DIY Simple Algae Turf Scrubber

[Devaji]

Thanks! It’s also good to see positive testimonials. They certainly make a lot of sense for nutrient export. It definitely takes some time to really get going but you wouldn’t want to go too quickly using things like vibrant or GFO/carbon either. I have certainly seen beneficial changes to nutrient levels and algae growth since installing it so I definitely have to advocate for them - I’m just getting a tad impatient now of course! I’ll reduce the photoperiod slightly once I get rid of this GHA outbreak but I do really think they’re a great tool for regular use and a perfect compliment to a protein skimmer, especially for a newer and slightly less balanced tank.

totally agree 100% I am not sure why more ppl dont use them? IDK guess it's like anything there are pros and cons. but to me way more pros than cons.

 

[peterj66]

Here is mine. I used what I had lying around so its a bit bulky :) I since added two acrylic sheets to avoid spray and attached two strips of coarse filtermat at the bottom to silence it.

 

[homer1475]

but I do really think they’re a great tool for regular use and a perfect compliment to a protein skimmer, especially for a newer and slightly less balanced tank.

This part I would 100% agree with. I ran one for a couple years when my tank was new, then took it offline while I used vibrant for some BA. Even a year later(my current tank is now 4 years old) I have not put it back into use as my nutrients stay right where they should be.

They are a great tool to use, easy to setup( a knitting screen, pump, light, and some PVC is all one needs), and one that often gets overlooked when battling algae outbreaks.

 

[MicrobeMan]

Here is mine. I used what I had lying around so its a bit bulky :) I since added two acrylic sheets to avoid spray and attached two strips of coarse filtermat at the bottom to silence it.

That looks great! Do you get algae growing in the section below from light spillover? I've started to see that issue with my system. I'm not totally concerned but I might try and combat it. One of the main drawbacks of a more open system is light bleeding over but we'll see.
In my sump, I have a CFC bulb and the spill over light is growing coralline algae on the glass! I guess the spectrum just works for it since it's the only light source down there. I was quite surprised to see pink spots all over the glass one day though.
I do think simple is usually good and it's nice to be able to just pop open the cabinet and check on it. I'm a big proponent of a non enclosed system!

 

[MicrobeMan]

In case anyone is curious, this is 10 days growth since a full hose blasted clean. I've been brushing my rocks in the display every 3 days or so and it's kept everything under control.
I've moved the new acros up to their semi final spots and I'll see how they settle in. I swear I can sit and watch that green slimer grow! It might be incremental but at least a mm every day or so. I'm excited to see how it grows once it's really settled in!
If you look closely, there are still some patches of GHA in the display but it's much less than before. I attribute that entirely to diligent manual cleaning and the ATS for nutrient reduction.
I did add a little GFO in the filter sock the other day but I've yet to see phosphates really drop. I'm aware that a reactor is really the only way to go for serious use of GFO but since I'm at 0.09 PPM PO4 and the ATS is chugging away, I don't feel the need to take any really dramatic steps for a while. If it doesn't drop in the next few weeks, I may reconsider.
My nitrates are still around 3PPM which I think is decent. I know that if your nitrates are bottomed out, it's tough to lower phosphates so I'm being careful not to let them plummet (also for the sake of my coral/ dino prevention). So far I'm cautiously optimistic and the tank has come a long way!

 

[peterj66]

That looks great! Do you get algae growing in the section below from light spillover? I've started to see that issue with my system. I'm not totally concerned but I might try and combat it. One of the main drawbacks of a more open system is light bleeding over but we'll see.
In my sump, I have a CFC bulb and the spill over light is growing coralline algae on the glass! I guess the spectrum just works for it since it's the only light source down there. I was quite surprised to see pink spots all over the glass one day though.
I do think simple is usually good and it's nice to be able to just pop open the cabinet and check on it. I'm a big proponent of a non enclosed system!

