Algae Scrubber Basics

[Floyd R Turbo]

Your light is probably too close, which is causing photosaturation = zero growth. I would back it off, that spotlight looks pretty tight. I believe they make CFL flood in different configurations, so a wide-angle would work better up close.

[karimwassef]

so much light that you bleach algae... ? kind of

[sensei]

Originally Posted by Floyd R Turbo

Your light is probably too close, which is causing photosaturation = zero growth. I would back it off, that spotlight looks pretty tight. I believe they make CFL flood in different configurations, so a wide-angle would work better up close.

Floyd,
how many inches from the screen should I put the CFL?

[Duality]

Harvested my scrubber last Monday. This is what I got off of it

Squeezed all the water out and compressed into a ball

[Floyd R Turbo]

Originally Posted by sensei

Floyd,
how many inches from the screen should I put the CFL?

Like I said is depends on the fixture, just back it off an inch or so and see what difference that makes. Do you know if it is a spotlight vs floodlight? Looks like more of a spotlight to me and you have it about 1-2" away, I would do at least 3 or 4

Originally Posted by Duality

Harvested my scrubber last Monday. This is what I got off of it

Nice!

[sensei]

[QUOTE=Floyd R Turbo;24128158]Like I said is depends on the fixture, just back it off an inch or so and see what difference that makes. Do you know if it is a spotlight vs floodlight? Looks like more of a spotlight to me and you have it about 1-2" away, I would do at least 3 or 4

reflector 2700K.jpg
Floyd,
I don´t have to much space in sump that is why it is somewhat close, but if there is no other alternative I would have to see what I can do you separate it least one inch more.

attached is photo of the reflector that I used. It is 2,700K but I don´t know how to say if it is a spot light or flood light. can you tell by looking at the photo??

thanks again

[Floyd R Turbo]

Can't tell from that box, it might say on the side, maybe not. Look for something that described the spread angle.

If you don't have much room to back it up, I would back it up as far as you can and then raise it a bit and angle it downward to compensate. It's not ideal but that should spread the light out a bit.

[sensei]

Originally Posted by Floyd R Turbo

Can't tell from that box, it might say on the side, maybe not. Look for something that described the spread angle.

If you don't have much room to back it up, I would back it up as far as you can and then raise it a bit and angle it downward to compensate. It's not ideal but that should spread the light out a bit.

size comparison.jpgflood light.jpg

Floyd,

I found a Flood light ( energy saver) of 11W equivalent to 50W 2700K
the size of the bulk is smaller thus it would back up around 2"

attached is the photo of the size comparison of the 2 bulbs. The other photo shows the specs of the flood light. the one I am using now that is to tight is 20W equivalent to 80W

do you think that this one of 11W equivalent to 50W would work fine??
how do I know what is the ideal CFL light for my screen?

thanks

[Spar]

Originally Posted by sensei

Attachment 333711Attachment 333710

Floyd,

I found a Flood light ( energy saver) of 11W equivalent to 50W 2700K
the size of the bulk is smaller thus it would back up around 2"

attached is the photo of the size comparison of the 2 bulbs. The other photo shows the specs of the flood light. the one I am using now that is to tight is 20W equivalent to 80W

do you think that this one of 11W equivalent to 50W would work fine??
how do I know what is the ideal CFL light for my screen?

thanks

with CFL you want 1w per sq/in. so if you have an 8x8 screen, = 64 sq/in, you will want 32 watts on the front and 32 watts on the back, totaling 64 watts.

the wattage you are looking for is the actual wattage, not the equivalent. so you would want 3 of the bulbs (3x11 = 33 watts) you are looking at if you want to get to the 32 watt/side example I gave (for each side).

[sensei]

Thanks Spar,
I actually sized my screen 8 x 8 to match the size of the big CFL bulb I was using, but I actually feed 4 cubes so 48sq/in screen would be enough. I think in this case I can use two of these small 11W CFL flood lights in each side.
With this small CFL bulb I gained space and now I have 3.5" from the end of bulb to the screen.
I will try to put two bulbs in each side tomorrow
thanks again

[brewtus]

The guys that are running algae scrubber are they also using a uv you would thing using a uv would be a lot waster then setting up a scrubber

[SantaMonica]

UV's and scrubbers don't have anything to do with each other.

[MorganAtlanta]

Originally Posted by sensei

Thanks Spar,
I actually sized my screen 8 x 8 to match the size of the big CFL bulb I was using, but I actually feed 4 cubes so 48sq/in screen would be enough. I think in this case I can use two of these small 11W CFL flood lights in each side.
With this small CFL bulb I gained space and now I have 3.5" from the end of bulb to the screen.
I will try to put two bulbs in each side tomorrow
thanks again

You can also try LED grow lights. They come in lots of sizes and are pretty cheap on ebay.

