My journey with the Rain2 Algae Scrubber and my 80G Tank

[reeftang]

Yea that is not optimal... switch it to run at night when your display lights are off. There are a few benefits to this including stablising your PH. Your theory on out-competing the DT doesn't work 'in real time' like your thinking... it works more holistically over an entire day/night cycle and weekly cycle as you clean it and remove nutrients from the tank.

My Algae scrubber runs from ~ 1 hours before my main lights turn off at night to well into the next morning for total 16 hour photo-period. I could actually run a lower photo-period if i wanted at my nutrients are super low. Only reason I haven't adjusted it yet is I try not to make too many changes to the tank at one time and I just added T5's last month.

So maybe this is my main issue???

[MulletBoy]

So maybe this is my main issue???

Its possible. Certainly moving in the right direction, clean the screen off of the slime/brown algae too. Keep running 1 light and move the photo period to be reverse to your DT

[reeftang]

Its possible. Certainly moving in the right direction, clean the screen off of the slime/brown algae too. Keep running 1 light and move the photo period to be reverse to your DT

Thanks i will do that...

[reeftang]

Its possible. Certainly moving in the right direction, clean the screen off of the slime/brown algae too. Keep running 1 light and move the photo period to be reverse to your DT

So i scrubbed the screen and this is what it looked like, very little.

https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1Q...LB1KcF1xI_YEYo
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1Q...VSO01Hniuzp7Do
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1Q...bJ56SOufyvXjTG
https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1Q...WkJ9XLghl9CWhj

[reeftang]

this is 10 days in this new schedule running opposite display. Still getting the hard green growth not hair. and what are these orange spots???? also how do i stop this spraying that happens mid growth.

[MulletBoy]

March 2019 Update

This month I have
- installed an Avast Marine K1 Kalk Stirrer
- upgraded my ATO reservoir to a 70L custom acrylic one inside a new cabinet next to my tank
- added some new SPS and re-arranged a couple of them
- extended my photo period on my LED's by 1 hour. Now they come on at 11am and turn off at 10:30pm

My paramters have been very stable averaging:

Alkalinity 8.6 dkh
Calcium 425 ppm
Nitrate 0.5 mg/L
Phosphate 0.08 ppm
Magnesium 1320 ppm


My last RAIN2 harvest is going strong, averaging around 80grams a week

Anyway here are some pictures!

[MulletBoy]

I also now have a youtube channel, Reef Nerd

So far I have done 3 videos

My T5 LED Hybrid Setup
https://youtu.be/O7Frjsbk-qU

My new acrylic ATO and Kalkwasser setup
https://youtu.be/cCxazW4IuiU

And a review of the dosing pump I use to drive the Kalk stirrer
https://youtu.be/5yRTgKbfImU

[reeftang]

Im still struggleing with mine, its growing lighter now but never got thick hair algae that can actually be used for filtration. Alsobevery time i harvest that little that did finally grow i get crazy spikes for about a week. Do you have high flow on the screen or on the lower side, whats better high or low? Also i did test my iron and it was on the low side.

Im so frustrated because this is not a cheap thing and i really had high hopes for this and i dono what im doing wrong. Few of my friends are loughting at me becsuee they made a diy version for under $100 and they are harvesting thick algae weekly.

[MulletBoy]

Im still struggleing with mine, its growing lighter now but never got thick hair algae that can actually be used for filtration. Alsobevery time i harvest that little that did finally grow i get crazy spikes for about a week. Do you have high flow on the screen or on the lower side, whats better high or low? Also i did test my iron and it was on the low side.

Im so frustrated because this is not a cheap thing and i really had high hopes for this and i dono what im doing wrong. Few of my friends are loughting at me becsuee they made a diy version for under $100 and they are harvesting thick algae weekly.

The flow on my screen is about enough to generate a solid sheet of water falling off the screen when its clean, that doesnt last long though as the algae starts to grow. I would say my flow is slightly on the low side, but still perfectly adequate ... im growing about 80 grams of algae a week

I am not sure why yours is taking so long to start growing hair algae... However any growth, even the oily or slimy stuff is still extremely dense in nutrients and therefore when you clean it off the screen you are removing nutrients from your tank. For whatever reason the green hair algae has not yet taken hold of your screen, its a complex ecosystem, for some reason other algaes are being dominant in yours for now... keep at it, will get there eventually

[MulletBoy]

May 2019 Update

Overall super happy with the tank, no deaths or losses, almost everything is growing and coloring well, and no algae issues except for a cyano outbreak I had in April due to phosphate rise; that appears to be under control now though.

This month and last month (sorry no update in April) I have
- swapped out the Illumagic Blaze X for 2x Kessil A360X - full review coming soon once I have been running them longer
- installed the Auto Aqua Smart AWC Touch system for Auto Water changes - absolutely awesome, recommend for everyone!
- added a frag rack to hold various existing and new frags more elegantly than just shoving them in the sand-bed
- begun running 50grams of rowaphos in a filter sock, changed weekly

My paramters have been very stable averaging:

Alkalinity 6.5 dkh - feel like I am coming to the end of what Kalk can do for me, as my alk has been dropping and I dont think it will keep up for much longer
Calcium 400 ppm
Nitrate 1.5 mg/L
Phosphate 0.07 ppm - although it rose well above 0.1 during April which led to a cyano outbreak which has only really gone away in the last week or so having now gotten phosphates back under control
Magnesium 1365 ppm

RAIN2 is still rock solid, about 80 grams a week harvest.

Anyway here are some pictures!


Full Tank Shot May 2019