UAS ix

[mlandscape]

OK will do and update in a further week

[mlandscape]

Almost one further week on. 5 weeks in total incl last week with all LED's uncovered and lit for 12 hours.
Now starting to see some growth - seems to be a mixture of light and dark.
I have not cleaned yet - assume that is OK?
Shall I continue with all uncovered and 12 hrs on ?

[SantaMonica]

Let it keep growing another week.

Looks like the top air hole might be clogged; the waterline / algae-line seems to have dropped.

Anyway, will be fully operational in a bit.

[mlandscape]

Thanks for feedback.
The top air hole is not clogged.
I have been using it above the waterline to avoid bubbles. Could that be causing it?

[SantaMonica]

Does not need to be so high up. Try lower.

[mlandscape]

OK I have moved it down so the water line is level with the air tube entering the scrubber.
I'd placed it so the top one inch was above the water as per the instructions.
Thanks

[mlandscape]

One week further on - 6 weeks in total and the last 2 weeks on full LED's all uncovered for 12 hours per day and the results are now starting to show both inside the scrubber with algae growth and with less algae in the tank.
Decided to clean algae out of scrubber see before and after cleaning images below and some of the algae removed.



A couple of questions please:-

Assume I carry on with full LEDs for 12 hours uncovered?

I have noticed a slight rise of my ammonia and nitrate levels from zero before. Only change in set up is adding scrubber. Is that normal?

Algae that had grown on glass quite hard and difficult to remove without scrapping. This releases spores back into the tank - is that a problem?

I have bubble algae in the tank - will that go as well and if so approximately how long before it goes?


Thanks

[SantaMonica]

Nice progress. Looks like you can go to 18 hours.

You should never have any ammonia; your rock and sand should handle it right away. As for nitrate, that is what the algae is eating, so it should be getting less, not more. See how it is in week. Sounds like your test kits are wrong.

This happens when nutrients in the tank are less; more nutrients grow brown dino's and diatoms on the glass which brush right off. Another reason to think your kits are off.

Bubble algae, cyano and bryopsis are always the last to go. Could take 6 months to a year depending on how strong the scrubber is. Also be ready for phosphate coming out of the rocks:

-------

Many people, when they get their scrubber running for the first time, get worried when more (not less) algae starts to grow on their rocks. It seems really strange, especially when nitrate and phosphate have gone lower than before. What is happening is that phosphate is coming out of the rocks. Remember, phosphate is invisible, so you can only see the effects of it, and it always "flows" from higher concentrations to lower concentrations (just like heat does).

Example: If your room is warm, and you put a cold object on the floor, heat from the air in the room will "flow" into the object until the object and the air are the same temperature. Example 2: If you put a hot object on the floor, heat will "flow" out of the object and go into the air in the room, again, until the air and the object are the same temperature. Now suppose you open your windows (in the winter). The warm air in your room will go out the windows, and it will get colder in the room. The object on the floor is now warmer than the air, so heat will flow out of the object and into the air, and then out the window.

Think of phosphate as the heat, and your rocks as the object, and your windows as the scrubber. As the scrubber pulls phosphate out of the water, the phosphate level in the water drops. Now, since the phosphate level in the water is lower than the phosphate level in the rocks, phosphate flows from the rocks into the water, and then from the water into the scrubber. This continues until the phosphate levels in the rocks and water are level again. And remember, you can't see this invisible flow.

This flow causes an interesting thing to happen. As the phosphate comes out of the rocks, it then becomes available to feed algae as soon as the phosphate reaches the surface of the rocks where there is light. So, since the surface of the rocks is rough and has light, it starts growing MORE algae there (not less) as the phosphate comes out of the rocks. This is a pretty amazing thing to see for the first time, because if you did not know what was happening you would probably think that the algae in the scrubber was leaking out and attaching to your rocks. Here are the signs of phosphate coming out of the rocks:

1. The rocks are older, and have slowly developed algae problems in the past year.

2. The scrubber is new, maybe only a few months old, and has recently started to grow well.

3. Nitrate and phosphate measurements in the water are low, usually the lowest they have been in a long time.

4. Green hair algae (not brown) on the rocks has increased in certain spots, usually on corners and protrusions at the top.

5. The glass has not needed cleaning as much.


Since skimmers, filter socks, etc don't remove any nitrate and phosphate, and waterchanges and macro's in a fuge don't remove much, most people have never seen the effects of large amounts of phosphate coming out of the rocks quickly. But sure enough, it does. How long does it continue? For 2 months to a year, depending on how much phosphate is in the rocks, how strong your scrubber is, and how many other phosphate-removing filters you have (GFO, carbon dosing, etc). But one day you will see patches of white rock that were covered in green hair the day before; this is a sure sign that the algae are losing their phosphate supply from the rocks and can no longer hold on. Now it's just a matter of days before the rocks are clear.

[mlandscape]

Thanks for the reply - all noted and will try to get the ammonia and nitrate tests done at my local shop.
Hours upped to 18.
Not seeing any signs yet of more algae due to rock phosphates yet - thankfully but there is always time I suppose.

[mlandscape]

A further week - the last on 18hrs.
Mostly blackish/dark green algae around sides. See attached image. Sorry about my legs in frame :-)
Cleaned what bit there.
Do I continue at 18hrs or is that too much?
By the way I have changed my test kits and ammonia etc all within acceptable levels. Thanks