I plan to enclose the magnets in 2 layers of acrilyc
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I plan to enclose the magnets in 2 layers of acrilyc
Why can't I use incandescent bulbs. either regular or floodlight type?
But they make a lot of heat, in order to get the same light levels. You would need 120 watts of regular bulbs to get the same light as a 23 watt CFL.
right, my problem is a 23 watt CFL is only good for a 6x4 screen. I need to do at least a 8x8 and LEDs can be expensive! if i put a mirror behind the screen will a 23 watt CFL then equal to 46 watts +/-?
Are you feeding over 5 cubes a day? Why such a big screen?
The reflection is not worth much really.
I would say yes, I'm growing out 11 discus and 2 angelfish. they get about 1/4 to 1/2 tsp of flake food 3-4 times a day, 3-4 cubes of freeze-dried blackworms a day, and 2-3 cubes of beefheart mix a day.
right now I do 90% w/c about 5x a week
Sounds like 10 cubes. 120 square inches (10 X 12, etc), with at least 120 real watts (60 on each side).
Your helper tried to post the update on the GIRS site today but the link was broken, and I see you haven't posted it here yet? Whatca got for us this month?
Hey SM.. Just a thought for this model.... If you make the discharge of this unit higher it would take unfiltered water in through the bottom and the clean water would come out up higher that way more unfiltered water would enter through the bottom only. The way I am looking at it the filtered water will come down and mix with the unfiltered water on the input of the scrubber...
Or did you design it like that?
Just a quick pic I changed on the bottom left of yours so you know what I mean..
Attachment 3200
Water flow seems to not be an issue (yet) with a UAS... maybe because of the larger amount of water around the growth.
Your outlet would sort of do what you say, but it would let a lot more bubbles get in the tank.
SM, My scrubber is working fairly well, cleaning about every 10 days, but I am still seeing algae growing in my DT. My Nitrates are 0 and Phos is around 0.25. If there is no nutrients for them to eat could the lights cause the algae to grow? I am about 1/2 cube per day and my screen is 5x5. Using RO without DI and the TDS is around 5. Thoughts?
How much are you cleaning off the screen, and where is the display algae growing?
I dont run a skimmer on my 150 gallon tank or any of them for over two years.
HOB UAS...
http://www.algaescrubber.net/P6.jpg
Looks like this is two sided right?
Yes it would be 2-sided.
Collector UAS...
http://www.algaescrubber.net/P7.jpg
You can control how many bubbles by how high above the water you place the overflow hose. Also, you can use a venturi.
Hello everyone, what do you think about this UAS sump design ?
Attachment 3510
The two holes on the left are there for 1.5" bulkhead fitting for the water comming from the display tank
The main intention on this design is to have dry compartments for placing the UAS lamps, the bubble collector will have a lid with small holes for vent, after the bubble collector that compartment is for liverock rubble, then bubble trap and pump compartment.
Let me have your thoughts on this
Probably want to reverse the bubble remover... under over under.
Also might want to test the overflow to see how many bubbles you get at that depth.
Why would you do that? Almost every sump design I have seen has it up-down-up. If you have the first one down, you get no surface skimming before the baffle and you end up with a layer of scum.
Because for bubbles it works better; the bubbles stay at the top. Otherwise, if you are going to let the bubbles (and scum etc) spill over the first part, why have a first part.
Weres this months release?
Going to be 2 months instead of 1.
So is the "Collector UAS" just one of the 4 embodiments?
Is just one of many.
Any releases?
No I'm just too tied up trying to get the HOG.5 built. Everytime I think I can get a few units on the shelf, someone gets them.
