Algae Scrubber Basics

[srusso]

Come on, we all know salt doesn't evaporate. :frog: I have no idea about the sulfate thing, I just know back in ancient times salting of your enemies fields was a popular way of ensuring they'd never reinhabit an area. I would imagine the rinsing would take away most of the salt, but I don't know how much salt the plants retain in their tissues. I know I saw a nature show once where moose liked to eat aquatic plants because of their high salt content.

Yeah I realize how silly that may have sounded, but I was thinking more like the dry salt would react differently with the soil and plants. :lol2: but I guess that also sounds silly...

My harvests just get thrown away, and I have never used the stuff... I never used it for fertilizer, b/c I was never sure...

I totally agree, the plants would contain the salt

 

[redneckgearhead]

I don't think it will ruin the soil... Sulfate makes up most of the salt in our salt water, right? If that is correct, I know that Magnesium Sulfate or Epsom salt is commonly used in botany.

Although I have herd that dumping your waste water from water changes on your lawn will kill it...

Anyone with some additional info here?

I feel like it b/c it is dried wouldn't that make a difference?

Yes, dumping your water change water will kill weeds/grass. But only temporarily, The salt is used by plants (tomato plants love it) but to much will kill them. I use it along my fence line because my neighbors refuse to weed eat their side of the fence lol. But like I said after one good rain the plants spring right back. So using the algae for fertilizer would work IMO just think of all the nutrients trapped in it.

 

[reefkeeper2]

For those considering. LEDs, I bought these at Costco on sale $20.00. They are 3000k and very bright. So far working very well on my scrubber that has been working just one week.

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[reefkeeper2]

One weeks growth

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[kcress]

Why would algae contain any salt? Is salmon salty? No..

I don't think it contains any salt at all except for the drained surfaces.

When I harvest the algae I end up with about a gallon of it. I toss it in the roses or in our composter. I've never seen any negative effects.

 

[jrp1588]

I'm basing the question on something I heard once on discovery channel regarding freshwater aquatic plants. Moose would eat these plants as a supply of salt since the plants had pulled salts from the soil and concentrated them in their tissue. I have no idea if this would apply to marine algae or not.

 

[jharte]

Can a algae scrubber have too much flow?

If I use an algae scrubber on my 40 gallon breeder, I plan to have a 7x7 sq inch sheet for algae. 7 in across would need a total of 245 gph if I understand this correctly. The water in my tank is turned over about 320 gph. Would this be an issue?

 

[Anycall2]

Update

Update

You need to switch to 2700K-3000K lamps. The actinic blues and 10000K whites are the incorrect spectrum for algae growth. Get these or a similar lamp:

https://www.aghydroponics.com/T5-2Ft-Grow-Bulbs-24W-HO-3000k-8pack-p/litbulbt5-pxfl248308.htm

There is a progression, but it usually depends on the initial status of the tank water parameters. You should generally get a brown diatom (slime) growth for the first couple days to maybe a couple weeks, which you should only gently rub with fingertips and gently rinse in slow running tap water, followed by brown or green hair algae.

Thanks Floyd.
Just a quick update, for temporary purposes, I replaced my actinic's with all 10000k whites. I looked at your recommended site however a switch in light bulbs to your specification would require a switch in lighting fixture. The lighting fixtures to support such bulbs look expensive. As such I am thinking of going to a more cost efficient method of using the standard cool white bulbs. This would unfortunately require me to dump my acrylic Santa Monica- like scrubber.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

Why would algae contain any salt?

When you pull the screen out, it is soaked in saltwater. If you just dry it as is, it will have residual salt. That's why I rinse it in FW.

Can a algae scrubber have too much flow?

If I use an algae scrubber on my 40 gallon breeder, I plan to have a 7x7 sq inch sheet for algae. 7 in across would need a total of 245 gph if I understand this correctly. The water in my tank is turned over about 320 gph. Would this be an issue?

No, 35 GPH is the suggested flow, you can go higher as long as your screen is rough enough. If you get black algae (high nutrients) then you want to make sure to clean it more often as algae will detach more easily under high flow in such a situation. But you can go higher, like 70 GPH but you will need a wider slot to allow for such a flow rate.

Thanks Floyd.
Just a quick update, for temporary purposes, I replaced my actinic's with all 10000k whites. I looked at your recommended site however a switch in light bulbs to your specification would require a switch in lighting fixture. The lighting fixtures to support such bulbs look expensive. As such I am thinking of going to a more cost efficient method of using the standard cool white bulbs. This would unfortunately require me to dump my acrylic Santa Monica- like scrubber.

