My first build

[tottenham12712]

I finally have a week of scrubbing under my belt and Im pretty pleased with the results so far.

My system consists of:

-Live Reef Overflow
-Mag5 pump
-Custom built sump (about 8 gallons totally full)
-LED array 4 red 1 blue 3w each driven at about 50% a 3inches away running for 15 hours on 9 off (only lit on one side)
-4.5 x 6inch screen
-29 gallon FW display tank

I have around 150 - 200 gph at the slot pipe but I had to bypass some of the flow as my slot pipe is not straight and makes alot of noise, I have enlisted a member here to help me with that :) Thanks Floyd!

Here are the results after 7 days:

The two photos below show the NON lit side of the screen:

http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l571/dzeleski/Scrubber/WP_000244.jpg

http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l571/dzeleski/Scrubber/WP_000245.jpg

The next two photos show the lit side of the screen:

http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l571/dzeleski/Scrubber/WP_000246.jpg

http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l571/dzeleski/Scrubber/WP_000247.jpg

As you can see I do still have slightly uneven flow but I believe thats because of the slot pipe, I believe everything is otherwise working perfectly. Any tips on when I should clean the screen?

[SantaMonica]

At least another week.

[tottenham12712]

At least another week.

Ok will do, keep everything else the same I assume?

Im already happy as my Nitrates go up about 20-40ppm per week. I was doing 50% water changes weekly and already after one week with the ATS my Nitrates have gone from 80-100pm to around 20-30ppm, so Im already quite pleased.

[Floyd R Turbo]

That's a great result. FW algae seems to grow so much faster. I have one FW customer with 3 of my scrubbers and that is his report as well. Also the algae seems to have a harder time staying attached to the screen, so it really needs to be really rough. Even my screens are rough as you can get and he still gets detachment. A filter sock at the outlet helps catch detached strands. Plus you don't have to worry about catching copepods in a FW system so socks are fine.

[tottenham12712]

That's a great result. FW algae seems to grow so much faster. I have one FW customer with 3 of my scrubbers and that is his report as well. Also the algae seems to have a harder time staying attached to the screen, so it really needs to be really rough. Even my screens are rough as you can get and he still gets detachment. A filter sock at the outlet helps catch detached strands. Plus you don't have to worry about catching copepods in a FW system so socks are fine.

Thanks! Im pleased with it so far, my tap water here has 15-20ppm of silicates that combined with high Nitrates created a constant diatom issue. The ATS is already diminishing the diatoms which is a huge relief. For detachment I have the foam intake cover that came with the mag5 on so I believe that will stop it from going into the display.

[tottenham12712]

Well the lit side started to get dark so I decided to clean the screen

http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l571/dzeleski/Scrubber/WP_000256.jpg

Heres what it looked like after I cleaned it

http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l571/dzeleski/Scrubber/WP_000259.jpg

http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l571/dzeleski/Scrubber/WP_000260.jpg

The algae was really stuck on there good, and I apparently created both a ATS and UAS as I did not cut the screen length and just stuck it on there. As the water ran down and picked up air the air was forced down and than came back up and the screen in the water created a UAS. I cut the screen down so hopefully this does not happen as much and the growth is all where I want it. Nitrates continue to drop they are around 10-20 ppm but that test is a pain to read so its hard to be sure. Really happy though its now two weekends without any water changes :)

[SantaMonica]

Roots look fine, so you can go longer.

[tottenham12712]

Roots look fine, so you can go longer.


Will do, thanks SM. Ill post back in a few weeks just to make sure everything is still good. Thanks again for your help as its already been a great addition to my tank.

[tottenham12712]

So its been two weeks and here are the results:
Lit side:
http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l571/dzeleski/Scrubber/WP_000287.jpg
Non-lit side:
http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l571/dzeleski/Scrubber/WP_000288.jpg
Side Shot:
http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l571/dzeleski/Scrubber/WP_000289.jpg

Non-lit side(Cleaned)
http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l571/dzeleski/Scrubber/WP_000290.jpg
Lit side(Cleaned)
http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l571/dzeleski/Scrubber/WP_000291.jpg

What was removed:
http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l571/dzeleski/Scrubber/WP_000292.jpg

Im really pleased with how everythings going, My nitrates are zero on the test kit which is awesome. I have to clean the glass lightly maybe about once every two weeks, and the diatoms are slowing disappearing. The roots still look really green so im assuming I could go even longer but I think 2 weeks seems like a good number.

What would be the best practice for vacuuming the gravel?

[SantaMonica]

Looks good.

[tottenham12712]

Thanks SM, So today I took a look at the screen and saw some brown spots. Any ideas? Im assuming its because the tank has alot less nutrients now. I threw in some iron supplement, and I will reduce the lighting from 15 hours to 12.

http://i1124.photobucket.com/albums/l571/dzeleski/Scrubber/WP_000300.jpg

[SantaMonica]

Seems fine.

[tottenham12712]

Seems fine.

Really? I thought brown was a sign of a lack of nutrients?

[SantaMonica]

Only if it's very light brown after having grown thick green for a while.

[tottenham12712]

Ok cool, Thanks again for all your help, I turned my HOB off this week and all my levels are showing 0 on the tests :)