Willie McDaries
Well-Known Member
makes sense...the LED is also gonna produce a lot more PAR for much less power consumption...win win
Lowest cost and easiest way to eliminate green hair, bubble, turf and slime algae
- Thread starter SantaMonica
- Start date
makes sense...the LED is also gonna produce a lot more PAR for much less power consumption...win win
Willie McDaries
Well-Known Member
OK,I have 1 more question 
how big would the screen need to be for my tank ? roughly 450g system.....my chaeto is doing a magnificent job with keeping nutrients under control but I'd like to try this approach,if I have enough room
how big would the screen need to be for my tank ? roughly 450g system.....my chaeto is doing a magnificent job with keeping nutrients under control but I'd like to try this approach,if I have enough room 
Scrubbers are now sized according to feeding. Nutrients "in" (feeding) must equal nutrients "out" (scrubber growth), no matter how many gallons you have. So...
An example VERTICAL waterfall screen size is 3 X 4 inches = 12 square inches of screen (7.5 X 10 cm = 75 sq cm) with a total of 12 real watts (not equivalent) of fluorescent light for 18 hours a day. If all 12 watts are on one side, it is a 1-sided screen. If 6 watts are on each side, it is a 2-sided screen, but the total is still 12 watts for 18 hours a day. This screen size and wattage should be able to handle the following amounts of daily feeding:
1 frozen cube per day (2-sided screen), or
1/2 frozen cube per day (1-sided screen), or
10 pinches of flake food per day (2-sided screen), or
5 pinches of flake food per day (1-sided screen), or
10 square inches (60 sq cm) of nori per day (2-sided screen), or
5 square inches (30 sq cm) of nori per day (1-sided screen), or
0.1 dry ounce (2.8 grams) of pellet food per day (2-sided screen), or
0.05 dry ounce (1.4 grams) of pellet food per day (1-sided screen)
Fore LED's, use half the wattage.
An example VERTICAL waterfall screen size is 3 X 4 inches = 12 square inches of screen (7.5 X 10 cm = 75 sq cm) with a total of 12 real watts (not equivalent) of fluorescent light for 18 hours a day. If all 12 watts are on one side, it is a 1-sided screen. If 6 watts are on each side, it is a 2-sided screen, but the total is still 12 watts for 18 hours a day. This screen size and wattage should be able to handle the following amounts of daily feeding:
1 frozen cube per day (2-sided screen), or
1/2 frozen cube per day (1-sided screen), or
10 pinches of flake food per day (2-sided screen), or
5 pinches of flake food per day (1-sided screen), or
10 square inches (60 sq cm) of nori per day (2-sided screen), or
5 square inches (30 sq cm) of nori per day (1-sided screen), or
0.1 dry ounce (2.8 grams) of pellet food per day (2-sided screen), or
0.05 dry ounce (1.4 grams) of pellet food per day (1-sided screen)
Fore LED's, use half the wattage.
tekjunkie28
Member
OK new ? I have a HOB refugium. and 2 9 watt PC powering the fuge light. can I drop a mirror in and set the screen vertical? (it will be attached to a bubble bar) will it be ok? also i ahve a utility light with a 23 watt 6500k CFL i could use or a soft white 13 watt cfl i could use.
Yes just be able to clean the bubbler, mirror, and inside of the glass each time. You might want to use sliced airline instead; is easier to clean and it clogs less.
Use at least 1 real watt per square inch, preferably 2 watts. Soft, or warm.
Use at least 1 real watt per square inch, preferably 2 watts. Soft, or warm.
sk8rdn
Has been struck by the ban stick
Week 4:
Photo period this week was at 22 hours/day (per Floyd).
As of today, I'm bumping it up to 24 to see if I can get a good kick start out of the patches of green growth that I am now starting to see.
Hair algae in the tank is not spreading, but it's not receding either. I am still growing a ton of algae all over the walls of the sump around the screen that I have to scrape fairly often.
Water quality seems to be slipping a bit as well. I added my skimmer back to my system to "help" maintain the levels from getting out of control.
Photo period this week was at 22 hours/day (per Floyd).
As of today, I'm bumping it up to 24 to see if I can get a good kick start out of the patches of green growth that I am now starting to see.
Hair algae in the tank is not spreading, but it's not receding either. I am still growing a ton of algae all over the walls of the sump around the screen that I have to scrape fairly often.
Water quality seems to be slipping a bit as well. I added my skimmer back to my system to "help" maintain the levels from getting out of control.
tekjunkie28
Member
Week 4:
Photo period this week was at 22 hours/day (per Floyd).
As of today, I'm bumping it up to 24 to see if I can get a good kick start out of the patches of green growth that I am now starting to see.