Thats a very good thing. But your dropping the ball a bit.. lets get too it.. if i dont see pics of your tank soon im calling shannanigans!.. lol
Catching up on updates... they are posted here...
http://algaescrubber.net/forums/show...Monica-UAS-PCT
After spending 2 days reading this entire mega thread. Im very happy to see the upflow design. I've made many waterfall scrubbers down to a pico 1g scrubber. Since I started making LED scrubbers I've been a fan of using 1w LED vs 3w LED. I think the upflow design is well suited for 1w LED because its easy to get the lights very close to the. creen. Instead of using a difuser with 3w LED. It would be better to use 1w LEDs but use 2-3x more to create a much more even spread of light intensity. The Drivers I use are very cheap and tiny and will run 1-3 1w LED at 350ma makinging things quite modular and easy to up/downgrade. I usually just affix the drivers straight to the same heatsink as the LEDs and seem to have an easier time dealing with dissapation of the heat. Also the 1w LED due to this will make a UAS less than 4x3 perfectly fine.
Pictures attached of the drivers I use and bonus pictures of my yet unstarted 3gallon project which a UAS may fit quite interestingly into the center of this ice core beverage dispenser. My aim is no visible equipment period. I HOPE to be able to make it double level sort of spiril witu the lower level lit from inside the ice core and have a narrow chasm/slot that runs vertically from the top to the bottom. Having two small pumps inside that alternate duty. Running the flow one way then the other thru the tank which is basicly a spiril track with a narrow chasm at the top that drops back down to the lower level. Ill start a thread for that when I hammer out the details.
Santa Monica. If your about do you know when your larger hangon type algae scrubber would be available it's just that I'm sure I feed more than 0.5 cubes of frozen food per day. Unless I was to buy 2 of your current ones. Do you have a release date for yours ? Your sexing one that is
Regards
Juan
Probably before March
So what is this Green Grabber stuff in your HOG1 vids you just posted? Looks like aragonite pressed into silicone??
Will post DIY sources for it, after I try some slight different variations.
I've been thinking of using aragocrete or just roughing up the walls of my UAS and ditching the plastic canvas. Algae seems to grow ok but not great on the smooth plastic walls of the box
I've actually thought of running a very thin layer of concrete on my roughed up screen on my waterfall scrubber. Concrete contains sand, crushed stone, limestone, and water, which are the natural nutrients for algae and it can be formed to have a very rough surface which would give good hold to the algae. I think it has a high ph level as well. Any thoughts?
I can't recall who it was, but someone took plastic canvas and put it in an oven them sprinkled it with aragonite and pressed it in. Worked OK, didn't seem to be any huge difference. This seems to be pretty much the same thing, except it makes more sense to do it for a UAS single sided screen this way. One could take a piece of acrylic, sprinkle a thin layer of Coralife Special Grade Reef Sand and take a torch to it and press it in. could even do it double-sided.
I do a lot of exprimentation with screens and other aspects of my auquarium hobby including that aagonite pico screen. Since the fundamental screen material seems to have come up again ill try to give some ideas for the aragonite type screen. My best suggestion to make a transparent/translucent screen is this. HOTGLUE! Sprinkle down a thin layer of fine aragonite. if you only need it one sided you can just use a glue gun. Itll be far easier with a high temp gun using multi temp glue. It migh4 be a little ugly but it'll work. For a nice thin extra screen with great transparency. Use the oven and a small bred pan.high quaity silicone...uhhh... lubricant will make it easier to remove. Glass pan is best. I think 200degrees is right. Once the glue melts check for bubbles...sprinkle the top with aragonite. The faster you cool the glue It seems the more transparent it stays..ice water in the sink works well. Voilia you have a petty bitch'n diy aragonite screen.
Here's a top secret idea or two related to that ive been working with.problem with algae growth is apparently limted by the light penetration. the first time i used hot glue it was as a difuser. it works nice. Try putting a glob ontop of an led.build a stick figure on top of the led with it and watch the figure glow. The next time i used hot glue i embedded a couple 1w led into an aragonite screen that i made as described above. Put it all together and you have a double sided, backlit, waterproof, tranlucent, aragonite screen. Needless to say im waiting on a shipment from china on this one for a full test but ive managed to hammer out a lot of ideas to really make these usefull and easy to diy as an AIO in tank unit.
I figured it was either flatout countertop mix or a similar concoction of white cement, silica fume, and plasticizer for super hard yet flexible cement.
