I had to do it

[zoa]

Okay I had to build this. I saw and followed the thread at RC and I sort of followed it at RF. They were both closed and I have left this thought to fester in my head. I am new to this hobbie and am shortly comming to my 1 year anniversary in the hobbie. I have built my scrubber out of a piece of tile. I figured the porous material would lend a nice surface for the algae to grow. I found a piece of tile that is almost smooth on the back. It has ridges instead of criss cross paterns. It is perfect IMO and it just so happens to be the perfect size. I have a Bio Cube 29G. The tile measures 7x9 ish. I have scrapped off the pain on the back wall so it lights up through the glass. I will post pics as soon as I can. I am still in the Fred Flinstone days of cameras and my digital camera takes 3.5" hard disks. My PC has recently suffered a problem and now I have a new lap top. Wich doesn't take those disks. Anyway I hope you can follow my design.

[SantaMonica]

You are using another light on the back of the tank, shining in through the glass, right?

[zoa]

Yes that is correct. I set it up on the 25th and I am starting to see the first signs of growth this morning. It is a small amount but it is starting to grow. How established to you think I have to get the scrubber before I pull out my chaeto?

[zoa]

Okay, some pics. As I said I don't have a good camera so I borrowed my daughters. It is a cheap one so not the best but you will get the idea.

this is the side shot of the tank,


the fixture is a yard spike for lighting up trees, bushes, ect...


as close as i could get with this camera,


a different angle. You might notice that the input from the first chamber has been blocked. I have cut a notch in the back wall to allow the water to flow into the middle chamber from the display over the top. I did this some time ago to increase my surface skimming ability. It just so happens that it is a great mod to allow this scrubber to work very well from what i can tell. I get a nice even sheet of water over the entire tile.


The white stuff on top is filter floss to make the water cascade down and not splash. It also makes this completly silent. The only thing I hear on my tank is the fans cooling the lights. I guess we will see if this works or not.

[Madeley]

Hi, That bulb looks very small, what size is it in watts?

[zoa]

You would be correct, it is only 9 watts. I know it isn't the usual size bulb. I have been growing my chaeto with it and it doubles in size every week so I thought I would give it a try. I already have another bulb I just wanted to see what this one would do if anything. So far it is growing. The spots I saw this morning have doubled in size and there are more little ones forming. The K rating on this bulb is 5750.

What fun is doing something the same way others have? Also, I look at every tank different. What works for one may not work quite as well for others. Since I have a non traditional set up I thought I would play around. If this bulb works then I see no reason to go to more watts and burn more energy. If I am wrong about this please some one tell me.

[zoa]

I am getting fair growth I think for not seeding. Tomorrow will be one week.

Does anyone know if these scrubbers will remove silicates?

Can these scrubbers cure (so to speak) live rock? What I mean is instead of someone having to remove thier rock to cook it, can this remove the phosphates.

[Patrick Pending]

Does anyone know if these scrubbers will remove silicates?

- I presume you have a problem with diatoms in your tank. Diatoms may grow on the screen and they may grow on the algae on the screen but the algae won't make much difference to the silicates. Although, as the algae use up the excess phosphate it will then limit diatom growth. In the meantime keep hoovering the diatoms from the gravel with a siphon-vac.

Can these scrubbers cure (so to speak) live rock? What I mean is instead of someone having to remove thier rock to cook it, can this remove the phosphates.

- Yes.
BTW if you cook live rock you get dead rock!

Cheers,

Pat. Pending

[zoa]

Yes I do have a problem with diatoms and HA. The diatoms have never been an issue on the substrate just on the glass. As for the HA after doing everything I was told I am not getting anywhere fast, so I built a scrubber. I guess short of the silicates it will rid me of the other unwanted nasties. Should I take some of the HA and rub it into the scrubber or will it get there soon enough?


Also I have been thinking of adding some airation to my tank. Will this help or hinder the scrubber. It seems that it would hurt.

[Patrick Pending]

The diatoms have never been an issue on the substrate just on the glass

- Their silica skeletons do end up in the substrate though and can provide the raw materials for further generations. Having said that, my understanding is that reducing phosphates is the best way of controlling diatoms - t is difficult to eliminate silicates from the water as there are so many sources.

BTW: it occurred to me that the tile that you used in your scrubber may be a source of silicates.

I wouldn't bother rubbing the hair algae in if you already have some growth.

I can only see benefits to increased gas exchange, so I don't think aeration will hurt your scrubber,

Cheers,

Pat. Pending