21-DBFBA531A607_zpsbzrzpvdd.jpg"/></a>
 
More light? Less light? Something else wrong? (pics with flash and without flash)

IMG_1618.jpg
IMG_1617.jpg


This has been running on system for a long while now, still never gotten real growth like my old tank system had. That one ran on 2 cfls on a side though, not these LEDs. Not even sure what the LEDs are anymore, should be 12+ 3W reds a side if i remember correctly, on a ~6" x 7" heatsink. I don't recall the current either, its been a while, but its somewhere around 500mA i believe. Running 15 hours a day.

Still growing all sorts of algae in the tank, so something can grow, just not on the screen. If left to grow longer it seems to make a spongy yellower growth, even the pics were a little spongy not stringy at all.

Not sure if it would be smarter to just swap to cfls if i could just find a 6 x 7" housing for them...
 
Gorgok said:
More light? Less light? Something else wrong? (pics with flash and without flash)

IMG_1618.jpg
IMG_1617.jpg


This has been running on system for a long while now, still never gotten real growth like my old tank system had. That one ran on 2 cfls on a side though, not these LEDs. Not even sure what the LEDs are anymore, should be 12+ 3W reds a side if i remember correctly, on a ~6" x 7" heatsink. I don't recall the current either, its been a while, but its somewhere around 500mA i believe. Running 15 hours a day.

Still growing all sorts of algae in the tank, so something can grow, just not on the screen. If left to grow longer it seems to make a spongy yellower growth, even the pics were a little spongy not stringy at all.

Not sure if it would be smarter to just swap to cfls if i could just find a 6 x 7" housing for them...
Click to expand...

Mine is doing the same thing only not as green as yours. I'm running a 20watt red LED light about 5 inches away. Its got pretty good flow and I'm getting algae in the tank and not on the screen. A few small green patches are growing but most of it looks like a rust colored algae that washes off easily. I think my screen might be too big, its 8 x 10 and I really dont feed that much and have a smaller bioload in my 75g.
 
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