SM Bucket inspired scrubber

[criskamote]

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

yep i will return the fouled sand and rocks to the ocean. i baked the sand in the sun this morning and now its not smelling bad anymore, but i'm not taking any chances. plus since i baked it, its no longer live sand. :roll:

but im having second thoughts about returning the rocks i got. they seem fine now. i washed them in saltwater a few times and soaked it in saltwater for the whole night. maybe i'll just get a small one to seed my existing rock.

[criskamote]

is it possible to make a floating screen and grow algae on it?

i just checked my scrubber and found some algae growing on the bottom of my container.

water level on the bottom of the container is about an inch or so. I was thinking, can I make a floating screen on the bottom?
i measured the bottom, and i can fit another 8.5in X 6 in floating screen in it. thats additional 51 sq in of one sided screen!

what do you guys think?

[rygh]

Assuming the water is flowing over this floating screen, from the main screen, it should technically work.
Same concept as a horizontal screen.
However, given the flow issues and likely weak lighting down there, I would not think it would grow well.
So it might end up being more of a cleaning hassle than a real help.

Better might be to spend the effort focusing the light on the main screen.
More efficient use of what you have, so more filtering, for the same cost/cleaning.

[criskamote]

i just checked the bottom of the scrubber now. the algae growth down there is really catching up.

right now i'm only using 2x 15watts CFL, and i was planning to change that to 2x 23 or 24watts CFL 3000K. if i change my lights, i think the algae growth on the bottom will really thicken, and it will be more difficult to clean the bottom of the scrubber than pulling out the floating screen for cleaning.

I think I'll have more advantage if I install the floating screen especially when i change to 23watts CFL.

Im making the screen now. Will update pics on the floating screen.

happy reefing everyone!

[rygh]

Good point about being easier to clean than the scrubber box.
That is always a pain, with the pipes and such. And often slime algae, not hair.
Hmm, might think of doing that myself.
Keep us up to date.

[criskamote]

ok this is what my screen looks like at week 2. sorry i forgot to take photos of my floating screen. but i'm getting a lot of algae growth there as well.[attachment=1:3aht88sq]DSC00738.JPG[/attachment:3aht88sq][attachment=2:3aht88sq]DSC00741.JPG[/attachment:3aht88sq]

i noticed that there were bald spots on the screen after cleaning. it turns out that the thin cloth i placed between the screen disintegrated. and the screen is not rough enough for the algae to hold on. so here's my solution: i placed another thin screen between the old screen. its a nylon mesh, really thin and fine and rough to the touch. this time i used a thin nylon fishing line to sew the screens together.
i think this will help the algae hold on to the screen.

[SantaMonica]

All you need is the green screen by itself. One or two layers.

Algae is dark, so clean every 5 days.

[criskamote]

All you need is the green screen by itself. One or two layers.

Algae is dark, so clean every 5 days.

glad you mentioned that. The green screen is two layers. by the way what does dark algae mean? too much nitrites or other nutrients? :?:

[SantaMonica]

Mean high nutriets, with P around 0.2 and N around 40

[criskamote]

wow. that high huh..

my water testkit should arrive next week. I'll post readings here as soon as i get it.