I am going to give it a try...

[kbaker]

I am new here. I contacted Santa Monica with some questions and he was nice enough to answer me even though with further reading here, I came across the answers. Thanks, Santa Monica.
I was not sure which area to post on so I went with this one because the other one said "successful" and my set up has not proven successful, yet.

My first set of pictures is of the filter I am replacing with a Algae Scrubber. As you can see, I have plenty of algae and the filter grew more than enough. Next set would be of the Algae Scrubber. I would not call it completely my design. I just followed mostly what Santa Monica suggested. When I sized my pump for the Algae Scrubber, I was too lazy to go out and look at the pump to find out GPH. I guestimated what pump I had. Well, needless to say...the pump is undersized for the job, so I ordered another one.

My situation is different then what I have read here. The Algae Scrubber will be outside, but it will be used for a turtle trough. Anyone with turtles will tell you, they are very dirty and it's hard to stay up on the water with many turtles and being in the sun. This should be a real test for a Algae Scrubber. Another thing that I will have to work out is the debri from outside...helicopters, seed hulls, leaves and anything else blown into the trough. I automatically added cross cuts, but will it be enough?

I tried to add to the design as much accessability as I could. I used threaded connectors where I wanted a secure fit and slip fits where I need adjustment or access. I used two screens because I like the option to clean one at a time. The posts have slip fits so I can pull the whole bar off if I want with the clamps. Or I can take the bar off without the clamps- the clamps loosen quickly with wing nuts. I would like to have found plastic clamps for the bar. One more thing I would like to have added was plastic clamps for the screens. I don't like replacing the tie straps every week and I could not find small enough reusable tie straps. I am on the look out for reusable plastic clamps that fit around the bar and connect through the screen. I am sure everyone here would like some of those!!

Thanks for looking-
Kevin

Looks like I can't add more than three pictures/attachements. I will have to work around.
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[kbaker]

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[kbaker]

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[kbaker]

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[kbaker]

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[kbaker]

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That's all the pictures for now. I will try not to wait too long for updated pictures.
Thanks-
Kevin

[worley]

Welcome to the site!
Looks good!
How wide are each of the screens, and what's the rated flow on the pump?
How long has it been up and running for now? (I presume the photos were taken at the time you put it together)

[kbaker]

I have been buying things slowly for a week or so and put it all together today. All the pictures are from today, too.
I am not sure what answer you are looking for with the screen...the over all width of the screen is 10 1/2" by 13 1/2" long and it goes into a 9 1/2" slot in the bar...that should cover it. The pump is rated at 780 GPH. I was guessing that it was rated a little over 1000 GPH when I was thinking of what I would do. I ordered a 1330 GPH pump to replace it.

I tried to make everything adjustable. The screens are into the water only about 1/4" and when the water evaporates, the screens won't hit the water. I can swap out the pipes on the posts. They come in 1" increaments.

I think things came out pretty well for my first time at this. A couple of things that did not work out:
1) I bought bushings with flats on them that slipped on to the ends of the bar so I could have better control of cutting the slots. I wanted the slots in the bar to be inline so both screens laid in the same position. Well, the bar was too long to sit right on the table saw, so I could not use the bushings.
2) After using the table saw, the slots did not come out so perfect like a thought they would. I plunged the blade in and moved the bar to get the length of the slot. Because the blade did not run a full pass in the slot, the ends of the slots were wider than the middle. And the ends were not as close to an 1/8" as I thought they would. So the dremel did most of the cutting for the slots.

Another thing...I've used algaecide and barley in the past to control algae in the turtle trough. It took a lot of water changes and many weeks to clear out the green. After about a month or so, the green would be back. I am really hoping to spend less money & time with the water and have better water quality for the turtles.

[SantaMonica]

Very nice re-build. It will work great. Others have built solar scrubbers, which cleared out their koi ponds completely.

On your first build, I cannot see how the lighting is supposed to get in, since it has a lid. Guess it doesn't matter now. Your new setup is much better, even with reduced flow. Trick: Put a mirror reflector (or foil or mylar) behind the screen so the sun will hit the screen from both side. If you can bend the reflector into a curve, you can even concentrate the sun on that side.

Trick2: Use double screens. Be sure to sand/roughen all sides of all screens (really rough, so it has a jagged surface.)

[kbaker]

My original filter was not an algae scubber. It had a spray bar that went through filter pads and then through bio material. You might have gotten confused when I said it grew plenty of algae. I was not suppose to.

The trough is sitting West/East so the sun rises on one side of the screen and sets on the other side. I mounted the screen on a little angle. That was a last minute thing because the bar mounted on the trough best that way. I can alway turn the trough to make it perfect, but I will wait and see if I need to.

I thought about doubling and tripling the screen, but decided to wait on that. I am not sure how I want to do it or need to, yet. Right now I believe the slot is perfect for one screen thickness and I am not sure if I would open the slot or just thicken the screen below the bar.

The roughing up the screen is a detail that I kind of missed and did not place it high on the priority list. I can always roughen it up at a cleaning. The screen is kind of soft and I would have to becareful not to totally destroy the screen.

One more thing...I figured out what kind of clip I had in mind for attaching the screen on the bar. It's the kind that attaches the shower curtain to the rod. There are a few different kinds, but I know they make what I am thinking of. I will have to go shopping and find out if I can get the correct size. I will post a picture if I find the right ones.