I see small amounts of algae growing due to light spill from the scrubber. My scrubber is a work in progress and I keep tweeking it. I have an idea about integrating the lights with the splash screens and adding akrylic mirrors around the lights so that any lightspill goes back into the screen. I like the open design since it lets fresh air circulate wich I think improves growrh by supplying carbondioxide to the algae but I have no science to back that up :)

 

[MicrobeMan]

Unfortunately, I have some fairly bad news about this turf scrubber I’ve created. Mainly, it really doesn’t work that well over time (so far).
I left for a 4 week period in order to drive across the country and pick up my sister who just graduated college (woohoo!) and had my dad go in and keep my tank running. I gave him a full suite of instructions but also told him explicitly not to clean algae from the top left rock as there’s nothing on it and I wanted to see how bad it would get.
Turns out, I still have an absolutely massive green hair algae problem 3 months after starting this ATS and I don’t think it’s made that big of a dent somehow.
For context, I feed a grand total of ONE frozen cube every TWO WEEKS! And the tank is now just under 2 years old. Plus, I always get 0tds RODI with two different brands of TDS meters.
I really just don’t get it. I’m pretty close to bailing and starting over with new dry rock and new everything but I just got a couple of sticks to get good growth and color and I don’t wanna kill em off in a holding tank.
I’m going to try a 3 day blackout but I doubt it will do anything. Pretty weird but this tank has been nothing but trouble for me.
For now I’m just settling back and becoming a GHA farmer I guess...

 

[tvan]

Not to get flamed or anything, Why does GHA grow better in our DTs with less red then the ATS? My grow light led failed so I installed a 12k ABI coral grow light on my ATS(12watts) all I had on hand. Blue and white leds only. It grows algae on my waterfall scrubber, but the cast off light grows GHA in my sump even better! Just say'n

 

[MicrobeMan]

Not to get flamed or anything, Why does GHA grow better in our DTs with less red then the ATS? My grow light led failed so I installed a 12k ABI coral grow light on my ATS(12watts) all I had on hand. Blue and white leds only. It grows algae on my waterfall scrubber, but the cast off light grows GHA in my sump even better! Just say'n

Honestly preach! I barely feed and even after months of running my ATS, careful display cleaning and even spraying rocks with peroxide outside the tank and rinsing, I still get GHA from hell! I must have either some underlying issue that I can’t figure out or an insane case of GHA. It’s pretty intense but I’m not even sure what to do next! The stuff grows no matter what!
I’m on day three of a blackout in my sump due to bleed over light and the stuff still looks healthy down there! It might be invincible.

 

[Bryknicks]

Unfortunately, I have some fairly bad news about this turf scrubber I’ve created. Mainly, it really doesn’t work that well over time (so far).
I left for a 4 week period in order to drive across the country and pick up my sister who just graduated college (woohoo!) and had my dad go in and keep my tank running. I gave him a full suite of instructions but also told him explicitly not to clean algae from the top left rock as there’s nothing on it and I wanted to see how bad it would get.
Turns out, I still have an absolutely massive green hair algae problem 3 months after starting this ATS and I don’t think it’s made that big of a dent somehow.
For context, I feed a grand total of ONE frozen cube every TWO WEEKS! And the tank is now just under 2 years old. Plus, I always get 0tds RODI with two different brands of TDS meters.
I really just don’t get it. I’m pretty close to bailing and starting over with new dry rock and new everything but I just got a couple of sticks to get good growth and color and I don’t wanna kill em off in a holding tank.
I’m going to try a 3 day blackout but I doubt it will do anything. Pretty weird but this tank has been nothing but trouble for me.
For now I’m just settling back and becoming a GHA farmer I guess...

What rock did you start the tank with. Was it old live rock that was previously used. The algae growth could be due to the rock releasing nutrients back into the water which would fuel algae growth on the surface of the rock. This could by why you are experiencing more growth on the rock itself vs the scrubber.

