questions about making an alage scrubber

[mmfrock]

Yea that'd be nice if i had a true overflow box and a real sump. I used to on my old 90 gal and i am sure this would be much easier if i were doing it on that tank.

I am still struggling with this issue. I cannot get my drain rate to be the same as the return, even with the valve controlling it. The valve we have is increidbly touchy and i cannot get it dialed in. Do you think it would work better if i used a 900 maxi jet instead of a 1200?

I am so confused, all night long the water level in the sump stayed just about consistant, so i never touched it this morning and just went to work praying it'd be fine when i got home. BUt when i got home the sump was down about an inch of water and very close to an overflow in my main tank :-( Anyone help me, please!

 

[little_fish]

It sounds like there is a problem with the pump you are using, it sounds like the amount of water its moving is changing. I would try changing out the pump at this point.

 

[mmfrock]

ok thank you, i might try the 900 instead of the 1200

 

[mmfrock]

OK, i think i've figured out my sump water fluxuation. I think it is just evaporation but i had no idea THAT much would be lost in one day! That's a lot of water! Anyhow, this is my 4th full day of running my scrubber and I am starting to see redish/brown (cyano?) algae on the screen.

1) I read that you're supposed to clean the screen every 7 days, so should i clean the screen on the 7th day even if there isn't a lot on it?
2) Im not seeing any improvements in my tank yet, but i read that it takes about a month to see improvements...is this true?

THanks everyone!

 

[little_fish]

I would say yes to both of those things.

 

[Zissou]

You will lose at a minimum, probably 1 gallon per day and more depending on the humidity. Keep it topped off with FRESH water, in case you already didn't know, mark the max amount so you can tell how much water you're losing every day and keep it topped of at that level.

 

[mmfrock]

Yep, been doing that. And you're right its about a 1/2 to 3/4 of a gallon like every two days in my case. I was just shocked at how much it was! It's all good tho. I'll post a new pic to show u how much its grown in just a week! THank you all!

 

[mmfrock]

Hello everyone,

It's day 6 of my algae scrubber and thought id give you an update with a few new questions too. Here's a pic of what grew in 6 days. I just cleaned it off.

1) So, is the color of this algae just typical of new screens or is this an indicator that my lighting is not powerful enough?
2) Ive been thinking of changing the bulbs over to UVB ones like i have in my turtle tank, b/c the green algae grows great in my turtle tank...do u think this would be a better lighting situation?

Right now I have (2) 13 watt bulbs on (soft white) for 16 hours. What do u think?

 

[mmfrock]

Opps forgot the pic, here it is!