Algae Scrubber
- Thread starter Bry17nyc
- Start date
Pedro Nuno Ferreira
Liquid Breathing
- Location
- Portugal - Vila Nova de Gaia
I have a friend who does with good results... have look here ... se posts n? 8, 27, 28, 30 ...
Pedro Nuno
- Location
- Mount Pleasant, SC
I've been running one now for about 5 weeks and its great. PM me and I'll send you a link to a thead on another site there its discussed heavily.
Steve
Steve
- Location
- Garden city
Paul b runs an alage trough same idea
pm sent potter
oh yes? never heard him talking about it ..might have to ask him a couple of questions...i might built one myself...my nitrates are a little high and ive read in other pages that it works really good
oh yes? never heard him talking about it ..might have to ask him a couple of questions...i might built one myself...my nitrates are a little high and ive read in other pages that it works really good
- Location
- Portugal
Hi everybody!
This my algae scrubber (that Pedro mentioned) is my second attempt.
I had it since March this year!
The previous one had lots of sucess (some 2 years ago), still I dropped it, because I thought that a very big skimmer was still better...
That was a mistake!
I bought a good top skimmer for 600 gallons aquarium, my tank only has 100 gallon, but it was not better than my scrubber!
My previous attempt had a feeding pump to the scrubber, now I only use my return water from the tank to the sump to "feed" the scrubber.
that is smarter, less energy used.
I also use activated carbon, I think that algae might induce some detrimental yellowing of the water, but with some carbon, I guess this is not an issue.
I only use leds, in the scrubber and tank, but that is another history!
Regards!
Ant?nio Vitor
This my algae scrubber (that Pedro mentioned) is my second attempt.
I had it since March this year!
The previous one had lots of sucess (some 2 years ago), still I dropped it, because I thought that a very big skimmer was still better...
That was a mistake!
I bought a good top skimmer for 600 gallons aquarium, my tank only has 100 gallon, but it was not better than my scrubber!
My previous attempt had a feeding pump to the scrubber, now I only use my return water from the tank to the sump to "feed" the scrubber.
that is smarter, less energy used.
I also use activated carbon, I think that algae might induce some detrimental yellowing of the water, but with some carbon, I guess this is not an issue.
I only use leds, in the scrubber and tank, but that is another history!
Regards!
Ant?nio Vitor
Last edited:
Hi everybody!
This my algae scrubber (that Pedro mentioned) is my second attempt.
I had it since March this year!
The previous one had lots of sucess (some 2 years ago), still I dropped it, because I thought that a very big skimmer was still better...
That was a mistake!
I bought a good top skimmer for 600 gallons aquarium, my tank only has 100 gallon, but it was not better than my scrubber!
My previous attempt had a feeding pump to the scrubber, now I only use my return water from the tank to the sump to "feed" the scrubber.
that is smarter, less energy used.
I also use activated carbon, I think that algae might induce some detrimental yellowing of the water, but with some carbon, I guess this is not an issue.
I only use leds, in the scrubber and tank, but that is another history!
Regards!
Ant?nio Vitor
i built one!
i still dont have the lighting yet since idk exactly which one to get
which bulbs should i use ? how many watts would be ideal how many bulbs?
here are some pics of it with measurements
- Location
- Portugal
I use 4 leds XP-g CREE you can see on this next picture:
the leds are using a little more than 12W more or less...
My net is not bigger than your's... my sump has 40 cms width (15 inches?)...
Yours design is different than mine.
My plastic net is a lot more flexible.
I do not have any wires suspending the net, the entire net is coming from inside the tube...
here for you too see what I mean:
I also do not put holes in the tube, but slits...perpendicular slits, ok with some holes in the intersetion with the bigger horizontal slits?...
the leds are using a little more than 12W more or less...
My net is not bigger than your's... my sump has 40 cms width (15 inches?)...
Yours design is different than mine.
My plastic net is a lot more flexible.
I do not have any wires suspending the net, the entire net is coming from inside the tube...
here for you too see what I mean:
I also do not put holes in the tube, but slits...perpendicular slits, ok with some holes in the intersetion with the bigger horizontal slits?...
Last edited:
- Location
- Dingmans ferry PA
antonio ever think that skimmer was just to big for a 100 gallon system.i was always curious on algae scrubbers but never tried it.maybe one day when i get bored
- Location
- Portugal
The bigger the better I believe....the bigger the skimmer, the less time DOC (hydrophobic) is in solution.
- Location
- Mount Pleasant, SC
antonio, how far are you leds away from your screen? I have 5 leds on each side of my screen...3 white and 2 red. Mine has been running for about 5 weeks now and I am just starting to get 3D growth. I've played with the distance of the lights a little bit but just wondering how far yours are from the screen.
- Location
- Portugal
One small finger of mine 7-8 cms...
I have 700-800 PAR at the center.
only in one side..
My leds do not have any lenses, so it can light all the net. something like 40x60 cms area. 16X24 inches.
at rouglhy 10 cms from the center the light intensity drops a lot...but even with 50-100 PAR I have good growth.
differente algaes...but growth.
- Location
- Portugal
When algae start to grow well, algae accumulate so much, that the algae and the net, start to gain depth. the 2d plane (net) disappears...
- Location
- Portugal
ohh ok nice...im guessing im very far from that haha:banghead::grumpy:
how long does it usually takes for algae to start growning?
should i leave my light on 24hr until algae starts growning?
that is fine, you could light it up for 24 hours, although I believe that some "superior" algaes might have some diurnal/nocturnal cycle...most of them don't have this kind of cycle, so the 24 hours periode might be ok for some of them.
how much time to get some growth?
it depends on the nutrient balance of your tank... algae likes fuel:
nitrates, phosphates, carbon, and potassium a lot, and some trace elements... (like iron)
from my experience, potassium is only depleted if you neglect your tank, no parcial water removals for long periods.
I had 0 ppm nitrates for several months, not detectable with salifert test... now my nitrates went up a little to 1-2 ppm, because I dose more food (because of my new pseudoanthias), but still the scrubber can handle it....still no po4...with salifert tests.
with a normal tank, the first algaes, take more to appear, like 2-3 weeks, after that it's faster...
I remove algaes every week, a lot of grams....some weeks I take more than 100 grams.
Regards!
Ant?nio Vitor
- Location
- Mount Pleasant, SC
The suggested light cycle is 18 on and 6 off. If you check the link i sent you it goes into detail about the lighting schedule. You will find this info early on in the thread....first few pages.
Steve
Steve
yes i read it...but the question is until algae starts to grow should i leave it on or no matter if i have algae or not i should fallow the schedule
- Location
- long island
I have been in the thoughts of creating one, and have read a lot on it to be comfortable to use it. As far as the lighting, use a 16-18 hr schedule, whether you have algae growing on it now or not. It takes about 2 weeks to get some accumulation. If you have roughed up the screen enough it will aid in the grow of the "turf." Then you will be on a weekly maintenance schedule. From you pic of the screen, your flow will not be even through out the screen. That fold on the top left of the screen should be cut so it doesn't have it.
Sponsor Reefs
We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.
Click here to sponsor $10:
