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Thread: new to algae scrubber

  1. #1

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    new to algae scrubber

    hi I brought a santa monica 1.3g algae scrubber and its been almost 1 month im just seeing small little dots. I emailed santa monica and they tell me to cover the light more and do 18hr air pump. first it was nothing on the screen but after following santa monica 18 hr air pump now I see little black dot on the screen. im I doing something wrong? another question is the cover suppose to fill up with water or the top part is filled with air? when I check my algae scrubber I see that my top part isn't filled with water

  2. #2
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    Welcome.

    It is actually the light that should be 18 hours. The air pump should be 24 hours (no timer).

    If the scrubber fills with air, it means the air hole in the top is clogged.

    Yours is freshwater, so it should grow quickly. 2 year old tank is probably very high nitrate, and is probably growing very black slime, which is letting go from the white surface. So all you are seeing is some black dots. For this situation, put the top of the scrubber 1 inch (2 cm) above the water, so no air bubbles come out. This will circulate the water inside more, and reduce nitrate more, before the water comes out. And the light should be 24 hours (no timer).

    A picture of the white surface, using regular white light, would help. Also a video of the bubbles.

  3. #3

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    heres some picture of the scrubber. I guess its not black dots its greenish. for the scrubber I just see 1 open hole on top of the scrubber, should I drill some holes on top or would I screw up my warranty like that?




  4. #4
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    The air at the top is fine; this is how it is supposed to work. No changes are needed.

    Also, it looks like yours is growing on the bottom half, which means you probably have the top half covered with the black cloth. So remove the black cloth, which will let light get to all the surfaces.

    Keep bubbles at 24 hours.

    See how it looks in 10 days.

  5. #5

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    alright took the black cloth out and going to leave the bubble for 24hr and the light for 24hr

  6. #6

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    seems like all those greenish stuff is gone and back to all white with the bubble 24/7 and light 24/7

  7. #7
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    Put the light on 18 hours.

  8. #8

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    alright after 2 days of 18 hr of light I start seeing little green dot again not a lot but i'll give it some times and see how it goes. i'll update it when its 1 week

  9. #9

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    k heres a 1 week photo. anything to improve the growth? or just keep doing 18hr of light and 24hr air?


  10. #10
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    Not sure about the dot, but the white surface is certainly too much light. You can see growth on the edges where light is lower. So put the cloth on 3/4 so most of the light is covered.

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