Algae Scrubber Basics

[karimwassef]

Yes. I've experimented with 30-40 and I found that, for my system, slightly lower salinity is better. That's only true if I keep my Alk, Ca and Mg up though. Mg is the tricky one. I have to keep it artificially high relative to the overall salinity.

I wouldn't necessarily advise it. I'm not sure why it works better for me. The chemists on here say it shouldn't be good. Without a solid theory, I would be cautious in another tank.

I keep my pH artificially alternating between 8.1 and 8.4 with time-controlled Kalk and I inject a lot of air. The weird combination injects a lot of CO2 through aeration (coverts to carbonates) and then a lot of carbonate again through kalk... but I keep it at 8.5dKH.

So... not normal. I don't know what each individual control does but it works so well, I'm not rocking the boat.

 

[MidwesternTexan]

Yes. I've experimented with 30-40 and I found that, for my system, slightly lower salinity is better. That's only true if I keep my Alk, Ca and Mg up though. Mg is the tricky one. I have to keep it artificially high relative to the overall salinity.

I wouldn't necessarily advise it. I'm not sure why it works better for me. The chemists on here say it shouldn't be good. Without a solid theory, I would be cautious in another tank.

I keep my pH artificially alternating between 8.1 and 8.4 with time-controlled Kalk and I inject a lot of air. The weird combination injects a lot of CO2 through aeration (coverts to carbonates) and then a lot of carbonate again through kalk... but I keep it at 8.5dKH.

So... not normal. I don't know what each individual control does but it works so well, I'm not rocking the boat.

If it's not there already, this ATS 'tub' and whatever you're doing deserves it's own thread. Nice Work and from my former stomping grounds of TX too.

 

[karimwassef]

true. I apologize for occasionally hijacking this threat but I learned so much from it, that I feel like sharing here.

I also need a better name for it - settling tank turf scrubber (STTS)?

settling tank turf refugium (STTR)?

I starting digging under the highest layers of turf and I found grape caulerpa in there. I've never had grape caulerpa - so,.... weird. I'll need to do a deep dive and see what's really in there.

 

[Dans85]

Your settling tank is wicked cool. Seeing this has my wheels turning for my 65g build.

 

[SantaMonica]

Here is a bump for those looking at these types of lights:

In the name of scientific research, I bought and disassembled the popular 20w IP65 plant-grow light to check for wattage and heat.

I removed the power supply for the temperature measurements, because I only wanted to get the heat from the LED, which was a LOT.

It turns out that the LED is getting .59 X 22.8 = 13.5 watts

As thought, the Chinese LEDs are labelled higher than their "real" watts. However, it is still a tremendous amount of heat and light. The back of the case, and the front glass, get too hot to keep your hand on. And the LED lens itself gets sizzling and will burn you.

Overall, even though it's not CE or UL rated, it's a good splash-proof light for the money. Just don't drop it in the water, because water will get inside and short the line voltage there.

More pics in the following post...

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=24304046#post24304046

 

[br88dy]

Hey guys. I just added 2 clowns to my newly cycled tank. They're happy as can be. Is my aquarium old enough for a new screen to mature? It takes a week to get from 5ppm to 20ppm nitrates. I'm assuming algae can grow because I do have nitrates. Is this true?

- Screen is 5" wide 2.5" tall
- Half cube a day
- 35 gph per sq inch
- No display tank lights yet. Just 2 RapidLED 660nm lights, 2.5" from the screen.
- Currently running 24 hours a day because I have no idea how long they should be on. My previous scrubber worked great with 24/7 lighting but that setup is totally different.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

you can start a scrubber on a fresh tank, so yes. I would ease up on the photoperiod though

 

[br88dy]

you can start a scrubber on a fresh tank, so yes. I would ease up on the photoperiod though

Hey thanks! I'm going to do 18 on 6 off and see what happens after a week.


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[notenoughtanks]

Anyone have a suggestion on an ATS for a 50 gallon system to run in combination with a skimmer? Really love the design of your L2 Turbo, but think it's a bit large for my needs. I see the HOGs but don't like the idea of running a bubbler pump, when I have a return large enough to spare 300gph.

On my current 24 gal AIO tank I have a screen running with 4 red Leds and it works well, but upgrading to a sump I don't have the nice enclosed area. Build an acrylic box similar to the Cyclone or Turbo design, but for only 1 cube a day?

 

[br88dy]

Build an acrylic box similar to the Cyclone or Turbo design, but for only 1 cube a day?

Well for starters you'll need more than 300 gph for a 1 cube screen. So I don't think using your spare flow will work. You'll need another pump or you can figure out a way to use your overflow as a means to cover the screen with water. I'm doing that on my 40 breeder AIO.



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[Floyd R Turbo]

Br88dy where are you getting 300 GPH? I don't recommend that much for an L2 even.

35 GPH per linear inch of screen width is the general target but you can do less also

For a 4" wide x 3" tall screen lit on both sides, that's 140 GPH, could do 100 and it would probably be good even

 

[br88dy]

Br88dy where are you getting 300 GPH? I don't recommend that much for an L2 even.

35 GPH per linear inch of screen width is the general target but you can do less also

For a 4" wide x 3" tall screen lit on both sides, that's 140 GPH, could do 100 and it would probably be good even

....definitely misinterpreted the zoho site info. I thought that meant 35 gph per sq in, not per inch wide. Do I need to adjust my screen? The screen I just started is 5" tall, 2.5" wide. That's 80 GPH per inch!

 

[br88dy]

For a 4" wide x 3" tall screen lit on both sides, that's 140 GPH, could do 100 and it would probably be good even

Oh and my screen is lit on just one side, so all 80 GPH are on that single side...that sounds like a lot.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

Yeah for 2.5" wide, going over 125 GPH (which would be 50 GPH/in) is not typically going to give you much benefit

 

[br88dy]

Yeah for 2.5" wide, going over 125 GPH (which would be 50 GPH/in) is not typically going to give you much benefit

In my hysterics I mis-typed. It's actually 5.5 wide, 2.5 tall. Is 50 gph/in the max?


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[Floyd R Turbo]

Beyond that I don't think there is much advantage, but I would be hesitant to define a "max"

 

[karimwassef]

Has anyone ever done a comparison of one sided vs. double sided efficiency?

So..
The first design is a double sided vertical mesh screen of x area with y light on each side (2y light @ 2x area).
The second is a flat horizontal single sided mesh screen of x area and a solid back (acrylic) with two y lights (so 2y light on 1x area).

Same flow.

Here's the idea- does a near-surface submerged mesh grow more algae given the same flow and light than a vertical two sided screen.

 

[taricha]

Would anyone be willing to put their scrubber harvest (turf or hair algae) in a double-bagged Ziploc in the next couple of days and next day ship it to MS?
It's to kick start a fuge for a project. I'd pay shipping plus a few bucks for the help.

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[NanoReefLife]

Is it possible to have a light for a scrubber that is too strong if so what are the effects?

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[karimwassef]

too much light needs to be in context... you can have too much light relative to the food supply (nutrients in the system).

If that happens, then the algae first gets pale and then gets brownish and then gets slimy.

that's my experience anyway