SantaMonica

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.
Time for 66 new examples of scrubber designs:


MudShark on the MASA site:














































Captevo on the Algae Scrubber site, with a nano setup:














Jarhead80 on the UR site, with a nano setup:










Chris003 on the 3R site:






AcuarioOceanic on the AR site:






AdolfoRuiz on the AR site:






Calunga on the AR site:






CesarRosh on the AR site:








Emperador on the AR site:






JJavier1976 on the AR site:








Labperck on the AR site:

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SantaMonica

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Mario_Mendoza on the AR site:






Saulhs on the AR site:












Renman303 on the ARC site:








Aaarr on the Algae Scrubber site:










Gasha on the Algae Scrubber site, with a top-of-tank setup:






Hobogato on the Algae Scrubber site:






JDlon on the Algae Scrubber site:








Kbaker on the Algae Scrubber site, with a solar powered turtle tank:


















Ktsdad on the Algae Scrubber site, with a bio-ball container design:









Mystic.Bertie on the Algae Scrubber site:








Natapa on the Algae Scrubber site, with an outdoor SW aquaculture pond:






OceanRock on the Algae Scrubber site:






















RumpyPumpy on the Algae Scrubber site:






Worley on the Algae Scrubber site:










MT1071 on the FF site:

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SantaMonica

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Slick_Fish on the FF site:








Darb on the FL site:










Jrunyon210 on the FL site:








Imdaring on the LR site:














Amalick on the MASA site:






Halogen on the MB site:






Huhhhhh on the MB site did a fantastic build. This type of scrubber is the most powerful you can fit in a small space, because all of the light is strong and near to the screen:



































Here are the water resistant end caps for the bulbs:
Store Lighting Supplies End Caps | Sockets | Mounts | Clips





Here is the ballast (powers up to 6 bulbs):
Workhorse 8 - Fluorescent In-Fixture Electronic Instant Start Ballast - 120 Volt - Long Case - Fulham WH8-120-L Light Bulb





Here is the wiring diragram:
www.fulham.com/images/WDgifs/wire29.gif





Chelsey on the RC site:








Tige21 on the MD site:

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SantaMonica

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SimonSKL on the MD site also did a nice build that lets you remove the screen while the water is still flowing:
















And here is a video of the screen removal:




MyFishEatYourFish on the MFK site:


















CardBoardBoxProcessor on the MFT site:












Mudcrab on the MFT site, with a great design that slides in and out:



















Craig on the NZ site:
















Sl1me on the NZ site:










Birador on the RP site:












Boom_Smashers on the RP site:

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SantaMonica

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GrAhF11 on the RP site:










Rav888 on the RP site:






Ronron on the RP site:








Kiwiman456 on the RS site:








Markm3 on the RS site:










Ender on the SARK site:








Punk on the SARK site:








Milburnr on the SC site:












Dragon1188 on the SG site:










Johntanjm on the SG site:










Loowk on the SG site:






Reefme on the SG site:














Snaper on the SG site:

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SantaMonica

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Wideawake on the SG site:








Creetin on the SRC site:
















Darasy on the TCMAS site:
















FiveSmallWorlds on the TCMAS site:








Craigg on the UR site:








Wormside on the UR site:

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SantaMonica

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Update: Best way to rough up your plastic canvas:

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SantaMonica

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Update: Signs of scrubbers wearing out

Since my acrylic scrubber is approching one year old, it's the first one to experience signs of wearing out. Of course I'm also experimenting with large amounts of continuous feeding (which makes things worse), but I'm still seeing some of the same signs in other peoples' scrubbers, even though they are feeding normal amounts, and even though they've replaced the bulbs every 3 months. This is typically what starts happening:

Glass-cleaning is needed more often

Scrubber starts growing darker algae

pH stays at a lower point

Rocks get a light green covering

Cyano starts showing up

Nitrate and phosphate start staying at higher levels


What is probably happening (and what happened to mine) was that the flow had been greatly reduced to the scrubber. My screen is 22" wide, and only half of it was getting any flow at all (I'm surprised half of it did not die); the other half was still getting some flow, but it was so little that the bottom of the scrubber was almost dry. My problem was the pump:




This is a case of scrubbers causing their own unique problem. When you run a scrubber (without skimmers or mechanical filters), not only do the corals and small fish get much more of the food that you feed, but you will also grow all sorts of filter feeders like the ones you see all over the pump in the picture. They grew all through the display, of course (to be eaten by a wrasse), but they also grew up into the impeller area of the scrubber pump, which was the problem. Also in the pic, you can see the brown stuff which was the result of my experiment in large amounts of continuous feeding in a system with a poorly designed sump (which allowed too much settling). The case/impellor was so locked up that I had to soak it in pure vinegar for several hours to even get it open. So while waiting on that, I opened the Eheim 1262 (900 gph) that I ordered as a backup So now my scrubber pump is pumping 2X as much as my return.

Once the new pump was in place, there was a forceful waterfall across the screen again. There is so much water in the acrylic box now that it is 1" deep before it goes out the drain hole (whereas before it was almost dry).

Point is, check your scrubber pump often for internal fan worms or food buildup. Just like the lights, you may not be able to see the lower output (since it happens very slowly over time), so you have to open it up and check. Running the pump in vinegar every three months should keep it clear (vinegar disolves fan worms).

