Algae Scrubber Basics - Page 12

BluScrnOdeth · 02/23/2011, 04:16 PM

yeah it does look pretty god, its taking off like wildfire. Thats prob a what, 5x growth since the last picture i posted. I think im going to look into getting something to drape over the watering tube and drape it down about an inch. See if that helps stop the algae from growing up in the tube, something thick.

I'm going to scrub the screen too when on friday (my cleaning day) to get more of the Cyno off there, i only hand rubbed it last time. Also done a water test yesterday to see how things were going.

Ammonia-0
NO3-0
NO4-0
Clac-400ppm
Alk-11.8dKH
PH-8.2

Christian J · 02/23/2011, 06:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Floyd R Turbo

I'm not sure what Kalkwasser has to do with it.

I was thinking of some way to add a layer of calcium carbonate on the plastic, assuming that hair algae attaches easier on that than directly on plastic. Kalk wasser may not be the ideal way to achieve this though.

Quote:

Roughing up the screen provides a physical area for the algae to attach and hold on. It has nothing to do with chemical reactions, and it is not a substrate from which the algae grows.

You mean more like a mechanical strain relief(?), so hair algae filaments are not simply washed away?

zreefs · 02/23/2011, 06:25 PM

im just wondering what happens if you dont clean your scrubber every week what if you let it go a week and a half or 2 weeks. not saying i wang to try it but has anyone done this

srusso · 02/23/2011, 06:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zreefs

im just wondering what happens if you dont clean your scrubber every week what if you let it go a week and a half or 2 weeks. not saying i wang to try it but has anyone done this

To put it simply...
Algae strands my began to die off as new ones grow, releasing nitrates and phosphates back into the water.

However each build and tank is different so it may not effect some tanks in the same way as quickly.

Floyd R Turbo · 02/23/2011, 07:12 PM

Santa Monica has a couple videos he did of 2 weeks of growth. It was kind of an experiment. You have to rinse the screen off with RO/DI water to kill excess pods at the 1 week point or else the algae will start to detach from getting eaten. Then the above happens, light doesn't get to lower layers and you get die-off, negating the purpose.

Clean weekly. You can go longer in a pinch and it won't be the end of the world, just don't make it the norm that's all.

afgun · 02/23/2011, 07:18 PM

What happened to that honeycomb material that SantaMonica was testing?

Floyd R Turbo · 02/23/2011, 07:21 PM

When was that?

acts4me · 02/23/2011, 08:26 PM

How in the world do you find room for any size ATS. I cannot find a way to get this thing under my tank. I am going crazy.

srusso · 02/23/2011, 08:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by acts4me

How in the world do you find room for any size ATS. I cannot find a way to get this thing under my tank. I am going crazy.

I would recommend building a bucket style scrubber at first. Once it matures you can then decide if you want to try and remove some other types of filters... you may have...

Floyd R Turbo · 02/23/2011, 08:43 PM

Post some pics of your sump area & see if anyone comes up with an idea.

acts4me · 02/23/2011, 09:53 PM

Working on getting photo's loaded

kdirk · 02/23/2011, 09:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CLINTOS

I really like kdirk design

Maybe a little bit of a thinner box so the light's are closer. unless it would increase the temp too much.

Its 6" I didn't want too much splashing on the acrylic, lights are 4" away.

acts4me · 02/23/2011, 10:07 PM

Pics

acts4me · 02/23/2011, 10:09 PM

Last pic

kdirk · 02/23/2011, 10:10 PM

3 days growth

mrbncal · 02/23/2011, 10:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by afgun

What happened to that honeycomb material that SantaMonica was testing?

I believe the screen you are talking about didnt give a very good surface to flow down. The "honeycombs" were to deep and didnt let the water sheet very well. Also it was to thick for good light penetration to the center.

fppf · 02/23/2011, 10:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by acts4me

Pics

Ha! Don't that look familiar!
You just need to drill some holes in your floor and move all that to the basement so its easy to work on and clean. I plumbed my tank into the wash tub, need to do water change, open one valve and get cleaning.

Floyd R Turbo · 02/23/2011, 10:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by acts4me

Last pic

It looks to me like you could remove one of the bulkheads and seat the tub outlet into the hole, then route the spa flex tube into the inlet of the ATS box. Then you will have to figure out where to put the lights. You might be able to rig up both spa tubes into the box, one on each side, but only if you haven't glued the cap onto the end of your slot pipe.

acts4me · 02/23/2011, 10:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fppf

Ha! Don't that look familiar!
You just need to drill some holes in your floor and move all that to the basement so its easy to work on and clean. I plumbed my tank into the wash tub, need to do water change, open one valve and get cleaning.

Got no basement I live in Florida no basement here LOL Everything was easy till I started this ATS. Now I have to find room. I was thinking of plumbing it directly to my return and then letting it flow back into the sump but that would take my sock out of the system. Do I need the sock?

acts4me · 02/23/2011, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Floyd R Turbo

It looks to me like you could remove one of the bulkheads and seat the tub outlet into the hole, then route the spa flex tube into the inlet of the ATS box. Then you will have to figure out where to put the lights. You might be able to rig up both spa tubes into the box, one on each side, but only if you haven't glued the cap onto the end of your slot pipe.

I can remove the cap. But if I run both returns to the ATS box I have no back-up if it clogs.

fppf · 02/23/2011, 10:43 PM

I don't use a sock 24/7 just a few days a month.

Check my pics I posted a few pages back in this thread, I used the same bin.

Know what you mean about FL, you dig 6" and get water, LOL

acts4me · 02/23/2011, 10:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fppf

I don't use a sock 24/7 just a few days a month.

Check my pics I posted a few pages back in this thread, I used the same bin.