HOG1 with 10 days growth after cleaning - saltwater with high nutrients
http://youtu.be/sf6a-bOxOZI
I bought one of these, and my algae looks black like the LED is burning the algae. The air tube only let's bubbles out of one hole, but I keep the flow up. Not sure what to do. I'm thinking of taking 5 air tubes link them into a manifold and let 5 tubes coming from one source power this thing.
Black means that there is not enough light, or not enough hours, for how high the nutrients are in the water. Run it at 22 hours for now.
Clean every bit of the black off, including in the holes in the screen.
Tuck in the tube segment that is flowing, and un-tuck the non-flowing ones. Also tilt the whole unit one way or the other. A larger air pump like the Fusion 700 would solve it too.
The ready-to-buy SURF2 UAS is now detailed here:
http://algaescrubber.net/forums/show...taMonica-SURF2
HOG Scrubber Kickstarter preview...
http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/...token=347e500b
Wow, this looks great. Im new here. Is there a link to pictures of successful Upflow Algae Growing boxes here somewhere? Thanks.
Welcome.
Look in the Upflow Algae Scrubber pictures section.
More harvests:
http://youtu.be/miWb4R8ajXw
Been lurking here on and off for a while with a plan of some day making an ATS. Until now they have not really fitted my setup.
However the SURF2 concept seem like it would work great.
I have a couple of questions regarding the construction.
The silicone used in the LED part. Is it the same type silicone as used when gluing a glass tank or is it liquid silicon that is poured in?
The nylon strands used to built the "tepee" where are they from? I was first thinking that it was the same type of strand used in a grass trimmer (at least in my part of the world) but these seem softer.
[EDIT] Never mind the question on the strands. I found a close up that showed them better. Now I know exactly what they are.
Welcome.
The silicone can be whichever you can work with best. We use the pour-in type, but it can be hard to work with if you are not used to it.
Thanks!
Turns out the silicone on tube is not really clear and the 2-part stuff is very expensive, at least here, so might have to think of another solution.
The new MIX2 overflow-fed UAS is now available:
http://algaescrubber.net/forums/show...ta-Monica-MIX2
Testing the 3D printed HOG:
http://youtu.be/3D1gHHxJlkA
Note to SURF2 owners: If your tank is new, or if your tank has low nutrients because of lots of nuisance algae, your scrubber compartment may stay "paper white" for several weeks because the scrubber light is too strong compared to how many nutrients are in the water. This is solved by placing a stocking, screen, colored cellophane, T-shirt, or some other partially-transparent material over the light for the first month. After growth covers the white textures and strings in the compartment, you can remove the material from the light and get back to full-power growth.
Coming December 1st: SantaMonica SURF4
4 cubes a day feeding
4 air tubes
6 X 8 X 3" growth compartment
8 X 10" floating area
Soon.
SURF4 units now available...
http://www.santa-monica.cc/product.asp?itemid=46
Unboxing and installation of the SURF4:
http://youtu.be/uDRFBhFwvL8
Great video showing a basic upflow scrubber, similar to a Hang-On-Glass (tm)...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qGLnBvDkaO0
What should the light cycle be with the t-shirt filter for one month? My tank is low nutrients/high nuisance algae. I have an overflow fed like the mix2. I have the following 2 of the following light on it. 52 watts total. I have the lights set at 18/6. No growth in 1.5 weeks. I hope I don't have too much flow but it looks like I need to do the t-shirt filter but want to know what light schedule to use and if I should just use 26 watts instead of the 52? Thanks as always.
Best to start a thread with pics.
First SURF4 harvest at 17 days:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sFtQXIlM8h8
just placed order but one question I had...can you run these in your sump? Any disadvantages?
Yes any scrubber, upflow or waterfall, can go anywhere. The algae does the same job.
A practical matter, for upflow scrubbers in a sump, is just the placement of the air pump(s), depending on if you want total silence or not.
