SantaMonica
Well-known member
No there is no space behind, and therefore no place for algae to be dark.
Algae Scrubber Basics
- Thread starter srusso
- Start date
OllieNZ
New member
Thanks,
Could the first one be used with a solid screen rather than a mesh screen to make it truly single sided? I'm just concerned 120sq" would be massive overkill.
SantaMonica
Well-known member
Yes if the white screen had a black backing to stop light from getting to the back side.
Scrubber_steve
I'm really very likeable
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SantaMonica
Well-known member
ThePurple12
New member
Where do you get cfl reflectors???
SantaMonica
Well-known member
Ebay, or the same place you get the CFL
ThePurple12
New member
Thanks.
ento-reefer
New member
I would like a little advice on my Algae scrubber. I seem to only get dark slimy algae on the screen, but get the more desired green hair like algae growing on the bottom plate. My tank is 180g I feed about 2.5 cube equivalents per day. My nitrate level is currently 20 and PO4 .05-.07. I had been running the lights 20 hrs per day for the past month and I am thinking about going to 24.
The only nuisance algae that I have in my tank is a little bubble algae and whatever grows on the back glass which I never clean. My hopes were that the ATS would help keep my nitrates a little lower in the 5-10 range. I am running a little phosguard to help keep PO4 below .1. I have been running the ATS since early September. I run Kalk in my ATO to maintain calc and alk. I change 25g of water every 2 weeks.
The only nuisance algae that I have in my tank is a little bubble algae and whatever grows on the back glass which I never clean. My hopes were that the ATS would help keep my nitrates a little lower in the 5-10 range. I am running a little phosguard to help keep PO4 below .1. I have been running the ATS since early September. I run Kalk in my ATO to maintain calc and alk. I change 25g of water every 2 weeks.
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Is that coraline algae on your screen? It looks purple. I'm not sure if green hair algae will grow in the places where the purple is. You may have to somehow remove the purple somehow.
I think the brown slimy stuff is bacteria and should be brushed off to help encourage/allow the green algae growth.
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I think the brown slimy stuff is bacteria and should be brushed off to help encourage/allow the green algae growth.
Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk
ento-reefer
New member
Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
Your tank could be going through a stage of transition (chemistry adjusting to the algae scrubber) and depending on the system, that can take a while (months) before you start to shift over to thicker greener GHA.
I would rinse the screen under room temperature tap water while rubbing, you want to dislodge any loosely attached growth. Think of it as survival of the fittest - you get rid of the algae that isn't strong in order to make way for the growth that is. Also you want to rinse away any detritus that may be built up on the screen, in the holes, or built up inside the screen panel in your case. So always rinse under running water (that pretty much goes for any scrubber screen).
You're doing the right think by clearing out the slime, just bump up your efforts slightly by rubbing + rinsing.
As far as the hours go, I don't know that going from 20 to 24 will make a huge difference, but as long as you are getting decent growth and no dead spots (from photosaturation) you should be able to run as long of hours as you want.
I would rinse the screen under room temperature tap water while rubbing, you want to dislodge any loosely attached growth. Think of it as survival of the fittest - you get rid of the algae that isn't strong in order to make way for the growth that is. Also you want to rinse away any detritus that may be built up on the screen, in the holes, or built up inside the screen panel in your case. So always rinse under running water (that pretty much goes for any scrubber screen).
You're doing the right think by clearing out the slime, just bump up your efforts slightly by rubbing + rinsing.
As far as the hours go, I don't know that going from 20 to 24 will make a huge difference, but as long as you are getting decent growth and no dead spots (from photosaturation) you should be able to run as long of hours as you want.
Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
I would not use a toothbrush actually. There are very very few times when you should ever scrub a screen with a brush. That is about 3rd or 4th down the line of troubleshooting steps.
You might swipe over the screen with a soft toothbrush, holding it loosely in your fingers and making a single pass across each section of the screen, but not "scrubbing" as in holding it firmly and applying pressure and scrubbing back and forth. This type of cleaning should be reserved for undesireable growth that won't come off with scarping and rubbing & rinsing.
Think of the "toothbrush swipe" as a step above the fingertup rub & rinse. It's a slightly more aggressive cleaning, and shouldn't be used unless your screen is past a certain stage of maturation - maybe only past the 2 month point, so you should have plenty of well-established and "anchored" growth that would be able to withstand a toothbrush pass. Otherwise, that can easily wipe off a majority of the growth and your screen could be too clean, and your growth could revert temporarily because there's too much light post-cleaning
When in doubt, clean less aggressively. Once growth kicks in strong, it'll withstand most any cleaning short of a hard scrub with a stiff brush.
ento-reefer
New member
Thank you very much for taking the time to help me out. I am being very patient with this scrubber lol... It has been running for 4 months now and I have only had all of the lights on since November. I waited until the entire screen was filled in before I connected all of the lights. I have been cleaning it once a week, but maybe I should shoot for every 3 days. I will continue to keep rubbing the slime off and I will start rinsing in warm tap water.
