SantaMonica

Lowest cost and easiest way to eliminate green hair, bubble, turf and slime algae from your aquarium (hopefully permanently). This new test version of the algae scrubber is much easier to build than the waterfall version (the Mega Powerful one), and is perfect for nano's. This new scrubber has never been posted before May 2012. It works in both freshwater and saltwater. If you are like most aquatic hobbyists, nuisance algae is an ongoing problem. You try to feed your livestock, and the next thing you know, you get algae. You've already tried many fixes; some work but are expensive; some kind of work but you're not sure; and some just don't work at all. Think about what is happening: Your aquarium is accumulating nutrients (nitrate and phosphate) because of the food you feed. Algae eat nitrate and phosphate to grow, so the algae are having a great time growing in your water because they are eating all your nutrients! What to do? Well think about this: In order to grow, algae must be provided with nitrate and phosphate. So why can't you just use the algae to consume all the nitrate and phosphate? The answer: You can! How? With a simple device you build called an Upflow Algae Scrubber. It's simple, cheap, and you can make a small one in just a few minutes with parts you probably already have. I'll be posting more complex versions later, but here are some pics of the most basic design that you can use for testing: (will be updated periodically) An "algae scrubber" is a simple filter that actually grows algae in the filter, so that the algae do not grow in other parts of your aquarium. Simply put, the conditions for algae growth inside the filter are better than the conditions in the rest of your aquarium; thus the algae grow in the filter instead of your aquarium, and then you just remove the algae from the filter and throw the algae away. But in order for the algae to grow in the filter, the algae need to consume nitrate and phosphate; so guess where the nitrate and phosphate come from? Your water! If you stop and think about it, algae always grow in certain spots, and not in others. This is because some of the three growing conditions (light, flow, nutrients) are better in some parts of your water than they are in others. An "upflow algae scrubber" simply optimizes these conditions, and does so at a place where the algae can be easily removed and thrown away. And once the nitrate and phosphate have been removed from your water, all other nuisance algae such as green hair, bubble, turf and slime, will have a hard time staying alive. So where have these filters been all this time, and why haven't you heard of them if they work so well? Well the original waterfall version (the Mega Powerful thread posted in August 2008) was hard to build, and was not really for sale anywhere; so unless you liked to build things from scratch, you had no choice but to buy some other kind of filter. All the filter really needed to do was to create good growing conditions (light, flow, nutrients) for the algae, by flowing the water across a piece of rough material, so that the algae would grow on the material instead of somewhere else in the aquarium. The waterfall algae scrubber did grow lots of algae in the filter, and it removed lots of algae from aquariums: Over 1,000 people built their own waterfall algae scrubbers, and reported their results on various forums during a 4 year period; almost all of them wiped out their nuisance algae within 8 weeks, and many did so in 4 weeks. And on other forums that I never posted on, an estimated 10,000 people built their own waterfall algae scrubbers with similar results. A little over a year ago in April 2011, another idea came along: Instead of letting the water flow down a screen like a waterfall, how about you let the water flow up the screen using air bubbles? Why? Because as good as waterfall algae scrubbers are, they still need a place for the water to drain "down" to. This means that you need to have a sump below the aquarium, or you need to have the scrubber up above the aquarium. This is not easy, and is very difficult for a nano aquarium which usually has no sump below it, and no room above it. Also, the waterfall version requires it to be out of the water (in the air), which takes up extra space. The new "upflow" version, however, can be placed inside the aquarium, so that it takes up no extra space at all, and it needs no external plumbing or water pumps at all. Only air bubbles. The Upflow Algae Scrubber (UAS) provides the best growing conditions for algae in your tank: Air bubbles provide rapid turbulent flow; Strong lighting provides the light; and the nutrients that are already in your water provide the nitrate and phosphate. All that's needed is a place for the algae to attach to, and that is provided by the roughed-up plastic screen. Thus the algae start growing on the screen because the flow and lighting are stronger there than they are in the rest of your aquarium; nitrate and phosphate are consumed in the process. This causes algae to start disappearing from your aquarium and start re-appearing on the scrubber screen, so that you can throw the algae away every week or two. The most basic way to set up an Upflow Algae Scrubber, especially in small aquariums, is just to put some air bubbles beneath a vertical screen. If inside an aquarium, you just put a light on the outside of the glass, so that it shines inside to the screen. And if you want better performance (which means better filtering), just add a reflector to give the screen some light on both sides. The screen is best made with 7-mesh cross stitch plastic canvas that you get at sewing or craft stores, or online. Also, don't forget to rough up the screen with a sharp object like a hole saw; the screen should be so rough that the screen holes are almost filled in with all the little pieces of plastic that you roughed up. One thing to remember is that an Upflow Algae Scrubber (or any algae scrubber) will not cause more algae to grow in your aquarium. Instead, the algae will disappear from your aquarium, and will start to grow on the scrubber screen instead. You then just remove the screen and scrape the algae off. And here's a surprise: Watch out for your fish or snails eating your filter! There's nothing tastier than live green algae, so your fish or snails may keep your screen from getting very thick. The simple solution is to just put some mesh or netting around it. There are a couple of requirements that have been learned since August 2008 which will get you started quicker. The size of the Upflow Algae Scrubber that is needed is based on how much you feed, and not how much water you have, because the nutrients that cause algae to grow come from the food you feed. The following updated picture has size guidelines: (will be updated periodically) And the following updated picture has examples: (will be updated periodically) So build a UAS and post your pictures! . . .

