Mega-powerful Nitrate And Phosphate Remover Replaces Skimmer, Refugium

LED test on SM100:

9 days of growth after cleaning. Fluorescent on left, LED on right. LED is the 50 watt Grow Light from EshineSystems in China. Actually uses 41 watts per the KillOwatt. Was raised up 3/4 inch to fit in middle of scrubber window. Camera is unfortunately an old one, since new one is being repaired. Growth was very similar on both sides; too similar to tell them apart. Growth on the LED side was floating a bit higher since it had no light near the bottom. LED was about $140 including shipping, and I asked for the black case:

SM100 LED Test 1.jpg


SM100 LED Test 2.jpg


SM100 LED Test 3.jpg


Video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LKcib4YaoTc

LED:
http://www.eshinesystems.com/growlight/50W-led-grow-light-3g.htm
 
New Scrubber Sizing Guideline (Sept 2011)

Scrubbers will now be sized according to feeding. Nutrients "in" (feeding) must equal nutrients "out" (scrubber growth), no matter how many gallons you have. So...

An example VERTICAL waterfall screen size is 3 X 4 inches = 12 square inches of screen (7.5 X 10 cm = 75 sq cm) with a total of 12 real watts (not equivalent) of fluorescent light for 18 hours a day. If all 12 watts are on one side, it is a 1-sided screen. If 6 watts are on each side, it is a 2-sided screen, but the total is still 12 watts for 18 hours a day. This screen size and wattage should be able to handle the following amounts of daily feeding:

1 frozen cube per day (2-sided screen)
1/2 frozen cube per day (1-sided screen)
10 pinches of flake food per day (2-sided screen)
5 pinches of flake food per day (1-sided screen)
10 square inches (50 sq cm) of nori per day (2-sided screen)
5 square inches (50 sq cm) of nori per day (1-sided screen)
0.1 dry ounce (2.8 grams) of pellet food per day (2-sided screen)
0.05 dry ounce (1.4 grams) of pellet food per day (1-sided screen)

High-wattage technique: Double the wattage, and cut the hours in half (to 9 per day). This will get brown screens to grow green much faster. Thus the example above would be 12 watts on each side, for a total of 24 watts, but for only 9 hours per day. If growth starts to turn YELLOW, then increase the flow, or add iron, or reduce the number of hours. And since the bulbs are operating for 9 hours instead of 18, they will last 6 months instead of 3 months.

HORIZONTAL screens: Multiply the screen size by 4, and the wattage by 1.5

Flow is 24 hours, and is at least 35 gph per inch of width of screen [60 lph per cm], EVEN IF one sided or horizontal.

Very rough screen made of roughed-up-like-a-cactus plastic canvas.

Clean algae off of screen every 7 to 14 days, so that you can see the white screen material.
 
Updates on the LED test. 3 pics from 2nd cleaning, and 1 vid from 3rd cleaning:


2nd cleaning, 7 days, top:
SM100LEDTest8.jpg



2nd cleaning, 7 days, T5:
SM100LEDTest9.jpg



2nd cleaning, 7 days, LED:
SM100LEDTest10.jpg





3rd cleaning, 11 days:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBEkVdEQ_oQ
.
.
.
.
 
Update:

The cyano stage: Some people, who start using a scrubber for the first time, get rid of their nuisance algae but then get some cyano that they never had before. The reason for this is that cyano is able to "fix" it's own nitrogen, which means it is good at getting the last nutrients that are available. However, once these last nutrients are removed, the cyano will go away too. And the more powerful the scrubber is, the quicker this happens.
 
Since I've been working on the new scrubber, I've not done much with the 25 nano model. So if anyone would like to test, build, and market it, I could sell you the patent application and you could take it over. It is a U.S. PPA which expires March 7, 2012. You would then file your own U.S. NPA.
 
New scrubber update: The new design will not require a slot in the pipe. If you have not built one yet, and you have trouble with DIY, then you might wait for the new DIY plans to be posted; there should be no hard-to-cut pieces (like a slot), at least for the very simple versions.
 
Need translator for Availability Schedule...
http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?1783-Availability-Schedule

I have Chinese finished, but I need other languages too. So if you or someone you know can translate that page into another language and email it to me on a Word 2000 document, let me know how much $ it would cost.

Thanks!
 
