Scrubber for my 10g overflow wall?

[milk]

Hello - I am new to the scrubber build designs but have read a lot about the benefits and uses of scrubbers and wanted to make one for my 10 gallon tank. I am currently running just filter floss, carbon and LR for filtration. I had a octopus NS-80 but the motor cut out. A scrubber seems like the perfect mechanism for my tank's filtration.

My tank consists of a 10 gallon Aqueon tank with an acrylic wall siliconed in for an overflow wall, making the display side of the tank around 8 gallons. The other side of the wall is roughly 2 gallons and houses the filter media, heater, return pump and previously housed the skimmer. The tank is set into wood housing that I also have a lid for, but will have to re-modify the height of the housing to accommodate the new LED spotlight (par30) I now have. I am in the process of repainting the tank as well.

I want to build an algae scrubber that will either fit into sectioned overflow area or more ideal, a hang on the back ( I saw a nice long ramp "trough" type of style algae scrubber that a user had created using a modified Marineland Eclipse 6 gallon tank filter). If anyone has any suggestions for an appropriate scrubber, or knows any build styles and examples that would fit this description it would be appreciated. I would definately like to contain the scrubber within the wood housing for the tank.

here are some pictures of my setup (the netting over the top of the tank is to deter my inhabitants from jumping).

http://i56.tinypic.com/j14uiw.jpg

http://i54.tinypic.com/2s0oivb.jpg

http://i51.tinypic.com/2h4c60z.jpg

Thanks

[SantaMonica]

Something like this:


http://www.radio-media.com/fish/NanoBuiltIn.jpg

[milk]

Yes, thanks for the quick reply! - I saw that design somewhere in a recent thread here. Now, to build something like this, would I literally just submerge an algae screen into the back of the overflow box with a light shining through like the diagram depicts? I have a clear acrylic piece siliconed to divide the filter media side with the heater, return pump side behind the overflow wall that you can see in the picture. Would the algae grow on the filter media side in the filter floss since it is so close (I would spray paint the outside of the filter media side black so the algae light behind would only shine in the heater/return pump side). Would I even need the filter media if I were to be using an algae screen? I suppose filter floss wouldn't hurt, but would activated carbon even be necessary? Would the algae screen be ok right next to the heater?

I still don't quite understand how the algae from the algae scrubber does not infiltrate the main display area being so close.

THANKS!

[milk]

Anyone have a link to the thread that that diagram displayed in by the way?

[SantaMonica]

There is no link; it's just a diagram I made. The short answer to your questions is that algae will do all the filtering, and will not grow in the display. Floss is especially bad, since it traps food. Read some more and you'll understand.

I don't think the heater will affect it. You are the first person to ask, but algae will just grow based on what temp it likes.

[milk]

Thanks again - you seem to be the guru of this scrub a dub. But I guess my main question would be whether I could completely submerge the algae screen in my overflow area and grow it that way (which seems to easy to be true). Or if its necessary to create the pvc trickle over the algae screen, and into the bucket method (the sumpless installation of algae scrubber method as shown on your post here ..

http://i54.tinypic.com/zsv5zp.jpg

[dtyharry]

Screen cannot be submerged. You would have to lower the water level in the rear chamber to leave the screen exposed.

[milk]

Ok, I guess I'll just need to find a bucket small enough to fit in the housing (maybe a gallon bucket). Is the valve at the top to adjust the flow of the scrubber? Is there any link to how to build the simple bucket scrubber as depicted in the diagram?

[SantaMonica]

As long as you have 5 or so inches out of the water, it might be enough inside the overflow. Otherwise, there is:
http://radio-media.com/fish/AlgaeScrubbers.doc