In the beginning

[Aquagold]

If the Cheato is after the ATS then he shouldn't have any problems or is known that Cheato chemically affects the growth of our ATS screens?

We don't have Cheato allowed in New Zealand so isn't an issue here but would be interesting to hear others reports.

All nutrient export leads to feeding more so that our pets get to grow more

[SantaMonica]

It's 27 watts per bulb. So 4 X 27.

The chaeto will be shaded and will die. You can take it out now if you want.

[sklywag]

New Zealand! Seen pictures. Nice.
Wow! So that'll be comparable to 400 watts incandescent. Crazy. I only have 324 watts of T5 over my display.
I have my lights set for 19 hours a day. Off at 11am til 4pm. Hottest part of the day and to have some of the reverse photo period to balance the PH.
10:30, bedtime.

[ocean rock]

hi sklywag
it does seem like a lot of light i have 300 w in my sump at the moment equivalent to 1200w as the algae gets greener i might try removing a bulb or too , then again i might not . i do not run anything else only the return pump and a m/h light and heater ,

[sklywag]

Made a holder and added two more bulbs. I am pretty impressed with my work if I may say so. I found these sockets that are rubber encased and when the bulb is screwed in, it actually forms a snug seal around it. These bulbs are the 23 watt models but are said to be equivelent to 100 watt incadescent. Notice the different hue to the light.
I will be designing a reflector for them soon. When starting a scrubber, should the lights be on more than the 17/18 hours when once matured to get it going?
How is my distance? Thanks for the input?
http://s874.photobucket.com/albums/ab30 ... ber001.jpg
http://s874.photobucket.com/albums/ab30 ... ber002.jpg
http://s874.photobucket.com/albums/ab30 ... r003-1.jpg
http://s874.photobucket.com/albums/ab30 ... ber004.jpg

[SantaMonica]

Those two are too close. Pull them back to 4" and put reflectors on them. Keep it at 18 hours.

[ocean rock]

hi mate
as SM says pull the lights back a bit , iam a bit worried you wont get the light at the bottom of the screen , and add some good reflectors someone on here put a post up with a walk through on how to use a coke can as a reflector, must admit though looking good , lights want to be 6 hr off 18 hrs on clean ever 7 days religiously , even it you only run it under the cold tap and gently brush your hands over it , it will remove the pods and help with green growth ,

[rygh]

I would recommend covering the entire ATS, about 3" above screen, with thin 1/8 clear acrylic.
So basically the area with sump + water + screen is almost enclosed in a box. With lights above and outside the box.
Does not have to be even close to air-tight though. Really shouldn't be.
In fact, you could put a few 3" legs on a piece of acrylic, and just have it setting on the screens. Table like.
Fairly tight around pipes coming in.
Seals it up, to prevent tons of evaporation, and get rid of splashing issues. Might even reduce noise.
Also, protects those lights. They do no appear to be outdoor rated, and look rather scary-unprotected.

Also, the screen itself might be suspect. But not enough knowledge in that area.

[sklywag]

I thought the lights had to be within a couple of inches of the screen?
That far end isn't as dark as it looks. I did slide them down a bit to give me about 4" space between them and the screen. Have ideas about a reflector in the works.

Absolute zero splash. But I have 1/8" acrylic I did think about placing on top of the scubber itself for evaporation issues. This thing is quiet which I love.

The screen that I'm using Is some plastic mesh used for wrapping cable in splice cases. I just got done roughing up another piece and doubling up on it.

Had/have some algae (thick hair type)growing on the inside of my overflow box (thought about turning that into a scrubber)and I applied a little to the screen.

Loving the feedback. Need to get this on the right track. Thanks guys.

[sklywag]

Here's the update of my scrubber. Been a while to get this amount of growth. The dark stuff is where the water exits the overflow. If you look back in the post. You'll see my light layout and can see the growth pattern from it. Even though the difference in color. That algae mat was real even all the way down. And yes, I did switch to plastic canvas.
Click images to make bigger. With flash.

Without flash.


Is this too clean? And there were tones of pods on this thing. Could that have also been my problem?