Solar scrubbers do work, but have previously been placed outside. So it would depend on how much light your tube brings in. This is a pretty advanced application, and I'd only do it if you could afford failure.
Mega Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover - DIY!
- Thread starter SantaMonica
- Start date
I found this threazd last night and built my scrubber today its SWEET! Ill post pics I used a 120 watt R40 bulb it didnt say what k it was so idk if it will work ...mine hangs above the tank a 90 gallon reef
I will be scrounging around the clearance rack at petco for old tank dividers to make one of these on our pond...
Fishman you might want to get a CFL bulb instead. A 23W CFL puts out as much light as your120W bulb.
Esploded I'm going to stick to what I said. And since this is a scrubber thread, I'm not going to go into it any more.
Esploded I'm going to stick to what I said. And since this is a scrubber thread, I'm not going to go into it any more.
SantaMonica;2986891; said:
I plan on it but do you think this bulb will work? the local store didnt have a bulb and i am on a budget my total cost was 8 dollars!
Update: Displays with lots of Hair Algae
It's happened several times now: Someone wants to add a scrubber to their system because they have a display with very thick hair algae on the rocks. They already measure zero nitrate and phosphate, and when they add their scrubber, the scrubber has a very slow start and does not seem to grow much.
Of course what is happening is that the hair algae in the display is ALREADY a scrubber, attached to the rocks! It has had plenty of time (months? years?) to establish itself, and most important, it has a gigantic area to attach itself to. So how do you beat it with your newly-built DIY scrubber? You do it with the power of light.
All algae operate on the of photosynthesis of light. The stronger the light, the more the algae will pull nitrate and phosphate out of the water, and it will pull it away from any other algae that has less light. This is important to understand: If two areas of a tank are identical, except one has stronger light than the other, the area with the stronger light will grow more algae, and, the area with less light will grow less (or none at all). This is why the top of your rocks grow more algae (it has more light) than the sides do (has less light).
So if you already have lots of hair algae in your display, you have to build your scrubber with even more powerful lighting than you normally would, so that the photosynthesis in your scrubber will overpower the photosynthesis of the algae in your display (then, after all the algae is gone in your display, you can reduce the wattage if you want). The bulb wattage to do this is about one CFL watt for every square inch (6.25 square cm) of screen area. Example:
Say your screen size is 10" X 10" = 100 square inches; if you did NOT already have a lot of algae in your display, a 23W CFL floodlight on each side of this size screen would be sufficient to keep all nuisance algae away. This would be 2 X 23W = 46 total CFL watts, for 100 square inches of screen. This is about a half watt per square inch. But to beat a large amount of established hair algae in the display, go for maximum power: 1 watt per square inch. This is about twice as much. So, using two of these same bulbs on each side (4 total bulbs) would give you about 92 total watts for 100 square inches, or, almost 1 watt per square inch. This would do it!
Note about wattage: We are talking here about real CFL watts, not "equivalent" watts. If the bulb says "23W = 120W", or "23W equivalent to 120W", we are talking about the 23. And if you are using T5HO, such as a 24 inch 24W bulb, you just use the wattage it says.
Another trick: Add a lawnmower blenny to the display. He will eat the "scrubber" in the display, so that the scrubber you build gets off to a faster start.
It's happened several times now: Someone wants to add a scrubber to their system because they have a display with very thick hair algae on the rocks. They already measure zero nitrate and phosphate, and when they add their scrubber, the scrubber has a very slow start and does not seem to grow much.
Of course what is happening is that the hair algae in the display is ALREADY a scrubber, attached to the rocks! It has had plenty of time (months? years?) to establish itself, and most important, it has a gigantic area to attach itself to. So how do you beat it with your newly-built DIY scrubber? You do it with the power of light.
All algae operate on the of photosynthesis of light. The stronger the light, the more the algae will pull nitrate and phosphate out of the water, and it will pull it away from any other algae that has less light. This is important to understand: If two areas of a tank are identical, except one has stronger light than the other, the area with the stronger light will grow more algae, and, the area with less light will grow less (or none at all). This is why the top of your rocks grow more algae (it has more light) than the sides do (has less light).
So if you already have lots of hair algae in your display, you have to build your scrubber with even more powerful lighting than you normally would, so that the photosynthesis in your scrubber will overpower the photosynthesis of the algae in your display (then, after all the algae is gone in your display, you can reduce the wattage if you want). The bulb wattage to do this is about one CFL watt for every square inch (6.25 square cm) of screen area. Example:
Say your screen size is 10" X 10" = 100 square inches; if you did NOT already have a lot of algae in your display, a 23W CFL floodlight on each side of this size screen would be sufficient to keep all nuisance algae away. This would be 2 X 23W = 46 total CFL watts, for 100 square inches of screen. This is about a half watt per square inch. But to beat a large amount of established hair algae in the display, go for maximum power: 1 watt per square inch. This is about twice as much. So, using two of these same bulbs on each side (4 total bulbs) would give you about 92 total watts for 100 square inches, or, almost 1 watt per square inch. This would do it!
Note about wattage: We are talking here about real CFL watts, not "equivalent" watts. If the bulb says "23W = 120W", or "23W equivalent to 120W", we are talking about the 23. And if you are using T5HO, such as a 24 inch 24W bulb, you just use the wattage it says.
Another trick: Add a lawnmower blenny to the display. He will eat the "scrubber" in the display, so that the scrubber you build gets off to a faster start.
I´m not trying to get you worked up but if you want to tell people how to build filters then you should perhaps learn to accept constructive critisizm. Wow it esploded has some valid points. Your thread is very interesting but it serves nobody if you just block other opinions. If you want to keep this a scrubber thread then it´s easy... stop giving advice about other types of filters.SantaMonica;2986891; said:
No hard feelings
J<><
I was also under the impression that 99% of the people on here kept freshwater so a filter designed for salt would need some new R and D to make work properly. So the experimentation process should be embraced and the most off the wall stuff needs to be tried.
On the subject off removing anything that can trap debris is crazy the first step in this filter process is to break down said trash and turn it into the nutrients that the algae uses. What does it matter if it breaks down in the tank or in the sump or on the algae screen, does it not end up going through the filter cycle eventually anyways? Most of my tanks turn over 3 to 6 times per hour.
On the subject off removing anything that can trap debris is crazy the first step in this filter process is to break down said trash and turn it into the nutrients that the algae uses. What does it matter if it breaks down in the tank or in the sump or on the algae screen, does it not end up going through the filter cycle eventually anyways? Most of my tanks turn over 3 to 6 times per hour.
