Alage Scrubber

[Terry DeMott]

Anyone using these. I have a Clear Water 300 been running for two months fully covered . But I have a nitrate problem tested 25 to 50 . been doing water changes . Any ideas ? thx

 

[cpschult]

Check your water source for nitrates. Feed less. Vacuum sand bed. Extend light cycle on algae scrubber.

I really liked the diy one I had. Worked great.

 

[Terry DeMott]

Check water source ok
I have a clown fish Harlen tank with
50 clownfish and 12 anemones
I feed 3x a day should I go 2x a day
scrubber lights 12 hrs a day
sand have 2 gobbies

 

[Josh@ClearWaterScrubbers]

Check water source ok
I have a clown fish Harlen tank with
50 clownfish and 12 anemones
I feed 3x a day should I go 2x a day
scrubber lights 12 hrs a day
sand have 2 gobbies

Run the lights 24/7 until you see your levels dropping. Then cut back from there. That is where the problem is.

 

[cpschult]

Check water source ok
I have a clown fish Harlen tank with
50 clownfish and 12 anemones
I feed 3x a day should I go 2x a day
scrubber lights 12 hrs a day
sand have 2 gobbies

What Josh said. You may want to cut back on feedings if it won't hurt your fish, I wouldn't want them to start fighting. When I ran my scrubbed I did 18hours on/6 hours off.

I'd also love to see pictures of this tank!!!

 

[Terry DeMott]

ok I have the scrubber running 24 7 4 days now nitrate still at 25 and pho 1.80 ppm.
Any ideas ?

 

[Josh@ClearWaterScrubbers]

ok I have the scrubber running 24 7 4 days now nitrate still at 25 and pho 1.80 ppm.
Any ideas ?

Terry,
Give it time to work. They are not an instant fix like NoPox. It takes time for the algae to consume the levels. Especially if your rocks are leaching anything into the water. The algae can only consume so much per hour per day to grow. It will come down, just give it time.

Is the growth on the screen hairy or more like slime?

 

[Terry DeMott]

screen hairy algae

 

[Josh@ClearWaterScrubbers]

screen hairy algae

Ok. Then just give it some time. The more time you run the lights in a day, the more nutrients the algae will consume. It will prolly take a couple weeks to get the levels down if the rocks and sand are not leaching anything. Just give it time and you will see results. I guarantee it.

 

[Terry DeMott]

so I am still feeding 3x a day for 50 clown is that ok ?

 

[Josh@ClearWaterScrubbers]

so I am still feeding 3x a day for 50 clown is that ok ?

How much are you feeding each time?

 

[Terry DeMott]

it is an auto feeder

 

[Catchemall]

Check water source ok
I have a clown fish Harlen tank with
50 clownfish and 12 anemones
I feed 3x a day should I go 2x a day
scrubber lights 12 hrs a day
sand have 2 gobbies

Go 16 on 8 off with the light are the red and blue grow lights? Also unless your scraping the algae off it’s not removing anything so weekly scraping. Your scrubber may not be strong enough for three a day feeding

 

[Josh@ClearWaterScrubbers]

it is an auto feeder

Yes but how much food is being fed and is it all being consumed. You might have to cut it back some. The lights need be on 24hrs tho. Don’t listen to these guys saying that less is more. I run mine all the time. Only shuts off when I clean it. Try 24hrs and see what happens. Let me know after a couple weeks.

 

[Catchemall]

Well my experience and everyone’s will be different but I switched from cfl 2700’s to mars aqua grow spectrum and stripped my tank clean running 16 on 8 off so I had to cut back to 12/12. But the cool thing is now I know I have control over nutrients in my tank just by adjusting light times. So it does make since to increase lighting as well as prob flow to accommodate the increased lighting. Or you may get burnt algae.

 

[Terry DeMott]

Here is my algae scrubber screen

 

[Josh@ClearWaterScrubbers]

Here is my algae scrubber screen

That’s exactly what it’s supposed to look like.

 

[ca1ore]

What other kinds of export mechanisms are you using? ATS looks to be a good size, is its lit from both sides? I have a 12x12 dual sided ATS, a large chaeto refugium, and a skyscraper skimmer. I keep anthias, so 4-5 feedings per day is not unusual. Unmeasurable nitrates.

 

[SantaMonica]

scrubber lights 12 hrs a day

Should be at least 18

stripped my tank clean running 16 on 8 off so I had to cut back to 12/12

Remember that test kits don't really measure zero. When they says zero, you actually have about the level that real reefs have (very, very low).

is its lit from both sides?

Always want it to be 2-sided. 1-sided is only for very space limited cases.