My Algae Turf Scrubber Build

[labas39]

My First Mod

I was thinking that as the algae grows, it may hinder the flow. So that algae doesn't grow over the 1/2 PVC and the top part of the screen near that slit, I cut a 1/4" slit with my table saw on a 1 inch piece of PVC. I then slipped that over the 1/2 inch pipe. Hard to tell but I'm depicting that in the following photo.

If you compare this one with the very first photo of this thread, you can see that the PVC pipe now is the same diameter as the end cap and the black zip ties are covered.

It doesn't appear to be affecting the flow.

 

[BOWHUNTER4250]

looking forward to seeing how the led lights work out for you !

 

[labas39]

Day's 3 Growth:

Houston, we have algae!

Zoomed in 4 times.

 

[labas39]

Here's a close up of my mod to stop algae from growing on the 1/2 inch output PVC pipe and the top of the screen:

 

[mega]

have you noticed any bigger changes in your tank at all? so far?

 

[labas39]

Yes, I'm going to monitor it but my pH was at 8.26 during the day and 8.05 in the morning with lights out.

Before, throughout the night, my kalk would be running just to keep it at 8.00 and it would only get to 8.05 during the day.

I know keeping a light on a fuze helps balance pH but this thing is small. I didn't expect that.

I'm going to calibrate tonight just in case.

 

[Turbo's Aquatics]

Following...

 

[labas39]

Following...

Hi there! I've read a lot of your posts and I guess I have to say you were my inspiration to just do it!

This morning I viewed your first week's growth video and my growth looks to be a little behind yours but I know there are many factors which can affect that so I'm not too concerned.

BTW, love the Johnny Carson Floyd R Turbo reference!

 

[labas39]

Day 4's Growth

A little more of whatever than yesterday:

A close up:

 

[cginter]

where can i buy these screens at?

 

[Turbo's Aquatics]

Michael's, Wal-mart, Jo-anne Fabric, anywhere they sell knitting supplies.

 

[labas39]

Day 5's Growth

It's now obvious that something is growing. I apologize for the lousy pictures but I only have a camera on my phone.

 

[Company101]

Have you got you led's yet? I am going to be ordering about the same thing you ordered. Just trying to find a acrylic box. Might just build one. I have some access to acrylic. I even found a black sheet.

 

[labas39]

The new LEDs are in. They seem to be of pretty decent quality. They have an orange tint to them, however. The site only claimed that they'll be in the 630nm to 780nm range. I saw a graph of photosynthesis efficiency vs wavelength and from there, orange looks to be from around 600 to 650 so I'm assuming these lights are on the lowered end of the specified range. Also, that graph showed that the greatest efficiency was around 670nm. 630nm was just below the efficiency midpoint.

That said, I guess they'll do the job but things could be more efficient. I'll only get a chance to hook these up on Sunday at the earliest.

 

[Company101]

How were you planning to mount them? They look pretty good. My problem in my stand is space. And I feed about 1-2 cubes every other day. As due to the algae outbreak. But I am in the works to try a few different thing. And see which result gives the best result. From a biofuel reactor. To bioclean ( product I found on marinedepot). And also building a scrubber.

 

[labas39]

I'm not exactly sure how I'm going to do this part yet. The lights themselves are going to be mounted on a piece of wood, most likely, but how I'm going to mount that close to the container is up in the air. I want to make it so that it's easy to remove.

This is really a prototype for me so I'm not overly concerned how things look. I'm assuming this ATS is going to work well so I'll most likely be making a black acrylic box with a clear divider with these LED's on the dry side.

If you feed two cubes a day, the size I'm using lit on both side should work.

 

[Company101]

Yeah. Not quite sure I can light it from both sides. Which is why I liked your design.

 

[labas39]

I see, that's why you're looking for a bigger box.

For 2 cubes, you'll need a bigger screen. Maybe the light I referenced in Post #15 of this thread will work for you. It's thin and will end up to be much cheaper than the ones I bought. I bet that one will be easy to mount as well.

 

[Company101]

Not a current exact pic of my sump and stand. But you can see how much room I have.

I was looking at that light. It's 12" x 12". With a screen that size. And the box being 14" x 14".

 

[labas39]

Yeah, I see your dilemma! Could a horizontal version work? I read that you need twice the screen size, however, but that may only be because it's only lit on one side. If the latter is true, and you were going to light on one side anyway, maybe you can run it horizontally over your sump.

Santa Monica has a floating version, maybe checking out their specs might help.