Some advice?

[megatron]

Normally I wouldn't make a post about this however we're planning on starting this thursday, and I need to have a material list done by tonight to get it approved. My college has a 140 gallon fish tank that has an algae problem, so instead of going out and buying a skimmer to replace the broken one, I suggested we save some money and try an ats. My first question that I'm a little confused about is the size of the canvas. I know a 14x10 is appropriate for a 140 gallon tank, but is that with both sides of the canvas having lights on them? Another question is that electricity would not be a problem for this filter as I won't have to pay for it. Would metal halides be a better choice than compact flourescents? If they were would two metal halides(one on each side) be enough light for a 14x10 size canvas?
Heres my list, anything I'm forgetting?
3/4 inch pvc pipe
plastic canvas
hole saw
zip ties
metal halides.
Obviously there is gonna be some more materials like light timers, ect, but is there anything essentail that I"m forgetting? I'm pretty sure I have it all covered but this is my first ats to make, and I want to make it right.
Thanks for any advice

[SantaMonica]

is that with both sides of the canvas having lights on them

Yes

Would metal halides be a better choice than compact flourescents

No, too hot. But more fluorescent watts would help. T5HO are best because they spread the wattage evenly across the screen, but to make it easy, use CFL's with reflectors.

140 gal needs 140 total CFL real (not equivalent) watts for high filtering. That's 70 watts per side. So get for bulbs, 35 watts each, and build it like this:





You'll need a timer too.

You'll need a Dremel tool to cut the slot.

And extra screen and pipes for when you mess up the first couple times.

[megatron]

lol, I'm sure I'll need extra's as I'm no handy man. I bet I can find a dremel tool at our physical plant. Ok 35 watt cfl flood lights it will be. Thanks for the advice

[megatron]

Ok one more question, I'm trying to draw out on paper exactly how this is going to work out. Anyone have a method for installing their scrubber so that they can remove their screen for easy maintance that works well for them? The tank I'll be doing this on will have inputs into the sump. One will be for bio balls, the other for the scrubber. I'm thinking of creating a stand type contrapction out of pvc pipe to hold the scrubber up and connect the scrubber to the bulkhead with a pvc connector. However will the water flow be able to go through the slots in the scrubber easily enough to not push the scrubber off the bulkhead? Any ideas?

[SantaMonica]

You are not going to want bio balls if you have rock and sand in the tank.

[megatron]

Ok, getting everything set up now. Found the plastic canvas, the only thing I'm worried about is the lights. I have 4 45 w floodlights. They're "soft white." The cfl were pretty expensive, but I found 6 floodlights for 6 bucks, so I went ahead and got them. Sound ok?

[SantaMonica]

If they are 45 real watts (not equivalent watts) fluorescent, then ok. If they are incandescent, then no.

[megatron]

I'm pretty sure it's real, they dont have anything saying equivalent to this many watts. Another thing I just thought about was the diameter of the pipe. We used 1/2 inch because thats the only size we could find with threads on it. Other than that the only problem we've had is that I dremeled the sides a bit too much and water streams shoot out the side. Siliconed the excess, and waiting to see how it turns out tommorrow. Otherwise it looks very promising, will post pictures when finished

[SantaMonica]

Read what it says on the bulbs/boxes

[megatron]

I dont have the box with me anymore, but it said it used 45 watts of electricity, and that was the only wattage information on there, I didn't know it wasn't a cfl flood light so I was looking to make sure it didnt have any equivalency ratings. would using 1/2 inch pipe have any negative side effects? When we tested it out the flow was pretty strong and it looked nice and even