Upflow Algae Scrubber UAS
- Thread starter rjl45
- Start date
Day 49: NO3- 15ppm, PO4- 0.05ppm. Nitrates are a little higher, but phospahtes are down to practically nothing. A week ago I made a slight adjustment. Added a couple spacers at the bottom of the scrubber to tilt the screen a little to get more bubble contact on the screen. I also adjusted the photo period from 21 hours to 22 hours. Did it help? Sure did!! First time the screen is not covered in slime. Yeah!
Still have algae on the rocks. Actually looks like it might be growing a little bit, but it is not widespread and limited to a few areas.
Still have algae on the rocks. Actually looks like it might be growing a little bit, but it is not widespread and limited to a few areas.
Wow the design looks awesome!!
What do you think about mine?
http://www.acuarios-marinos.com/threads/mi-alga-scrubber.30307/
I can share the laser cutting file via pm if you need...
What do you think about mine?
http://www.acuarios-marinos.com/threads/mi-alga-scrubber.30307/
I can share the laser cutting file via pm if you need...
That looks Great! Very nicely built. I'm a huge fan of algae scurbbers and the ability to customize them to our available space and needs.
Thanks for asking, I lost a little traction with my posts. Been distracted by "life" lol
The Scrubber is going strong! I am still getting a very dark brownish algae in the middle and dense green hair on the sides. All in all, it is working very well. I clean it once a week and always pull a good amount of algae out. I need to run some tests to compare numbers (been over a month) but the tank looks great. The hair algae in the DT is starting to subside, which I am taking as a string indicator that my rock is starting to finish leaching all the nutrients it had stored. With that said, the numbers will tell the full story. I'll try to get the tests runs and post some pics on Friday.
Thanks for asking, I lost a little traction with my posts. Been distracted by "life" lol
The Scrubber is going strong! I am still getting a very dark brownish algae in the middle and dense green hair on the sides. All in all, it is working very well. I clean it once a week and always pull a good amount of algae out. I need to run some tests to compare numbers (been over a month) but the tank looks great. The hair algae in the DT is starting to subside, which I am taking as a string indicator that my rock is starting to finish leaching all the nutrients it had stored. With that said, the numbers will tell the full story. I'll try to get the tests runs and post some pics on Friday.
Hit the wrong button lol... update continued.
Nitrates doubled over the last couple weeks due to my neglegence with cleaning the scrubber. I have missed my weekly cleaning 2 times now, letting it run 9-10 days instead of 7. I'm still getting very dark brown slime algae primarily and that stuff can break free and go back into the system very easily, if ignored, which defeats the purpose...not exporting any nutrients if you let it get back into the DT lol. (I am going to build another scrubber box today, taking Kris's suggestion of using a air stone). When I do clean by scrubber weekly, nitrates drop to less than 5ppm and I have witnessed a steady decline in phospahtes over the last 3 months. I don't feed enough to see a similar spike in phosphate due to my laziness.
Other observations. When I started this 3 months ago, I had to clean the glass every day. Now, I can let it go for 7 days, if not longer without any serious issues. No longer get film algae on the glass, only the hard encrusting stuff, so I still try to clean it every 4-5 days to avoid the headache of a bunch of coraline. I go back a forth using mechanical filters, some weeks take them out, then I get tired of the small particulate, so I put them back in. I've recently decided to leave them in to keep the water polished. Another bonus, it helps stabilize my ph at night.
The only disadvantage that I can see is the weekly maintenance. The scrubber HAS TO BE CLEANED or it doesn't help, and actually can make the problem worse. If you make one, definitely spend some time working on the "silencers" for the pump itself and the scrubber. Without them, I would have given up a long time ago...hate noises! Mine runs quieter than the return pump.
More to come on the scrubber 2.0 build. I need to change something to get my green hair algae growing, not dark brown slime. I get nice mats of green on the sides, but not in the middle. So, like I mentioned going to take Kris's advice and use an air stone to generate smaller and more evenly distributed bubbles.
Concluding thoughts at the 3 months mark... even though it's not working perfectly, it has made a significant impact to the health of my system. My phosphate problem has pretty much been eradicated, and nitrates are easily managed with weekly maintenance on the scrubber. Best part...it's nearly free to operate. Only pay for electricity to run the air pump and led lights. Much cheaper than large water changes, or other fancy hang-on devices. I can say with utmost confidence, an algae scrubber should be considered an essential piece of equipment on nano systems, and likely would be as beneficial to large systems as well. Cheers and happy scrubbing!
