New Algae scrubber build

[dave241]

Hi, been lurking on here for a while...here's my attempt

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[SantaMonica]

Welcome from UK.

Nice start. Might want to put a light-blocker over the drains.

[dave241]

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2 x drains

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slot

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Pic below is the growth after one week, very brown...

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Lighting is with a 20 watt cfl each side with Stainless mixing bowls for reflectors, currently half way through second week and growing well but still a dark brown colour, any advice welcome.

Cheers

[dave241]

Welcome from UK.

Nice start. Might want to put a light-blocker over the drains.

Yeah I've noticed some brown growth on the acrylic at the bottom, what do you suggest as a light blocker?

[SantaMonica]

A piece of black acrylic with little legs, to stand over the drains.

[dave241]

A piece of black acrylic with little legs, to stand over the drains.

Cheers, I'll give that a try

[dave241]

Getting a build up of algae on the slot which is slowing down the flow...any tips to prevent this?

[SantaMonica]

Hang a light-blocker over it. There are many versions here if you search for them.

[dave241]

Hang a light-blocker over it. There are many versions here if you search for them.

The feed pipe is 25mm, I'm gonna try cutting a slot in a piece of 50mm pipe and hanging that over the feed pipe, this will hopefully block the light from the top of the screen. I'll pop a pic on when installed.

[dave241]

Looking for a couple of LEDs to light this with, preferably off the shelf and available in the UK...anyone got any suggestions for a suitable unit?

Cheers

[SantaMonica]

There are some UK links in here;
http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?2884-red-blue-led-grow-bulb

[dave241]

What's your opinion on 2 of these sets;

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=261468715947&ssPageName=ADME:X:RTQ:GB:1123

[SantaMonica]

Is a nice kit. At a minimum you would need one for each side of the screen. At a max, two on each side.

[dave241]

Is a nice kit. At a minimum you would need one for each side of the screen. At a max, two on each side.

Yeah I was thinking of 1 per side, my screen is about 6" x 8" and I could get them quite close to my screen as I don't have a lot of room over my sump to play with....a little expensive though as I could get a couple of 15W red/blue par 38 bulbs for about £16 each but for those I'd need a couple of Goose neck E27 adaptors as well....decisions decisions eh?

Thanks for the advice so far.

[dave241]

Ok, I bit the bullet and went for 2 of the Ebay kits linked above, just trying to figure out how to hang them over my screen, I was thinking of bending a piece of aluminium into a U shape and hanging it over the top of the acrylic, I can then fix the edge of the heatsink to each end the aluminium thereby suspending the LEDs in front of the screen at both sides...how far from the screen do you think I should make it? I was thinking 4" to start with....I could bring it a bit closer if necessary.

Cheers for any advice.

[SantaMonica]

3" away should be good. Just coat them twice with epoxy to seal them.

[dave241]

Been using these sets for a week now and growth seems to have diminished a bit compared to the CFLs I was using previously, should I mount them a bit closer? I was thinking of maybe adding a couple more red leds to each side as I'm not sure if there's enough light, the blue seems quite strong.

[SantaMonica]

Run them another week or so first.

[dave241]

Been running with the LEDs for about 6-8 weeks and getting reasonable growth although it's quite dark and sometimes slimy. Now I'm starting to get a lot of green algae on the substrate and it's starting to creep up on the rocks low down but gradually creeping upwards, I took my Phos reactor off line but thinking I may need to hook it up again...any thoughts?

Thanks

[SantaMonica]

Sounds like it needs more light, or light hours.

[Marksfish]

I bought a couple of these (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/111355657306?_trksid=p2059210.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT). The seller modified them to just red 660nm LEDs. I will be having 2 each side of my screen, but they do need a small modification though. The 3 pin plug is not UK safe as it has no fuse. If you put a UK plug in, put in a 3A fuse. I am also going to change the incoming cable as the live/ neutral/ earth are very thin.

Mark

[dave241]

Here's a couple of pics (10 days growth) looks a bit more green on the pics than it actually is and note the slimy brown edges...any thoughts?

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[SantaMonica]

Not bad at all. Just needs a bit more flow, or more iron, or reduce the light hours a bit.