One more question...currently running bio pellets, gfo reactor, oversized skimmer, and a large uv sterilizer. Should I keep running all of them until unit is is fully grown in or start shutting these down. Just some additional info, tank in the last few months has been steadily increasing in green hair, red, and the course tougher to get off the rocks algae. About 450 gal total so I know I'll need additional scrubbers down the road. Not feeding much at all and and all nitrates and phos test low but I'm sure that's because the algae in dt are eating them up. Thanks SM...Nice unit by the way. Will be getting another next month!
The UV and skimmer have no effect, but the pellets and gfo will slow down a scrubber. So after a week of building up scrubber growth you can remove the pellets, and after a good second or third harvest you can remove the gfo. Or if the scrubber is growing great, you can leave everything on.
Looks like scrubbers may grow more pods than first suspected. Especially upflows, when you don't take them to the sink for cleaning (in other words, you just reach in a grab algae). This explains why chromis always hang out downstream of the scrubbers, catching stuff coming by.
My SURF4 was going consistent, and apparently had a huge pod population below the growth, consuming the growth almost as fast as it was growing. It had been running over 3 months without going to the sink, and, fish could not get into the scrubber either, so there was nothing to slow the pods. But then growth slowed down when 2 of the 4 air outlets clogged with carbonate. I did not notice for over a week since I don't pay it any attention. Since the pod population was the same, but growth was less, the pods could keep up with the growth and the growth never increased. When I looked, the pods completely covered the bottom of the scrubber, and would jump right on your hand if you touched the bottom. So I cleaned it in the sink and soaked it for 5 minutes, to kill all the pods. Also cleaned out the air outlets with a paper clip.
This could explain why some SURF2 or SURF4 users have growth in SW but it never "takes off"; it just reaches a certain level and stays there. Pods! Solution: pour some FW in after harvesting. Last resort: take to the sink, and soak it.
Here's some results of fewer LEDs:
A 1-LED unit fully grown in SW:
Attachment 5256
Pic of first 2 weeks of a 2-LED unit on SW:
Attachment 5255
Vid of first 2 weeks of a 2-LED unit on SW:
http://youtu.be/I4rfEHzTwbQ
Vid of one year of a 2-LED unit running on FW:
http://youtu.be/Clw-zFrVU1s
Just a quick update for all...serious algae issues were taking over my tank. Have been running a Surf 4 unit now for about 3 months. Also still running GFO to speed up results. Algae is really beginning to subside and left over algae is turning a hint of yellow. Scrubber is solid green and growing like crazy. Red algae is now beginning to form on rocks so not sure how long that will last. Will more than likely be turning off the GFO after a couple more cleanings of scrubber. I was at the end of my battle and this was the last chance I had or I was planning on tearing the tank down. Very happy and will be purchasing another unit shortly. SM, can you comment on the red algae on rocks? I'm assuming its from the leaching of POS from rocks?
Happy to hear the resutls. The red is probably cyano which is always the last to go.
From new to green in 3 cleanings (and just 2 LEDs)...
http://youtu.be/utu2SADmj2g
All of our new units, except the lower power ones, will now come with a black cloth to cover the LEDs for the first week or two. Because the all-white interior of the units reflects so much light, when it is new the light levels are way above the highest amount that can grow anything. Once growth starts, the white is covered with growth and the total light levels drop, and the cloth can be removed.
This covering of the lights can be done by anyone, on any scrubber, even waterfalls. Waterfalls used plastic canvas which had more holes than material, and they were not in white compartments, so the light levels when new were not that high. But it still might help if a new screen stays completely empty.
The reason for a white texture and strings, of course, is too allow more light to reach the base of the growth that does the attaching. As the growth gets thicker, the bottom layers will almost be in darkness, so the white surface doubles the light there by reflecting instead of absorbing the light.
