2700K and 2850K fluorescents

[Nathan]

Have any of you tried them, and what sort of results did you have? These lamps are more readily available for the size fixtures I am using than grow lamps.

[kcress]

They'll work fine.

"The redder the bedder."


Algae needs lots of red and some tinny amount of blue to be happy. So in all cases certain models/brands may work a little better than the next. So, the ultimate test is to try them.

If you use two or more lights try one of each and observe. Let us know!

[Nathan]

Will do. I am using some normal output T5s and circline T9 fixtures (I'm trying to keep the profile slim). I've also thought of a little design twist that is either very clever or very stupid. Once I get the thing built I'll see which it is; if it's clever, I'll share it, if it's stupid I'll pretend it never happened.

[kcress]

I've also thought of a little design twist that is either very clever or very stupid.

Ah com monnn Mon, you can tell us, you're amongst fiends, er, I mean friends!

[Nathan]

Ha! All right, all right, I'll tell! I wouldn't want to upset the fiends.

My idea is to have a scrubber-in-a-box, much like Santa Monica's design, with the twist of an access door in the end panel. My scrubber will be above my tank, so this will greatly ease screen removal for cleaning.

The box and door will be acrylic. An EPDM gasket around the door will provide a seal against splashing water. Stainless steel hinges and cam latches complete the setup.

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z161/Newt1453/scrubberboxwithdoor.png

I still have to hammer out the design specifics. The whole shebang will end up looking something like this:

http://i194.photobucket.com/albums/z161/Newt1453/scrubber.png

The scrubber box will sit on a platform, which will also support the housing for the lights (sort of a wooden shell placed over the scrubber box, with PC fans in the top for ventilation). Not shown is the end panel of the light housing; the lights will not actually be exposed like that.

[SantaMonica]

Neat idea. Remember you only need ventilation if you want cooling. Also, the T5 at the top should be moved down so you don't block the pipe. Or you can just put a light shield.

[Nathan]

Thanks, Santa Monica. The T5's will be placed lower than I depicted, I was just drawing sloppily.

[kcress]

Thanks for coming clean.. :D

With scrubbers I find that until you actually run it for a couple of months you don't see the problems with it.

The splashing water flecks and the turf "conspire to mire". So keep in mind that you will need to clean the surfaces - all the surfaces that face the water - eventually.

[kcress]

Oh and DO be concerned about heating. Just the pump on my scrubber has run the temp of my 120gal 12 foot long tank up 2 to 3 degrees. If I added a hundred watts of lighting heat, because of a closed box, it would climb higher yet. :shock:

[Nathan]

Thanks, KCress. I am rerouting some of the existing pumps on the tank for the scrubber, so there shouldn't be a heat increase there, but I am a bit worried about the lighting heat. I may rewire the T5 ballasts so I can place them outside of the lighting housing. I'll have to talk to an electrician first, as I know ballasts can only have so much length of wire between them and the lamps before they quit working properly. I haven't bought the circline fixtures yet so I don't know if the same operation is possible with them. If I can do this it should cut down heating at the scrubber considerably, and I hope the PC fans will effectively reduce the remaining heat.

[kcress]

Any fans in your light space will completely negate the heating issue. So on your book design some little fan somewhere would do the trick.