Would it be helpful to rub some of the desirable algae that is growing on the bottom plate into the screen?
ento-reefer
New member
Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
On the contrary, you're likely cleaning too often. Think of it as "harvesting" instead. rub/rinse, that you can do more often, but the point is only to remove very loosely attached growth or slime. Don't "clean".
Then, just let it grow. It's possible that you are over-cleaning, the lights are strong enough to penetrate through thick growth, so just let it grow out. If you feel the need to thin it out (partial harvest) then limit that to about 25% (maybe just pick at it with your fingers) and then a rinse
room temp tap water, I would avoid using warm/hot
that growth isn't likely doing any harm, but you can clear it off if you want.
Scrubber_steve
I'm really very likeable
This is interesting Turbo. What exact chemistry changes are occurring?
Floyd R Turbo
Either busy or sleeping
TBH I'm not sure. I'm going by anecdotal evidence/observations.
What I've seen, on several systems (personally and reports from others) is along these lines usually:
Algae starts in, but it stays pretty short like astroturf. Still green, but doesn't get really long and bushy, etc. Many times, if the slime phase doesn't start right away (requiring rub/rinse), then it will intermix with the GHA for a period of time. May or may not inhibit growth of GHA.
At some point, algae "hits a stride" and starts filling in larger clumps, grows faster, etc. Slime goes away completely.
Compare this with a system that has already been running a scrubber for a long time, and then something happens that mandates replacing the screen. This new screen skips right over all the startup phases and goes straight to bushy thick GHA. I've also seen this happen on tanks that haven't ever ran a scrubber, so there must be some condition that is favorable to algae scrubber growth.
I've seen it take 4-6 months for a scrubber to really take off, but when it does, it maintains that stride with very little interaction.
The problem I think most people have is that they are impatient. They want it now. That just isn't the way a scrubber works, you flat out cannot force it to grow how you want it to or how "it should". It's going to grow appropriately for your tank conditions.
The key here is then identifying what those tank conditions are the promote the best growth. Then, the path isn't trying to get your tank into those conditions, it's to identify why those conditions matter and then develop a method for tank-scrubber harmony.
Again, no studies targeting this. So up to this point, it's just a theory that seems to fit the facts. Gotta work with what I have
What I've seen, on several systems (personally and reports from others) is along these lines usually:
Algae starts in, but it stays pretty short like astroturf. Still green, but doesn't get really long and bushy, etc. Many times, if the slime phase doesn't start right away (requiring rub/rinse), then it will intermix with the GHA for a period of time. May or may not inhibit growth of GHA.
At some point, algae "hits a stride" and starts filling in larger clumps, grows faster, etc. Slime goes away completely.
Compare this with a system that has already been running a scrubber for a long time, and then something happens that mandates replacing the screen. This new screen skips right over all the startup phases and goes straight to bushy thick GHA. I've also seen this happen on tanks that haven't ever ran a scrubber, so there must be some condition that is favorable to algae scrubber growth.
I've seen it take 4-6 months for a scrubber to really take off, but when it does, it maintains that stride with very little interaction.
The problem I think most people have is that they are impatient. They want it now. That just isn't the way a scrubber works, you flat out cannot force it to grow how you want it to or how "it should". It's going to grow appropriately for your tank conditions.
The key here is then identifying what those tank conditions are the promote the best growth. Then, the path isn't trying to get your tank into those conditions, it's to identify why those conditions matter and then develop a method for tank-scrubber harmony.
Again, no studies targeting this. So up to this point, it's just a theory that seems to fit the facts. Gotta work with what I have
Scrubber_steve
I'm really very likeable
Yes, I've had this happen on my tank, & i've seen a system never having algae filtration get just Ulva growing on a screen& nothing else from the beginning. From my experience I put it down to not using any blue light, just red? Anecdotal of course, but I first ran a horizontal screen / tub style scrubber back in the 1990s & used a warm fluro tubes for illumination. All sorts of 'stuff' grew on that screen, not really what you'd want for algae filtration.
Yes it certainly can take some time for the screen to get to where you want it. This is why I found it hard to believe that a screen could get to the same stage in 13 days, as suggested in that thread on the other forum.
Like you said, it can take time, but once a screen matures there seems to be little problems from then on. At worst, growth may slow at times, but the algae just hangs in, stays green & healthy. I think this is an advantage over a fuge, & may be why some people have trouble growing chaeto. Where a scrubber screen just stays there until conditions become suitable for self seeding, chaeto just dies & then they buy more, it dies & they give up.
I came across this the other day. Haven't read it yet. You may have altready?
https://www.researchgate.net/public...AND_APPLICATION_FOR_LOW_NUTRIENT_APPLICATIONS
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