Are you talking about your tank lighting or your scrubber lighting? Remind me what lighting you are using now on your scrubber. If you're using T5HO endcaps, the lamp requirements aren't any different, only the color temp. T5HO is T5HO. Switching from actinics to 10,000K? I'm confused by your post. Please clarify.

 

[JohnnyB in SD]

FloydRT,
I am in the process of designing an acrylic box to replace my simple bucket style version. I am mostly following your post #15 from 02/16, and have some questions. Would you still recommend using 2 drain pipes at different levels? What distance are the actual T5 tubes from the screen? Are there any modifications / improvements you would make to that design after having used it for some months?
Really appreciate all the knowledge & experience you, srusso, and other people have shared in this thread. It is a very valuable resource.

 

[Psyops]

Sorry to change the subject on you guys. Has anyone of you observed a alk drop by using your scrubbers? It seems my ATS is sucking up carbonate. My calcium levels are actually slowly going up. If anyone has had this issue, what have you guys done to rectify the situation?

Thanks

 

[redneckgearhead]

before pictures

before pictures

These pictures where taken right around the end of March, just before I installed my scrubber. And mind you this is only a couple of days growth. At the time I was doing 10% water changes twice a week and would harvest 80% of the HA off of the rocks. I had upgraded my skimmer and only had my lights on for 3 hours a day. NOTHING seemed to help.

 

[redneckgearhead]

after pictures

after pictures

And these pics are of my tank as it looked today just before my water change. My ATS is working beautifully. I clean it once a week. I am still using my skimmer and it is still pulling stuff out, but not near what it did before the scrubber. I tried EVERYTHING else that was suggested to me and NOTHING helped. The HA continued to grow. My scrubber saved my tank!

When I noticed the HA starting to recede I cut my water changes to one 10%a week and the HA is still slowly going away.

 

[srusso]

Sorry to change the subject on you guys. Has anyone of you observed a alk drop by using your scrubbers? It seems my ATS is sucking up carbonate. My calcium levels are actually slowly going up. If anyone has had this issue, what have you guys done to rectify the situation?

Thanks

I find that my tank uses a lot of alk, started using kalk and it's helped a lot... Still need to dose a little.

Cal reading will naturally test higher as alk decreases... I think

 

[srusso]

And these pics are of my tank as it looked today just before my water change. My ATS is working beautifully. I clean it once a week. I am still using my skimmer and it is still pulling stuff out, but not near what it did before the scrubber. I tried EVERYTHING else that was suggested to me and NOTHING helped. The HA continued to grow. My scrubber saved my tank!

When I noticed the HA starting to recede I cut my water changes to one 10%a week and the HA is still slowly going away.

Wonderful! Thanks for posting!!

 

[Anycall2]

Are you talking about your tank lighting or your scrubber lighting? Remind me what lighting you are using now on your scrubber. If you're using T5HO endcaps, the lamp requirements aren't any different, only the color temp. T5HO is T5HO. Switching from actinics to 10,000K? I'm confused by your post. Please clarify.

This is for my algae scrubber. The japanese light fixtures support three 16watt 12inch bulbs. Since I have two light fixtures for my scrubber, I get a total wattage of 16x3=98 watts per side. Nonetheless, I am in the process of scrapping my customized acrylic scrubber and making a new scrubber that would support house light bulbs. Meanwhile, I want to see what kind of algae and growth I get with these 10000k white lights. Regardless, this journey as with anything in the reef keeping hobby has been an pricey endeavor. Hopefully, I will find the end with getting this scrubber working.

 

[jharte]

Do algae scrubbers prevent keeping macroalgae in the display tank?

 

[TheFishMan65]

The algae will grow where it find the condition best. The idea is the the scrubber is the 'best' place because of lighting a nutrients. So the scrubber will tend to out compete any algae in the display. So it does not prevent just makes it hard.

Did I get the right?

I think (and plan to drive) making an undersized scrubber to see if I can keep some algae in the tank.

 

[mistaflicksta]

This is my scrubber after two weeks. I noticed that I have to widen the slit in the middle as there isnt as muck flow there as the edges

 

[Psyops]

I find that my tank uses a lot of alk, started using kalk and it's helped a lot... Still need to dose a little.

Cal reading will naturally test higher as alk decreases... I think

Thanks for the reply. I also do have a calcium reactor. Do I just increase the reactor output or also use kalk? I do have a ATO system in place. I have a 180 gallon system. I add around 1-2 gallons daily. My alk readings are around the 7s most of the time. How much alk to mix a 45 gallon ATO tank?