Lowest cost way to eliminate green hair, bubble, turf and slime algae

[Rollermonkey]

I keep getting interested, then I see the prices...

[Tyron]

.

[dtitus1]

I actually have an algae scrubber my buddy gave me, I wonder how the hell to set it up though.

 

It doesn't have a pump/airstone or whatever you use to run it but might be willing to sell it to you if you're interested.

[SantaMonica]

The new overflow-fed style is the cheapest yet. Really easy to build: Box, epoxy, gravel, strings. Provide you have a sump below, of course.

 

But also add up how much $ and time you might be spending on water, salt, etc.

[ptboy6]

"Disney" on the PH841 site...

Isn't that ironman's chest piece?

[Jaden1592]

we already invented the wheel.

 

Might I suggest a heavy duty brush and a good scrubbing plus, gravel vacuum.

 

 

 

I think you will only reach a small niche of people if this design.. DOES work.

[Jaden1592]

LOL

 

Here are some pics of what the Mexicans need to clean up!

 

 

I hope you're referring to mexican turbo snails.

[SantaMonica]

I think you will only reach a small niche of people

 

There has always been a group of people with sump who want to make sure of their current return pump. The overflow-fed version does this, just like a waterfall scrubber does.

[SantaMonica]

Phosphate flow out of rocks

 

Many people, when they get their scrubber running for the first time, get worried when more (not less) algae starts to grow on their rocks. It seems really strange, especially when nitrate and phosphate have gone lower than before. What is happening is that phosphate is coming out of the rocks. Remember, phosphate is invisible, so you can only see the effects of it, and it always "flows" from higher concentrations to lower concentrations (just like heat does).

 

Example: If your room is warm, and you put a cold object on the floor, heat from the air in the room will "flow" into the object until the object and the air are the same temperature. Example 2: If you put a hot object on the floor, heat will "flow" out of the object and go into the air in the room, again, until the air and the object are the same temperature. Now suppose you open your windows (in the winter). The warm air in your room will go out the windows, and it will get colder in the room. The object on the floor is now warmer than the air, so heat will flow out of the object and into the air, and then out the window.

 

Think of phosphate as the heat, and your rocks as the object, and your windows as the scrubber. As the scrubber pulls phosphate out of the water, the phosphate level in the water drops. Now, since the phosphate level in the water is lower than the phosphate level in the rocks, phosphate flows from the rocks into the water, and then from the water into the scrubber. This continues until the phosphate levels in the rocks and water are level again. And remember, you can't see this invisible flow.

 

This flow causes an interesting thing happens. As the phosphate comes out of the rocks, it then becomes available to feed algae as soon as the phosphate reaches the surface of the rocks where there is light. So, since the surface of the rocks is rough and has light, it starts growing MORE algae there (not less) as the phosphate comes out of the rocks. This is a pretty amazing thing to see for the first time, because if you did not know what was happening you would probably think that the algae in the scrubber was leaking out and attaching to your rocks. Here are the signs of phosphate coming out of the rocks:

 

1. The rocks are older, and have slowly developed algae problems in the past year.

 

2. The scrubber is new, maybe only a few months old, and has recently started to grow well.

 

3. Nitrate and phosphate measurements in the water are low, usually the lowest they have been in a long time.

 

4. Green hair algae (not brown) on the rocks has increased in certain spots, usually on corners and protrusions at the top.

 

5. The glass has not needed cleaning as much.

 

 

Since skimmers, filter socks, etc don't remove any nitrate and phosphate, and waterchanges and macro's in a fuge don't remove much, most people have never seen the effects of large amounts of phosphate coming out of the rocks quickly. But sure enough, it does. How long does it continue? For 2 months to a year, depending on how much phosphate is in the rocks, how strong your scrubber is, and how many other phosphate-removing filters you have (GFO, carbon dosing, etc). But one day you will see patches of white rock that were covered in green hair the day before; this is a sure sign that the algae are losing their phosphate supply from the rocks and can no longer hold on. Now it's just a matter of days before the rocks are clear.

[SantaMonica]

[bizzarro]

I can assure you that if your tank is out of control with hair algae it will grow anywhere!

 

You definitely don't need to rough up the plastic screens, just keep the flow over it well and soon enough it'll latch on.

