Has anyone tried this?

[Stege_saurus]

I found this older video on YouTube about making an algae scrubber but im not sure if it would work for reef tanks or not.

Has anyone tried this style?
Does it work?
What are your results?

 

[SantaMonica Verified Sponsor]

Yes it works in salt.

 

[Stege_saurus]

Yes it works in salt.

Cool, is it fairly effective?

 

[SantaMonica Verified Sponsor]

It's ok for being easy and low cost. You can make it better with stronger light, rougher growth surface, and by adding strings which makes it 2-sided.

 

[Stege_saurus]

It's ok for being easy and low cost. You can make it better with stronger light, rougher growth surface, and by adding strings which makes it 2-sided.

Alright, looks like I'll give this a try. Thanks!

 

[JumboShrimp]

Lots of ways to do it. Basically slowly trickle water over a scuffed-up piece of plastic screen, hit it with a strong light, and the algae will come.

 

[JumboShrimp]

 

[Stege_saurus]

I built one this last weekend, but unfortunately I think the pump is too strong or I need to use bigger PVC. I used 1/2" PVC and the old pump out of a skimmer. It comes out way too fast and gets water everywhere. I went through 5 gallons of ATO water in about 2 1/2 days.. I'm still wanting to mess with it but trying to figure out which route to go.

 

[JumboShrimp]

Yes, a very, very slow trickle of water-- especially until it gets a nice coating of algae. Then you can increase the flow to process more water-- but if it's cranking from the get-go, it might be harder to get the algae to start to cling. Best wishes!