Hi all!
I have been pointed here by one of your members, and having never heard of these algae scrubbers before Ive got to say Im quite impressed with what Im reading on here!
Im thinking about designing an upflow scrubber in the tank to run alongside my canister filter, ideally I'd like to completely re-think the whole thing and build a sump to incorporate a waterfall scrubber.
The sump option would be great for many reasons, ie. increased water volume, heater and scrubber out of view, steady water level in the tank etc but a much bigger job that requires alot more thinking. hmmm
I will probably stick to the upflow idea for now.
Theres alot of clear info on here, the main thing thats stumped me is the thread about rocks releasing phosphates. very interesting! I have two juvenile turtles which i feed around half a cube a day but a large amount of rock (slate) so Im a bit confused about whether I should increase the 'feeding' amount to allow for what the rocks may be adding into the mix? if so how do i work out how much?
Also the turtles produce more waste than fish so would this need to be added into the equation also? more ammonia= more nitrites= more nitrates so may need to increase the scrubber size to accomodate or is this not the case?
The amount is probably wrong but ive took a stab in the dark and come up with 2 cubes a day total.
Am I right in saying that on this amount I would need a 24" screen (3x8) with both sides lit? or 48" with one side lit.
I would need a minimum of 6x 660nm 3w red led's (3 each side) on for 9 hrs a day. maximum 12x (6 each side) for 9 hrs a day?
have I got that right?
one more thing (sorry!) I have live plants in the tank, how will the scrubber effect these? they are slow growing so dont need a huge amount of nutrients but im wondering whether the scrubber will 'out compete' the plants. anyone use these with live plants?
sorry for bombarding you with questions :-)
much appreciated
Gazz