algae scrubber first attempt in small sump

[nanoreefer]

i have a 16 gallon bowfront reef tank with a 5 gal sump that has been running for about 6 months and was looking for an affordable way to control algae without having to clean the glass every other day and constantly picking algae off the rocks to prevent it from smothering corals and came across this forum. an algae scrubber sounded perfect so i got to give it a try. the problem was i didnt have much room to work with and i'm very ocd about everything being clean and neat and easily accessible. so anyway here's what i've come up with so far.

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i am going to wait a while to see how it works and if it works good i will get a bigger pump because the one i am using is only 125gph and most of the water only flows down one side, also i will put a light on the other side and i'm probably going to come up with some kind of acrylic sheild that will slip over top

[nanoreefer]

so this is day 1 and 2
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[SantaMonica]

Welcome.

Should work fine. Move the light closer, put one on the other side, and cover the slots to protect from clogging and spraying. Let grow 14 days.

[nanoreefer]

so now i put lights on both sides but still need reflectors. im thinking beer cans.
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i then made a splash guard out of acrylic, i used black for the top bit to prevent algae from growing in the slit at the top.
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[SantaMonica]

Yes you must have reflectors, or you are losing more than half the light.