[SantaMonica]

[SantaMonica]

Advanced Aquarist Feature Article for December 2013: Coral Feeding: An Overview

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2013/12/aafeature

The picture in the article shows that in the 1000 litre test tank:

98% of the food particles go to the skimmer when there are 2 coral colonies

71% of the food particles go to the skimmer when there are 40 coral colonies

92% of the food particles go to the skimmer when there are 2 coral colonies, when skimming is cut in half

55% of the food particles go to the skimmer when there are 40 coral colonies, when skimming is cut in half

"This trade-off between food availability and water quality can be circumvented by using plankton-saving filtration systems, which include [...] algal turf scrubbers"

"Corals are able to feed on a wide range of particulate organic matter, which includes live organisms and their residues and excrements (detritus)."

"...bacteria [...] can be a major source of nitrogen."

"...when dry fish feeds or phytoplankton cultures are added to an aquarium, a part of this quickly ends up in the collection cup of the skimmer.

"...mechanical filters (which can include biofilters and sand filters) result in a significant waste of food."

"Detritus is a collective term for organic particles that arise from faeces, leftover food and decaying organisms. Detrital matter is common on coral reefs and in the aquarium, and slowly settles on the bottom as sediment. This sediment contains bacteria, protozoa, microscopic invertebrates, microalgae and organic material. These sedimentary sources can all serve as coral nutrients when suspended, especially for species growing in turbid waters. Experiments have revealed that many scleractinian corals can ingest and assimilate detritus which is trapped in coral mucus. Although stony corals may ingest detritus when it is available, several gorgonians have been found to primarily feed on suspended detritus."

"Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is an important food source for many corals. [...] scleractinian corals take up dissolved glucose from the water. More ecologically relevant, corals can also absorb amino acids and urea from the seawater"

[SantaMonica]

Big harvests!

[SantaMonica]

Easy-to-DIY larger scrubbers; just save the trays from your TV dinners:

 

[SantaMonica]

Look what just 2 LEDs can do; this is a first "real" cleaning:

[SantaMonica]

From new to green, in 3 cleanings and 2 LEDs...

[SantaMonica]

Very nice scrubber-only tank:

http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?2702-180g-Show-Tank&p=35853&viewfull=1#post35853

His personal page:

http://home.comcast.net/~dgrigor/

[SantaMonica]

First video to show LED shade cloth installation:

[SantaMonica]

"This is just one week after my first cleaning; Is growing super thick green algae"

"And this is about 2 weeks growth, compartment completely full, nitrates are at 0, phosphates are between 0 and .25 per API, top layer was touching glass and was really yellow, when I pulled the layer off there was a ton of algae and it was dark green" -- Nathan P.

[tonyh86]

Any pre-made options out there for small tanks?

[RC1313]

I keep getting interested, then I see the prices...

I know..I think I might bite the bullet and try one out for my NanoCube though..

Still doing some research.

[SantaMonica]

"This is one weeks growth [of a floating scrubber], I'm pulling out a lot more turf now it's certainly got a hold on the ribbons and the textured walls of the box. I tested phosphates a couple of days ago on the Hanna checker and it was reading 0. I did the test again because I've never had a 0 reading on this tank." -- Blinkyfish on the UR site:

 

[brandon429]

SM, right now Im compiling a list of 13 sites you have spammed the same verbatim post, for profit, without further discussion. care to explain?

 

http://www.carolinafishtalk.com/forum/general-saltwater-discussion/123977-what-periphyton.html#post16989905

 

 

 

 

when you stopped by to spam our peroxide thread, and didnt hang around for a rebuttal, I knew all we had to do to expose a spammer was put the diatribe in google, and take 15 paypal bets that you had spammed it rascally around the web. I won all bets, do come back and discuss.

 

ps, periphyton is useless to those with a dino invasion, which is why your post was spam for us.

[NYR]

SM, right now Im compiling a list of 13 sites you have spammed the same verbatim post, for profit, without further discussion. care to explain?

 

http://www.carolinafishtalk.com/forum/general-saltwater-discussion/123977-what-periphyton.html#post16989905

 

 

 

 

when you stopped by to spam our peroxide thread, and didnt hang around for a rebuttal, I knew all we had to do to expose a spammer was put the diatribe in google, and take 15 paypal bets that you had spammed it rascally around the web. I won all bets, do come back and discuss.

 

 

one of these many forums will stop your spamming when they see how many you do, and did, that w be great

Got him