 

[tvan]

What, I've found is, when I clean my ATS (all the algae) my DT takes off. When I leave the ATS and clean the DT (peroxide, vac into a sock, toothbrush) the ATS and sump have the upper hand. And when I clean my canvas I clean only enough to restore flow in my ATS. Blue and white leds grow algae slower so I'm cleaning my ATS less often. As long as the algae is healthy in the sump I leave it alone(Take all the help I can get). when the algae does break off in the sump my pump filter catches it and rise it out of the pump filter.

 

[Pod-caster]

Has anyone made one of these without a pump to drive the water? I have a large sump in my basement area below my DT- been thinking I could divert the main drain to plumb through the scrubber and not run a pump.

 

[Silent]

No reason why you can not do that.

 

[R.Weller]

Has anyone made one of these without a pump to drive the water? I have a large sump in my basement area below my DT- been thinking I could divert the main drain to plumb through the scrubber and not run a pump.

Go for it. We pump from the first chamber in the sump due to height restrictions but it functions the same way. Use a gate or ball valve off the T to restrict flow as it doesn’t take much to get results.

 

[Ratherbeflyen]

I made mine from the outflow of the skimmer. No additional pump needed. I just replaced the gate valve with an adjustable repair coupling. Then to adjust the height of the water in the skimmer, I just raise or lower the pipe/repair coupling. Though the skimmer is way more stable and needs less adjusting than it did with the gate valve. It turns out gravity works better than flow restriction.

 

[Ashish Patel]

Well done! This is a great DIY project. Biological filtration is outstanding. Our system has few space constraints, so we built a waterfall. It's amazing & enjoyable to maintain as it doesn't smell near as bad as the skimmer.

Standing in the refugium:

Growth screens (last cleaned on the 30-Mar):

Cheap LED grow bulbs...no overpriced refugium lighting.

awesome, I am planning a simple and effect ATS and this similar to what i drew up in my mind, but I was thinking about using a piece of acrylic so i could but a light closure to the water line.

 

[dwrightone]

Not bad.

Here’s mine

Would you mind sharing any plans you have?

 

[Smoke-Town]

These are awesome. Looking into building one also. I have a couple of those acke grow lights already.

What is the mesh called? It's on Amazon I assume?.

How are you guys connecting these to the pvc pipe? And how are you cutting or drilling the pipes to allow water to run down the mesh evenly?

Also I see you all seem to be suing a pump for these but I intend to use my secondary drain to feed this... I imagine that should be fine right?

 

[stoney7713]

These are awesome. Looking into building one also. I have a couple of those acke grow lights already.

What is the mesh called? It's on Amazon I assume?.

How are you guys connecting these to the pvc pipe? And how are you cutting or drilling the pipes to allow water to run down the mesh evenly?

Also I see you all seem to be suing a pump for these but I intend to use my secondary drain to feed this... I imagine that should be fine right?

Something like this

Ultra Stiff 7-Mesh Plastic Canvas Sheet - 13 7/16" x 22 3/8" | Hobby Lobby | 130096

With the perfect base, your creativity can take you to a fresh and personalized design! Ultra Stiff 7-Mesh Plastic Canvas Sheet has a higher rating of stiffness than regular plastic canvases and can be adorned with yarn, lace, ribbon, beads and much more to create decorative items for holiday...

www.hobbylobby.com

 

[Devaji]

Something like this

Ultra Stiff 7-Mesh Plastic Canvas Sheet - 13 7/16" x 22 3/8" | Hobby Lobby | 130096

With the perfect base, your creativity can take you to a fresh and personalized design! Ultra Stiff 7-Mesh Plastic Canvas Sheet has a higher rating of stiffness than regular plastic canvases and can be adorned with yarn, lace, ribbon, beads and much more to create decorative items for holiday...

www.hobbylobby.com

yup, just rough it up. I have used hole saw blades worked out well.