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Thread: SM Bucket inspired scrubber

  1. #11

    Join Date
    Dec 2009
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    Union City, CA, USA
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    Re: SM Bucket inspired scrubber

    I would suggest a ducted fan on the cover.
    Meaning, put a sealed cover on your ATS.
    Then drill two 4" holes, and put a short length of flexible duct to those. Like from a dryer.
    Put a fan blowing into one of the ducts.
    Put a dryer vent on the other duct, with the little flapper that closes off the vent when not in use.
    So when the fan is on, it blows in one duct, through ATS, and out the other duct, and out through vent.
    When the power fails, or when you want to eliminate cooling, the fan stops, and it effectively seals up the ATS.
    A bit complex, but really cheap parts.
    I am thinking of doing that on mine.

    Another thought is a small cheap 12VDC pump, connected to an old car battery and cheap charger.
    It stays on when power goes off, trickling enough water to keep ATS moist, and to help oxygenate your main tank.

  2. #12

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    Jun 2010
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    Re: SM Bucket inspired scrubber

    hmmm very nice ideas :idea: . I've thought of the same thing but you just gave me a clearer picture of for my cooling system.

    honestly i haven't thought of connecting a small pump to a car battery, but... i just need water to trickle on my screen right? i don't have a car battery as of the moment, but i think i can come up with something very similar to that.

    thanks a lot! back to the drawing board! :mrgreen:

    sadly i cant work on that right away. will post updates on my progress as soon as i have them. 8-)
    ____________________________________________
    Noob aquarist here - I'll be asking a LOT of questions

  3. #13

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    Re: SM Bucket inspired scrubber

    Trickle yes, but over the entire width of the screen, which may end up requiring a fair amount of flow.
    You can leave that pump on all the time, but probably best to make a small relay circuit where it only turns on
    when the power goes out.

  4. #14

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    Re: SM Bucket inspired scrubber


  5. #15

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    Re: SM Bucket inspired scrubber

    That solar pump system did not seem to have a battery, so only works during the day.
    Although it would dry out less during the night, so far better than nothing.
    They do exist with integrated battery. The problem is, expensive.

  6. #16

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    Jun 2010
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    Re: SM Bucket inspired scrubber

    ey its day 4 for my screen and i got algae growth on it!! its a bit dark brown though... :?

    will post pics tom. i want to take photos of the screen in broad daylight coz i have a crappy camera.
    ____________________________________________
    Noob aquarist here - I'll be asking a LOT of questions

  7. #17

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    Re: SM Bucket inspired scrubber

    this is what my screen now looks like. any thoughts?
    Attached Images Attached Images
    ____________________________________________
    Noob aquarist here - I'll be asking a LOT of questions

  8. #18
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    Re: SM Bucket inspired scrubber

    Not bad.

  9. #19

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    Re: SM Bucket inspired scrubber

    yeah despite the daily two hour power outage the algae still grew.


    Off topic:

    Quote Originally Posted by criskamote
    well its a 20g nano starter tank. i have 10 different colored false perculas (2 of which are adults and the rest babies), 2 brown BTA and 1 green BTA. its quite crowded and overloaded. and luckily, no casualties or bleaching anemones yet.

    the scrubber i built has 6x12 inch screen and is for a 50g tank and i have a 50g tank ready for use. I'll migrate the livestock and the scrubber there as soon as i have good algae growth on my screen.
    last sunday i got live sand and some live rock for my 50g tank. i got the sand and LR about 100meters from the shoreline (collection laws are not that strict here) and put about 4 inches DSB in my 50g. i cleaned the LR, making sure no dead critters in the holes. little did i know there was a piece of coral buried in the sand bed, about 3 inches long.

    i went out of town yesterday and when i came back this morning the piece of coral rotted and fouled the water in my tank really bad. the sand around the piece of coral turned black and it killed all the livestock (3 sea hermits, 3 snails, 2 false perculas, 1 butterfly) in the tank. the scrubber by the way was still installed my 20g "instant" nano tank at that time.

    this weekend I'll be going back to the beach and get new live sand and rocks, hopefully some more crabs and snails, and this time I'll sift the sand first to make sure not to mix anything in the sand.

    in connection with the Algae scrubber, I want to really see if the scrubber can prevent the tank from cycling or if any cycling will occur since i'll be getting the sand and rocks straight from the ocean to my tank. here is what SM posted about scrubbers and cycling

    viewtopic.php?f=9&t=630

    the idea behind this project is I want to replicate the "instant" approach on a larger scale and on a FOWLR setup as my "instant" 20g fish only tank is already an example. I haven't had any casualties from the 20g since it was set up.
    ____________________________________________
    Noob aquarist here - I'll be asking a LOT of questions

  10. #20

    Join Date
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    Re: SM Bucket inspired scrubber

    Are you going to return the sand and rock back to the ocean? You're going there anyway.

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