Santa Monica RAIN2 Algae Scrubber Follow Along

[Scrubber_steve]

Actually, I've boosted the light duration for this new unit to try to get it 'up to speed' more quickly. Normally, I run 14 hours ON and 10 OFF. Always figured it was important to give the turf algae a 'break' …. like in nature.

The photoperiod (for a mature screen) should be based on the NO3 level you want to target. A longer photoperiod = more inorganic nutrient assimilation, & vice versa. The photoperiod to achieve this is dependant on the screen size, the watts of light, & the spectrum provided, & the amount of food added per day.
A minimum photoperiod of about 9 hours per day has been recommended. Ive tried 24/7 illumintion & there was no negative effect on the algae. In fact the algae grew much faster, but NO3 bottomed out to zero.

I'm also using much more powerful lights that I have in the past; even accounting for the larger surface area.

Based on the available recommendations I aim for 1W to 1.54Watts per 4 square inches of screen, per side. That's for red 660nm LEDs - 2.2V @ 700mA = 1.54W. I imagine that the higher figure is nearing photosaturation.

Approximately 20 linear inches of screen width getting a total of 450 GPH (maybe a tad low) a

You've got a bit above 22 gph per inch of screen width. 35 gph has been recommended, but once the flowrate is fast enough to fully cover a mature screen without channelling (on a downflow scrubber) it is debatable wether increasing the flowrate any further increases efficiency, & too much flow has been reported to be detrimental.

 

[ca1ore]

ATS are typically 'sized' based on food input (cube equivalents) not tank volume; though I suppose increasing tank volume correlates with higher input generally. Not sure who came up with the guidelines, though I personally find them to be a little too high. My old scrubber, a 12x12, dual sided screen was not enough to handle my current tank load (nominally 10 cube equivalents per day) even though the 'sizing' suggested that it should be.

 

[Scrubber_steve]

ATS are typically 'sized' based on food input (cube equivalents) not tank volume; though I suppose increasing tank volume correlates with higher input generally. Not sure who came up with the guidelines, though I personally find them to be a little too high. My old scrubber, a 12x12, dual sided screen was not enough to handle my current tank load (nominally 10 cube equivalents per day) even though the 'sizing' suggested that it should be.

Yes, cube equivalents; never mentioned tank volume? I think santamonica came up with the sizing method? He created the downflow design, which was a simple change from the Adey's horizontal screen, but very effectual in that a thin film of water naturally flows over the screen providing a good air/water interface, & the screen size could be halved by illuminating both sides, though I didn't find it very practical until small compact LED lighting became available (i make my own now).

 

[Meat locker]

My apologies if my comment came off as rude. Have fun with your 350$ scrubber. I prefer to build my mine from scratch, for a fraction of the cost, and properly sized as I did back in 2012.

 

[Scrubber_steve]

My apologies if my comment came off as rude. Have fun with your 350$ scrubber. I prefer to build my mine from scratch, for a fraction of the cost, and properly sized as I did back in 2012.

I'm a little curious as to how you concluded reeftangs scrubber is too small?

 

[Meat locker]

It's not that it's too small, I believe there is an underlying issue. From my experience, I had an algae problem in my display and I built an ATS thinking it would magically remove the algae in the display. The ATS grew algea after a month, but it never outcompeted my display algea. I still had gha all over the place. I had to find the root of the problem ie over feeding, poor tank husbandy, too many fish, junk skimmers. I learned the hard way. Once I fixed the problems, I was able to significantly reduce the gha in the display. The ATS became fuller and gha in my display was well under control.

 

[Scrubber_steve]

It's not that it's too small, I believe there is an underlying issue. From my experience, I had an algae problem in my display and I built an ATS thinking it would magically remove the algae in the display. The ATS grew algea after a month, but it never outcompeted my display algea. I still had gha all over the place. I had to find the root of the problem ie over feeding, poor tank husbandy, too many fish, junk skimmers. I learned the hard way. Once I fixed the problems, I was able to significantly reduce the gha in the display. The ATS became fuller and gha in my display was well under control.

My scrubber did knock off the display algaes. It takes a little while of course.
So what was your underlying issue for hair algae?

