DIY algae scrubber

[droidus]

Hi Everyone!
I saw this awesome video (I wish I could claim I came up with this idea first), and was so inspired by its simplicity that I thought I'd try to make it, and save some money. I checked out BRS, and the most basic one goes for $350.
I've attached an image of what his looks like, and what mine looks like. I actually did a double layer. One issue with the way I did it is that I (maybe?) should not have ziptie'd the screen to the bottom because I will not be able to scrape off the algae of the back/back grid. I would appreciate any advice or suggestions to improve it!
If you have any cool ideas, I'd love to learn/try something new! I have a pretty basic tank, and it's 32 gallons. I've been thinking about a filter sock, protein skimmer, as well as a refugium.
Enjoy!
(It is kinda large/bulky for only a 32 gallon tank - do I really need 2 layers?)

 

[R.Weller]

Great job trying out an upflow model! Are you adding this to a stocked tank or just starting out? If the tank is stocked, would you be able to share some growth pics of the screens over 7, 14, 21 days & sharing nitrate levels?

 

[droidus]

Nothing in my tank, yet! Should be receiving my CUC this week though...

 

[William Norman]

I have built the same thing for my 120. It started off brown slimy then after a few months it got covered in green algae. I am using a home depot bulb and clip on reflector. Strangely this weekend all the algae detached in one sheet into my refug. Now I only have a few small patches of green left on the material. I also now see a tiny bit more algae in my display this week. I know that when I was building mine I had remembered someone from the reef team posting about one. But I couldn't find the post again. Good Luck.

 

[R.Weller]

If you started with dry rock, this will pull phosphate from the water column. Enjoy the build.

 

[droidus]

If you started with dry rock, this will pull phosphate from the water column. Enjoy the build.

You've got me curious. I have dry rock in my tank currently, from a previous build... What do you mean?

 

[R.Weller]

Dry rock has dead organic componds over the surfaces. This will leach off into the water column as PO4. Add a light source & circulation, & you will get algae growth. While water changes will remove this, if you don't do these water changes before you add salt, then you are just throwing away expensive salt. If you are re-using dry rock that has already cured in your previous build, you should be fine.