Less than 2 weeks until the new design is posted...

Need translator for Availability Schedule... http://algaescrubber.net/forums/showthread.php?1783-Availability-Schedule I have Chinese finished, but I need other languages too. So if you or someone you know can translate that page into another language and email it to me on a Word 2000 document, let me know how much $ it would cost. Thanks!

Here is a comparison of the types of bulbs to use:

New scrubber update: The new design will not require a slot in the pipe. If you have not built one yet, and you have trouble with DIY, then you might wait for the new DIY plans to be posted; there should be no hard-to-cut pieces (like a slot), at least for the very simple versions.

Late answer: Can't use 12,000K at all. Get 2700 or 3000K

Correct.

2 weeks.

Study shows that corals prefer to grow when they actually touch turf algae Note: Scrubbers are supposed to grow green hair, which is not covered in this study. But many people still think that scrubbers grow turf, and this study does include the amount of microbes related to turf. Brackets "[ ]" added. "Microbial to reef scale interactions between the reef-building coral Montastraea annularis and benthic algae", Proceedings of the Royal Society, Biological Sciences, Nov 2011 http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/early/2011/11/15/rspb.2011.2155.short Page 2, Col 1, (a) "This study was conducted on the island of Curacao, former Netherlands Antilles" Page 4, Col 2, (... The [...] coral-associated bacterial communities increased in tissues near [coralline] and [dictyota], but decreased for coral tissue adjacent to [halimeda] or turf algae. Page 5, Col 1... We found [anaerobic microbes] present in coral tissue near or at interfaces with three of the four groups of algae: 8.5 percent relative abundance at [coralline] interfaces; 2.2 percent relative abundance near [dictyota] interfaces, 2 percent relative abundance near [halimeda] interfaces; but absent near and at interfaces with turf algae. Page 5, Col 2, ©... Every coral colony observed [on the natural Curacao reef] was interacting with at least one type of alga, with an average of 61 to 80 percent of the coral perimeter involved in any type of algal interaction. Interactions with turf algae were the most abundant, accounting for 32 to 58 percent of the coral edge. [in other words, the corals grew this way, touching the algae, naturally. And more of them grew and reproduced while actually touching turf algae, than grew anywhere else.] Page 7, Col 1... This study is the first to identify the types of bacteria present along coral-algal interactions, and we find that bacterial stress response pathways were reduced at coral interfaces with [coralline], [dictyota] and turf algae.

It's not how big, but how much you feed. A SM100 will handle up to 10 cubes a day. I have one left, for $649 at www.Santa-Monica.cc

"Assessing Evidence of Phase Shifts from Coral to Macroalgal Dominance on Coral Reefs" Ecological Society of America, June 2009 http://www.esajournals.org/doi/pdf/10.1890/08-1781.1 "Our database included 3,581 quantitative surveys of 1,851 coral reefs (or sites) performed between 1996 and 2006. Our analysis was based on quantitative surveys that measured the percentage of the substratum covered by living coral and fleshy or calcareous macroalgae between 1 and 15 meters depth." [A simplified version of Table 1] Caribbean -- Corals: 20%, Algae: 23% Florida Keys -- Corals: 8%, Algae: 15% Indo-Pacific -- Corals: 33%, Algae: 12% Great Barrier Reef -- Corals: 31%, Algae: 9% " "Overall, our results indicate that there is no general recent trend (i.e., post-1995) toward macroalgal dominance." "Macroalgal cover on these 'pristine' reefs is similar to the regional averages for three of our four study regions, suggesting that macroalgal cover may currently be close to the historical baseline across most the world." "Macroalgal cover and coral cover are widely assumed to be causally linked and inversely related. Yet we found only weak negative relationships between coral and macroalgal cover. Surprisingly, macroalgal cover has not increased appreciably on most of the world’s reefs that have very low coral cover. For example, 379 of the 1,851 reefs had less than 10% coral cover, but macroalgal cover was also low (less than 20%) on nearly two thirds of these reefs. In fact, more than half the benthic cover on reefs in the Caribbean, Pacific and Indian Oceans consists of organisms other than hard corals and macroalgae, possibly because other taxa, such as sponges and gorgonians, have been the primary beneficiaries of coral loss."

Since I've been working on the new scrubber, I've not done much with the 25 nano model. So if anyone would like to test, build, and market it, I could sell you the patent application and you could take it over. It is a U.S. PPA which expires March 7, 2012. You would then file your own U.S. NPA.