 

[Water Dog]

My scrubber did knock off the display algaes. It takes a little while of course.
So what was your underlying issue for hair algae?

For the benefit of the OP, that an ATS is not an instant magic bullet that will cure DT algae issues overnight. how long did it take your ATS to knock out the nuisance algae in your DT?

 

[Meat locker]

High phosphate and nitrates from a number of reasons. Just about every mistake one can make.

The RAIN2 looks amazing and well thought out. I highly doubt you can plug it in as a magic fix to a tank with a heavy algae infestation.

Under the right conditions, I'm sure the RAIN2 will grow algae like a beast.

 

[Scrubber_steve]

For the benefit of the OP, that an ATS is not an instant magic bullet that will cure DT algae issues overnight. how long did it take your ATS to knock out the nuisance algae in your DT?

Bout 6 weeks

 

[Meat locker]

How bad was the algae issue?

 

[Reeftang]

So i got some advice that i should bleach my rock, because i have GHA and reason being because its leaching P04. What do you guys think?

 

[Justfebreezeit]

So i got some advice that i should bleach my rock, because i have GHA and reason being because its leaching P04. What do you guys think?

Then you'd have to restart your tank basically.

 

[Water Dog]

What is your PO4 reading? If any at all due to being consumed by your GHA. What kind of rock did you use to start your tank. If dry (like Pukani), did you put it through a curing process first?

At this point, I wouldn’t bleach it. I would however remove each piece and scrub off as much algae as you can with a toothbrush dipped in hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). All while keeping your ATS on it’s 18/6 on off cycle. Also, start doing water changes on a regular basis to knock down the nitrate levels in your tank.

 

[Scrubber_steve]

How bad was the algae issue?

As previously stated, brown & green hair, red turf & cyano. Not overwhelming, but no3 60+ppm & po4 3.0ppm.

 

[Scrubber_steve]

High phosphate and nitrates from a number of reasons. Just about every mistake one can make.

The RAIN2 looks amazing and well thought out. I highly doubt you can plug it in as a magic fix to a tank with a heavy algae infestation.

Under the right conditions, I'm sure the RAIN2 will grow algae like a beast.

It should. I don't own one though.

 

[Reeftang]

What is your PO4 reading? If any at all due to being consumed by your GHA. What kind of rock did you use to start your tank. If dry (like Pukani), did you put it through a curing process first?

At this point, I wouldn’t bleach it. I would however remove each piece and scrub off as much algae as you can with a toothbrush dipped in hydrogen peroxide (H2O2). All while keeping your ATS on it’s 18/6 on off cycle. Also, start doing water changes on a regular basis to knock down the nitrate levels in your tank.

The rock is pukani rock i didn't really cure it i just let it sit without light in my tank for 4 weeks before i did a huge water change thats how i started. My p04 reading is 0.20 i dipped this rock in a mix of water and hydrogen peroxide once before and all the GHA was gone but then it all came back.

 

[Meat locker]

Any way we can see some pictures to see how bad it is.

 

[Water Dog]

@Scrubber_steve other than being a big cheerleader for ATS use, how would you help the OP with his DT nuisance algae issues? It seems with your scrubber experience that since it took you a mere 6 weeks to eradicate all nuisance algae in your DT, are you saying that the OP’s issues should disappear in the next three weeks by using his quick fix Rain2 ATS?

It almost seems like you’re going overboard preaching that an ATS is in fact a magic bullet cure... We all seem to be proponents of ATS use (I will be using a Turbo’s ATS on my build) but within reason coupled with responsible husbandry. What is your advice to the OP to help him through his current issues?

 

[Water Dog]

The rock is pukani rock i didn't really cure it i just let it sit without light in my tank for 4 weeks before i did a huge water change thats how i started. My p04 reading is 0.20 i dipped this rock in a mix of water and hydrogen peroxide once before and all the GHA was gone but then it all came back.

Uncured Pukani is tough stuff. I actually have 40# of it curing in a Brute can for over a year cuz my build is taking waaaay longer than anticipated. How much coral do you have attached to the rock currently?