Hello, my first post here. I've been doing alot of reading here and have some questions on algae scrubber for freshwater application:
1. Does freshwater algae scrubber still produce copepods (ones that would consume the algae)? Quick googling says yes but I keep seeing posts here saying to use "FW" to wash the scrubber in order to kill the copepods. Is that "Faucet Water" with chlorine which kills the copepods?
2. Is it possible to strike a natural balance between algae growth and algae consumption from fish so that the scrubber can be minimally maintained, or become maintenance-free? This is assuming copepods are not an issue or using something like UV light to keep the copepod growth in check. This also assumes a scrubber design that only lets fish reach the excessive light-blocking algae, and not allow fish to overclean the scrubber. Would this become unsustainable due to the extra nutrients from algae as the food source for the scrubber to keep up with?
3. Does LED fade in luminance over time like CFL? If so, what is the recommended time between LED replacement?
I am probably going to start with SM's UAS in a test freshwater tank as the only filter so I can get a better feel and understanding. My goal is to use (commercial or DIY) algae scrubber in a larger freshwater cichlid tank with no plants.