scrubber

[stephen13666]

I've read through tons of pages on variuos websites about these. i have built one for my new 90 gallon set up. i have started with dry rock. my question is do i need to seed my ats? i know inland aquatics sells seed screens but is it necessary?

 

[rysher]

no, u dont have to seed ur screen.

 

[OodleyBoodely]

The algae will come even if starting with a sterile environ....Add light, add food, and...voila! Algae happens!

 

[OodleyBoodely]

I don't think the seeded screens will even speed the process up much...certainly not enough to make the cost of buying and shipping the screens worthwhile, imo! Just add a small piece of liverock or a cup of livesand and you will more than seed the screen enough to jump-start the process.

 

[jwoyshnar]

Some hang a piece of shrimp on the screen to speed it up. If done correctly these things work great

 

[Ansphire]

Dont add anything.. just let it be.. make sure you have the propper amount of light and flow..

Low flow and ur algae will be yellow..

Make sure u run it 18 hours not 24. And watch the magic of nature work.

 

[billsreef]

Just add a small piece of liverock or a cup of livesand and you will more than seed the screen enough to jump-start the process.

This

It will also seed some bacteria and other beneficial life as well

 

[stephen13666]

ok thanks, i'll throw in a piece of live rock and see what happens. one more question though, is the amount of algae that grows on the screen related to the bioload of the tank? will more algae grow once i increase the bioload?

 

[Gorgok]

I would say the answer is 'it depends'. With a higher bio-load you have the potential to have more waste produced, but if some of those just recycle the waste of others, then the total waste really isn't increasing. But usually with a higher bio-load you feed more, since there are more mouths to feed, and that definitely increases the amount of algae that can grow since you are adding more nutrients to the system.

The specs on scrubber size i last saw were based on feeding rather than bio-load, which makes sense to me.

 

[rysher]

is the amount of algae that grows on the screen related to the bioload of the tank? will more algae grow once i increase the bioload?

no, the amount of GHA in ur screen is dependent on the amount u feed.

 

[BeanAnimal]

no, the amount of GHA in ur screen is dependent on the amount u feed.

Increased bioload means increased nutrients one way or the other