Scrubber for seahorse tank?

[SWhite]

So I've got the system listed in my sig. Battling cyano. My ammonia/nitrate/nitrites read 0 and I have .25-.5 phosphates. I've got a few different kinds of macro algae that grow very well and I want to keep. I feed about 3-4 cubes of mysis a day. I have an large and active population of hermits and snails.

Having said that, would a scrubber work for me?

Would it get rid of the phosphates, without over competing with my macro?

I'm also concerned about the potential heat gain. I keep my temps pretty low and I run a chiller. Is there a significant heat gain and/or can that be mitigated with built in light cooling?

Thanks in advance. I love building stuff, especially if it's beneficial for the system.

[SantaMonica]

Checking why the sig did not show up.

[SWhite]

Looks like it works now. I think I had started thread before I had a sig, and then posted.

[SantaMonica]

Well, normally a scrubber is strong enough to kill all other macro algae. But you might be able to play with the hours on the lights, to strike a balance.

The cyano is getting nitrogen directly from the food that sets on the bottom. If you have a DSB in the display too, the nitrogen coming out of it could do the same. Increasing flow normally helps, since it get foods off of the bottom, and/or dilutes the nitrogen coming out, but you probably want the food to stay there for the feeding. But phosphate is the problem here anyway.

Build a scrubber sized for 5 cubes, and go from there.

[SWhite]

What's the ratio of screen size per cube fed? So far reading the FAQ has only referred to screen size by gallons.

So much info in the FAQ is awesome! It's nice to come to a site/forum where so much information is all in one place.

Planning on making mine out of acrylic. Would you expect that "5 cubes" is a size that I wouldn't need bigger? Or should I design it such that I could increase my screen size if needed?

[jimrawr1]

There is a new thread stickied with NEW SIZING guidelines, here it is

http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?1419-New-sizing-guidelines

[SWhite]

There is a new thread stickied with NEW SIZING guidelines, here it is

http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?1419-New-sizing-guidelines

TYVM. I guess I hadn't made it to that yet.

What I get from it is that it takes 24 square inches per cube of food. For instance if I were make a horizontal, one sided, scrubber feeding 5 cubes a day it would need to be 480 square inches. But if it were vertical, 2 sided, it would be 60 square inches per side. Is my math correct? That is a HUGE difference.

I've got the perfect space to make a sloped one sided that is about 10"x25". That's about half the size that I'd need for a horizontal. What sort of angle would be needed to reach that middle ground?

Also with such a 'messy' tank that a seahorse creates, does a fully running ATS negate the need for a skimmer? I've currently got one rated for 150g that does a fine job of pulling nasty green skimmate, but it kinda seems from the FAQ that the skimmate isn't the issue, it's what the skimmate breaks down into if not removed. And as such the tank would potentially benefit from not skimming and INSTEAD run a ATS?

[jimrawr1]

You would need 24 sq inches for one cube per day if its one sided. So for 5 cubes its 120sq inches. Two sided would be 60sq inches. Your one sided 10x25 is way too big. You need a one sided 10x12" screen to be able to feed five cubes per day of food. Someone correct me if I am wrong

[SWhite]

The 10x25 is horizontal space. But other than that I think we are on the same page.

[SantaMonica]

What I get from it is that it takes 24 square inches per cube of food.

12. Lit both sides.


if I were make a horizontal

Multiply the screen size by 4, and the wattage by 1.5 Horizontals are not very efficients because of 1-sided, slow flow, and algae island blocking.


does a fully running ATS negate the need for a skimmer?

If you don't have corals, or any small fish, then you probably don't need the food particles floating around. So a skimmer would help.

[SWhite]

Okay so a screen that is vertical 6"x10" and lit with about 30w on each side and an 18 hour photo period. Does that sound correct for my needs?

EDIT: Also will my lower temps require different parameters, IE time between cleanings, amount of light, etc...?

[SantaMonica]

Sounds right. Use good reflectors to get all of the light to the screen.

Temp should not matter or change. It might cool off just a bit.

[las]

so if you were planning on using a properly sized scrubber on a fish only tank, would u reccomend a protein skimmer?

[SWhite]

Also with all the talk of the new scrubber design coming soon. Would it be worth my time waiting to see what it is before building my own? I don't want to buy the bits and then kick myself for making a poorer version...

[las]

+1

[SantaMonica]

I'd wait.

If the FO tank has no small fish that eat food particles floating around, then a skimmer will help. Although, you could just use a slightly stronger scrubber and save the expense and the space and the cleaning.

[SWhite]

Sorry I hadn't mentioned it before but I've got a bunch of leathers, mushrooms and kenya trees. No SPS though. And other than the 4 H. Erectus seahorses I have a 5" pink spotted shrimp goby and a 3" yellow watchman. But it sounds like once I get the scrubber running properly I could remove my skimmer.

So I think I'm pretty set on adding a ATS, but I'm concerned about retarding my macro growth. Would supplementing iron increase my overall algae growth, macro and scrubber?

[SantaMonica]

Not really, unless you were over-lighting or under-flowing the scrubber.

[las]

I'd wait.

If the FO tank has no small fish that eat food particles floating around, then a skimmer will help. Although, you could just use a slightly stronger scrubber and save the expense and the space and the cleaning.

At the moment its just a mappa puffer. In the future i want to add a large angel and a large tang. These fish all need high oxygen levels which is why im drawn to the ATS. Do you think id be better off with both a skimmer and an ATS or just a larger sized ATS?

[SantaMonica]

Depends on how much space you have, how much noise you want, and how much weekly cleaning you want to do.

A strong scrubber, by itself, can do all the filtering. But you really need strong wattage when you are feeding a lot of food to aggressive fish. 12 real watts, per cube of food, per day, minimum. For high nutrient tanks, I'd double that wattage. But keep the screen the same size.