Jeremevans Posted March 18, 2017 Share Posted March 18, 2017 I put together a pretty basic algae scrubber under an LED grow light in my refugium and it seems to be progressing nicely. This is my first time setting up an ATS--please tell me if you see anything that I should be concerned about. If I was doing this again I would have taken pictures without the grow lights on, but at least you can see today's picture in that way. This progression covers 6 days. I teed off my return pump and put what I think is a lot of flow through this scrubber although I haven't measured it. Originally I was going to use an MJ1200 to run it, but decided to reduce the clutter in the sump and just split a line off the return pump. I would guess this flow rate is similar to and probably a little higher than the MJ. Now, should I expect my skimmer to start putting out less crud? Jeremy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danlu_gt Posted March 18, 2017 Share Posted March 18, 2017 Try to mount the led from the sides instead of from the top.Also, I would put some sort of acrylic box around it to prevent water splashes once algae fill the screen.Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted March 19, 2017 Share Posted March 19, 2017 Cool, nice job. So, do you see an impact? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vance164 Posted March 19, 2017 Share Posted March 19, 2017 Looks good the only thing I see is it appears to be touching the water line. With mine I tried to be just above but the lower algae was falling off and getting pumped into the display. Which I think has a lot to do with my current algae issue 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ramey Posted March 19, 2017 Share Posted March 19, 2017 That is some quick results. Pretty cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremevans Posted March 20, 2017 Author Share Posted March 20, 2017 12 hours ago, Vance164 said: Looks good the only thing I see is it appears to be touching the water line. With mine I tried to be just above but the lower algae was falling off and getting pumped into the display. Which I think has a lot to do with my current algae issue This was more of an accident than by design, but maybe it is a good design after all. When I set it up I realized that it was a little longer than I expected. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremevans Posted March 20, 2017 Author Share Posted March 20, 2017 On 3/18/2017 at 6:26 PM, TheClark said: Cool, nice job. So, do you see an impact? I think it is too early to tell. I would like to believe my phosphates are lower but the Salifert test is hard to read at low levels and I can't be sure it moved lower yet. If it turns clear then maybe I will say yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted March 20, 2017 Share Posted March 20, 2017 Even though it is not the ideal design in some aspects... It is super encouraging to see a straightforward design like this can be effective. Makes it tempting to play around with. Keep us posted! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremevans Posted March 20, 2017 Author Share Posted March 20, 2017 On 3/18/2017 at 1:03 PM, danlu_gt said: Try to mount the led from the sides instead of from the top. Also, I would put some sort of acrylic box around it to prevent water splashes once algae fill the screen. Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk I wanted to do that, but given the space constraints I went with an overkill light and mounted it above so that the refugium shares the light. Here is a picture that might help show the setup better. The light is a Mars Aqua led with grow spectrum for plants. It seems to grow algae like a champ. http://www.ebay.com/itm/291666162702?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oregonic Posted May 21, 2017 Share Posted May 21, 2017 Hows the scrubber working? Just set one up my self using the ATO that comes with the red sea sump to house it in. Curious to hear the results you are obtaining. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badxgillen Posted May 21, 2017 Share Posted May 21, 2017 One week from setup and it already has a nice sheet developing, nice DIY job there. Did you start it off with that powerful Grow LED from the get go or was it a more "traditional" sump light in the beginning? I have some cheesy outdoor LEDs I was wanting to use for a project like this but was not too sure if the results would be worth while. How many watts is that unit your using now? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spectra Posted May 21, 2017 Share Posted May 21, 2017 Whats the lighting schedule on that 24/7 or ? Looks like it is working though so great design. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremevans Posted May 22, 2017 Author Share Posted May 22, 2017 12 on/off. I run this opposite of the tank lights. I should add some update pictures. The light is overkill and even with a plastic cover over each side of all grows great. I removed GFO reactor and phosphates after still undetectable using Salifert (and my eyes... ). Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoDoze Posted May 22, 2017 Share Posted May 22, 2017 I went to a ATS on my 120 about 4 months ago and it is doing great! PH and nits have all held to 0. Algae growth in the tank has stopped progressing and I'm worried the snails are now starving :( Otherwise everyone looks really happy. Till now I am still harvesting green to dark green algae, not the bright light green it's supposed to progress too. Dunno why, but I think it takes time, or I don't feed enough. Has really simplified by maintenance routine though 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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