my scrubber :
when it started
a month later. I added a second screen and upped the wattage on the bulbs.
pictures were taken right after setting up the second screen.
Maintenance is a breeze, I diddnt glue the ends of the pvc so I just pop the ends before the elbows out of place and take it to my sink. I marked the elbow and the joining pvc with a sharpie so I make sure when I put it back in the scrubber pvc doesn't go in crooked.
Now for the figures:
starting levels:
Nitrate was around 30
P04 was a whopping 2.21 YIKES!
after a month and half with the scrubber:
Nitrate: ZERO!!!
P04: 0.11 and still steadily dropping! Tested with Hanna meter
My feeding schedule - I feed 2 frozen cubes a day of assorted store bought foods, i try to mix it up a little, but the equivalent is 2 cubes per day.
I also feed a pinch of flakes once a day
and dose 2 cap-fulls of DT Phyto once a week
I have no protein skimmer anymore, I sold my Tunze months ago. I no longer run phosgaurd since adding the skimmer. The only thing I do is a 2 part dose weekly, Iodine every once in a while, and I run carbon in the sump. I don't do water changes anymore, just top-offs.
and with all this feeding the fish are fat, corals healthy and growing (mix of SPS, LPS, and softies...), and macro in the DT has been dwindling since adding the scrubber. Actually, the reason I wanted to add the scrubber to begin with was the overgrowing macro in the DT. I wanted a natural and gradual way to get rid of it without the use of chemicals, and this has worked wonderfully.
Just make sure to clean the screen weekly.
I just wanted to add that the day I learned about algae scrubbers was one of the best days in my saltwater journey, thank you Chirs! The scrubber has put an end to one of my biggest concerns with my tank, and a great side-effect is that it oxygenates the water and all the corals/fish are extremely well fed and thriving.
-Cindy
What I would like to do differently: add a light shield so the algae doesn't grow into the pipe and restrict water flow. Every 2 days I go in with a toothbrush and scrub the top to prevent this...
also, I would love to lift up the scrubber more, to be able to shine light directly parallel onto the screen, preventing light from shining on the bottom of the sump. Algae and coraline are starting to grow on the sump floor
FYI: I just moved the tank to a new apartment and will post full tank shot with updates of scrubber in a few weeks when everything is settled in again