Is there such a thing as too big of a scrubber?

[reef r madness]

Im thinking of doing an algae scrubber in my future reef tank.Im going to be using a 10 gallon sump and a 29 gallon display tank.I want to make the scrubber 7 inches high 20 inches long lit on both sides..i plan on using 2x24 watt florasun t5 bulbs .Ive been away from hobby for about 10 years....my how things have changed....last time i had my tank up and running protein skimmers had just came out.....I also want to document my build ....Ive joined a few sites .......any recommendations on which site i will get the most input...thank you santa monica for all your hard work...

[reef r madness]

according to the calculator ....i need to make my scrubber 3 inches high x 12 inches long with a flow rate of 105 gph...18 watts per side....feeding 3 cubes a day....am i getting closer to the right specs? 18 hour light cycles running from 6pm to noon.......

[SantaMonica]

Welcome.

Yes, skimmers were neat. All that rising foam. Until you realize that the particles in that foam are coral food, and small-fish food. The same food you buy and feed. And, the skimmer don't remove any nutriets. At all.

Anyway, for regular sites, if I had to pick one I say Reefsanctuary.com.

Your size seems off. Maybe you mean 3 inches wide. But that would be hard to put a 12 inch bulb vertical into the sump.

[reef r madness]

ok here is my plan...scrubber housing to be made of clear plexiglass.24 watt florasun ho lights on both sides of housing

[SantaMonica]

3 cubes is a giant amount for a nano, but yes it would need 36 square inches of screen, and at least 36 total watts. Flow however should be 12 X 35 = 420 gph, not 105 gph. So, this design would have a huge amount of circulation for it's size. Might be loud, and could easily spray everywhere.

Also you don't want the detritus trapped anywhere. Instead leave an open pathway so the detritus can recirculate back around to feed the corals. If you are going to have rock in the sump, have detritus eaters in their too.

[kerry]

You might be better with a 4x4 screen or 6x6 if you have a ton livestock to feed but its unlikely in a 29G. To much screen grows little algae and does not filter very good, its best to fit the screen to your feeding not the size of your tank.

[Pny]

To much screen grows little algae and does not filter very good
Why would a large screen grow less algae than a small screen? That does not make sense...

[rleahaines]

Why would a large screen grow less algae than a small screen? That does not make sense...

I think the theory is you end up spreading the algae out over the larger screen and missing out on some of the filtering capability you may get with denser growth.

[rleahaines]

3 cubes per day of feeding is an awful lot of food for a 29Gal tank. What are you planning to put in it?

[SantaMonica]

A wider screen has to spread the nutrients out over a larger space, so it does not have the material it needs to grow out into the flow.

[Pny]

A wider screen has to spread the nutrients out over a larger space, so it does not have the material it needs to grow out into the flow.
Wow, with that kind of argument my reef tank will always be free of algae, since I have a large reef tank - "that spread the nutrients over a large space".... No, I simply do not buy that argument.

[reef r madness]

Back in the day ....I would use prime reef..Its about 1.6 grams per cube...I know for sure I want a pair of clowns.....

[reef r madness]

A 6x6 lighted on both sides?or a 12 x6 lighted on one side ...Im leaning toward a screen that is lighted on one side

[kerry]

Its best to light both sides, it provides much more nutrient exports.

[kerry]

Wow, with that kind of argument my reef tank will always be free of algae, since I have a large reef tank - "that spread the nutrients over a large space".... No, I simply do not buy that argument.
With a 12x3 screen the water only flows over 3" of filter area vs flowing over 6" of filter area on a 6x6. Also it reduces the amount of pump you need as well, a longer slot requires more pressure/volume and does not flow as even as a shorter slot with less pressure/volume. Sure both work but the shorter slot flows better. The thing is that you can test this yourself, you dont have to buy into anything here, sometimes what works for other does not work for another. What was meant to be implied was that 36" of screen is HUGE for a 29G tank, a 3x3 or 4x4 would normally be suited better due to the fact that most 29G tanks dont see 3 cubes a day.

[reef r madness]

ya i took your advice... im starting with a 6x6.Im having trouble with my return pump....so Im having to wait to fine tune my scrubber...I went with my old hob overflow to 3/4 inch pvc and half in cpvc return lines...I didnt seem to be getting the flow i expected..im waiting for a new impeller so i can measure the flow to scrubber...i will post a pic of it later today

[reef r madness]

I have a check valve on the return lines ...it seems that my pump doesnt have enough presure to open it....im going to take it out of the system...by the end of the day i want this tank to be cycling...

[kerry]

Good luck to you, I have never been a fan of the check valve deal.

[reef r madness]

ok...i took the check valve out and tweeked the flow...built a splash screen and scrubber resovior...tested out a few diffrent lighting options...addded 20 pounds of base rock...tossed in some table shrimp.......I now have a thin layer of brown slim growing on screen....Ive been running the lights 20 hours on 4 off...seems like it is off to good start...thanks for everyones input...

[reef r madness]

cleaned the screen ...it seem to have alot of brown...a few small specks of green.....

[kerry]

Let it go a week or two and see what happens. You start to see more green.