RAIN 2 Installation and Start Up

SantaMonica · Dec 5, 2016

You might experiment by using a lower light instead of a higher one now.

Waboss · Dec 5, 2016

SantaMonica said:
You might experiment by using a lower light instead of a higher one now.

Lower light? I don't think I know what you mean. I only have 1 of the 2 LED's running and their both at the same "height" in the dome/cover.

SantaMonica · Dec 7, 2016

Ah that's right.

Waboss · Dec 10, 2016

Ok folks, here's the results of week 5. The growth around the edges and on the bottom is really starting to pick up.

pelphrey · Dec 10, 2016

Very nice!!! Keep the updates coming, seriously considering this for my reefer 250!

pelphrey · Dec 12, 2016

Couple questions - How is the Mj1200 working for you, are you running it wide open? Also, do you have any piping inside of the 2" stand, or is the MJ1200 simple pushing water into the 2" pipe and up into the scrubber?

Thanks!

Waboss · Dec 12, 2016

pelphrey said:
Couple questions - How is the Mj1200 working for you, are you running it wide open? Also, do you have any piping inside of the 2" stand, or is the MJ1200 simple pushing water into the 2" pipe and up into the scrubber?

Thanks!

So far, the MJ1200 is working fine. It's small and I can count on it to be pretty reliable and long as I clean it regularly (usually every 2 months or so.......but could wait longer). I actually have it throttled down about 1/3, so it's pushing about 200GPH roughly.

I have no piping inside the 2" stand, the MJ1200 just pumps into it, up the pipe, and runs down screen. Super simple. It was a little leaky at first, until I played with getting the "bottom plate" pressure fit onto the 2" just right, but no big deal.

SantaMonica · Dec 14, 2016

Shows how strong the lights are. That will really help when the growth is thick. Meanwhile you can do 2 less hours of light if you want. Also for fun, if you wan to tape a sheet of cloth over the light, it would be neat to see how that affects the growth pattern.

Waboss · Dec 17, 2016

SantaMonica said:
Shows how strong the lights are. That will really help when the growth is thick. Meanwhile you can do 2 less hours of light if you want. Also for fun, if you wan to tape a sheet of cloth over the light, it would be neat to see how that affects the growth pattern.

I might try that cloth over the light idea. Not sure what kind of cloth I'll use though.

Waboss · Dec 17, 2016

And here's the week 6 update.

You can see that it's starting to fill in middle a bit more......looks like it's filling in from the sides rather than the top or bottom though. I don't think it's a big deal, just something I noticed.

Oh! and one other thing. I've never been able to get my nitrates under 10 and they're now hovering around 5. So I'm hoping I can stop using No-Pox very soon. I'm getting really tired of cleaning the glass daily. I'm going to keep an eye on it and start reducing my dosing to test.

Waboss · Dec 25, 2016

Well, week 7 update is that there's really not much to update. I'm going to clean it today though as the slit at the top seems to be getting a little clogged up (which makes sense, I haven't cleaned it in 4 weeks).

SantaMonica · Dec 29, 2016

Here is one we did like yours, with 1 light:

We've also widened the slot a bit so that it does not spray. So if you want to sand/grind your a bit wider you can.

Waboss · Jan 1, 2017

SantaMonica said:
Here is one we did like yours, with 1 light:

We've also widened the slot a bit so that it does not spray. So if you want to sand/grind your a bit wider you can.

That's cool.

I'm going to widen the slot a bit I think. Also, I'm still only running 1 light, that's ok right? At least until the screen fills in?

Waboss · Jan 1, 2017

Aaaannnnd, here's the week 8 update.

Surprisingly, it's filling in much faster this week (I cleaned it last week). It might have something to do with my stopping my No-Pox dosing, so there's more nitrates to feed the algae.

pelphrey · Jan 4, 2017

I have been dosing NOPOX in my reefer and I've seen good results. One of these scrubbers just popped up for sale here on the forum and I jumped on it.

Waboss · Jan 4, 2017

pelphrey said:
I have been dosing NOPOX in my reefer and I've seen good results. One of these scrubbers just popped up for sale here on the forum and I jumped on it.

Yeah, No-Pox has worked well for me, especially when I was being overrun. But now, especially with the scrubber, I'd like to leave it off. Plus I'm tired of cleaning my glass daily from using it.

I'm going to test nitrates tonight and see where they are. Today will be a full week on no No-Pox.

SantaMonica · Jan 4, 2017

Yea I think the nopox slowed it down. The one I posted has nothing else, just the new scrubber, and was completely full in 3 weeks. Now it's almost a 1/2 inch thick on the side with the light.

Yours will fill in quickly now.

brogers · Jan 7, 2017

SantaMonica said:
Here is one we did like yours, with 1 light:

We've also widened the slot a bit so that it does not spray. So if you want to sand/grind your a bit wider you can.

Hey! Did you choose the 1 light model and if so why? Is one light really all you need?!

brogers · Jan 7, 2017

SantaMonica said:
Yea I think the nopox slowed it down. The one I posted has nothing else, just the new scrubber, and was completely full in 3 weeks. Now it's almost a 1/2 inch thick on the side with the light.

Yours will fill in quickly now.

Do algae scrubbers smell?!