Ive had my algae scrubber running for about 2 weeks now (tank is new also), I'm just starting to get a light brown film is this normal? Ive been thinking my screen may not be rough enough. Any thoughts
Mega Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover - DIY!
- Thread starter SantaMonica
- Start date
My eyes hurt! It only took me a week but I read this entire thread! I am going to test this with fresh water on a 12 gallon tank stuffed with gold fish. I will post pics as I set it up. If it works, I will build a big system for my 500 gallon FW when I set it up. Or...Santa, do you make a scrubber large enough for 500 gallons? It will probably be pricey, but I am just curious. Wow, my wife thinks I am obsessive with fish...readin this much kind of prooves her right. I am a nut 
, but proud of it!kmill you are probably just not feeding enough. Post a pic.
Tien hope you are recuperated by now. I'm testing a small scrubber on a 10 FW...
...feeding one cube a day, no water changes, topoff with unconditioned tap water, zero ammonia/nitrite/nitrate. I add mono potasium phosphate in an attempt to grow thicker hair algae, because FW tends to grow longer and thinner, which can fill up your drain.
The only scrubber currently available is the SM100...
http://www.algaescrubber.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=502
... there is nothing "sized" currently for a 500. However, having multiple small scrubbers is much better than one big one. Bigger display tanks have more money in livestock, and need more reliable and consistant filtering. By having multiple smaller scrubber screens, pumps and lights, you always have one scrubber grown (and filtering) while waiting for the other one(s) to start growing again after being cleaned. And the more you can put the multiple scrubber parts in different "areas", the better, so that no matter what happens to one, you will always have the other(s). For example, put one scrubber on a different fuse/breaker than the tank; use a separate pump for each, or use a pump on one and the overflow on another; set one on the sump and another on the display, etc.
If your tank is new and is not yet stocked, you can always just start out with one scrubber and keep it that way until you're livestock and feeding are too much for it to handle. You will know it is time when you can measure any nitrate or phosphate at all.
Tien hope you are recuperated by now. I'm testing a small scrubber on a 10 FW...
...feeding one cube a day, no water changes, topoff with unconditioned tap water, zero ammonia/nitrite/nitrate. I add mono potasium phosphate in an attempt to grow thicker hair algae, because FW tends to grow longer and thinner, which can fill up your drain.
The only scrubber currently available is the SM100...
http://www.algaescrubber.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=502
... there is nothing "sized" currently for a 500. However, having multiple small scrubbers is much better than one big one. Bigger display tanks have more money in livestock, and need more reliable and consistant filtering. By having multiple smaller scrubber screens, pumps and lights, you always have one scrubber grown (and filtering) while waiting for the other one(s) to start growing again after being cleaned. And the more you can put the multiple scrubber parts in different "areas", the better, so that no matter what happens to one, you will always have the other(s). For example, put one scrubber on a different fuse/breaker than the tank; use a separate pump for each, or use a pump on one and the overflow on another; set one on the sump and another on the display, etc.
If your tank is new and is not yet stocked, you can always just start out with one scrubber and keep it that way until you're livestock and feeding are too much for it to handle. You will know it is time when you can measure any nitrate or phosphate at all.
New Feeding Guideline:
Each cube of frozen food you feed per day needs 12 square inches of screen, with a light on both sides totalling 12 watts. Thus a nano that is fed one cube a day would need a screen 3 X 4 inches with a 6 watt bulb on each side. A larger tank that is fed 10 cubes a day would need a screen 10 X 12 inches with 60 watts of light on each side.
Each cube of frozen food you feed per day needs 12 square inches of screen, with a light on both sides totalling 12 watts. Thus a nano that is fed one cube a day would need a screen 3 X 4 inches with a 6 watt bulb on each side. A larger tank that is fed 10 cubes a day would need a screen 10 X 12 inches with 60 watts of light on each side.
Thanks Santa. When it comes time to set up my 500 (i.e. when I have enough cash) I may consider buying multiple scrubbers from you. Yours will be nice as they are compact. I just built a test scrubber for my 12 gallon goldfish tank. I should have it finished tonight. I will post pics soon.
I'm getting some green spots on the screen now, but the scrubber has an order my wife can not stand. I was wondering if the smell gets better when the screen fills up with algae, or do I need a fan by it?
You just need more flow. Reduce the screen size if needed. All the screen should be underwater, and it should smell no different than your tank does.
I have 350 gph across a 13 inch screen is that not enough? I was thinking maybe I need to inclose the scrubber some how.
I've been running mine for about 2 months and my niterate level has dropped to 20 it was almost off the charts and I am getting coraline strating to grow on my rocks, the glass has almost no algee on it and the rocks are clear but my sand bed 3 inches deep still has a lot in it.
