scrubber build into my sump

[simon wright]

i have built a scrubber into my sump design and would like some feedback on if anybody thinks this is anygood , :)
[attachment=2:195ctal1]Photo0082.jpg[/attachment:195ctal1]
i have had this running for around 4 months now , i need to place some finer mesh on the plate , and am about to replace the light with 2 x energy saving bulbs 2700k , 11w = 60w each bulb . as the growth has not been fast so i think the arcpod needs replacing with the 2 x energy savers .

[SantaMonica]

Yes you need to replace the grid with some roughed-up plastic canvas. One big 33 watts cfl spiral, in a big reflector, will probably work too.

[simon wright]

yes i need to replace the grid i am going to do the plastic canvas like you said , i have just put a 11w energy saver bulb over it which = to 60w output and is 2700k

[SantaMonica]

11 watts is not enough for that screen. You need at least 23 watts, or better, 33 watts.

[simon wright]

well got the plastic canvas on the scrubber now , much better with that on it .
had to treat my tank with chemiclean to get rid of red cyno , affected my scrubber as well , so just waiting for it to sort itself out , its getting there though.
also changed my light over to a led light 4000-6500k the right spectrums for algae , its 10w led but is the same output as 100w so will see if it is anygood .
will get some pics up soon .

[SantaMonica]

Be prepared for the LED to produce almost nothing at all.

[simon wright]

Be prepared for the LED to produce almost nothing at all.
why?

[SantaMonica]

Because LED's don't work on scrubbers (yet).

[simon wright]

carnt see why they dont , wavelengths that are right should work the same as bulbs do .

[Ace25]

Because LED's don't work on scrubbers (yet).
Curious as to why you would say that when there are several scrubbers on your site that use LEDs and work just fine? As I said in my thread, they are just too expensive right now to really be more than a novelty for the few of us that like to tinker with that sort of thing. They work slightly better (due to being able to get specific wavelengths, meaning less wasted light) than CFL and T5HO in my opinion, but in order to work better the initial cost is way higher than the other 2 options which for the large majority of people isn't justifiable.

I will agree with you Santa Monica that the LED light the OP listed wouldn't work well.

Seriously, 3 days worth of growth using LEDs. Actually, today is day 4 for me and my screen is clogged again, I need to go clean it.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6128/5940915073_653a7308ae.jpg

[SantaMonica]

Yours is the only one that's grown much. Hundreds of others have tried.

[simon wright]

Because LED's don't work on scrubbers (yet).
Curious as to why you would say that when there are several scrubbers on your site that use LEDs and work just fine? As I said in my thread, they are just too expensive right now to really be more than a novelty for the few of us that like to tinker with that sort of thing. They work slightly better (due to being able to get specific wavelengths, meaning less wasted light) than CFL and T5HO in my opinion, but in order to work better the initial cost is way higher than the other 2 options which for the large majority of people isn't justifiable.

I will agree with you Santa Monica that the LED light the OP listed wouldn't work well.

Seriously, 3 days worth of growth using LEDs. Actually, today is day 4 for me and my screen is clogged again, I need to go clean it.
http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6128/5940915073_653a7308ae.jpg
hi could you tell me were to find your thread on your led scrubber lighting please .

[simon wright]

well i tried the 10w led , doesnt work at all , could go to the 30w version but just dont have the money to buy one so going back to the bulb .
10w led had next to know growth at all in 2 days , 16hrs on 8 hrs of . not sure if i should go vertical aswell .

[simon wright]

update i have gone vertical and put the 10w led further away and it works fine now , must have been the horizontal and to close with the led that caused the mistake of it not working .
will get some pics up soon :)

[simon wright]

haa i was a big hasty with the led light working , it does not work as well as the bulb .
i seen some growth but not enough to say it works that well so now taken that off and put bulb back on .
so this is no good for scrubbers 10w led = 100w output . 4000-6000k i think it was .
[attachment=0:2plpeq06]41b8E4wf8iL__SL500_AA300_.jpg[/attachment:2plpeq06]

[simon wright]

going to have a look at the plant grow leds , but its all down to money . so have to wait and see .
been messing with my scrubber to much so need it to start growing again . think the bulb will be staying for now .

[simon wright]

question , has enybody had turf scrubber growth problems due to levels in tank beeing out of balance , as in calcium , magnesium , kh , my calcium is at 540 ppm , magnesium at 1320ppm , dkh 7 - 125 ppm .
having some problems with some sps stripping flesh and dying back fast , this has coincided with scrubber not growing very well .
been using kent reef salt and the levels are not balanced with the salt mix . going to change to a better salt make like d&d h2ocean it has a better balance when made to 1.025 sg .
all input is appreciated on this one .

[SantaMonica]

Watch your kH if you have strong growth; it may get used up faster.

Best way to keep levels constant is to not do waterchanges, and just dose ca, alk, mag and str.

As for growth, if nutrients shoot up quickly for some reason, this will cause growth to turn dark, and thus allow less filtering. And the high nutrients could be the cause of the coral trouble. Of course, leaving your lights on 24 hours like Floyd did will do this too, but in reverse.

[simon wright]

well i went out and got some tmc carbon to run in my sump to take nutrients out more quickly and try and save a coral that is stripping back fast , it might save it , it might not .
skimmer is running 24/7 again till scrubber is back on track .
as for the scrubber i will just have to wait for it to take hold again , the colour on it is like a red/purple colour under the light not brown .
not much green there only small amounts here and there .
should i clean it every 3 days or just leave it alone to grow .?
also done lights on 15 hrs and the rest off , as i seen some clear algae growing on the screen .

[SantaMonica]

Unfortunately GAC carbon does not remove nutrients; it removes DOC, which is coral food. What you want is GFO, which removes phosphate.

If you are only getting a cyano colored growth, I'd say your light is way too weak. Growth should either be black (high nutrients), brown (medium nutrients), or green (low nutrients).