Nathan P. says this is just one week after his first HOG3 cleaning:
Attachment 5375
First video to show LED shade cloth installation:
http://youtu.be/aGFhFtpEuR8
"And this is about 2 weeks growth, compartment completely full, nitrates are at 0, phosphates are between 0 and .25 per API, top layer was touching glass and was really yellow, when I pulled the layer off there was a ton of algae and it was dark green" -- Nathan P.
http://www.algaescrubber.net/NathanP-HOG3-two.jpg
DIY conversion of Tetra HOB power filter has been posted:
http://algaescrubber.net/forums/show...algae-scrubber
After three more months of filtering, and ten more harvests, did the extra high output air pump help the SURF4 ?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZLYPBkV8UY
See how strings get the first growth in this HOG3 in saltwater:
http://youtu.be/gaW0qAHRb_w
This example from 3Twinklets on the R2R site shows that if growth gets thick, it needs to be cleaned a day or two earlier, before it blocks light from the middle section which you can see here:
Attachment 5566
The stronger version of the HOG3, designed to handle higher phosphate in the water, is now posted at:
http://algaescrubber.net/forums/show...taMonica-HOG3x
Tips and mods that will work with any upflow glass-attached scrubber:
http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?3216
SURF8 now posted:
http://algaescrubber.net/forums/show...taMonica-SURF8
After reading all 694 posts of this thread, I'm wondering if anyone has tried to combine one of these with an under gravel filter. Did it/ would it work?
Welcome.
No I don't think I've heard of a single case of this.
I'm putting together a 55 gallon fresh water tank. Fairly light load with mostly small tetra, at least to start.
Here's a quick sketch of my in take scrubber idea.
Attachment 5807
I intend to make a 3d background, and integrate/hide the scrubber into it. The idea is to make a box, probably from pvc, that would keep all the light contained in the tank. I would build a pvc slip joint into the box, that I can slide onto the diy undergravel filter. That would both keep the scrubber in place and draw water from under the gravel. Then to clean it out all I have to do is lift it off the pvc and take the whole box to the sink. Similar to the hog, except I wont ever have to clean the glass. It will also keep any of the tank inhabitants from being sucked into the filter.
After reading about some of the problems and failures of others on this site, I'm going to use two separate scrubbers. That will allow me to try different setups on each one, +/- air, light, flow etc, in parallel and observe the results under the same conditions. Another benefit is I can alternate harvests to try and lower the chemical spikes of having lots of algae one day to almost none the next day.
One of the problems is going to be having a light submerged. Almost all the pictures I've seen have the light on the outside of the glass. Is there a problem with lights in the water? Other than the obvious shorting potential, light refraction, heat, led life etc?
I'm really unsure about what would be optimal sizing for the box. Thin narrow and tall would be my ideal, but I don't see any pictures of that on here either. The Hogs are pretty deep/thick, both inside and outside the glass. It looks like there is 4-6 inches from the light source to screen. Is that so allow room for algae to grow or light optimization?
I found some underwater led strips for pretty cheap, fairly low power though, so I would a couple I'm sure.
Where do the air bubbles come from?
Shorting out is the only thing to protect from; just dip the LEDs twice in Devcon 30 minute epoxy, and let dry overnight between each dip. I don't thing the LED strip you found will be enough power; you need 3 watt LEDs.
Narrow and tall is a good plan. If you can design anything, make the bubble side 20 mm deep to maximize light penetration. The smaller HOG's are about the same.
The bubbles would come from an air pump and tubing. My first thought was to put the line in the pvc below the scrubber. With no light on the air stone, algae plugging it up wouldn't be a problem. Not sure how the air bubbles would contact the screen though, I would have to test it.
For inside the actual scrubber, has anyone tried leaving a large space to allow the algae to grow longer?
Attachment 5816
I'm wondering if leaving more space for the algae to get longer it would extend the time required between clean outs. Is there a magic number for the length it can get before it starts to break off and enter the tank?
Just use strings. Attach them at the base, and make them long enough to reach the top.
Thanks for the tips. I'll post the competed project once I get it up and running.
