My ~180G capacity Upflow Algae Scrubber - Feedback?
- Thread starter daverf
- Start date
Just upgraded my UAS from Gremlin to Nova. Here's my latest application for DIY Idiot of the Year. Build of light blocker using acrylic, to fit the footprint of the LEDs I bought on Amazon. I used all black acrylic and cemented a piece of clear acrylic to each panel with aluminum foil between the acrylic sheets. This is how I'll get a reflector in my build that doesn't break the bank or possibly leach anything into my tank. This was my first time cutting/cementing acrylic, so don't laugh, and hopefully I sealed the aluminum (will have to recheck in a few days). Pieces cut on the bottom are to lock into an eggcrate platform I build to keep the screens in place. This shows how they'll sit side-by-side, with holes to create water and airflow in the sump.
I did see growth since last growth pics, but I have too many tank variables right now to assume that it is functioning as it should. By variables I mean: I ran a little Chemi-clean in my tank to kill the cyanobacteria, I started dosing lanthanum to precipitate the sky-high phosphate (well not dose...just added some to my ATO with a powerhead them put a 5 micron sump on my ATO line), and I'm running hyposalinity (and therefore have odd algae growth). That said, it should be ready to rock & roll...
I did see growth since last growth pics, but I have too many tank variables right now to assume that it is functioning as it should. By variables I mean: I ran a little Chemi-clean in my tank to kill the cyanobacteria, I started dosing lanthanum to precipitate the sky-high phosphate (well not dose...just added some to my ATO with a powerhead them put a 5 micron sump on my ATO line), and I'm running hyposalinity (and therefore have odd algae growth). That said, it should be ready to rock & roll...
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About 14 days of growth on the two 9"x10" screens. And here's a pic of the DIY light blocker.
This is not as much growth as I would expect if I was running at normal salinity and had not used Chemi Clean. However, not a trace of algae anywhere else in my system except in the scrubber. That's a win for me...
[attachment=63540:name]
This is not as much growth as I would expect if I was running at normal salinity and had not used Chemi Clean. However, not a trace of algae anywhere else in my system except in the scrubber. That's a win for me...
[attachment=63540:name]
Thanks! So far can't complain about the lights, they seem to work just fine and I now have all sizes (light blocker, reflector, screens) lined up to match them.. I'll wait until my system is more stable to start playing around with lighting duration as you've done. I still don't have a steady state environment to see what adjustments will do.