[sensei]

Originally Posted by MorganAtlanta

You can also try LED grow lights. They come in lots of sizes and are pretty cheap on ebay.

2 bulbs in each side.jpg

I already installed the 2nd bulb
here is a photo with the two little bulbs in each side.
now the canvas is all brown so the photosaturation problem of the other bulb being to close is gone.
ATS has been running for 8 days now.
I have a rock bellow ATS were water falls and the rock has a little algae, not much though. I guess some of the algae falls from ATS. is this normal??

by looking at the growth of algae in screen and having it running only 8 days, can I know if it is apropriate growth?

thanks

[sensei]

Floyd,
10 days screen.jpg
here is a photo of my screen after 10 days running.
Why is the alge brown? I expected to see green algae

[Floyd R Turbo]

Rarely do you actually see GHA in 10 days from a new screen, that's a pretty decent start. You can clean that lightly at this point - take it out, swipe you palm across each side, and rinse in room temp tap water

[sensei]

Floyd,

I already cleaned the screen.
I measures my PO4 today:
ten days ago I had 0.12ppm measured with hanna low range and today it tested 0!
I was surpriced so I tested again and had 0 again.
my NO3 is around 10ppm and is the same as 10 days ago but PO4 decreased to cero.
I have not done any other change than adding the ATS to the tank.
any comments??

thanks

[karimwassef]

Ok. My "weir overflow scrubber" has been up for three weeks. Here's my post when assembling it: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...postcount=7127

It was hard to keep it locked down because of my surge causing the water level to fluctuate by 4" or more and the material floats. I use a large she'll to hold one end down.

Here are the pics:



The black grate on the left is to keep animals out. The grungy strip on the right is the scrubber.

Closer look:



The overflow rock and glass are still holding mats of GHA where fish and other animals can't easily gain access. During a surge, my sailfin runs some wild acrobatics to swim up and sideways to access these areas. Like a fighter pilot.



Here's a view showing the GHA on both at the same time:



Rocks closeup:



I also have an interesting hitchhiker: Xenia



This little cluster of 6 polyps he been floating around the tank. It broke off from the colony that's decided to grow right up to the water surface at the overflow:



Wondering if a Xenia filter is the next level in scrubbing

Anyway- this is powered by the offshoot light from my MHs and uses the natural overflow region behind my weir..

Experts-How does it compare? Ideas on making it more effective?

[karimwassef]

no feedback on whether this is is a good amount of growth for 21 days?

[knukles55]

Would a upflow scrubber 4 1/2× 4 1/2 screen single side lit work on my 30 gallon I feed frozen probably twice a week but want this to help with my green hair algae invasion I have going on.

[jason2459]

Originally Posted by karimwassef

no feedback on whether this is is a good amount of growth for 21 days?

For first 21 days I'd say any growth is good growth. Once it starts to take hold its good.

And xenia are great filter feeders. Some people have xenia fuges for that reason. My 20g long mantis tank survives on Xenia and water changes alone.

[karimwassef]

Originally Posted by jason2459

For first 21 days I'd say any growth is good growth. Once it starts to take hold its good.

And xenia are great filter feeders. Some people have xenia fuges for that reason. My 20g long mantis tank survives on Xenia and water changes alone.

Xenia fuges?? I was just making that up... that's a real thing?

Ok. I'll update as I get more growth. I think the GHA is going to kill the Xenia.

[jason2459]

Nope. Not kidding. Some people use aiptaisia. My sump is an aiptaisia fuge. I like them. I've always let them flourish there.

[sensei]

15 days screen.jpg

Floyd,
here is a photo of my screen after 5 days of the 1st cleaning.
I have read the forum and the recomendation is to clean it each week, so I guess I should wait for another 2 days??
I tested my PO4 today and it tested 0 (cero), 15 days ago I had 0.12ppm so the ATS is already working since I have not done any other change than adding the ATS and I am feeding the same. I do not want to have cero PO4 because sps need some P for color, thus I would like to have 0.03-0.05ppm of PO4. I have lights on for 18 hours a day in the ATS now, I am thinking of lowering the light period to 12 hours. What do you think? or should I leave them 18 hours for the break in period of the screen??
waiting for your reply

[Floyd R Turbo]

Cleaning is really based only generally on every 7-14 days but that is when your screen is fully mature and growing well.

For a starter screen, you want to go longer between cleanings so that GHA has a chance to get firmly attached. Cleanings are different because you are only clearing off the slime growth to make way for the GHA.

The color/look of your screen tells me that you should just let it keep growing, because it isn't thick enough to "hide the pattern" of the screen, meaning that growth won't block light, so you can let it grow longer. Like 10-14 days, then just swipe your palm across each side and rinse.

As for PO4, unless you have a lab grade Hanna or Hach meter, you probably have plenty of PO4 in the tank, but if it makes you feel better, you can back off to 15 hours/day and you'll probably be ok