HOG.5 on a Pico

[mbonus]

I put one of the hob.5's into service in a pico about ten days ago. Not much growth yet.

[SantaMonica]

First thing is to get the bubbles going. There is only a single bubble in the pic. Probably needs a bigger pump.

After than, keeping the lights on for 8 hours a day would be a good start.

[mbonus]

Maybe, but I think that is more due to my photo technique. I am using a whisper 20 and there seems to be a good stream of bubbles, but just out of one hole.

[SantaMonica]

Here is an average amount of bubbles:
http://www.algaescrubber.net/hog.5-7.jpg

[SantaMonica]

Ok the video you emailed me shows a few bubbles per second, coming out of the one hole near the middle. So the screen still should have some growth at least near the middle by now.

1. How many hours do you have your timer set for? The screen looks like it has never been turned off.

2. Did you move the screen back so it stays against the black tray? That is how they are positioned now, to keep them away from the light. If the screen stays touching the glass it will be too close to the light.

3. As for bubbles, what is the bump in the middle where all the bubbles are coming from?

4. Did you add holes to the other side of the tray that does not have them? Trays now have three holes on each side, to allow more water to flow by the screen. When a HOG.5 scrubber is set at the top water surface like your is, the holes on the side are the only way for water to circulate.

[mbonus]

Ok the video you emailed me shows a few bubbles per second, coming out of the one hole near the middle. So the screen still should have some growth at least near the middle by now.

1. How many hours do you have your timer set for? The screen looks like it has never been turned off.

2. Did you move the screen back so it stays against the black tray? That is how they are positioned now, to keep them away from the light. If the screen stays touching the glass it will be too close to the light.

3. As for bubbles, what is the bump in the middle where all the bubbles are coming from?

4. Did you add holes to the other side of the tray that does not have them? Trays now have three holes on each side, to allow more water to flow by the screen. When a HOG.5 scrubber is set at the top water surface like your is, the holes on the side are the only way for water to circulate.


1: 8hrs
2: Yes, but it is not totally flat
3: slice in the vinyl tube as received. I tried to change the position as directed in the instructions, but it doesn't change the flow of bubbles.
4: No. I'll try that, but what do you mean they are "now" like that? I just ordered mine and received it 10 days ago.

[SantaMonica]

Yes the extra holes are just now being added. As long as you don't mind the extra red light, the more holes, the better, in your application. If you had it farther down in a deeper tank, you might not need them.

Strange about the tube... I look at every one before boxing it, and make sure all the segment can be tucked down. If you can't get one segment tucked under another, then just superglue that section closed and the remaining segement will take over. Try to get bubbles coming out of at least 3 or 4 places.

After the holes and the tubing, let it run for 14 days; I think this will fix it. Ironically, once thick growth starts, it does not really matter what shape the screen is or how many places the bubble are; it just goes crazy.

[mbonus]

Oh well, just melted the screen trying to heat it to bend it flat against back. Doh! I guess that's it for this test.

[SantaMonica]

Just glue it to the tray; it does not matter what shape it's in, once it is covered in growth you don't even see the screen.

Once you get it going, if you still want a perfect screen I'll send you a new one to glue in.

[mbonus]

Its not as bad as I first thought. I took your suggestion and crazy glued the tube to force more bubbles out of the other holes. There's still a bit of a gap in the screen, but we'll see how it goes. I have some heavy fiberglass mesh at work, the kind used in synthetic plaster. I wonder if that could be used? Look up Dryvit.com and panzer 20oz mesh if you want to see what I'm talking about.

[SantaMonica]

I'd stick with the canvas. No need to change too many things.

[mbonus]

Ok. Will do

[mbonus]

Well two weeks. no algae. Any other ideas?

[SantaMonica]

Pic of screen

[mbonus]

3603

I shouldn't say no algae, just not that much after 14 days

[SantaMonica]

If lights are 8 hours, and there are lots of bubbles, and the bottom holes are not be blocked by putting them in the sand, then open up the holes on the sides, or make more holes on the sides, so more water can flow up from the bottom holes and out the sides.

I'm thinking, however, that the bottom holes might be covered up by being pushed down into the sand.

[mbonus]

3750

Here is my first cleaning! Didn't change anything yet.

[SantaMonica]

Now we're growin' :)

[mbonus]

Well the first cleaning was the only one that produced decent algae. Subsequent cleanings the algae has only been on the side or behind the screen. I see that you have now redesigned the in-tank portion to use a different material. Will this match up with the existing lights in a HOG.5? I am thinking it would be good to start over with a new in-tank assembly.

[SantaMonica]

Sounds like it's burning. Did you reduce the hours to 12 ? Did you run it for at least 14 days? Is the screen flat up against the back wall? It really should just grow, without needing to change anything.

The new HOG1 has a different (larger) magnet setup, so it will not match the HOG.5. Also the new Green Grabber texture is more expensive because of the extra time it take to hand assemble.

You just need to make adjustments to get your current one growing; they will all grow once set up correctly.

[mbonus]

1) Timer set for 10 hrs
2) Current run at 20 days
3) Screen is as flat against the back wall and far away from light as possible

Part of the problem is that I can't effectively adjust the bubbles because the initial cuts on the air hose were too deep and would not allow me to close the holes nearest to the air-tube bend. This resulted in bubbles mostly just going to the side of the screen. I tried to use crazy glue to get bubbles to evenly disperse across the screen, but it never really worked. Add to the fact that I melted a hole in the screen.

That is why I am thinking it would be better to either scrap the experiment or start with a new in-tank screen/air-tube assembly.

The new Green Grabber texture looks to be much more evenly disbursed but if the magnets won't work then it's a moot point.

[SantaMonica]

Ah then it's the bubbles. A larger pump will always work; eventually all the tube will have bubbles. But if you can't do that right now, just super glue the outer segments closed after a good cleaning.

The HOG1 has different magnets, for up to 1/2". But the tube is the same, so you'd be good to get a bigger pump anyways... one that has two outlets and you seal off one of them.