Mega Powerful Nitrate and Phosphate Remover - DIY!

[SantaMonica]

Adey is applying for a patent on something you may have seen and read about before..... 3D algal turf screens. Seems like it would have been obvious :) ...
BASAL SCREEN FOR ENHANCING ALGAL ... - Google Patents

 

[old 5k0ol]

If I have a 75 gallon tank, will a small scrubber with say, 30 inches of surface still be beneficial?

 

[SantaMonica]

9 X 9, lit on both sides with a 18 watt CFL curly Q spiral bulb.

 

[parrotchute]

Hey SM -
Still in the process of designing my ATS, with a few questions.
You mention t5 is better because the lighting is more spread out. That being said, what is the "rule" for how many T5 strips compared to the surface area? (talking more about coverage than wattage) Would one t5 (mounted horizontally) on each side be enough to light a 14" wide by 14" tall scrubber?

Is the wattage rule the same with T5s?

I've been looking at videos, but can't see much on how the mesh should be attached? Do people usually pull the whole tube off for cleaning, or detach the mesh from the tube? Or pull the end cap off and slide the mesh off that way? (I know all can be viable options - any idea what's working best?)

Thanks for answering all the questions! I wanna get it right the first time. I'm planning on using a supreme classic magdrive 9.5 for my 150 gallon.

 

[Wes888]

Hey SM -
Still in the process of designing my ATS, with a few questions.
You mention t5 is better because the lighting is more spread out. That being said, what is the "rule" for how many T5 strips compared to the surface area? (talking more about coverage than wattage) Would one t5 (mounted horizontally) on each side be enough to light a 14" wide by 14" tall scrubber?

I believe you want the light hitting the entire surface area evenly. Every single inch of it. That's why SM keep mentioning the T5 strips work better than the light bulbs.

Is the wattage rule the same with T5s?

As far as I know, more the merrier. More light and with more flow. Amazing result.

I've been looking at videos, but can't see much on how the mesh should be attached? Do people usually pull the whole tube off for cleaning, or detach the mesh from the tube? Or pull the end cap off and slide the mesh off that way? (I know all can be viable options - any idea what's working best?)

I've tried both way. Both works, but pull the end cap off and take the mesh off is a bit more messy.

 

[parrotchute]

I understand the light should hit every bit of it. The question is how much light spread from a T5 is considered useful. Since T5s have great spread, it may seem intuitive to put them on any scrubber over a CFL. However, if the scrubber is fairly taller than it is wide, a horizontally mounted T5 may not actually provide as good spread as CFLs positioned with one higher and another lower. That's why I'm asking what the "spread" or reach is of the T5's, particularly in the axis opposite of the way they are aligned.

And more light, sure, it can be better (as long as it's not burning the algae) - I'm just not sure how T5 wattage generally stands up to CFLs (more luminous or not) so I can ensure, if I go the T5 route, that it is enough. For example, if the general rule of 1watt per gallon holds up with a CFL, is it 2 watts for a T5? Or the same...

How does yours disconnect for cleaning, Wes?

A

 

[Wes888]

At first, mine were all glued on. The end cap can pull out and slide the screen out. Later I used union to disconnect the tube that's holding the screen. Less messy that way.

 

[parrotchute]

That's what I'm thinking about using - putting a union right before the 90 degree L for the slotted tube.

SM - what is the diameter of the tube you sell on your website?

 

[old 5k0ol]

9 X 9, lit on both sides with a 18 watt CFL curly Q spiral bulb.

I know how much I should have but I dont have the pump for it. Would a smaller one still be worth it?

 

[SantaMonica]

what is the "rule" for how many T5 strips compared to the surface area? (talking more about coverage than wattage) Would one t5 (mounted horizontally) on each side be enough to light a 14" wide by 14" tall scrubber?

One T5 bulb can do a good job for about 3" of screen, or an OK job for about 4".

Is the wattage rule the same with T5s?

Yes. One photon from 1 watt of of light does the same filtering, no matter what bulb it comes from.