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johnmaloney

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maybe a mag/alk/ and calcium problem. sounds like it

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SantaMonica

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Its fan worms from all the food in the water.

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johnmaloney

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what is your mag and alk like?

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SantaMonica

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1500 mag
500 cal
8.5 alk
8.4 pH

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johnmaloney

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i was thinking that might be related to the chronic ph problem, but yours is high...alk/cal/mag can have complicated effects on ph, might want to look into bringing down the alk, 8.4 seems really high, meq/l?

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SantaMonica

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I though 8 to 12 was the acceptable alk range... it's dKH

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johnmaloney

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oh dkh....anyway I am confused, I thought you had mentioned that you have low ph problems....

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SantaMonica

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Tarraza on the AS site: "THANK YOU SM. without this site my tank was a mess. Now I can enjoy this hobby for ever. 8 months now and i forget what NITRATE, PHOSPHATE IS ALL ABOUT, AHH!!, WATER CHANGE? NOT FOR ME ANY MORE!!!!! GOD BLESS YOU GUYS!!!!"

Firestarter on the SG site: "I was rather hesitant to change to an algae scrubber at first and doubted it would really work, as it was too good to be true. Almost 1.5 weeks of converting to the scrubber, I can see such great results! My corals are finally doing better, pods population has almost tripled, and I don't even need to clean the tank glass at all (usually by now it would be covered my a thin film of brown diatoms). Its amazing what the results were. Forget expensive skimmers, denitrators etc, just a good light source and good flow will do. One of the main reasons why I changed to a scrubber was because of my high nitrate reading. When I finally bought a test kit and tested it, the reading was more than 100mg/l and now it has dropped significantly to 25mg/l. Another advantage was that I could skip the skimmer pump which resulted in my water temp dropping 0.5 - 1 deg."

Craig on the NZ site: "My tank water is so clear and clean looking, and the sand is clean.
I have a Dragon Goby and he has gotten fat ever since I moved to the scrubber and removed my skimmer, he moves a heck of a lot of sand. But I stirred up my sand like I occasionally do and this time there was no muck coming out as I stirred it. My [nuisance] algaes in my overflow have receded, and the coraline on the rocks has grown quite quickly over the last few days. Even the water in my sump (even thou there is a bit of crap on the bottom) is clear and clean."

Gannet on the NZ site: "i have gone from cleaning the glass on the front of the tank 2-4 times a week to once every 2 weeks ... my nitrates has gone from 80ppm and is now 0-5ppm ... and the pods and mysis, i have that many in my sump now that i scoop them up with a net and feed them to my fish works a treat."

ImDaring on the LR site: "I built mine [scrubber] because I had to clean my glass every day because of green algae, and then to top it off I had a Brown algae breakout... it had covered the bottom of my sand bed it; looked like slime. the first week of having my scrubber hooked up I only cleaned my glass 1 time, now on my 2nd week I have not had to clean it at all, and the brown algae is almost gone."

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SantaMonica

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Update: Screens that are too small

This is an example of why a too-small screen can cause problems. The algae gets thick too quick, and the bottom layers die and go back into the water, causing cloudiness and lack of filtering. If you must use a too-small screen, clean it every 3 days instead of 7.

Click here if you can't see pic below

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SantaMonica

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Here are several updates:


Milburnr on the SC site had this great pic of his flow:





Quick review of why scrubbers work:

1. The light is very near the screen, and is not blocked by anything.
2. The flow is very rapid, which transports more nutrients to and from the algae.
3. The flow (on a vertical waterfall) is very thin, which breaks up boundary layer,
and which lets the most light through.
4. 7-day cleanings keeps the bottom layers of algae from being shaded and dying.
5. Using FW to clean, kills the pods that normally destroy the algae.




Seeding a new screen is no longer recommended, because (1) you get good growth in a week anyway, and (2) the seeding just washes off and adds nutrients to the water.


Barbianj on the RS site made a great high-power CFL setup:






Long vacations: Some people want to use a scrubber, but are gone two or three weeks at a time. Here are the options: The easiest is to do nothing. In this case, after three weeks, the underlying layers of algae will have died. When you return, the water may be cloudy and colored, and the nitrate and phosphate may be increased, but after a screen cleaning and some carbon, it will be back to normal in a few days. This option is ok if you leave only once or twice a year. Nothing should be harmed, however. The next option is to remove the screen. For very long trips, and for cases where you have lots of LR and DSB, this might be best. Of course your tank may develop nuisance algae during the trip because of lack of filtering, and you'll have to start the screen from scratch when you return.



RonRon on the RP site built one with just a tupperware box:





Here's another option to attach your screen: Curtain rings...

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SantaMonica

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Many folks have asked about plans for my scrubber, so here are some:


Click here for easier to read version

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screebo

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You've really got me going on Turf Algae Scrubbers. It's so nice to have this kind of information when planning a build on a new tank. How things have changed is such a short time. Embracing such a basic idea as allowing natural leaching of toxic materials from the water really makes sense to me.

Thanks to all who contributed to this thread as I am now rethinking the entire sump plan for my Elos 120 system!

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