Upgraded LED Algae Turf Scrubber

Joe Lydon

Joe Lydon

New member
I have been running a smaller, enclosed scrubber powered by floodlight CFL bulbs with pretty good success. In one month, I was able to bring my phosphate level from .33 to ~.005 (sometimes 0, sometimes .01) on my Hannah checker with weekly 10% water changes while still feeding the tank twice a day.

Well, here is the new setup. 5x10w (9x660nm-1x455nm) multichips setup for one side of a 16x4" screen. I can always add more LED's to the other side if I end up with more nutrients than the one side can handle. Flow is controlled by a ball valve being fed by the iwaki 70rlt that also feeds the tank. I attached an extension to the screen to eliminate splash from the water curtain, the extension has not been roughed up.

This is day 1. I will update weekly.
2013-03-07_21-11-23_787_zps31650d2e.jpg
 
How this works still confuses me . So water goes through pipe thats dilled? Like spray bar then calmly trickels dowb screen thats roughed up? And algae grows . And lights dont get wet cause no splashing. Id guess no cover either right or u would get condensation on lights? I just never heard of this so intrigued
 
madjoe said:
How this works still confuses me . So water goes through pipe thats dilled? Like spray bar then calmly trickels dowb screen thats roughed up? And algae grows . And lights dont get wet cause no splashing. Id guess no cover either right or u would get condensation on lights? I just never heard of this so intrigued
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Thats the basic idea - Flow is set to a certain rate down the roughed screen so that algae can cling and grow in your sump/fuge via light and excess nutrients in the water instead of DT. There's actually a whole forum dedicated to it: http://algaescrubber.net/forums/
 
Steve1986 said:
Looking good Joe, did you DIY LEDs?
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Yes sir! I love me some multichip led's... lol


madjoe said:
How this works still confuses me . So water goes through pipe thats dilled? Like spray bar then calmly trickels dowb screen thats roughed up? And algae grows . And lights dont get wet cause no splashing. Id guess no cover either right or u would get condensation on lights? I just never heard of this so intrigued
Click to expand...

Yep, you got it. You pretty much provide the perfect spot for hair algae to grow so crazy that it sucks up nitrates and phosphates. If done right, it will export all of it. It takes time to find the balance of screen surface area, lighting, flow and feeding. You can feed as much as you want. Best part is that food stays in the system because you don't use a skimmer, it adds dissolved oxygen, it keeps the tank running a little cooler, and pods will grow like crazy in the scrubber and make it to the display tank. I will probably install an acrylic shield, I just didn't have any material on hand last night.
 
You can still run a skimmer if you want tho - Most skimmers only grab ~30% of the junk - couple it w/ a ATS and you should get it all :)
 
I believe the Smithsonian has been using an algae turf scrubber on their reef tank for 30 years or something like that. Can't recall the article word for word though.
 
After careful consideration, and my lack of a water shield that nearly caused a fire (definitely would have, if I didn't catch it), I am ditching the ATS and picking up a skimmer. Thanks to Rosko, I've got some chaeto to get me rolling. Summer is coming anyways, who has time to tweek an ATS, when it's travelin' season? On it's behalf, it was efficient at doing it's job.
 
If you need a skimmer, Joe, I have the body of an old one in my basement that you can have. It'll work well, it just needs the right sized pump. ;)
 
I've been running one for a few years and it's a great way to fight nusicance algae and excess nutrients. It's great that a algae can grow in a controlled and easily managed area.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk 2
 
Funlad3 said:
If you need a skimmer, Joe, I have the body of an old one in my basement that you can have. It'll work well, it just needs the right sized pump. ;)
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That's awesome, Ben! It'll be good for a 90 gallon? I was gonna get an oversized reef octopus, so I could keep feeding a lot, but I'm always down for a hook up! What kind of pump would I need?
 
It's the same skimmer as the one that Aaron gave away a few months ago, a Top Fathom 110a. I'm not sure what it's rated for, but it's not toy skimmer, I can tell you that much! Aaron gave his away with a rio 1700, so I'd look for a pump at about 650 GPH with a venturi adapter. If you want it for keeps, or just to borrow until you get an Octopus, it's yours! :D
 
I was tip toeing around on making one of these. It seems much more difficult than it is and I've heard bad things a out them.
 
Not as difficult as you might think, Coral Cat. A miniature one of these things spontaneously appeared on the sump baffle next to my fuge. Basically you just need a light source and a trickle of water over something flat.
 
Skimmo said:
If you want to buy one here's a product that looks promising. I don't know if it's worth the $150.00 but as a skimmer replacement in a nano tank it would pay for itself. I may just get this since I've gone fuge-less in my sump.

For sale on Premium Aquatics website: http://premiumaquatics.com/aquatic-supplies/SM-HOG1.html
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you can get the same thing for less buying direct from santa monica

http://www.santa-monica.cc/

get the parts kit and glue it together your self.
 
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