DIY Upflow Algae scrubber for RSM 250

[kreef]

Hi everyone
Well after reading this forum & gleaning much info from Santa Monica for many months, I finally joined the forum...
I would like to Santa Monica for the great info & liberal sharing of experiences upfront.
I really believe that Algae scrubbers are the reeftank best biological/natural solution to a host of tank issues.

However I have built a good looking UAS that fits in the back left chamber of a RSM 250 but cant get algae to grow in there???
I am a champion at growing GHA everywhere else lol - zero cyano.
So I thought I would ask for some advice:
Here is the history - I installed the Algae scrubber on the 12th July - but next to zero growth.

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I only run a skimmer & liverock currently - I used to run Purigen all the time which was working fine but I would love it to be more natural system.
The UAS area is a lot smaller than say a SURF2 hence the need for a DIY, so I have 2 LED's but i stll have a good air pump with 2 inlets.
I run the lights for 18hrs per day - 2*3W LED's rated 640nm -
I put a black stocking material over the LED unit for a week - no joy either.
So I removed that...It ran another month normally but still no significant growth bar green slimy strings.
So I am at a loss.

Any ideas for me???

[Devs]

Looks to me like the surface of your scrubber compartment is not rough enough, from the pics it looks completely smooth ? If this is the case, best way is to epoxy some sort of sharp edged aggregate (3mm ish) to the inside of the growth compartment.

[SantaMonica]

Welcome from S. Africa. And glad that you like the info so far.

You'll need a lot more strings in there, preferrably with some white colored gravel epoxied to the walls. Right now you've got almost no place for algal attachment.

Also I can't tell how deep it is; if more than 2" or 3" then the light will not reach very far down once growth starts, so you might want to put a bottom in there that makes it shallower. Also more LEDs will be needed when it starts growing, especially if it grows dark.

But the main fix now is just more strings, at least 50 around each air-bubble hole (not on the drain holes).

[kreef]

Looks to me like the surface of your scrubber compartment is not rough enough, from the pics it looks completely smooth ? If this is the case, best way is to epoxy some sort of sharp edged aggregate (3mm ish) to the inside of the growth compartment.

Thanks Dev - I had assumed reading how most people just get the long GHA growing off the strings that putting 60 strings in would suffice.
From your& Santa Monicas advice it seems - double that would be closer to the "real deal"

[kreef]

Thanks Santa Monica
I really want to get this right.
The depth is 5cm from lights to base of the container with 2*3W Red 640nm LED's. The area is tiny only 7cm*15cm as the compartment is very restricting.
The number of strings looks less in the pic but it is actually about 60*5cm lengths. I can definitely up that easily.
I roughed it up with sand paper but it seems that epoxying some coarse grit is also important? Just on the walls or base & walls?
Here's a pic of my tank - it looked good here but goes thru continual mini cycles every few weeks - I am hoping that the UAS will get going & stabilise the system nicely.
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[SantaMonica]

Tank seems not too bad.

Sandpaper will not work for the sides; must have gravel if anything.

Uncover 1/3 of the compartment and see what happens in 10 days.

[kreef]

Tank seems not too bad.

Sandpaper will not work for the sides; must have gravel if anything.

Uncover 1/3 of the compartment and see what happens in 10 days.

Thanks I will give all the suggestions a go - appreciate your comments

[kreef]

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After 6 Days with 1/2 light - only green slime algae
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Somewhere in this forum I read that green slime algae prevents GHA string attachment, so I removed it to expose the strings better & cleaned out the drain holes.
Will update in a week or so...

[SantaMonica]

Since the growth is only on the strings and at the bubble hole, this says the light is too strong for the amount of bubbles/nutrients. Increase bubbles if you can (24 hours of course), and cover half of the light with a t-shirt. Should be 18 hours of light.

[kreef]

Well after trying everything under the sun, and only successfully growing algae in my DT with not one strand of GHW in my AS in 2,5 months I disconnnected it yesterday. :(

[SantaMonica]

Sorry to hear your DIY would not work.