No growth so far on day 4

[DownwardDawg]

I need help posting pics and vids. I went with 4 of the LED's from Santa Monica's web page with his drivers. My screen is about 4-1/2 x 6. My air pump is a Fusion Q2. The flow looks good but I don't know. My cheato triples in size in one week.

[SantaMonica]

Use the "insert image" button above the text box, and choose "from computer", and browse for the pics on your computer.

[DownwardDawg]

Use the "insert image" button above the text box, and choose "from computer", and browse for the pics on your computer.

Ok. Thanks

[DownwardDawg]

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[DownwardDawg]

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[DownwardDawg]

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[DownwardDawg]

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[SantaMonica]

Do you have holes in the top of the bubble cover?

On the sides?

Are you running it with the uppermost part out of the water?

Hours of light?

[DownwardDawg]

Do you have holes in the top of the bubble cover?

On the sides?

Are you running it with the uppermost part out of the water?

Hours of light?

Yes
Yes
Yes
18 hours right now.

[DownwardDawg]

Maybe I need to rough the screen up some more?

[SantaMonica]

No, I just saw that you are on day 4. You should not be seeing anything until at least day 5.

[DownwardDawg]

Ok. I'll chill and check it in a couple of days. Thanks.

[Andy_cy]

Your screen looks rough enough for at least something to grow on.

Flowrate:
1) check if air can escape from the top.
2) check if water can enter from below.
3) make sure your air pump is pumping out sufficient air to create good flow.

Tank:
1) Make sure you have at least some nutrients for algae to grow.

Light:
1) Make sure no one is playing a prank on you by switching off the lights when you're not around hahaha.

IMO, since you have proper lighting already, something should at least show up on day 4.

[DownwardDawg]

Thanks for the replies so far. There is definitely air escaping through the top and I have several 1/8" holes across the bottom and sides. There are nutrients in my tank for sure. My cheato in the refugium triples in size in a week and algae is starting to grow on the rocks.
While it would be funny, I don't think anyone is turning off my lights. Im OCD about my tanks so I'm checking constantly.

[Andy_cy]

Glad to hear no one's pranking you on that haha.

The screen should at least have some brown algae by the end of the first week. If it still turns out so white and clean, then I'm pretty sure water is not circulating well within.

Perhaps you can try pressing the unit against the tank wall, position it where it should be, and have a look at what's going on inside. Because if you place the lights part on, it covers everything and you can't tell if something is wrong inside.

[DownwardDawg]

There is definitely some growth starting this morning. I removed the outside piece (light side) and watched a few minutes with a flashlight. I decided to make my holes slightly larger to help water/air exchange. There is a touch of light brown on the screen thus morning. :)

[SantaMonica]

The magic of Day 5 :)

[DownwardDawg]

The magic of Day 5 :)

Lol!!! I like the magic!

[Andy_cy]

That's great to hear :) I bet the real magic has yet to show

[DownwardDawg]

4504

I'm calling this day 7, although that's really not the case. On day 5 I took it out and made a few modifications. Whatever had started probably died because it was out of the water several hours. I added some more magnets and drilled the holes a little larger. What do ya'll think so far?

[SantaMonica]

Can't tell.

[DownwardDawg]

Can't tell.

I'll get some more pics in a couple of days. I'm tied up with work right now and traveling.

[DownwardDawg]

Holy crap what a difference some time makes!!!!! This thing is growing algae like crazy!!! These pics are 7 days after I scraped the screen clean and gave a quick rinse in the sink. Algae is still growing in my tank, but not like this!!! I think my tank is at that age that a lot of people have algae problems. It's about 10 months old now.45794580

[SantaMonica]

Yipee!!

[DownwardDawg]

Yipee!!

IKR!?!? It's crazy how it's growing now. Maybe it'll start out competing the algae in my tank.