Nitrates doubled over the last couple weeks due to my neglegence with cleaning the scrubber. I have missed my weekly cleaning 2 times now, letting it run 9-10 days instead of 7. I'm still getting very dark brown slime algae primarily and that stuff can break free and go back into the system very easily, if ignored, which defeats the purpose...not exporting any nutrients if you let it get back into the DT lol. (I am going to build another scrubber box today, taking Kris's suggestion of using a air stone). When I do clean by scrubber weekly, nitrates drop to less than 5ppm and I have witnessed a steady decline in phospahtes over the last 3 months. I don't feed enough to see a similar spike in phosphate due to my laziness.
Other observations. When I started this 3 months ago, I had to clean the glass every day. Now, I can let it go for 7 days, if not longer without any serious issues. No longer get film algae on the glass, only the hard encrusting stuff, so I still try to clean it every 4-5 days to avoid the headache of a bunch of coraline. I go back a forth using mechanical filters, some weeks take them out, then I get tired of the small particulate, so I put them back in. I've recently decided to leave them in to keep the water polished. Another bonus, it helps stabilize my ph at night.
The only disadvantage that I can see is the weekly maintenance. The scrubber HAS TO BE CLEANED or it doesn't help, and actually can make the problem worse. If you make one, definitely spend some time working on the "silencers" for the pump itself and the scrubber. Without them, I would have given up a long time ago...hate noises! Mine runs quieter than the return pump.
More to come on the scrubber 2.0 build. I need to change something to get my green hair algae growing, not dark brown slime. I get nice mats of green on the sides, but not in the middle. So, like I mentioned going to take Kris's advice and use an air stone to generate smaller and more evenly distributed bubbles.
Concluding thoughts at the 3 months mark... even though it's not working perfectly, it has made a significant impact to the health of my system. My phosphate problem has pretty much been eradicated, and nitrates are easily managed with weekly maintenance on the scrubber. Best part...it's nearly free to operate. Only pay for electricity to run the air pump and led lights. Much cheaper than large water changes, or other fancy hang-on devices. I can say with utmost confidence, an algae scrubber should be considered an essential piece of equipment on nano systems, and likely would be as beneficial to large systems as well. Cheers and happy scrubbing!
Day 96: NO3- 3ppm, PO4- 0.00ppm (trace amounts, somewhere above 0.000 but below 0.010ppm) Cleaned the scrubber 2 times this week, 3 days apart, and it has payed off. Didn't let the algae break free and release back into the system.
A really interesting observation. Up until last week, I didnt need to dose alkalinity or calcium. The corals weren't consuming more than my biweekly water changes provided. Now that the phosphate has dropped to near zero, the corals are really starting to consume a bunch, so I have started a 2-part dosing schedule. The phosphate was clearly inhibiting calcification, and now that I have removed the phospahtes I am optimistic that the corals will be much healthier.
Sent from my SM-P900 using Tapatalk
A really interesting observation. Up until last week, I didnt need to dose alkalinity or calcium. The corals weren't consuming more than my biweekly water changes provided. Now that the phosphate has dropped to near zero, the corals are really starting to consume a bunch, so I have started a 2-part dosing schedule. The phosphate was clearly inhibiting calcification, and now that I have removed the phospahtes I am optimistic that the corals will be much healthier.
Sent from my SM-P900 using Tapatalk
There are similarities and distinct differences. Probably the single biggest difference is that algae scrubbers grow simple cellular structure algae that grows very quickly (hair algae). Whereas most people grow complex cellular algae (chaeto) in their refugiums. Algae scrubbers really serve only one purpose, nitrate and phosphate export, i.e. grow the algae and remove it from the system. In addition to growing chaeto, refugiums can provide other benefits such as providing habitat for copepods and other organisms that are beneficial to the system, however complex algae like chaeto are not as efficient as simple algae in consuming nutrients. Hair algae grows significantly faster than chaeto, making it more efficient as a nutrient export. So basically speaking, the algae scrubber does only one thing, but does it well. A refugium can do many things, but not as well.
An algae scrubber is great solution for systems that do not have a sump, or have limited space and for people who are looking for a natural and self-sustaining method for nitrate and phosphate removal.
If I had space for a sump and refugium, I would have that AND my algae scrubber. I would love to be able to grow enough pods inside my system to support my manderin, instead of running pod and phyto cultures in my basement.
An algae scrubber is great solution for systems that do not have a sump, or have limited space and for people who are looking for a natural and self-sustaining method for nitrate and phosphate removal.
If I had space for a sump and refugium, I would have that AND my algae scrubber. I would love to be able to grow enough pods inside my system to support my manderin, instead of running pod and phyto cultures in my basement.