Algae scrubber

[James spinn]

Cost Under $40.00. And loving IT

 

[Scrubber_steve]

Keep updates of your growth progression

 

[Reef-junky]

Nice

 

[James spinn]

Cost Under $40.00. And loving IT

Will do cant wait to see it myself!

 

[James spinn]

Keep updates of your growth. I HAVE A question is I have refuge with sand and cheato when and should I break down my refuge?

 

[Scotts210g]

Cost Under $40.00. And loving IT

Is this coming in from the outlet in over flow or is it being pumped up?
Also, that’s a good size screen. How large is your system and how did you calculate the size of screen? Can too many Po4 & No3 being pulled out?
Have any pics from other angles?
looks great!

 

[James spinn]

Is this coming in from the outlet in over flow or is it being pumped up?
Also, that’s a good size screen. How large is your system and how did you calculate the size of screen? Can too many Po4 & No3 being pulled out?
Have any pics from other angles?
looks great!

Its pumped in from separate pump. I have a 72 bow with a 20 sump .I didn't calculate the screen size is 10.5 × 12 .

 

[Jeff Jarry reef]

Screen size should determine how many cubes a day. For like 2-3 cubes screen should be around 6x6 at least

 

[Jeff Jarry reef]

Cost Under $40.00. And loving IT

Nice

 

[James spinn]

Its pumped in from separate pump. I have a 72 bow with a 20 sump .I didn't calculate the screen size is 10.5 × 12 .

Screen size should determine how many cubes a day. For like 2-3 cubes screen should be around 6x6 at least

Then my screen is way to big for now I'm feeding 1 1/2 cubes a day.

 

[Jeff Jarry reef]

Then my screen is way to big for now I'm feeding 1 1/2 cubes a day.

Really it is that big screen will take all good stuff out of water.

 

[Scrubber_steve]

I HAVE A question is I have refuge with sand and cheato when and should I break down my refuge?

OK, if you're looking to decommission your chaeto fuge this is what I would do.
If the chaeto is growing well I would reduce the chaeto's illumination period by an hour a week, after your scrubber screen has begun to show some growth. (Remember that the chaeto & the algae on the scrubber screen are competing for the same nutrients). Continue reducing it weekly as the scrubber algae increases.

If on the other hand your chaeto isn't growing, & hasn't been growing, possibly dying, stop the illumination of the chaeto completely & concentrate on the scrubber.

Note: Keep the light intensity to the scrubber low at first. Too intense will inhibit the self seeding of the screen. Once a good coverage of algae has established itself, intensity can be increased.

 

[TheHarold]

Then my screen is way to big for now I'm feeding 1 1/2 cubes a day.

I don’t think “cubes” is a good unit of measurement. Different brand cubes can be double or triple the size of others, and there are tons of varieties (algae for tangs, mysis, brine, etc). That’s just a unit of measurement popularized by Santa Monica IMO

 

[Jeff Jarry reef]

I don’t think “cubes” is a good unit of measurement. Different brand cubes can be double or triple the size of others, and there are tons of varieties (algae for tangs, mysis, brine, etc). That’s just a unit popularized by Santa Monica IMO

Agree it's just a basic size to go by.

 

[Scrubber_steve]

I don’t think “cubes” is a good unit of measurement. Different brand cubes can be double or triple the size of others, and there are tons of varieties (algae for tangs, mysis, brine, etc). That’s just a unit of measurement popularized by Santa Monica IMO

the cube equivalent doesn't just cover frozen cubes, it includes nori, flake, etc. It's a guideline & a reasonable one IMO

 

[TheHarold]

the cube equivalent doesn't just cover frozen cubes, it includes nori, flake, etc. It's a guideline & a reasonable one IMO

I don’t understand what you mean. A “cube equivalent” means that a cube sized chunk of flake food has the same amount of nutrients as a cube of mysis, or nori, or brine? That doesn’t make sense to me.

 

[Scrubber_steve]

I don’t understand what you mean. A “cube equivalent” means that a cube sized chunk of flake food has the same amount of nutrients as a cube of mysis, or nori, or brine? That doesn’t make sense to me.

Your right in what you said. Frozen cubes do vary a little in size. They also vary in water content, so the nutrient levels are also different. I just mean that the difference is somewhat insignificant in the scheme of thing, & the size guideline is more than useful.

What guidlines are their for protein skimmers? I don't use one, but I imagine that the guideline for them is less precise, but still useful?

 

[James spinn]

OK, if you're looking to decommission your chaeto fuge this is what I would do.
If the chaeto is growing well I would reduce the chaeto's illumination period by an hour a week, after your scrubber screen has begun to show some growth. (Remember that the chaeto & the algae on the scrubber screen are competing for the same nutrients). Continue reducing it weekly as the scrubber algae increases.

If on the other hand your chaeto isn't growing, & hasn't been growing, possibly dying, stop the illumination of the chaeto completely & concentrate on the scrubber.
L
Note: Keep the light intensity to the scrubber low at first. Too intense will inhibit the self seeding of the screen. Once a good coverage of algae has established itself, intensity can be increased.

How many hours should I have in on to start?
And when it starts to grow do i do away with the cheato and keep the sandbed ? I can't adjust the intensity of the light it's just on or off.

 

[James spinn]

Your right in what you said. Frozen cubes do vary a little in size. They also vary in water content, so the nutrient levels are also different. I just mean that the difference is somewhat insignificant in the scheme of thing, & the size guideline is more than useful.

What guidlines are their for protein skimmers? I don't use one, but I imagine that the guideline for them is less precise, but still useful?

How big should my screen be is it to big 10.5 x 12

 

[Scrubber_steve]

How many hours should I have in on to start?

This isn't an exact science because each system is different.

In any case, I would start with a 7 hour light period for the scrubber.
You can reduce the intensity by mounting the light further away from the screen, or putting a shade between the light & the screen
.
Depending on your in-organic nutrient export filtration overall, once the scrubber screen is growing, & has covered most of the screen, you could loose the chaeto.

Low light intensity is the most important factor, IMO, for establishing algae on the screen. The intensity used for a mature screen is too high in the initial stages (photo-inhibition).
[/QUOTE]