Makes sense. I bet you could limit or eliminate this problem by making the screen opaque, or installing a shade where it wraps around the pipe, so no algae tends to grow thereSantaMonica;2341184; said:.
Update of the Day:
It's been recently discovered that the screen-wrapped-around-pipe design will clog up and stop working when the algae gets thick. It grows heavily where the screen is wrapped at the top, and blocks further flow from going down the screen. Instead the flow starts going out the ends, completely missing the entire screen, thus killing what algae was previously growing on screen. It affects different screens in varying amounts; the higher the lights are (thus closer to the wrap), the more it clogs. This is the type I'm referring to:
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Mega Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover - DIY!
- Thread starter SantaMonica
- Start date
Today's success story is from "keifer1122" on the RS site. He got the pre-grown screen from Inland Aquatics, and put a powerful bulb on both sides (even though the screen comes only one-sided, he wanted it to grow on the other side too.) His results took six weeks. Here are his comments, highly edited for readability:
9/23: its a pre grown screen from IA. [...] my nitrates are up, its only been 2 weeks and it looks like there at a stand still, but im feeding heavily, lot of anemones in there. also where the light is the brightest theres a certain type of algae that looks like an oil spill , its got a rainbow of colors yellowish greenish brown. also no yellowing in my water. [...] i run a skimmer just cause my numbers are up there, but when there down to nuthing then ill remove.
its a 75g with 29g sump, the lights i use are 40 watt cfls comparable to 150w, but today i picked up the big daddy cfl 65 watt/300 watt comparable 3,900 lumens. so i cleaned yesterday to the point where everything was off except for the red turf that didnt come off, plus i want that to grow i think. but the screen was bare and today the screen is covered. been in for 2 weeks, not much growth the first week. but adjusted to my tank and now my first week cleaning was about the same growth that grew (lol) in one day. [...] right now i have toooo many fish... a buddy i work with was gettin out and i bought his liivestock and equip...
yellow tang
hippo tang
big royal gramma
blue green chromis
2 clownfish
mandarin
coral beauty
small bangaii cardinal
...and i only have about 35 lbs of liverock, maybe. thats pushin it. 2" sandbed, run an undersized skimmer, i think euro reef made for 55g. i test with api nitrate test, and i lost the color chart, but yellow good, red bad, im orange. and since ive been testing it looks like its getting a lighter color. [It] was usually just goin up everyday, but with the new light i think that will speed up the growing process.
9/26: i cleaned monday and today is friday, and i have to clean again. [...] the other side is getting there, still needs to catch up tho. [...] no lights on a timer, runnin it for 24/7. [although should be changed to 18 hours ON, and 6 hours OFF]. pump is on a timer, 30 [seconds] on 30 off, its just that the screen from IA was one sided and thats why the other side has to catch up.
10/23: just chimming in to say my n and p are undetectable.(!)
9/23: its a pre grown screen from IA. [...] my nitrates are up, its only been 2 weeks and it looks like there at a stand still, but im feeding heavily, lot of anemones in there. also where the light is the brightest theres a certain type of algae that looks like an oil spill , its got a rainbow of colors yellowish greenish brown. also no yellowing in my water. [...] i run a skimmer just cause my numbers are up there, but when there down to nuthing then ill remove.
its a 75g with 29g sump, the lights i use are 40 watt cfls comparable to 150w, but today i picked up the big daddy cfl 65 watt/300 watt comparable 3,900 lumens. so i cleaned yesterday to the point where everything was off except for the red turf that didnt come off, plus i want that to grow i think. but the screen was bare and today the screen is covered. been in for 2 weeks, not much growth the first week. but adjusted to my tank and now my first week cleaning was about the same growth that grew (lol) in one day. [...] right now i have toooo many fish... a buddy i work with was gettin out and i bought his liivestock and equip...
yellow tang
hippo tang
big royal gramma
blue green chromis
2 clownfish
mandarin
coral beauty
small bangaii cardinal
...and i only have about 35 lbs of liverock, maybe. thats pushin it. 2" sandbed, run an undersized skimmer, i think euro reef made for 55g. i test with api nitrate test, and i lost the color chart, but yellow good, red bad, im orange. and since ive been testing it looks like its getting a lighter color. [It] was usually just goin up everyday, but with the new light i think that will speed up the growing process.
9/26: i cleaned monday and today is friday, and i have to clean again. [...] the other side is getting there, still needs to catch up tho. [...] no lights on a timer, runnin it for 24/7. [although should be changed to 18 hours ON, and 6 hours OFF]. pump is on a timer, 30 [seconds] on 30 off, its just that the screen from IA was one sided and thats why the other side has to catch up.
10/23: just chimming in to say my n and p are undetectable.(!)
nice.... my friend uses one of these on his fowlr tanks... tank has been perfect since he installed it 2 years ago... ive been toying with the idea of a fresh water one but no room for it now...
Reminder of the Day: Less Maintenance
If less maintenance is a requirement, then you want an oversize screen; try 2X normal size, with 2X the number of lights. This should be able to go 2X as long before a cleaning is needed. The limiting factor might be the pods; at some point they may make big holes in the algae (or not; you will have to test). This is a great thing for someone to try out. Just remember that the additional screen space will need the same lighting that the current screen has.
If less maintenance is a requirement, then you want an oversize screen; try 2X normal size, with 2X the number of lights. This should be able to go 2X as long before a cleaning is needed. The limiting factor might be the pods; at some point they may make big holes in the algae (or not; you will have to test). This is a great thing for someone to try out. Just remember that the additional screen space will need the same lighting that the current screen has.
10 days out, no foil, no mirriors, just good ol sunlight...
I did move the tub 45 degrees counter clockwise to pick up more direct sun...
I did move the tub 45 degrees counter clockwise to pick up more direct sun...
Well unfortunately that growth is way way low (should be almost full), but since the power bill is zero, it's not as bad. Maybe you can add a litte Kents Iron to the water.
Kents Iron?SantaMonica;2352504; said:
Now remember this is on a freshly filled pond with a seeded BAKKI style filter...
