Lowest cost and easiest way to eliminate green hair, bubble, turf and slime algae
- Thread starter SantaMonicaHelp
- Start date
SynDen
Administrator
Staff member
M.A.S.C Club Member
M.A.S.C. B.O.D.
M.A.S.C President
M.A.S.C Webmaster
Don't kid yourself - Google Hog 1.3 Algea Scrubber and it's not a DIY. I'm not saying saying scrubbers don't have merit, look at all 87 posts and they're on the same thread. Mr Santa is panning a product. He's a commercial reseller - http://algaescrubber.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?15-DIY-Resellers&
Of course all posts are on the same thread; because this thread is supposed to show you how to build them, which is what most people do. If you look at that scrubber site, it's mostly DIY. And upflow versions are the lowest cost to DIY (just needs a TV dinner tray and an air stone). Most people also want to see growth pics/vids. I have hundreds of pics of DIY builds to post too, but they need to be grouped and tagged first, and they take a lot of posts to do so.
SynDen
Administrator
Staff member
M.A.S.C Club Member
M.A.S.C. B.O.D.
M.A.S.C President
M.A.S.C Webmaster
Yes I would agree that the HOG is a commercially available scrubber, but is one, that after seeing it, you could easily replicate and DIY. I have followed SantaMonica's threads here and on RC and not once have I ever seen him try and sell something to anyone. He simply provides as much info as he can about all kinds of scrubbers that can be made yourself or even bought online. I for one thank SantaMonica for his info and I will be including a my own DIY scrubber in my next build/upgrade thanks to all his info.
+1 One of the most knowledgeable people on the subject of algae scrubbers. I was using one while my tank was still cycling to keep the algae under control. I slowly lowered the flow of my scrubber until I no longer needed it. I personally did a downflow mesh algae scrubber and it worked very well for getting algae growth under control.
I built an upflow version for my old JBJ 28g. It worked really well!
heres the thread on it:
http://www.marinecolorado.org/forums/showthread.php?16096-Updated-mini-ATS-light
heres the thread on it:
http://www.marinecolorado.org/forums/showthread.php?16096-Updated-mini-ATS-light
did you still need an answer to your bio cube question?What is Periphyton?
Periphyton is what turns your rocks different colors. You know... the white rocks you started with in SW, or the grey rocks (or brown wood) you started with in FW. After several months or years, the rocks become a variety of different colors and textures. Why? Because the periphyton that has grown on it is a mix of different living things, of different colors, and thicknesses. And the important part is: It is LIVING.
That's right: The colored stuff that has coated your rocks is all living organisms. Sponges, microbes, algae, cyano, biofilms, and of course coralline. After all, "peri" means "around the outside", and "phyto" means "plant". Ever slipped in a slippery puddle? That's probably periphyton that made it slippery. It's a very thin coating on the rocks, sometimes paper thin.
There is a lot of photosynthetic organisms in periphyton, and this of course means that they need light; but they need nutrients too (ammonia, nitrate, phosphate). And as you might figure, they will be on the lighted portions of the rocks. And they will grow to intercept food particles in the water, based on the water flow. Just think about how sponges orient their holes for water flow; the micro sponges in periphyton do it too but on a tiny scale.
What about under the rocks, in the dark areas? Well these periphyton don't get light, so they are primarily filter feeders. So they REALLY grow and position themselves to be able to intercept food particles. And they don't really need to fight off algae, because algae does not grow in the dark, so they have no need for anti-algae tactics like plants in illuminated areas have.
Reef studies have shown that at certain depths, more of the filtering of the water comes from periphyton and benthic algae than comes from the phytoplankton which filters the deeper water. And in streams, almost all the filtering is done by periphyton. So, what you have on rocks that are "mature" or "established" is a well-developed layer of periphyton; and all the things that comes from it.
This is why mandarin fish can eat directly off the rocks of an "established" tank (tons of pods grow in the periphyton), but not on the rocks of a new tank. Or why some animals can lay their eggs on established rocks, but not new ones. Or why established tanks seem to "yo-yo" less than new ones. Even tangs can eat periphyton directly when it's thick enough. Yes periphyton can also develop on the sand, but since the sand is moved around so much, the periphyton does not get visible like it does on rocks. So thick periphyton on established rocks is your friend. And totally natural too. Keep in mind though I'm not referring to nuisance algae on rocks; I'm only referring to the very-thin layer of coloring that coats the rocks.
But what happens when you "scrape the stuff off your rocks"? Well you remove some of the periphyton, which means you remove some of your natural filter and food producer. What if you take the rocks out and scrub them? Well now you not only remove more of your natural filter and food producer, but the air is going to kill even more of the microscopic sponges in it. And what if you bleach the rocks? Well, goodbye all filtering and food producing for another year. It's an instant reduction of the natural filtering that the periphyton was providing.
However, what if you just re-arrange the rocks? Well, some of the periphyton that was in the light, now will be in the dark; so this part will die. And some of the periphyton that was in the dark will now be in the light, so it will not be able to out-compete photosynthetic growth and thus will be covered and die too. And even if the light stays the same, the direction and amount of water flow (and food particles) will change; sponges that were oriented to get food particles from one direction will now starve. So since the light and food supply is cut off, the filtering that the periphyton was providing stops almost immediately, due only to the re-arranging of the rocks.