To reduce nutrients, it really doesn't matter where it goes. For the most pods, it should be the last thing before the return (and you should remove the sock and skimmer too). The new design for next year can be any size you build. They won't be available for purchase for a while longer. Won't need a sump. Scrubber electricity is not comparable to a skimmer because they don't do the same thing.

Two updates: 1. The cyano stage: Some people, who start using a scrubber for the first time, get rid of their nuisance algae but then get some cyano that they never had before. The reason for this is that cyano is able to "fix" it's own nitrogen, which means it is good at getting the last nutrients that are available. However, once these last nutrients are removed, the cyano will go away too. And the more powerful the scrubber is, the quicker this happens. 2. High coral-growth theory: Some people are wanting faster growth with their SPS corals. In a scrubber-only tank, when there are no other filters, you have higher amounts of dissolved and particulate food in the water than if you had other filters running. However, the lighting remains the same. In other words, growth requires light and food; a scrubber-only tank has more food, but the same light. My theory is that if you increased the light too, you would get much more growth; possibly more that natural levels. This is based on watching "traditional" SPS tanks with lighting problems (low light/food ratio): The corals grow slow (if at all), and tend to stay brown. When the lights are fixed/replaced (high light/food ratio), the colors brighten up and the growth starts again. However a scrubber-only SPS tank has much more food in the water, yet still only has "traditional" amounts of lighting. So the light/food ratio is low again. So my theory is that if you increased the lighting to more than "traditional" levels, you would get "more than traditional" SPS growth. Bleaching is less of a concern in a scrubber-only tank, because of the larger quanitity of food that is available (studies have shown that more food reduces bleaching).

Coming in 2012: Algae Scrubber II (nano owners rejoice)

11 cubes each feeding X 3 feedings a day = 33 cubes a day, plus the liquids. You will need at least 4 SM100 scrubbers (each one handles up to 10 cubes a day, once growing). I think SG is 220v; if so, a cheap 220-110 converter works well, and you can still use 220v bulbs from SG. Also, the SM100 is not waterproof, so it must be kept out of the rain.

How many cubes per day do you feed?

How much are you feeding? Gallons or feet do not matter? LED's are not available.

Updates on the LED test. 3 pics from 2nd cleaning, and 1 vid from 3rd cleaning: 2nd cleaning, 7 days, top: 2nd cleaning, 7 days, T5: 2nd cleaning, 7 days, LED: 3rd cleaning, 11 days: . . . .

New Scrubber Sizing Guideline (Sept 2011) Scrubbers will now be sized according to feeding. Nutrients "in" (feeding) must equal nutrients "out" (scrubber growth), no matter how many gallons you have. So... An example VERTICAL waterfall screen size is 3 X 4 inches = 12 square inches of screen (7.5 X 10 cm = 75 sq cm) with a total of 12 real watts (not equivalent) of fluorescent light for 18 hours a day. If all 12 watts are on one side, it is a 1-sided screen. If 6 watts are on each side, it is a 2-sided screen, but the total is still 12 watts for 18 hours a day. This screen size and wattage should be able to handle the following amounts of daily feeding: 1 frozen cube per day (2-sided screen) 1/2 frozen cube per day (1-sided screen) 10 pinches of flake food per day (2-sided screen) 5 pinches of flake food per day (1-sided screen) 10 square inches (50 sq cm) of nori per day (2-sided screen) 5 square inches (50 sq cm) of nori per day (1-sided screen) 0.1 dry ounce (2.8 grams) of pellet food per day (2-sided screen) 0.05 dry ounce (1.4 grams) of pellet food per day (1-sided screen) High-wattage technique: Double the wattage, and cut the hours in half (to 9 per day). This will get brown screens to grow green much faster. Thus the example above would be 12 watts on each side, for a total of 24 watts, but for only 9 hours per day. If growth starts to turn YELLOW, then increase the flow, or add iron, or reduce the number of hours. And since the bulbs are operating for 9 hours instead of 18, they will last 6 months instead of 3 months. HORIZONTAL screens: Multiply the screen size by 4, and the wattage by 1.5 Flow is 24 hours, and is at least 35 gph per inch of width of screen [60 lph per cm], EVEN IF one sided or horizontal. Very rough screen made of roughed-up-like-a-cactus plastic canvas. Clean algae off of screen every 7 to 14 days, so that you can see the white screen material.

LED test on SM100: 9 days of growth after cleaning. Fluorescent on left, LED on right. LED is the 50 watt Grow Light from EshineSystems in China. Actually uses 41 watts per the KillOwatt. Was raised up 3/4 inch to fit in middle of scrubber window. Camera is unfortunately an old one, since new one is being repaired. Growth was very similar on both sides; too similar to tell them apart. Growth on the LED side was floating a bit higher since it had no light near the bottom. LED was about $140 including shipping, and I asked for the black case: Video: LED: http://www.eshinesystems.com/growlight/50W-led-grow-light-3g.htm

Coming Soon: Good news for nano owners who want scrubbers. If you have not been able to easily put a scrubber below or above your tank, this might work for you. And you probably already have the parts to make it.