Algae turf scrubber formula for success

[SeymourDuncan]

ALGAETURF SCRUBBER- FORMULAS FOR SUCCESS


PreferredLighting is 2700-3000K Flourescent Lighting. Originally, the PlantGrowth Spectrum was used but the lower Kelvin seemed to produce moreand faster.


PlasticCanvas is the best medium for a screen when roughed up with a holesaw.


Sohow much and how bright?


[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]1/2AFW* per gallon for MINIMAL filtration [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]1AFW per gallon for MAXIMUM filtering [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]1square inches of screen per gallon[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]DoubleSided count both sides (2 x 2 = 4 square inches = 4 gal)[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]2square inches of screen per gallon, if vertical but lit on just ONEside.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]4square inches of screen per gallon, if HORIZONTAL due to less aircontact and floating Debris[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]11/2 AFW per gallon if HORIZONTAL due to water penetration[/FONT]






[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]18hours of lights ON, and 6 hours of lights OFF, each day in reverseschedule from your DT [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Flowis 24 hours, and is at least 35 gph per inch of width of screen, EVENIF one sided[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana, Arial, Tahoma, Calibri, Geneva, sans-serif]Cleanalgae off the screen every SEVEN (7) days for optimum efficiency. [/FONT]




*AFWMeans Actual flourescent watts: The wattage of the bulb, not what itis equivalent to. Do not use a 5w bulb that is 26w equivalent andexpect it to work like 26AFW.


Thedesign of your specific scrubber will vary, please consult aprofessional before designing your own.

 

[Reefing Madness]

https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/eq...lgae-your-aquarium-hopefully-permanently.html

 

[SeymourDuncan]

I too prefer the UATS over the waterfall. Mine (being redone currently) was a 29 gallon aquarium plumbed externally from my sump. It has very low flow and all that I had was about 40 pounds of rock that I used over the screen. It started as an extra tank for if I had to move something out of the display tank without having to acclimate it. (like angelfish wounded coral). The tank never really got used and being in my basement started getting neglected, but as the neglect grew the Display tank got much more clean until I finally decided to up the lighting on the 29. It became a very stinky tank, full of life forms I have never thought of. The surface was swarming with pods, worms, and more. I am now working on making a tank that is a little larger and with a little more surface area, at the same time observing the effects of a tank that has lost its Scrubber. Can anyone say nasty? The sand bed has already turned red. I need to hurry up before it spreads to my brains!

 

[Reefing Madness]

 

[SeymourDuncan]

This is my sand before removing the scrubber. I never touched it an it stayed so clean.

And this is my sand now! What a dramatic difference that is. I cannot wait to reverse that slime!



"Live like tomorrow already happened. Yesterday is only 3 days ahead. Today will be here soon."

 

[SeymourDuncan]

Paying for this is stunting my progress, so bare with me on this project!


"Live like tomorrow already happened. Yesterday is only 3 days ahead. Today will be here soon."

 

[Reefing Madness]

YIKES!! No kiddin right.

 

[SeymourDuncan]

I don't recommend this to anyone with a job. I am blessed with being able to be home any time I want or need. If your tank has a scrubber...please leave it on. Its better to forget to clean than remove in my experience.


"Live like tomorrow already happened. Yesterday is only 3 days ahead. Today will be here soon."

 

[SantaMonica]

Feeding guideline for sizing:

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

An example VERTICAL upflow or 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 florescent watts (not equivalent watts) of light, or half that for LEDs, for 18 hours a day. If all 12 watts (6 watts LED) are on one side, it is a 1-sided screen. If the watts are divided on each side of the screen, it is a 2-sided screen. This should be able to handle the following amounts of daily feeding:

1 frozen cube per day (2-sided screen), or
1/2 frozen cube per day (1-sided screen), or
10 pinches of flake food per day (2-sided screen), or
5 pinches of flake food per day (1-sided screen), or
10 square inches (60 sq cm) of nori per day (2-sided screen), or
5 square inches (30 sq cm) of nori per day (1-sided screen), or
0.1 dry ounce (2.8 grams) of pellet food per day (2-sided screen), or
0.05 dry ounce (1.4 grams) of pellet food per day (1-sided screen)

Problem rocks: Each 50 pounds (2.2 kg) of nuisance algae covered rocks you have adds 1 cube a day.

Flow or air bubbles is always 24 hours; water flow is at least 35 gph per inch of width of screen [60 lph per cm], EVEN IF one sided or horizontal.

FLOATING SURFACE SCRUBBERS WITH STRINGS: Screen size is the size of the box (Length X Width), and is 2-sided because the strings grow in 3D.

Clean algae:

Every 7 to 14 days, or
When it's black, or
When it fills up, or
When algae lets go, or
When nutrients start to rise