Starvation takes a little longer. The periphyton organisms won't die immediately, since they have some energy saved up; but instead, they will wither away over several weeks. So on top of the instant reduction in filtering that you get by just moving the rocks, you get a somewhat stretched-out period of nutrients going back into the water. And after all this, it takes another long period of time for the periphyton to build up to the levels it was at before: 1 to 2 years. Even changing the direction of a powerhead will affect the food particle supply in the area it used to be pointed at.
So a good idea is to try to keep everything the same. Pick your lighting, flow, layout, and try to never move or change anything. It's a different way of thinking, but you should have a stronger natural filter and food producer because of it.
Periphyton is what turns your rocks different colors. You know... the white rocks you started with in SW, or the grey rocks (or brown wood) you started with in FW. After several months or years, the rocks become a variety of different colors and textures. Why? Because the periphyton that has grown on it is a mix of different living things, of different colors, and thicknesses. And the important part is: It is LIVING.
That's right: The colored stuff that has coated your rocks is all living organisms. Sponges, microbes, algae, cyano, biofilms, and of course coralline. After all, "peri" means "around the outside", and "phyto" means "plant". Ever slipped in a slippery puddle? That's probably periphyton that made it slippery. It's a very thin coating on the rocks, sometimes paper thin.
There is a lot of photosynthetic organisms in periphyton, and this of course means that they need light; but they need nutrients too (ammonia, nitrate, phosphate). And as you might figure, they will be on the lighted portions of the rocks. And they will grow to intercept food particles in the water, based on the water flow. Just think about how sponges orient their holes for water flow; the micro sponges in periphyton do it too but on a tiny scale.
What about under the rocks, in the dark areas? Well these periphyton don't get light, so they are primarily filter feeders. So they REALLY grow and position themselves to be able to intercept food particles. And they don't really need to fight off algae, because algae does not grow in the dark, so they have no need for anti-algae tactics like plants in illuminated areas have.
Reef studies have shown that at certain depths, more of the filtering of the water comes from periphyton and benthic algae than comes from the phytoplankton which filters the deeper water. And in streams, almost all the filtering is done by periphyton. So, what you have on rocks that are "mature" or "established" is a well-developed layer of periphyton; and all the things that comes from it.
This is why mandarin fish can eat directly off the rocks of an "established" tank (tons of pods grow in the periphyton), but not on the rocks of a new tank. Or why some animals can lay their eggs on established rocks, but not new ones. Or why established tanks seem to "yo-yo" less than new ones. Even tangs can eat periphyton directly when it's thick enough. Yes periphyton can also develop on the sand, but since the sand is moved around so much, the periphyton does not get visible like it does on rocks. So thick periphyton on established rocks is your friend. And totally natural too. Keep in mind though I'm not referring to nuisance algae on rocks; I'm only referring to the very-thin layer of coloring that coats the rocks.
But what happens when you "scrape the stuff off your rocks"? Well you remove some of the periphyton, which means you remove some of your natural filter and food producer. What if you take the rocks out and scrub them? Well now you not only remove more of your natural filter and food producer, but the air is going to kill even more of the microscopic sponges in it. And what if you bleach the rocks? Well, goodbye all filtering and food producing for another year. It's an instant reduction of the natural filtering that the periphyton was providing.
However, what if you just re-arrange the rocks? Well, some of the periphyton that was in the light, now will be in the dark; so this part will die. And some of the periphyton that was in the dark will now be in the light, so it will not be able to out-compete photosynthetic growth and thus will be covered and die too. And even if the light stays the same, the direction and amount of water flow (and food particles) will change; sponges that were oriented to get food particles from one direction will now starve. So since the light and food supply is cut off, the filtering that the periphyton was providing stops almost immediately, due only to the re-arranging of the rocks.
Starvation takes a little longer. The periphyton organisms won't die immediately, since they have some energy saved up; but instead, they will wither away over several weeks. So on top of the instant reduction in filtering that you get by just moving the rocks, you get a somewhat stretched-out period of nutrients going back into the water. And after all this, it takes another long period of time for the periphyton to build up to the levels it was at before: 1 to 2 years. Even changing the direction of a powerhead will affect the food particle supply in the area it used to be pointed at.
So a good idea is to try to keep everything the same. Pick your lighting, flow, layout, and try to never move or change anything. It's a different way of thinking, but you should have a stronger natural filter and food producer because of it.
Very nice scrubber-only tank:
http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?2702-180g-Show-Tank&p=35853&viewfull=1#post35853
His personal page:
http://home.comcast.net/~dgrigor/
http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?2702-180g-Show-Tank&p=35853&viewfull=1#post35853
His personal page:
http://home.comcast.net/~dgrigor/
I think we get it. You're a huge proponent of algae scrubbers.
Algae scrubbers might actually be a useful idea if they didn't increase evaporation 10x over normal. Even small ones, both up-flow and waterfall, evaporate significant amounts of water.
As was mentioned in the beginning of this thread, growing chaetomorpha in a refugium is just as effective and just as easy.
Algae scrubbers might actually be a useful idea if they didn't increase evaporation 10x over normal. Even small ones, both up-flow and waterfall, evaporate significant amounts of water.
As was mentioned in the beginning of this thread, growing chaetomorpha in a refugium is just as effective and just as easy.
They are not only for saltwater tanks, so chaeto isn't always the solution. I think they are incredibly useful in the right situation. I'm in the process of building one for a 100g freshwater fish culture system at work right now that has a massive bioload and I can't wait to get this thing up and running. Plus it's a lot of fun to design and build your own filtration mechanism than just throwing plants in your sump. :smile-new: