They were high when I first introduced the scrubber... I had to do periodic water changes.
For me, my scrubbers don't necessarily take nitrates down, they just maintain them so I can cut back on...
Type: Posts; User: chriswf
They were high when I first introduced the scrubber... I had to do periodic water changes.
For me, my scrubbers don't necessarily take nitrates down, they just maintain them so I can cut back on...
I don't know if it's different algae or what. Like by species? I honestly don't know.
Before my algae was very thing hairs, that when I scrubbed off, they wouldn't stay in clumps any bigger than...
Just a little over a week usually. Hard to time a 7 day cleaning period perfectly with work and other hobbies :P
Usually not over a week and 3 days though.
Edit: It usually clogs my slit or cut...
Yeah this is my slightly larger than 12x12 screen :D
I don't have anything to measure it with right now, and I'm about to leave for work. But it does the job.
I clean both at the sides at the same time. Small pieces stay attached to the screen, enough to grow back in a week. I can usually see through my screen pretty good after a cleaning.
My waterfall...
I have a vertical waterfall algae scrubber.
I use 3watt 660nm (red) Leds, with 1 blue in the center of about 6 reds.
I bought my power supply from Rapid LED.
My Blues were bought from Rapid...
Oh, here's some pictures of my filter sock in it's worst state (no joke it had to be cleaned every 2 or 3 days), and the film on my glass...
...
Wait!
I had the stringy detachment stuff before. That I ALSO had to use a filter sock for (I no longer need to).
It would come off throughout the ENTIRE week of growth! So I put a filter sock...
6 or 7 convicts. Probably 6 or 7 small danios. 45g is really overkill for 7 danios LOL.
2 45 gallon tanks, 1 is above the other.
connected by bulkheads and plumbing.
The top tank has zebra danios and glofish.
The bottom tank has convicts I cant get rid of yet (legally of course)....
filtration - just a sponge filter on my pump so fry dont get sucked in.
carbon - nope
lights - 18 hrs
once a month maybe on water changes, but only to siphon poop/waste out.
Awesome!
Thanks guys!
Water qualities are amazing right now. So, go with it I guess!
Oh, and when I flushed the toilet, it was VERY slow (compared to normal flush speed).
The algae was so thick the siphon had trouble pulling it through heheh.
FRESHWATER:
Okay, whew I went maybe up to a week OVER my usual harvest days.
HEAVIEST/most abundant amount of algae ever. The screen felt like it was easily 10+lbs, with a very slow water drip...
Makes sense. Thanks!
Someone said I need 4x the amount of power in light and water flow. Is this true? Why not just double?
Also, do you think if I put my bulkheads on the bottom, I'd get less growth?
I have...
Is this a "Waterfall" Algae Scrubber?
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_6/volume_6_1/images/Algae%20Scrubber/scrubber_01.jpg...
I don't know. I'll get back to yall in a week or so.
Usually it comes off in small clumps or small pieces. I might have to make a video.
Well, guess we're waiting 1 week to see if it does it again :)
Is this what they mean when they say it's "leafy", or is that term directed towards each individual strand? Whenever strips of it...
The story:
My dovii died when I moved to my new place in March. (Died during the move).
My scrubber was out of service.
I eventually started it back up after a few months on my convict breeding...
First problem:
Whitish stuff around my display. Can't tell if it's the smallest micro bubbles I've EVER seen, or if it's a growth of some sort:...
Cool thanks for the gift of knowledge Santa.
What's a good way to tell if they're "dead"?
The longer the algae is on there, the better?
I clean my screen every Monday now.
Buuut, since Monday (a good thorough cleaning), Algae has completely covered my screen again. I don't want it to block light out from the base of the algae -...
Yeah, it's messy on Mondays when I clean my screen.
I gotta turn my pump off, wait for the water to drain out of the scrubber tank/refug - remove the screen, clean the screene, then chase algae...
It's hard to search for this specific topic, at least I can't find anything.
My hairs clump up beneath the screen, and sometimes fall off.
There's a BUNCH of long hair algae that grows on top of...
Thanks sir. I find your information in other places around the big internet lol.
I'm sure the details are here too. I usually just google my questions, and go through the top few links.
Hmm, so parts of the screen showing is fine?
So I read SantaMonica's? website somewhere. Where he gives a guide on how to clean your scrubber.
So I tried just running my hands over the screen, and nothing was really coming off.
So I used...
Update:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-02-03_18-12-38_274_zps486ca8cd.jpg...
Well dang! I've been logging it, thinking I'm going somewhere with it.
Oh, I thought it was total chemicals in the water.
Either way, you want TDS ppm to go down anyway right?
Well either way, my nitrates have dropped too.
I have a Total Dissolved Solids digital meter. Reads in PPM.
At least I think it's a TDS meter.
Well, thanks.
I'd definitely have to agree with the high amounts of dissolved organic material. My nitrates are pretty high... My overall ppm is embarrassing.
Luckily, the past few days, the...
Oh, right these are pictures...
These bubbles are stagnant? They don't move or pop. No activity. They're kind of cloudy looking.
They don't move - they're not regular water bubbles is why I'm...
Like the title says, bubbles in my algae....
Oh yeah, remember I'm freshwater. Not saltwater like most guys here.
A few bubbles that develop under the hair on the screen.
Then TONS of...
I'm just going to buy another Mean Well LPC-35-700.
Alright, I'll just get another smaller driver :P
They're real cheap anyway.
So, I could SAFELY run less on it, like the driver won't go into shut off mode. Right?
I'd only have to occupy a couple of strings. Because I won't have 70 LEDs.
I'm confused... It says "Max 42V DC Voltage (runs ~1-12 LEDs)"
But ALSO says "Most likely uses would be powering 60 LEDs @ up to 880mA (5 strings of 12) or powering 72 LEDs @ up to 733mA (6 strings...
I was looking around rapid LED... And all their drivers appear to only host up to 14 LEDs.
Right?
So, for people who want more LEDs, you just buy more drivers? Or are there drivers out there that...
Got my new cut pipe in. It was cut by a machine to get it perfectly at 1/8 inch.
Anyway, my water flow is AMAZING now.
I also got my new heat sinks today. They were hand made at my friend's shop,...
Update:
More about the strings at the bottom - weird. They're like 4" long.
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-27_20-37-40_372.jpg...
Hmm, more green spots throughout my screen.
More importantly, those green strings of algae on the bottom, are getting REALLY long, and are clumped together.
It's like hair, look:...
Okay, here's some LED off photos :)
I have green stuff growing!
Well first I have these strings at the bottom? They're definitely more visible in person than in photo:...
In a couple of days I'll have pics with the LEDs OFF. It's kind of hard to reach the timer to flip them off.
Here's some updated pics after a couple more days:
http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a35/psychoninja911/algae%20scrubber/2013-01-22_22-22-49_218.jpg...
What's your current and previous spacing from each center?
My spacing is like 2 - 2 1/4 centers.
Is it still productive even with the burn spots?
Here's some pictures without my lights on. Everything is a bit more clear to see my crazy rigging.
So far, I AM starting to grow algae on day 2...
So what does everyone else use? Is a pc power supply fine?