Hair algae in the tank is not spreading, but it's not receding either. I am still growing a ton of algae all over the walls of the sump around the screen that I have to scrape fairly often.
Water quality seems to be slipping a bit as well. I added my skimmer back to my system to "help" maintain the levels from getting out of control.
Yea I started mine and decided that a good quality cuc was a much better option. In fact my gha I not spreading anymore and actually starting to show up in my skimmer cup. Reason? Maybe new lights... Maybe it's from my chaeto that I harvested. Idk but my sand Definitely looks better after I added 2 huge red legs. Also I have a rock that had lots of gha on it and since I aimed a powerheads at it, it has receded somewhat. I can't speak for or against the UAS but I believe all natural is the way to go.
24 hours is too much; will stop the growth.
sk8rdn
Has been struck by the ban stick
back to 22 it is, i guess
redneckgearhead
Active Member
Can you add more light? Up the wattage?
StirCrayzy
Well-Known Member
Hes got 2x150w equiv CFLs, much more than most scrubbers use, i couldnt imagine more light doin anybetter .
sk8rdn
Has been struck by the ban stick
This is correct. I'm maxed for my bulbs (without going commercial-grade-massive-sized-ridiculously-over-drawing-on-power sized), 18 hours of light wasn't cutting it, 24 seems taboo and when I had the light closer to the tank (by 3 inches or so) I had major light burn. Kinda running out of options.
redneckgearhead
Active Member
What color/temp range are the bulbs? How old is that scrubber? Looks like a fairly new screen. Measure your water flow as well.
sk8rdn
Has been struck by the ban stick
6500k "full spectrum". And how would I measure the water flow? It's not like it has a water pump hooked to it or anything... It's just in my sump on one wall.
...Moving On, Moving On...
Screen looks very big. Are you feeding 10 cubes a day?
sk8rdn
Has been struck by the ban stick
I sized it according to a single sided screen for about 5-6 cubes per day. I say about, as I erred on the long side so I could trim it back as needed. I do feed a lot of live and frozen food. And a lot gets left in-tank. This scrubber is on the tank that currently holds my shark.
...Moving On, Moving On...
Is all the light reflected?
Are you letting it grow 14 days?
6 cubes a day = 72 square inches would need at least 72 real CFL watts, preferrably 144 real watts.
Are you letting it grow 14 days?
6 cubes a day = 72 square inches would need at least 72 real CFL watts, preferrably 144 real watts.
sk8rdn
Has been struck by the ban stick
I believe so.
No, I was cleaning weekly.
Sorry, just re-read my sizing... it was 3 a day for a single sided screen. screen is 10.5 x 7 (should be 6.7 I believe) with the required light.
My post from my thread: (part 3 of a series on the install)
Part III: The UAS
For those of you not familiar with algae scrubbers, please read the threads related to them, including SantaMonica's threads. The particular style I am using is the Up flow Algae Scrubber. The thread for this style is HERE.
The construction of my own begins with a 10.5” x 12” screen. Purchased at Wal-Mart.
Roughed up. (I used the “wood” blade out of my jig saw, as I don't have a hole saw drill bit)
Also in use, a bubble wand from Wal-Mart, with included check valve:
I decided to purchase a light that, being a one sided screen, would allow me to use two, smaller bulbs for the same amount of light, rather than one big, high-heat producing bulb. This was purchased online. It is a ZooMed reptile light (with individual switches) with ceramic bulb holders.
I also purchased online, a deep water air pump. This was because the air pumps I had on hand were way to small to push enough air through the long bubble wand.
To ease in the removal and cleaning of the screen, I also purchased from Wal-Mart a pack of plastic paper clips
Also from Wal-Mart, the highest rated CF bulb I could find in the 6700K range. These happened to be 3-way dimmable, so they were a bit more expensive, but they were the only ones available.
Construction Pics:
Roughed Up Screen:
Modified Paper Clips:
Screen On Bubble Wand:
Measured End Point:
Cut to Size:
Re-Capped:
Trimmed Screen to Final Dimensions:
The final screen size is 10.5” wide by 7” tall. This gives me (a little over; so I had room for the clips) enough screen for feeding three cubes a day. The way I figure it, between the shark and the trigger, I have a lot of meaty things going in and a lot of waste being produced. If I find that the screen is too big, I can always shorten it a bit to make it suitable for two cubes a day.
Installed:
Cost Breakdown:
ZooMed light: $21.99
Deep Water Air Pump: $33.59
Bubble Wand (with check valve): $5.12
Plastic Paper Clips (box): $1.88
Clear Plastic Mesh Screen (6-pack): $2.97
Build Total: $65.55
CF Bulbs: $24.88
Finished Total: $90.43
Ok just let it develop.