Algae Scrubber Basics
- Thread starter srusso
- Start date
DamonG
New member
Yes, I know.. Actually, I welcome them in a sense.. They just shock me as they hide well.. And I didn't expect them to be in the scrubber.. I've, of course seem pods and little brittle stars (those things get everywhere), but when I went to clean the last time, I was shocked..
I can only imagine in 6 months their population in general.. You find and see the weirdest things in our systems..
I wish I could get mysis somehow to grow like a lot of people do..
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DamonG
New member
Ha ha.. I think honestly I must be immune, as I've been stuck so many times over the past couple decades.. Something.. Lol.. Not quite sure..
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karimwassef
Active member
Callous and numb isn't the same as immune! Lol!
DamonG
New member
Lmao.. All in the mind and semantics my friend.. He he he..
I will honestly say though that my one coral sting(and I cannot remember what coral it was), but it woke me up big-time..
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karimwassef
Active member
Fire coral while snorkeling was my most painful.
Devaji108
New member
so my new waterfall scrubber should be here tomorrow.
questions:
when Ting off the overflow to feed the scrubber how to we determine the flow rate?
my thought is to put a gate valve before the scrubber so I can dial it in. but I forgot the formula to calculate for rate. ( with out a fancy flow sensor )
if I remember right, it's take a known size like a 1/2 gallon then time it to fill. so if it take say 30 secs to fill a half gallon = 1 gallon a min 60 min in an hr would mean a flow rate of well 60GPH does that math sound right. I know the numbers are low but just trying to remember the basic formula.
has anyone added a ATS to there full siphon Herbie? I don't want to mess up the siphon I dont think it will just dividing the water. just checking before I start the plumbing.
questions:
when Ting off the overflow to feed the scrubber how to we determine the flow rate?
my thought is to put a gate valve before the scrubber so I can dial it in. but I forgot the formula to calculate for rate. ( with out a fancy flow sensor )
if I remember right, it's take a known size like a 1/2 gallon then time it to fill. so if it take say 30 secs to fill a half gallon = 1 gallon a min 60 min in an hr would mean a flow rate of well 60GPH does that math sound right. I know the numbers are low but just trying to remember the basic formula.
has anyone added a ATS to there full siphon Herbie? I don't want to mess up the siphon I dont think it will just dividing the water. just checking before I start the plumbing.
PaPa_Johnny
Premium Member
Well, I've read and read and read some more... Thanks for all the info you have shared on here! I want to do a DIY scrubber, just cause. My current tank is still a 90, what do you think of these lights for making one for this tank?
https://www.amazon.com/i-Venoya-Equ...t&refinements=p_36:5000-20000,p_72:2661618011
https://www.amazon.com/i-Venoya-Equ...t&refinements=p_36:5000-20000,p_72:2661618011
Scuba_Steve
Premium Member
Here is my DIY 1 cube 4"x4" ATS. It is lit with 9 1w LEDs on an integrated chip on each side. Right now the lights are ghetto rigged to stay up, although I plan on adding acrylic mounting brackets eventually once I decide if I am happy with them. It is a tight squeeze in my DIY AIO aquarium's sump! I estimate my flow rate at about 150-200gph. It has been going for a week, on a newly cycled tank with very little nutrients being added. I currently am feeding 1/4 cube every other day for my 1 fish and 2 corals...
Celtic_Fox
New member
Ugh. That might be the definition of "adding insult to injury".
Wally.B
Active member
I agree, potassium is worth testing for. If you need to add some, reagent grade potassium chloride is not too pricey on Ebay.
It's been awhile since I did it, but you can get the molar weight/molarity of potassium and chloride from the periodic table and calculate how many grams to use. I'm no chemist-if my terms are wrong, someone please fix
I too got a bit concerned about Potassium, so started using better brand Salts (Tropic Maurin) with higher K. That is getting a bit expensive so I'm considering going back to Reef Crystals (which I trust) and dosing K.
I got the Salifert K kit (easy to use).
Here is a KCL dosing Calculator I found.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/info/calculators/potcalc.php
And if you look around KCL (food grade) is cheaply available.
I got my bag of pure KCL from here ($15.99 CDN/LB) from Online Health Food Store.
https://www.tradetechnocrats.com/products/potassium-chloride-kcl
I haven't used this approach yet, but as soon as TM salt runs out, I will.
SantaMonica
Well-known member
Way too much. Go with 20 or 30 watts.
Don't let the lights touch the water.
Scuba_Steve
Premium Member
Scuba_Steve
Premium Member
They are rated ip 65 just in case though.
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salty joe
Active member
They are dimmable, so underdriving them is a good option.
PaPa_Johnny
Premium Member
Ok, thanks!
Ok. So I did the calculations and something doesn't seem right using 2 cubes per day instead of 2.5.
I got 11.4" x 3.2". 12w of lighting on each side.
I am going to then tweak my calculation and change the gph to 200. I will just add a gate valve from the overflow to adjust as needed. That will give me the following:
200 gph
2 cubes per day
24 sq. in.
24w total needed. (12w per side).
Width = 200/35= 5.7 in. Approx. 6
Length = 24/5.7 = 4.2 in. Approx. 4
Screen = 6" x 4"
Are these dimensions correct?
Regarding lighting:
https://www.amazon.com/ABI-Booster-...ywords=12w+led+red+grow+light#customerReviews
Thoughts?
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Scuba_Steve
Premium Member
Im new to Ats, but your math is correct. I have used similar lights growing pepper plants. They work well. May i suggest you change it to 6x5 instead. This will give you 2.5 cubes like you originally wanted
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