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Thread: Does ph affect the scrubber?

  1. #1

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    Does ph affect the scrubber?

    My algae scrubber hasn't been working right. The algae has been growing very slow it takes about 2 weeks to grow a full screen and my nitrate levels are very high in my tank causing hair algae to grow in the tank. My ph levels are I'm in the process of trying to figure that out but I didn't know if low ph levels could affect the growth of the algae.

  2. #2
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    Re: Does ph affect the scrubber?

    No.

    Have you replace bulbs, cleaned pump, and made sure nothing is stuck in the slot?

  3. #3
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    Re: Does ph affect the scrubber?

    I just went through all your posts. It seems like no one has asked enough questions. It seems like you have posted several times and received only short responses. So let's see if we can find out if there is a problem. Please do a little research and answer the following questions:

    1) What size is your tank? I found posts that say 30, and others that say 75.

    2) What size is your screen? It looks like 10x10?

    3) What is the flow rate through the slot tube? This is a very important part of the design - I can personally attest to that. You need to TEST the flow rate, do not calculate it based on the pump specs and head feet. Take a container, like a 1/2 gallon pitcher, and repeatedly fill the container from the overflow pipe that feeds the screen and time how long it takes, then convert that to GPH.

    4) What is your tank bio-load?

    5) How much do you feed?

    6) What are your Nitrates?

    7) What are your Phosphates?

    8) What is your lighting schedule? It looks like you do 6 on, 2 off in a repeating cycle? I don't think there is any evidence that the works better than the natural circadian rhythm that all life on earth has adapted to, which is 12-18 hours of light and the opposite dark. I would switch to 18 on 6 off.

    9) What lamps are you using, and when did you replace them last?

    That will give us a start to pinpointing your problem.

  4. #4

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    Does ph affect the scrubber?

    1) 75 gallon
    2) 10 X 10 screen
    3) can't really measure the flow rate it's to tight to get a jug in there but I'm sure it's fast enough.
    4) 18 fish
    5) feed twice daily
    6) nitrates 40ppm
    7) phosphates 0.0 ppm
    8) will change lighting schedule to 18 on 6 off
    9) 23 watt cfl's

  5. #5
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    Re: Does ph affect the scrubber?

    Quote Originally Posted by jfenton954
    1) 75 gallon
    2) 10 X 10 screen
    3) can't really measure the flow rate it's to tight to get a jug in there but I'm sure it's fast enough.
    4) 18 fish
    5) feed twice daily
    6) nitrates 40ppm
    7) phosphates 0.0 ppm
    8) will change lighting schedule to 18 on 6 off
    9) 23 watt cfl's
    When did you change the CFLs last?

    This has been up and running for quite some time, hasn't it? You shouldn't have Nitrates at 40. Something is not right. What test kit did you use for the Phosphate and Nitrate, and how old is it?

    The simplest solution is almost always the answer. I know you say your flow is enough, but it would be wise to check it.

    I am running a 125 and my pump is a Mag 12 with 4 feet of head. I thought for sure that I was getting the rated 700-1000 GPH out of that setup. It was actually 433 with the pump freshly cleaned, and <6 months later it was down to 380 GPH, because it was running with 3/4" return hose instead of the recommended 1-1/2". I upped it to 1-1/4" where possible and cleaned the pump and my flow rate went up to 760 GPH. My screen proceeded to explode with growth.

    You **really** need to manually measure the flow rate. I have a bypass valve hooked up for cleaning and test off of that. If it's too tight, then next time you do some maintenance, take as much out as you can and find a way to test it (like when you clean the screen next time, run it without the ATS hooked up), even with a 1 quart container or something, as long as you fill it up enough times (10 or 20) and then average out the time, you will get very close to your actual flow rate.

    Post a pic of your setup and maybe I can help you find a way to test it.

  6. #6

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    Does ph affect the scrubber?

    Replaced them 5 months ago.


  7. #7
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    Re: Does ph affect the scrubber?

    Replace your lamps every 3 months, that is part of the problem. The spectrum shifts just enough in 3 months (especially with CFLs) that growth rate drops off sharply afterwards.

    That being said, your screen looks great, that's plenty green. Is that 2 weeks of growth? If so, I would say at a bare minimum you should be cleaning one side every 5 days so that no side goes more than 10 days. Really you should clean the whole screen every 7 days, so maybe every 4 you clean one side.

    Also, are the lamps in the position that they are shown in this picture all the time? I so, they're way too far away. This could explain many things, namely 2 weeks for full growth and nitrates not dropping. Also it might help to get at least one more lamp on each side, or at least one additional on one side.

    It looks like there is a union on the left side of the picture, correct? So when you clean the screen, you shut the pump down completely? What I would do to test the flow is buy another union and connect it to a short length of pipe (just friction fit) and connect that so that when you fire up the pump, it just dumps into the sump and you can fill a pitcher with that. Or, you can remove the screen and wrap about 1/2 of the pipe with shrink-wrap or something so that the flow is only out of the center, and narrow enough to all be captured by a pitcher. Just make sure it's not too narrow and restricts the flow too much and causes your DT to overflow. Let it run and balance out before measuring. Without the screen in place, you should be able to capture the water in a pitcher no problem.

    Just a comment, it looks like your setup would allow water to creep sideways along the pipe and get outside of the sump. Do you have anything to stop this from happening?

  8. #8

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    Re: Does ph affect the scrubber?

    I will try some new bulbs. Yes that is two weeks growth I let it grow longer because it grows in spotty so I try to wait til the whole side is full. Yes the lights stay in the same place due to limited space under the tank. I'll try to make something to get the lights closer.

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