Know what you mean about FL, you dig 6" and get water, LOL

After Flyod's suggestion I think I have solved my problem. I will try it out in the morning so I don't beat the crap out of anything tonight LOL.

fppf I looked at your pics did you screw the lights to the file box? If so what did you use s.s. and some kind of washer?

Floyd R Turbo · 02/23/2011, 11:03 PM

You can continue to use the sock if you want to, and one side is fine but you may or may not get enough flow. Test the flow rate out of your spa hose by filling a container and timing it and come up with GPH and make sure it's 35 GPH/inch of screen or at least close to it.

Eventually you probably will not want the sock, I did away with mine and I'm glad I don't have to clean it every 6 days now.

fppf · 02/23/2011, 11:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by acts4me

After Flyod's suggestion I think I have solved my problem. I will try it out in the morning so I don't beat the crap out of anything tonight LOL.

fppf I looked at your pics did you screw the lights to the file box? If so what did you use s.s. and some kind of washer?

Na, just some plated #6 self taping screws. We will see how they hold up. There really is not much spray so if they last a year I'm happy. If not I will order some SS ones. One thing I noticed today. I'm going to need some silicone where the lights join the box. It is so cold in my basement I get some condensation on the reflector and it runs down and then drips out the edge. The condensation does not make it all the way to the base of the bulb so I'm safe there. And as soon as the bulbs turn on it burns off the little bit of water. Condensation is actually good in this case, its like a fresh water rinse.

acts4me · 02/23/2011, 11:12 PM

Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. I will post pictures when i get done tomorrow.

02/23/2011, 07:12 PM	#280
Floyd R Turbo Either busy or sleeping Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: West Des Moines, IA Posts: 4,265 Blog Entries: 15	Santa Monica has a couple videos he did of 2 weeks of growth. It was kind of an experiment. You have to rinse the screen off with RO/DI water to kill excess pods at the 1 week point or else the algae will start to detach from getting eaten. Then the above happens, light doesn't get to lower layers and you get die-off, negating the purpose. Clean weekly. You can go longer in a pinch and it won't be the end of the world, just don't make it the norm that's all. __________________ Algae Scrubber Basics!!! GOOGLE "algaescrubber zoho" General Interest Forums --> Advanced Topics --> Algae Scrubber Basics (sticky) --> POSTS #3251-64 (Basics), #5206 (Cleaning), #6884 (LEDs), #729

02/23/2011, 07:21 PM	#282
Floyd R Turbo Either busy or sleeping Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: West Des Moines, IA Posts: 4,265 Blog Entries: 15	When was that? __________________ Algae Scrubber Basics!!! GOOGLE "algaescrubber zoho" General Interest Forums --> Advanced Topics --> Algae Scrubber Basics (sticky) --> POSTS #3251-64 (Basics), #5206 (Cleaning), #6884 (LEDs), #729

02/23/2011, 08:43 PM	#285
Floyd R Turbo Either busy or sleeping Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: West Des Moines, IA Posts: 4,265 Blog Entries: 15	Post some pics of your sump area & see if anyone comes up with an idea. __________________ Algae Scrubber Basics!!! GOOGLE "algaescrubber zoho" General Interest Forums --> Advanced Topics --> Algae Scrubber Basics (sticky) --> POSTS #3251-64 (Basics), #5206 (Cleaning), #6884 (LEDs), #729

02/23/2011, 11:03 PM	#298
Floyd R Turbo Either busy or sleeping Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: West Des Moines, IA Posts: 4,265 Blog Entries: 15	You can continue to use the sock if you want to, and one side is fine but you may or may not get enough flow. Test the flow rate out of your spa hose by filling a container and timing it and come up with GPH and make sure it's 35 GPH/inch of screen or at least close to it. Eventually you probably will not want the sock, I did away with mine and I'm glad I don't have to clean it every 6 days now. __________________ 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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02/23/2011, 04:16 PM	#276
BluScrnOdeth Darin Schmidt Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 537	yeah it does look pretty god, its taking off like wildfire. Thats prob a what, 5x growth since the last picture i posted. I think im going to look into getting something to drape over the watering tube and drape it down about an inch. See if that helps stop the algae from growing up in the tube, something thick. I'm going to scrub the screen too when on friday (my cleaning day) to get more of the Cyno off there, i only hand rubbed it last time. Also done a water test yesterday to see how things were going. Ammonia-0 NO3-0 NO4-0 Clac-400ppm Alk-11.8dKH PH-8.2

02/23/2011, 06:25 PM	#278
zreefs Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: blacksburg Posts: 54	im just wondering what happens if you dont clean your scrubber every week what if you let it go a week and a half or 2 weeks. not saying i wang to try it but has anyone done this

02/23/2011, 07:18 PM	#281
afgun Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Austin Posts: 149	What happened to that honeycomb material that SantaMonica was testing?

02/23/2011, 08:26 PM	#283
acts4me Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: North Carolina Posts: 136	How in the world do you find room for any size ATS. I cannot find a way to get this thing under my tank. I am going crazy.

02/23/2011, 09:53 PM	#286
acts4me Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: North Carolina Posts: 136	Working on getting photo's loaded

02/23/2011, 10:10 PM	#290
kdirk Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Bismarck, ND Posts: 234	3 days growth

02/23/2011, 10:43 PM	#296
fppf Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Buffalo NY Posts: 929	I don't use a sock 24/7 just a few days a month. Check my pics I posted a few pages back in this thread, I used the same bin. Know what you mean about FL, you dig 6" and get water, LOL

02/23/2011, 11:12 PM	#300
acts4me Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: North Carolina Posts: 136	Thanks everyone for all the suggestions. I will post pictures when i get done tomorrow.