The new Upflow Algae Scrubber

This new test version of the algae scrubber is much easier to build than the waterfall version (the Mega Powerful one), and is perfect for nano's. This new scrubber has never been posted before May 2012. It works in both freshwater and saltwater, and it's called an Upflow Algae Scrubber. It's simple, cheap, and you can make a small one in just a few minutes with parts you probably already have. I'll be posting more complex versions later, but here are some pics of the most basic design that you can use for testing:

(will be updated periodically)
Post1.jpg




A little over a year ago in April 2011, another idea came along: Instead of letting the water flow down a screen like a waterfall, how about you let the water flow up the screen using air bubbles? Why? Because as good as waterfall algae scrubbers are, they still need a place for the water to drain "down" to. This means that you need to have a sump below the aquarium, or you need to have the scrubber up above the aquarium. This is not easy, and is very difficult for a nano aquarium which usually has no sump below it, and no room above it. Also, the waterfall version requires it to be out of the water (in the air), which takes up extra space. The new "upflow" version, however, can be placed inside the aquarium, so that it takes up no extra space at all, and it needs no external plumbing or water pumps at all. Only air bubbles.

The Upflow Algae Scrubber (UAS) provides the best growing conditions for algae in your tank: Air bubbles provide rapid turbulent flow; Strong lighting provides the light; and the nutrients that are already in your water provide the nitrate and phosphate. All that's needed is a place for the algae to attach to, and that is provided by the roughed-up plastic screen. Thus the algae start growing on the screen because the flow and lighting are stronger there than they are in the rest of your aquarium; nitrate and phosphate are consumed in the process. This causes algae to start disappearing from your aquarium and start re-appearing on the scrubber screen, so that you can throw the algae away every week or two.

The most basic way to set up an Upflow Algae Scrubber, especially in small aquariums, is just to put some air bubbles beneath a vertical screen. If inside an aquarium, you just put a light on the outside of the glass, so that it shines inside to the screen. And if you want better performance (which means better filtering), just add a reflector to give the screen some light on both sides. The screen is best made with 7-mesh cross stitch plastic canvas that you get at sewing or craft stores, or online. Also, don't forget to rough up the screen with a sharp object like a hole saw; the screen should be so rough that the screen holes are almost filled in with all the little pieces of plastic that you roughed up.

And here's a surprise: Watch out for your fish or snails eating your filter! There's nothing tastier than live green algae, so your fish or snails may keep your screen from getting very thick. The simple solution is to just put some mesh or netting around it.

There are a couple of requirements that have been learned since August 2008 which will get you started quicker. The size of the Upflow Algae Scrubber that is needed is based on how much you feed, and not how much water you have, because the nutrients that cause algae to grow come from the food you feed. The following updated picture has size guidelines:

(will be updated periodically)
Sizing.jpg





And the following updated picture has examples:

(will be updated periodically)
Examples.jpg





So build a UAS and post your pictures!
.
.
.
 
OK some growth pics...

Floyd R Turbo on the GIRS site:
UasFloydrturboOnAS-1.jpg


UasFloydrturboOnAS-2.jpg


UasFloydrturboOnAS-3.jpg


UasFloydrturboOnAS-4.jpg




Rkyrickstr on the TF site:
UasRkyrickstrOnAS-1.jpg


UasRkyrickstrOnAS-2.jpg




Ruddybop on the MFK site:
UasRuddybopOnMFK-1.JPG




Fishuntbike on the scrubber site:
UasFishuntbikeOnAS-1.jpg


UasFishuntbikeOnAS-2.jpg


UasFishuntbikeOnAS-3.jpg




And mine...
UasSantaMonica-1.jpg
 
Everybody loves growth pictures:

Day 1:
hog.5-7.jpg


Day 2:
hog.5-8.jpg


Day 3:
hog.5-9.jpg


Day 4:
hog.5-10.jpg


Day 5:
hog.5-11.jpg


Day 6:
hog.5-12.jpg


Day 7:
hog.5-13.jpg


Day 8:
hog.5-14.jpg


Day 9:
hog.5-15.jpg


7 Days of growth after first cleaning:
hog.5-16.jpg


Video of first cleaning after 9 days of growth from a new screen:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0K4UCp9_aA

Video of 7 days of growth after the first cleaning:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o14culabk7k


Time to eat more TV dinners and save those trays :)
 

Most reactions

trending

Staff online

Back
Top