How to Seed Your Algae Turf Scrubber Screen.
The hit on the idea of seeding the screen of a waterfall algae turf scrubber to give the screen a good kickstart and speed the process up getting it growing green hair algae and even Ulva intestinalis a lot quicker than just waiting it to appear. People using the method I will describe below report the growth of algae within days rather than weeks s it certainly works and works well.
The whole process is very simple, however, first of all, ensure your screen is well roughed up and if necessary rough it up some more using a hole cutting saw or coarse hacksaw blade.
You only require a few grammes of algae about 20g should do fine. Take half of the algae and squeeze I into a tightish ball. Rub this quite hard over the screen first left to right then up and down and finally diagonally. The screen should be tinged green with all the rubbing and tiny/microscopic amounts of the algae will be attached.
Next, take the remainder of the algae and again squeeze it into a ball, take a toothpick and push it through the ball and through the holes in the screen. This will hopefully push some of the algae further into the screen do this every few inches up around the screen. You won’t see much attach but microscopic amounts will be pushed deeper into the screen.
If your ATS is lit from both sides then repeat the process on both sides of the screen, don’t be concerned that little of the algae will attach, the aim isn’t to get large parts of the algae to attach this is not necessary to seed the screen. The greening of the screen is what matters most to seed the screen.
Once the water is flowing down the screen much of any algae seen on the screen will be washed off, again this is not a concern as enough should remain to germinate from the remaining microscopic amounts left. It may be best if possible to start with a slow as possible flow over the screen while ensuring the whole screen receives a flow of water. Once algae is attached you can turn the flow up a little. In a few days, you should see the beginnings of green algae starting to grow from your seeding. That is all there really is too it.
When it comes to harvesting time, with Ulva intestinalis I suggest you trim it back with scissors do not pull it off esp during the early stages as it needs to get a firm grip.With a little luck, you should be able to trim Ulva at around 7 to 10 days following seeding usually. Ulva grows a lot faster than GHA and needs trimming back regular and in doing so you are giving the Ulva a better regrowth start than if you simply pulled it away from the screen.
The hit on the idea of seeding the screen of a waterfall algae turf scrubber to give the screen a good kickstart and speed the process up getting it growing green hair algae and even Ulva intestinalis a lot quicker than just waiting it to appear. People using the method I will describe below report the growth of algae within days rather than weeks s it certainly works and works well.
The whole process is very simple, however, first of all, ensure your screen is well roughed up and if necessary rough it up some more using a hole cutting saw or coarse hacksaw blade.
You only require a few grammes of algae about 20g should do fine. Take half of the algae and squeeze I into a tightish ball. Rub this quite hard over the screen first left to right then up and down and finally diagonally. The screen should be tinged green with all the rubbing and tiny/microscopic amounts of the algae will be attached.
Next, take the remainder of the algae and again squeeze it into a ball, take a toothpick and push it through the ball and through the holes in the screen. This will hopefully push some of the algae further into the screen do this every few inches up around the screen. You won’t see much attach but microscopic amounts will be pushed deeper into the screen.
If your ATS is lit from both sides then repeat the process on both sides of the screen, don’t be concerned that little of the algae will attach, the aim isn’t to get large parts of the algae to attach this is not necessary to seed the screen. The greening of the screen is what matters most to seed the screen.
Once the water is flowing down the screen much of any algae seen on the screen will be washed off, again this is not a concern as enough should remain to germinate from the remaining microscopic amounts left. It may be best if possible to start with a slow as possible flow over the screen while ensuring the whole screen receives a flow of water. Once algae is attached you can turn the flow up a little. In a few days, you should see the beginnings of green algae starting to grow from your seeding. That is all there really is too it.
When it comes to harvesting time, with Ulva intestinalis I suggest you trim it back with scissors do not pull it off esp during the early stages as it needs to get a firm grip.With a little luck, you should be able to trim Ulva at around 7 to 10 days following seeding usually. Ulva grows a lot faster than GHA and needs trimming back regular and in doing so you are giving the Ulva a better regrowth start than if you simply pulled it away from the screen.
