My gutted refugium waterfall ATS

[chriswf]

Okay, through lots of trial and error, and learning A LOT about this...
I finally put together my first ATS.

I had a big sump box. I ended up taking out all the built in baffles and walls used to hold bioballs or whatever, and ran the PVC across.

My original plan was to have my waterfall come out of the refug, and drain into the tank. But now it's built INTO my refug. And I don't regret it, especially since I put black cloroplast underneath the refug and blocked out a LOT of the pink lighting - which otherwise would have been igniting my tank with ultra pink light :P

I still need to redo my waterfall pipe. I have a 3/16 blade on a table saw, someone said 1/8 (floyd said it I think) would be best. I might try the 3/16 anyway.

My screen is 16(width)x12(height) inches.

My water shields are plexiglass/acrylic that I heated into a U type shape, the weight of it keeps it on the LEDs for now. The plexiglass isn't getting wet but it's a safeguard and was fun to mold it into shape simply warming it with my electric open face stove lol.

If this works, I plan on adding 2 more heat sink panels of the same size, 1 to each side, and doubling up on LEDs.
Here's some pics:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-17_19-20-17_620.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-17_19-19-46_128.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-17_19-19-54_218.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-17_19-19-59_250.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-17_19-20-04_50.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-17_19-20-09_919.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-17_19-19-04_703.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-17_19-19-09_585.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-17_19-19-36_724.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-17_19-18-59_45.jpg

My LED timer is set to 19 on 5hrs off, at least until growth starts. Then I think I heard do 17/7 (on/off)
Input is more than welcome on anything, it's just a trial and I went into this knowing my first won't be perfect.

[chriswf]

And yes, that's white cloroplast on my tank as a lid until I get some acrylic cut to fit it. The white cloroplast also diffuses it some. But going to allied plastics a.s.a.p. to get some clear lids.

[Floyd R Turbo]

I think your screen is way too big for the coverage those LEDs provide. It looks to me like there is an ultra-hot spot in the middle, which will likely get no growth, then the light coverage declines around it quickly. A diffuser will help spread it out a little bit, but I think no matter what you do your screen is just too big for the LEDs to cover adequately. Take some pics without the lights on, maybe I'm not seeing something right.

[chriswf]

I can adjust the LEDs back to spread out the light? They're like 3 inches off the screen right now.

And i'm doubling up on LEDs if these work. I'm looking at heatsink options - like old car amplifiers. Some people online were saying they got their amplifier heatsinks for 20$ from car audio shop junk boxes.

Is a large screen hurting anything for now?

[Floyd R Turbo]

Large screen is probably not hurting anything for now, but you will end up only growing algae in the areas where the light is just right, and that will take several weeks, so I would let it run as is.

I would back off the lights, yes. This will spread it out more and lower the intensity of the hot spot in the middle.

Car amp heat sinks are perfect. Really anything is if you spread the LEDs out enough - even a flat aluminum plate. You do need convection, whether that be natural/passive or forced (fan)

[chriswf]

Okay cool. Just a cpu fan? Do I give it a power supply dedicated to fans only or share it off the LED one? I have some PC power supplies I'm not using.

I also saw people using aluminum tubes and tracks, and pushing air through the tubes... I thought that was a pretty good idea too.

[Floyd R Turbo]

LEDs are constant current. Fans are DC voltage. You cannot run them on the same power supply.

[chriswf]

So what does everyone else use? Is a pc power supply fine?

[Floyd R Turbo]

overkill. All you need is a 12V wall wart (plug) with a molex adapter on the end. you can find online and maybe the Shack...

[like-fish]

this is what it looks like when your leds are too close togeather (hot spots):

http://i1262.photobucket.com/albums/ii602/like-fish1/2013-01-04_18-07-02_507.jpg

still experimenting with mine as well! Keep updating!

[chriswf]

this is what it looks like when your leds are too close togeather (hot spots):

still experimenting with mine as well! Keep updating!

Is it still productive even with the burn spots?

Here's some pictures without my lights on. Everything is a bit more clear to see my crazy rigging.

So far, I AM starting to grow algae on day 2 or 3, you'll notice it in my pictures. And yeah, it's growing AROUND the "hot spot".
I don't know if my hot spot is that bad, but it's brown everywhere else except for the middle area.
Going to move my LEDs soon...