First 2-compartment scrubber, the SURF8:
http://www.santa-monica.cc/product.asp?itemid=64
http://algaescrubber.net/forums/show...taMonica-SURF8
SURF8 harvest test video, using different lights:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qb4Gi1OKCs8
And here is a pic version:
Attachment 6012
The new DROP (tm) versions are now harvesting:
Salt:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gl7WmrOwziE
Fresh:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ppvvl_8Cbv4
Those of you building upflow versions that attach to glass with magnets, or float on the surface, might be able to make use of our new sealing techniques for magnets and aluminum:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQXJu16ICYk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqyP_x-gTBQ
Where can I get the magnets and plastic tabs, that you are using?
What kind of epoxy is that? :)
Ebay has a lot of magnets, and we have our here:
http://www.santa-monica.cc/Magnets_p_59.html
For the tabs, if you mean the magnet protectors, we 3D print those and offer them with our magnets. However you probably would just use extra silicone for your DIY.
SantaMonica, Has anyone ever tried scaling this up to help municipalities manage their drinking water reservoirs? I know that it is an issue for them. Currently they all seem to be working on ways to block the sunlight by floating various types of objects.
Looking forward to your response.
Thanks!
JH
Thanks for getting back to me on this. But I was thinking about something more like a supersized version of what we use in aquariums. I wonder how you would figure out how many gallons a day you would have to process to have any effect on a reservoir. The link you sent me is targeting pollutants, I was thinking more about how to control algae growth that effects the taste of drinking water. Below is a video where they used floating shade balls to cover a reservoir in LA.
LA Reservoir
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxPdPpi5W4o
Algae Scrubber for aquariums. (I'm new to the forum so forgive me if you already know about these.)
https://www.marinedepot.com/icecap-2...yABEgLQivD_BwE
Thanks!
JH
The reservoir thing I've gone through before, doing the math. It's somewhere on here. But controlling nutrients is the same thing as controlling algae. Less nutrients means less algae.
The aquarium box style version is my original waterfall version from 2008. I made it open source, and so is used by everyone. The upflows, and the dome/tray waterfalls, and the upcoming new designs, are patented or patent pending.
Do you links to the patents so I don't step on your toes?
Some of them are here... http://algaescrubber.net/forums/foru...and-Trademarks
And you can post yours there too if you like.
Great. I think my ideas are far enough removed from your so that there shouldn't be any issue. And this is still just something I'm considering. I have a couple of calls next week with microbiologists to talk about scale and impact. I will let you know how that goes. And maybe you and I could put our heads together as well. You are much further down the path than I am.
Appreciate your prompt replies. Talk soon!
Here's an update on what some people do in crowded sumps: Put 2 scrubbers side by side. In this case, it's 2 larger HOG scrubbers®. This has the advantage of letting you clean/harvest one, while letting the other one continue to grow/filter.
Attachment 8247
Since this thread is coming up on 10 years... here is some Cladophora species bunched up in a Drop scrubber®, which did not exist when this thread was started
Attachment 8412
The smallest algae scrubber in the world: the DROP.2 is only two inches wide
Attachment 8414
This is probably a HOG3, overgrown whith mostly Ulva Fasciata.
Attachment 8421
This DROP.6 scrubber is new, and still has the black plastic shade screen in. The shade is needed because the white Green Grabber® growth surface reflects so much of the red light that algae cannot grow; so the shade reduces the red light, so growth can attach to the white surfaces. After the white is covered with some type (any color) of growth, the reflecting will be less and the black shade screen can be removed.
Attachment 8424
Here is a simple filtering/feeding setup for freshwater; it's either a HOG.5 or HOG1 and the fish will learn to pull algae out of the holes to eat.
Attachment 8427
This is not a mirror image. It's a large freshwater sump, with a HOG2 on the front and the back:
Attachment 8429
This DROP1.2 scrubber is ready for brushing out; the Green Grabber® white rocky surfaces are better at holding on to this growth than waterfall screens are, but this particular type of growth growth cannot be pulled out with your fingers.
Attachment 8441
This HOG3 or 3x or 3xx from saltwater looks like the waterline was about halfway up, or maybe the unit was tilted in order to fit in the space available.
Attachment 8464
This HOG1x scrubber® from saltwater is (once again) mostly Cladophora with a little Ulva Fasciata on the bottom.
Attachment 8472