bigger scrubber to begin with?

[reefy86]

is it possible to make a scrubber that can easily adjust from 1 cube per day to 5? reason i ask is because my tank has only 2 clowns, 2 engineer gobies, a file fish, 3 peppermint shrimps and just crabs ect. my tank is 8ft so i want to add alot more fish but right now i want to get my nitrites and phosphates down before i do which is why i want a scrubber but if i make it for 5 cubes then its not going to grow algae as ill only be feeding 1 cube. so is it possible to just get a big screen and just adjust the lights?

cheers

[SantaMonica]

Welcome from UK

The way to do it is to make 2 or 3 separate sections of the scrubber, and start with just one. This way after you add the others, you can harvest one at a time and still have others fully grown and filtering.

[reefy86]

thanks, i already made that idea but was told id get flow issues when it gets to the last one.

[SantaMonica]

No not if there is enough total flow. When growth fills in the slot, the pressure builds up and water flows farther down the pipe, even if you clean the first screen.

Besides, you could feed it from both sides through the frame, and add valves on the ends of the screens.

And of course you'll need roughed up screen, and not the smooth plastic sheet that your pic has.

[reefy86]

thank you. just 2 last question's. my return pump is only running at 20% so would it be ok to connect the return pump to the scrubber? and last one is whats the best light recommended? an all in one light such as flood lights or just make my own using cree reds and blue.

cheers

[SantaMonica]

Returns are often used. Just T it off.

Best light for cheap is a 30 watt LED grow floodlight from China, one for each side of each screen. Keep them dry or they will short out.

For wet areas or tight installations, our GEM5 lights might work:
http://www.santa-monica.cc/product.asp?itemid=84

[reefy86]

your obviously the expert but just going to ask anyways but wont 30w each side be abit too much? that means if i have 3 nets that will be 180 watts

[reefy86]

also is it best to get more reds then blue, such as there is flood lights that have 9 reds and 4 blue. sorry for all the questions.

[SantaMonica]

Depends on the screen size. The picture looked like a big screen.

All reds are fine; some blue is ok. If you buy a grow light, it can be red or red+blue=pink.

[reefy86]

those flood lights measure at 115 x 85mm according to amazans website and according to your new sizing guide for each cube of food i would need 2 sided 3x4 inch screen with 12 or 24w depending if i go 9 or 18 hours. what size sheet would i need for one sided per cube? if i make this design i can add 2 more lights 2 make 2 sided so having a total of 4 cubes of food per day if i use 4 lights and i can start of using 1 light to use just 1 cube ect.