I've been looking at videos, but can't see much on how the mesh should be attached? Do people usually pull the whole tube off for cleaning, or detach the mesh from the tube? Or pull the end cap off and slide the mesh off that way?

Well the slot needs to be cleaned each week, so the screen must come out. How you do it is your preference; here are some ways:

"Huhhhhh" on the MB site did this:

"IamFood" on the SG site did this:

"Murfman" on the SCMAS site did this:

what is the diameter of the tube you sell on your website?

3/4 with 1/8 slot.

I know how much I should have but I dont have the pump for it. Would a smaller one still be worth it

Make in narrow, but taller.

 

[parrotchute]

Thanks SM! I'm going to be trying to focus towards SPS in my 150 if I can handle it, but I want to be able to feed decently as well, so I'm going to make my scrubber as if I had a 200gallon tank. Looking to do about a 12" long by 17" wide set up, with 2 lights on each side...

The only point of contention I have is the 1 Watt is the same regardless - how then, does a 23 watt CFL do the equivilant of a 75watt (or whatever the conversion is) normal light?

Thanks - I'll be ordering one of those tubes shortly!

 

[Pwny]

2 months and 1 week on my 5.5 gal tanks nano scrubber

 

[SantaMonica]

Only real watts matter. A 23 watt is only 23 watts.

Nice nano growth... you can add some light, or ON hours, if you like.

 

[SantaMonica]

Here is a complete cleaning video (with one hand, and with no sound) of a mature screen from one of the two SM100 scrubbers on my tank. It shows how to clean the acrylic box, the acrylic window, and how to scrape off the turf. About one pound of algae (wet) is removed total, including the algae in the box. Most new screens less than a year old won't have any turf, but this screen is well-grown-in so the turf must be removed every 3 months or so, to give the green hair algae a place to attach to the screen.

Cleaning is done slowly, so you can see all the steps; if I were in a hurry, I could do it all in 5 minutes. Also, the box is full because I let it grow as much as possible (about 2 weeks) to show the 3D growth for the video; you would not normally let it fill up so much: [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QAxuofJeeE]YouTube - ‪SM100 complete cleaning‬‏[/ame]

Shortcuts:

00:30 - 3D close up
03:45 - Turning off pump
06:10 - Removing screen
08:50 - Screen scraping
13:55 - Putting screen back in pipe
15:20 - View the algae in the box
17:35 - Putting pipe back in box
18:40 - Water flow again in clean box
19:00 - Cleaning window with toothbrush

 

[old 5k0ol]

Only real watts matter. A 23 watt is only 23 watts.

Nice nano growth... you can add some light, or ON hours, if you like.

Watts don't determine light necessarily. Watts is how much electricity the light bulb uses to create it's light. Therefore, if it's equal to 75 watt light then I think it produces as much light as a 75 watt incandescent? This is what i thought. Correct me if I'm way off.


I run a 23 watt cfl flood and a 26 watt cfl and i have this...

 

[parrotchute]

Thanks SM, awesome video too.

Would you be able to recommend what kind of t5 fixture and bulb I should use for a 17" wide by 12" tall scrubber?

 

[SantaMonica]

23 watts CFL is 23 watts; not 75.

For a 17 wide screen, if you can make it 18 or 19 instead, you can use a 24" bulb, which only puts out light for 18 inches.

 

[old 5k0ol]

I know watts is watts. Photosynthesis is measured by how much light passes through the plant. I'm not sure what the measurement is either lumens or irradiance or something. So algae doesn't require a certain wattage per say. That's what i meant to explain.

 

[Wes888]

...Also, the box is full because I let it grow as much as possible (about 2 weeks) to show the 3D growth for the video; you would not normally let it fill up so much: YouTube - ‪SM100 complete cleaning‬‏

That's a LOT of algae! I got the same scrubber from you with the same 2 lights from you as well, but I don't have any long hair algae at all. Maybe a couple of mm of blownlish stuff only. What's the problem?

 

[SantaMonica]

5skool: The guidelines were made for actual watts. The guidelines would be different for equivalent watts.

Wes: Need to know more about your setup, especially age of the bulbs.