Here's some pics.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-19_19-32-49_610.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-19_19-32-54_565.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-19_19-37-30_50.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-19_19-36-37_812.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-19_19-36-45_307.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-19_19-36-54_157.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-19_19-37-09_924.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-19_19-37-23_880.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-19_19-36-24_712.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-19_19-36-17_415.jpg


And the growth basically appeared over night. Hopefully it'll bloom fast, and I can start playing with my distances.
I already know I need to back the LEDs up, I just don't know how much.

[SantaMonica]

It's not too productive when it burns. It's better than nothing, if you harvest it, but it causes nutrients fast when the shaded area dies.

[like-fish]

I added diffuser from lowes and spread my lights out (because backing them up was not an option with my current design). Growing much better now!

[chriswf]

I added diffuser from lowes and spread my lights out (because backing them up was not an option with my current design). Growing much better now!

What's your current and previous spacing from each center?
My spacing is like 2 - 2 1/4 centers.

[chriswf]

Here's some updated pics after a couple more days:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-22_22-22-49_218.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-22_22-19-35_785-1.jpg

I moved the LEDs back on this front side you always see, haven't on the back side. Going to get shorter studs/bolts to hold it closer.
Found 9 and 12v wall plugs today in a vacant home (I'm a foreclosure inspector). They were going to be hauled off as trash so I grabbed em. And I have a molex to SATA adapter somewhere I can splice together with the 9v or 12v plug.

[chriswf]

In a couple of days I'll have pics with the LEDs OFF. It's kind of hard to reach the timer to flip them off.

[chriswf]

Okay, here's some LED off photos :)

I have green stuff growing!
Well first I have these strings at the bottom? They're definitely more visible in person than in photo:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-23_22-10-37_456.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-23_22-10-46_764.jpg

Then I have these patches of thick green every here and there:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-23_22-11-42_449.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-23_22-11-18_809.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-23_22-11-00_556.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-23_22-14-12_351.jpg


And then I have some algae growing on bottom of sump, but I wiped a spot off with my finger, so no worries:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-23_22-12-26_277.jpg

LEDs moved back. They're ~4" of the screen now:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-23_22-11-57_970.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-23_22-12-03_445.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-23_22-14-03_916.jpg

My wife was beginning to doubt the whole red LEDs growing algae thing, and I was like "Babeh, it takes time!"
And now, she's a believer.

[SantaMonica]

Should look good in 14 days :)

[chriswf]

Hmm, more green spots throughout my screen.

More importantly, those green strings of algae on the bottom, are getting REALLY long, and are clumped together.
It's like hair, look:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-25_00-23-25_662.jpg


Oh and I got my adjustable zip ties in...
Only 2 are randomly placed on the screen right now. Can be seen in the picture (before I had fishing string lol):
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-25_00-23-35_490.jpg

[chriswf]

Update:
More about the strings at the bottom - weird. They're like 4" long.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-27_20-37-40_372.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-27_20-37-58_441.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-27_20-38-10_123.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-27_20-38-18_750.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-27_20-38-41_647.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-27_20-38-48_941.jpg

Couldn't decide which looks better, flash or no flash.


EDIT: Notice the bubbles? On the screen? They're not in motion. They're just stuck there.

I got a newly cut pipe tomorrow going in, we'll see how it goes.

[SantaMonica]

The strings are where the gha was able to attach.

[chriswf]

Got my new cut pipe in. It was cut by a machine to get it perfectly at 1/8 inch.
Anyway, my water flow is AMAZING now.

I also got my new heat sinks today. They were hand made at my friend's shop, and gifted to me.
LED's aren't glued on it yet, but that's 2" spacing.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-28_18-30-22_881-1.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-28_18-31-01_364-1.jpg

I blurred the funny little image he engraved into it lol. Only part of the heat sinks will be used, they're 2ft long, and I don't know if I want 2ft of screens.

[chriswf]

Update:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-02-03_18-12-38_274_zps486ca8cd.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-02-03_18-22-14_134_zpsf6ae0da5.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-02-03_15-56-54_805_zps48edd7c7.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-02-03_15-57-00_43_zps34837a67.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-02-03_15-57-14_969_zps305e210d.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-02-03_15-58-15_960_zpsf8365d43.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-02-03_15-57-58_582_zpsadd7e0f4.jpg
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-02-03_15-57-30_330_zps0da514b2.jpg

Unsure when I should harvest it.

I'm adding my new heatsinks in, and probably using these smaller heatsinks on my fry tank.