Algea scrubber DIY large systems

[btackerman]

Hello everyone, I have just started up a shark aquarium in my 400 gallon system and I was told that and algea scrubber would help out a lot in regards to phosphate and nitrate reduction. Now I cannot spend a grand on a filter that I do see some have success with doing a DIY project. So my question is, does someone have a design to share and what size system do you have. If I am mistaken I would think mine would have to be built pretty large.

 

[DeniseAndy]

My system is a 210g display and 60g sump. So not 400g, but my algae scrubber is only 8"x11" and works great. So not huge either. Will you have a sump? I have build two kinds and both work well. Also supper cheap and easy.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/210g-acrylic-dream.385161/page-5

My even simpler one is from plastic sewing sheet, black plastic box, airline, stone and pump, light.

 

[btackerman]

My system is a 210g display and 60g sump. So not 400g, but my algae scrubber is only 8"x11" and works great. So not huge either. Will you have a sump? I have build two kinds and both work well. Also supper cheap and easy.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/210g-acrylic-dream.385161/page-5

My even simpler one is from plastic sewing sheet, black plastic box, airline, stone and pump, light.

Yes I do have a sump and the refugium is empty so that’s where I wanted it to be housed

 

[DaddyFish]

There is an algae scrubber forum that has some great guidelines for DIY scrubbers. I'll look that up and post back.

Vertical "waterfall" algae scrubbers have been deemed by far the most efficient. There is a guideline for wattage of LED grow light per sq. inch of scrubber screen. I think it's something around 0.5 watts / sq. inch.

The water flow rate should be enough to cover the entire screen from top to bottom and left to right.

There's also a basic formula for calculating the sq inches of screen required per cube of food fed each day.

 

[Shon]

Usually scrubbers are based on food input.

Here's the guidelines..

Updated sizing guideline for scrubbers

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 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...

algaescrubber.net

But a shark tank? What do they feed on? Whole fish, squid and surfer feet? How to equate that food to frozen cubes..

@SantaMonica

 

[DaddyFish]

I will attempt to save you some digging through a bunch of material, and maybe I can reference back to this myself next time!

Basic design parameters for a non-submerged, vertical waterfall design are:

LED Grow Light - 0.5 watts (actual) / sq. inch of screen
Vertical Waterfall Screen lit on both sides (double if only lit on one side) - 12 sq. inches of screen per daily CUBE of food
Flow - Minimum of 35 gph / inch of screen width

The cube-equivalent is defined as any ONE of the following:
1 frozen cube
10 pinches of flake food
10 square inches (60 sq cm) of Nori
0.1 dry ounce (2.8 grams) of pellet food
3.25 mL of liquid coral food

 

[Hot2na]

Usually scrubbers are based on food input.

Here's the guidelines..

Updated sizing guideline for scrubbers

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 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...

algaescrubber.net

But a shark tank? What do they feed on? Whole fish, squid and surfer feet? How to equate that food to frozen cubes..

@SantaMonica

Not buying those guidelines at All ... the more surface area (screen) to grow algae the better - the algae will self regulate.. Almost impossible to over-scrub a tank. those santa monica units and turbo aquatics screens are woefully undersized and a huge waste of money... I've used & built scrubbers for the last 20 yrs and believe me - more is preferred...so flame away at that statement - yall !

 

[btackerman]

Usually scrubbers are based on food input.

Here's the guidelines..

Updated sizing guideline for scrubbers

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 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...

algaescrubber.net

But a shark tank? What do they feed on? Whole fish, squid and surfer feet? How to equate that food to frozen cubes..

@SantaMonica

So as of now she eats a price of squid about half of the size of my pinky nail. (3 months old now) I have seen a 2ft long one still squid and clam but that is about the size of my thumb. I thought it was strange how little they eat if you do daily feedings. Other than that I have an auto feeder that drops a 10th a teaspoon of large pellets. Also .5 sq inch of frozen brine and frozen herb blend combined. I do have a very large skimmer rated heavy for 500 gallons that would work with this as well.

 

[btackerman]

Not buying those guidelines at All ... the more surface area (screen) to grow algae the better - the algae will self regulate.. Almost impossible to over-scrub a tank. those santa monica units and turbo aquatics screens are woefully undersized and a huge waste of money... I've used & built scrubbers for the last 20 yrs and believe me - more is preferred...so flame away at that statement - yall !

So what would you recommend

 

[Ratherbeflyen]

I built my own and have been very happy with it.

I made it as big as I could possibly fit over my sump. I'm also using the outflow water from my skimmer for the algae scrubber. So I had some limitations on how tall I could make it and still have the skimmer work.

My advice would be to build the biggest scrubber you can fit in the space you have. Use a lot of LED lights with a dimmable LED controller. Water running over a screen does nothing and is negligent to any tank. It's the lighting that turns that screen into an algae filter. You can always turn down the lighting intensity and/or duration if it's not working the way you want it to. If you're staring with really light feeding, you may only need 6 hours of light or 30% intensity. Then just turn it up as you feed more.