DIY compact algae scrubber...

[MbmC]

Wow.. Huge ATS.. Not sure yr ATS placement will effected yr mp heat dissipation in long run? Since is close to yr ATS light source as well.. take note ya.. Cheers...

Good point, well spotted felt alright when running it yesterday, but gotta see what happens in the long run

[MbmC]

The ATS looks neat.

Pls. show us the algae on the screen as it grows yeh?

Well done DE no leaks from the setup. Will update with daily photos till end of first week...

[MbmC]

wow what's that set-top box doing on top of the tank?

I hope you're kidding but that's the Maxspect LED!

[CFOh]

I hope you're kidding but that's the Maxspect LED!

I think probably bro finind interested in yr way of food feeder setup? very neat...

Cheers..

[MbmC]

End of Day 1, no algae seeding noted as yet...Wonder if Jerome is having any growth of algae on his setup yet. Should be about 3 days more mature than mine...

[skinbone]

End of Day 1, no algae seeding noted as yet...Wonder if Jerome is having any growth of algae on his setup yet. Should be about 3 days more mature than mine...

It will usually show signs of brown slime algae on the 4th day. By 6th day it should get more noticeable. SM recommend that the screen be cleaned after 7 days regardless of the amount of algae.

BTW, he also recommend leaving the lights on 24/7 for the first week. Hope you are doing that already:)

[jerome9731]

hi, for my ATS, area submerged under the water are already cover with brown layer algae.

forget to mention that u need to roughen up the screen a bit. i used a wood file to roughen up mine.

btw, using a 2000l pump, i have a gurgling sound at the output but managed to solved it by just place some string in the hole.

now trying to solved little mini bubble from cause by my ATS.

my lighting, i running at 18h a day.

Jerome

[MbmC]

Day 2 and I have the screen starting to seed with some green hair algae. Don't see the brown layer algae yet. Flow is good, there's a wall of water rushing off the bottom of the screen. Forgot to roughen up the screen, but if there's some growth already, I guess it isn't so necessary.

I'm leaving the lights on 24/7 for now

[MbmC]

More algae starting to seed. Guess the screen is rough enough. Can feel a slime area but not too brown yet.

Anyway. These are pictures of my algae infested tank. Lost control after 10 days away and never got it back together again.

[MbmC]

Day 4. Brown starting to appear on submerged part of mesh. Hair algae taking hold on top of mesh.

Don't know if it's related, but my Xenia which has been in the same corner and flourishing for the last 2 months is starting to fade. One head is completely gone

[jerome9731]

overdue pictures

my scrubber sit exactly into my sump without a single space left, almost like custom made to my sump.

not sure if it is related but i think my water clarity gottten clearer, even my mum say so too.

but trying to get rid of the large amount of bubble coming out from the outlet, made a temporary one as was too busy to head down to LFS.

btw anyone know which LFS still have stock of ATI tube ? my tube is due to change already.

[jerome9731]

opp forgot to press attach file

[jerome9731]

opp forgot to press attach file

previously i was dosing vodka daily, but i stopped after introducing my new scrubber

[MbmC]

 very nice!

[tunicate]

Emmmm...any problem changing filter sock?

[MbmC]

End of the first week. Got growth of brown layer algae on the submerged portions of the mesh. green hair algae starting to grow at the top of the mesh.

Took out the mesh and roughened it up with a hole saw attachment as described.

NO3 and PO4 are undetectable in my system despite not having changed water for 1 week (I previously used to change water daily). Algae growth in the DT seems to have slowed down tremendously and the colony of Xenia I have, that was previously flourishing, is now almost completely faded away. SPS extensions are longer, and colours are improving. Even the blue zoas I have are colouring up better than before.

I know from past experience that my NO3 and PO4 will spike after 5 days of no water change, and I would have to harvest algae from my rocks every 3-4 days. So the fact that my parameters are good, and that I haven't had to pull off any algae, is to me, testament to the fact that something in my system is working well!

[kusboy]

Hey guys, i'm interested in gettin the scrubber. Pm me the relevant details in enquiring it. Thank u..

[jerome9731]

It been 2 weeks since i did a water change but i'm not complaining! in fact my algae on tank had reduce tremendously, i used to clean the tank glass daily but now, i just clean it once every 3days. those hard green algae then u need to scrub it to get it off the glass, i able to use the magnet cleaner to clean it off bit by bit everyday. it seem the algae are starting to died off.

i probably take my skimmer offline after my display tank is cleared off all algae

my scrubber overdue picture

dun really have much algae but i know there result from it just by the glass tank itself.

running it 18h/d for lightning.

[jerome9731]

Emmmm...any problem changing filter sock?

nope, the inlet tube not really blocking the arcylic cover, i can slide it out from the right easily.

[kusboy]

Scrubber owners, any of you guys hav the time to let me visit ur tank so i can personally take a look at ur scrubbers? I need your advice n tips regarding the design for my 600L tank

[kusboy]

Scrubber owners, any of you guys hav the time to let me visit ur tank so i can personally take a look at ur scrubbers? I need your advice n tips regarding the design for my 600L tank

[kusboy]

Scrubber owners, any of you guys hav the time to let me visit ur tank so i can personally take a look at ur scrubbers? I need your advice n tips regarding the design for my 600L tank

[les71]

overdue pictures

my scrubber sit exactly into my sump without a single space left, almost like custom made to my sump.

not sure if it is related but i think my water clarity gottten clearer, even my mum say so too.

but trying to get rid of the large amount of bubble coming out from the outlet, made a temporary one as was too busy to head down to LFS.

btw anyone know which LFS still have stock of ATI tube ? my tube is due to change already.

Bro how much u pay for the scrubber?i oso think of getting one if it is not too expensive leh,can pm me n let me know,thank in advance.

[MbmC]

Quick update, have been extremely busy this past week. And too tired!

But algae is definitely starting to regress in the main tank. Have turned off my skimmer for 11 days, and last night NO3 and PO4 still at the grand old ZERO!

Growing brown slim, turf algae and some hair algae on the scrubber.

Made some modifications to the scrubber. widened the slot in the pipe to 3mm as described, that helps with the water flow down the scrubber, minimises side spray as the water is forced out of the slit. Whole mesh is still covered well with good flow. Also cut the mesh into half so I can clean half of the scrubber at a time.

One problem I've noticed is the clear acrylic is warping because of the heat, and I'm keeping my fingers crossed that this won't result in a leak. So far so good...

[MbmC]

Forgot to mention that I haven't changed water for 3 weeks have only been doing DI topups and dosing Grotech A, B, C, M and iodine