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Unread 01/08/2019, 09:30 AM   #10126
fit
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I recommend you brush that slime thouraly with a toothbrush. Then rinse in either tap water or aquarium water. Or don't rinse at all should probably work too. It will just wash off into the tank.

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Unread 01/08/2019, 09:37 AM   #10127
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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.


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Algae Scrubber Basics!!! GOOGLE "algaescrubber zoho"
General Interest Forums --> Advanced Topics --> Algae Scrubber Basics (sticky)
--> POSTS #3251-64 (Basics), #5206 (Cleaning), #6884 (LEDs), #729
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Unread 01/08/2019, 09:43 AM   #10128
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fit View Post
I recommend you brush that slime thouraly with a toothbrush.
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.


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Algae Scrubber Basics!!! GOOGLE "algaescrubber zoho"
General Interest Forums --> Advanced Topics --> Algae Scrubber Basics (sticky)
--> POSTS #3251-64 (Basics), #5206 (Cleaning), #6884 (LEDs), #729
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Unread 01/08/2019, 12:55 PM   #10129
ento-reefer
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Floyd R Turbo View Post
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.
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?


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Unread 01/08/2019, 12:57 PM   #10130
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fit View Post
I recommend you brush that slime thouraly with a toothbrush. Then rinse in either tap water or aquarium water. Or don't rinse at all should probably work too. It will just wash off into the tank.

Sent from my SM-G930T using Tapatalk
Thank you for helping me out. It definitely washes off into my sump after I clean it now. I was afraid to rinse the screen thinking it would set the maturity back to square 1.


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Unread 01/08/2019, 01:04 PM   #10131
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ento-reefer View Post
I have been cleaning it once a week, but maybe I should shoot for every 3 days.
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

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Originally Posted by ento-reefer View Post
I will continue to keep rubbing the slime off and I will start rinsing in warm tap water.
room temp tap water, I would avoid using warm/hot

Quote:
Originally Posted by ento-reefer View Post
Would it be helpful to rub some of the desirable algae that is growing on the bottom plate into the screen?
that growth isn't likely doing any harm, but you can clear it off if you want.


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General Interest Forums --> Advanced Topics --> Algae Scrubber Basics (sticky)
--> POSTS #3251-64 (Basics), #5206 (Cleaning), #6884 (LEDs), #729
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Unread 01/08/2019, 02:00 PM   #10132
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Floyd R Turbo View Post
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.
This is interesting Turbo. What exact chemistry changes are occurring?


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Unread 01/08/2019, 02:35 PM   #10133
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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


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General Interest Forums --> Advanced Topics --> Algae Scrubber Basics (sticky)
--> POSTS #3251-64 (Basics), #5206 (Cleaning), #6884 (LEDs), #729
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Unread 01/08/2019, 03:08 PM   #10134
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Floyd R Turbo View Post
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.
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.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Floyd R Turbo View Post
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.
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.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Floyd R Turbo View Post
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
I came across this the other day. Haven't read it yet. You may have altready?
https://www.researchgate.net/publica...T_APPLICATIONS


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Unread 01/08/2019, 10:09 PM   #10135
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Floyd R Turbo View Post
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.
Thank you!!

I will follow your advice and see how things go.


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Unread 01/13/2019, 06:36 PM   #10136
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Looks like there might be detachment as shown by the missing growth patches, and also by the glob on the tray. Give everything a good brush in your sink, tray and slot included.


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Unread 01/13/2019, 10:21 PM   #10137
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Looks like there might be detachment as shown by the missing growth patches, and also by the glob on the tray. Give everything a good brush in your sink, tray and slot included.
Are you looking at the same pictures??


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General Interest Forums --> Advanced Topics --> Algae Scrubber Basics (sticky)
--> POSTS #3251-64 (Basics), #5206 (Cleaning), #6884 (LEDs), #729
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Unread 01/17/2019, 07:35 PM   #10138
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Example of not harvesting a waterfall soon enough

It's not known how long this one went.


Attached Images
File Type: jpg WfReefgrrlOnYoutube-2 holiday texts no tm.jpg (107.8 KB, 89 views)
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Unread 01/25/2019, 03:37 PM   #10139
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Fun freshwater growth pics. This is not mud!


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File Type: jpg UasFkleyro-1.jpg (41.2 KB, 66 views)
File Type: jpg UasFkleyro-2.jpg (47.3 KB, 54 views)
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Unread 02/02/2019, 01:52 AM   #10140
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Has anyone experience Bryopsis growing in their ATS..I have a small fern of it now growing in mine...uggggg


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Unread 02/02/2019, 06:03 AM   #10141
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Has anyone experience Bryopsis growing in their ATS..I have a small fern of it now growing in mine...uggggg
Photo


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Unread 02/02/2019, 08:49 AM   #10142
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Photo
I’ll try. It’s in a tough spot to photo. I can def tell ya it’s bryopsis as I’ve had it in the tank before


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Unread 02/02/2019, 11:19 AM   #10143
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My scrubber was going good and then I bleached it with UV light. Now it is not much green, just orange/red/yellow of what seems like bacteria. Any advice of how to get it going good again?


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Unread 02/02/2019, 02:49 PM   #10144
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I’ll try. It’s in a tough spot to photo. I can def tell ya it’s bryopsis as I’ve had it in the tank before
So its growing on the screen & in the ats housing as well, you mean?


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Unread 02/13/2019, 07:31 PM   #10145
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SanraMonica, Turbo and others:

I’m new to ATS and to be honest with 10,000+ posts on this it can be overwhelming. I have a 60g cube with 20g 2 chamber sump underneath. The tank cycled about 3-4 weeks ago and only thing in it besides rock n sand is snails and two bubble tips but adding some coral and a couple clowns next Saturday. Anyway what does everyone think of this scrubber as a low cost scrubber?

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?m...2F283352387178


I appreciate any help as the funds are not available currently to add the higher end scrubbers.

Thank u


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Unread 02/24/2019, 04:10 PM   #10146
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I have two of them sitting here in a box. The misleading part of that listing is that he does not say it needs air bubbles to operate. The water just flows out of the upper pipe, but since the whole box is full of water, you get no waterfall. So to get growth, you need an air bubbler at the bottom.


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Unread 02/24/2019, 05:03 PM   #10147
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Thanks for the reply. Actually I had just went and bought the Rain2 scrubber. Can’t wait till it arrives and I get it hooked up. Will a 300gph pump be sufficient or should I get a 400gph. Have a 300 now.


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I have two of them sitting here in a box. The misleading part of that listing is that he does not say it needs air bubbles to operate. The water just flows out of the upper pipe, but since the whole box is full of water, you get no waterfall. So to get growth, you need an air bubbler at the bottom.



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Unread 02/25/2019, 04:26 AM   #10148
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Santa monica : that is what you need to come up with next a HANG ON THE BACK algae scrubber....put your creative juices in motion , bro !


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Unread 02/25/2019, 01:11 PM   #10149
SantaMonica
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300 is good, 400 usually needed reducing a bit.

Yes I already have a hang on model, designed in 2011; see figure 6A here:
https://patents.google.com/patent/US9115008


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Unread 02/25/2019, 07:11 PM   #10150
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santa : figure 6b ? is it being made by you ???


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