Search:

Hey sunflyer! I originally designed that algae scrubber. It grew algae but the only flaw it had was no bubbles flowing up over the screen. If you can add bubbles algae will grow. No bubbles and the...

Something else to consider: if you put in too much vinegar in it will create a large bacterial bloom that will quickly consume the N and P in the water. So it should be in small amounts and directed...

From my research, algae AND algae spores prefer ammonia but your first concern is the algae spores. The spores have to have ammonia to form. So, then you would want to eliminate the ammonia. Regular...

If you have an algae scrubber I wouldn't recommend dosing with vinegar on a regular basis. As Floyd pointed out this has shown to slow algae growth on the scrubber itself. But, perhaps small amounts...

These videos seemed to have been removed from YouTube

This also may explain what SantaMonica says about algae build up on the glass of the aquarium. Ammonia is hitting it and this is activating the algae spores in the water and they are attaching...

Vinegar is known to neutralize ammonia (vinegar has low ph, ammonia has extremely high). If the ammonia theory proves to be viable, dosing a small amount of vinegar might gradually do the trick.

Any spike in ammonia is deadly. When it spikes I'm sure it could kill off something else you can see or can't see, and this could cause more spikes, causing a carousel, as you put nicely. N and P...

I came across this article entitled: "Nitrate (NO3) and phosphate (PO4) don’t cause algae. Ammonia does!!"

Here are some quotes:



and I'm sure any dead, decaying thing in the aquarium will...

Alright. I'm no expert, but this algae screen appears to be covered in black oily algae. Santamonica has stated: "Black means that there is not enough light, or not enough hours, for how high the...

4428

Shucks!! Sorry Bud! Try and edit your reply's now and see if they link to the picture correctly now.

Sorry bout the pictures being so small. I reduced them so they wouldn't be big massive files. Hopefully, everyone can see them ok.

http://i1351.photobucket.com/albums/p799/cdm2013/yellowmiddlebrownedges_zps402a48d6.jpg

http://i1351.photobucket.com/albums/p799/cdm2013/yellow_zpsa9684f4a.jpg

http://i1351.photobucket.com/albums/p799/cdm2013/slimebrown_zps912478b8.jpg

http://i1351.photobucket.com/albums/p799/cdm2013/redanddarkgreen_zps7655ca10.jpg

http://i1351.photobucket.com/albums/p799/cdm2013/red_zps7bae1936.jpg

http://i1351.photobucket.com/albums/p799/cdm2013/middlenotgrowing_zps1aac6a63.jpg

http://i1351.photobucket.com/albums/p799/cdm2013/Lime_zps3e9eba96.jpg

http://i1351.photobucket.com/albums/p799/cdm2013/lightgreen_zps85a67d3c.jpg

http://i1351.photobucket.com/albums/p799/cdm2013/lightbrown_zpse0cc266f.jpg

http://i1351.photobucket.com/albums/p799/cdm2013/blackgreenlight_zpsb18f84aa.jpg

http://i1351.photobucket.com/albums/p799/cdm2013/Black_zps4818449f.jpg

I thought it might be helpful to post a number of algae screens and their growths and get the experts opinions on what they think of each (ie, more light, increase flow, move light back, etc.)

Here is a short video of the A.S.S. in action!


http://youtu.be/yvNdxmr7lNE

I'm not exactly sure why the growth is mainly in the middle to be honest. I'm getting growth around the edges as well, but it is dark. My light is very close to the container with a clamp light...

Mine has been running great as well. I'm very impressed with the results so far. I'm going to let it run for a month and then make some modifications. I hope others try it as well!

My Algae Surge Scrubber! (I'm sure GARF could come up with a better acronym, but I thought what the heck, I'll give it a shot LOL!)

I first introduced this build under the forum thread called...

That's pretty impressive!!

Awesome!!!!!!

Nice!

Yes, it has to be under the water.

Something else I found out in my case is that if the outlet was too deep into the sump it wouldn't work. This caused the water level in the scrubber to keep...

I've been doing some additional research on Carlson Surge Systems and ATO's. Here is a quote that I found over on reefcentral.com: "

I've also noticed that most that are using CSS's are using them...

Thanks Dev!

Floyd, do you think I should start with a fresh new screen so we can monitor the results more accurately? I've got one ready to go!

I hear ya. From what I can tell so far, is it seems to have a lot more flow across the screen than a standard UAS, which is what I like. But of course, it has only been in operation for 24 hours (the...

Thanks Ace! And thanks for the comments Floyd!

Floyd, you mentioned that the only time the filter is filtering is when water is moving across the substrate. Does it have to be moving rapidly? When...

Thanks Garf. Build info: The screen is 3.5"X7.5" (roughly 26 sq in). I feed 1 cube of food a day.

My lighting right now is a 23w cfl. But I want to change to LED's or an LED bulb in the near...

I have a freshwater system and I put together a small CSS algae scrubber. The water feeds in via my overflow and once it fills almost to the top with water the water is then surged out rapidly. It...

I know Garf has experimented with CO2 on his waterfall scrubber, but has any one attempted to use CO2 for an upflow algae scrubber?

I came across this article Innovation award for 'bubble-maker'...

Is your air-hose clogged up algae? It looks like algae growing inside the hose.
4202

You need to clean the algae screen on a regular basis, usually every 14 to 21 days, religiously. Algae is consuming nutrients and then needs to be exported out of the system. You run the risk of...

I'm hoping I did this right. I went ahead made the necessary changes and I simplified some other things. I got rid of the "high light" option and I removed the horizontal info. It was adding to the...

Ok, I think I'm starting to get it. I'll work on the changes

The math involved would be completely changed for everything if we were to continue this formula for screen size and lighting.

For example we have determined
1/2 cube=12 sq. in. screen, 6W on...

Following this rule for a 1/2 cube, would the screen size then stay 24 sq. in. lit with with 12W on each size for 1 cube?

This is confusing. 1/2 cube feeding on a single sided screen of 12 sq. in. requires 12 watts of light. So what would 1 cube of feeding on a single sided screen require? 24 sq. in. with 24 watts of...

The feeding based on a cube is just a guideline. It is not a hard and fast rule. Santamonica's guideline can be found in this thread (post#3):...

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...

Sounds like a plan. Good luck and post your results when you get it built.