New Algae Scrubber Design - Prototype

al&burke

al&burke

Active Member
Hi everyone - I have been playing around with a new design for an algae scrubber. One of things that bothered me about the scrubbers with lights on both sides of the screen is the real estate it takes up. So I came up with this idea. The screen is a new material - it is kind of 3D looking - has a whole bunch of spikes which I hope the algae will grow on, I don't like the screens currently being used - pain in the but to roughen up. I also made it so the screens are on a slight angle, 5 degrees - I am hoping the SW will pour down this 3D screen. There are 5 - 42 watt cfl's that I want to used centred between the two screens, no reflectors. Let me know what you think, I will hopefully have this built in the next week or two.
First drawings of the scrubber then the pictures of the screen.
Thanks Al



 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
Looks interesting Al. Still thinking that you'd want to rough up the screen material somehow in order to give the algae a little something more to bite and grip on to. But I suppose you could always try it and see. I'd be curious to see how it does as is. I know space is a big issue for a lot of folks. That's why I plan on led panels. Each would only be 1.25 - 1.5" max. 200 watts of light might be a bit much. I'm thinking that you may need some pretty high flow in order to help not burn the algae or end up with a bunch of yellow growth.
 
al&burke

al&burke

Active Member
I would be interested in seeing the cost for an LED set up, I think the 3D screen is rough enough, I might back it up with a regular sreen. If the 3D doesn't work a regular roughed up screen could be added. I could add some short holders on the acrylic to hold it. I would like to see the slot work with the screen on a slight angle to eliminate attaching the screen in a pipe. We shall see my friend.
Yes too many watts of light - i am meant 5 - 23 watts bulbs.
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
I'm about to drop roughly around $250 for everything that I need to build the led panels. I figure it's a little more up front cost but I won't have to worry about bulb replacement every 3-4 months to keep them running efficiently or try to remember when it's time to replace them. It can be done for cheaper but you know me, I'll probably end up being a little more overkill then what I'll actually need. I'd rather have more power and dial things down then have to add more leds to the build later.
Think you'll be much safer with the 23w bulbs.
 
al&burke

al&burke

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///t/388643/new-algae-scrubber-design-prototype#post_3428664
I'm about to drop roughly around $250 for everything that I need to build the led panels. I figure it's a little more up front cost but I won't have to worry about bulb replacement every 3-4 months to keep them running efficiently or try to remember when it's time to replace them. It can be done for cheaper but you know me, I'll probably end up being a little more overkill then what I'll actually need. I'd rather have more power and dial things down then have to add more leds to the build later.
Think you'll be much safer with the 23w bulbs.

Corey - you are right on about the bulb replacement and all, do they make a 3 watt cree bulb that emits light 360 degrees or to both sides at least? What type of LED's are you thinking of using and how many, I think our AS would almost be the same size - me being 100 gallons of DT and I think you being 120 gallons?
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Al&Burke http:///t/388643/new-algae-scrubber-design-prototype#post_3428725
Corey - you are right on about the bulb replacement and all, do they make a 3 watt cree bulb that emits light 360 degrees or to both sides at least? What type of LED's are you thinking of using and how many, I think our AS would almost be the same size - me being 100 gallons of DT and I think you being 120 gallons?
I haven't seen any 360 degree leds made by cree, or least not in the 3-5watt emitting range. But then again I haven't really looked for them. I have seen some of the less powerful leds sold in strips that do, they call them side emitting. You could do two panels back to back. I am looking at doing 2 panels. Each panel will have 12 leds, 8 - 660 nm Osram reds and 4 - XPG neutral whites. And the fixtures themselves are going to be nothing more than just the heat sinks which I will mount on brackets that allow me to slide them up and away from the screen for maintenance. The heat sinks themselves will be about 1.5" wide max and probably 4.75" x 8". That should give me good even spread across the whole screen on both sides. They sell silicone that comes in a spray can that you can use to seal electronics. So what I'll do is cover the lenses and spray all of the led stars and contact points with the silicone to protect them from moisture and erosion.
Some guys have been having good success in terms of growth purchasing the pre-built grow light led panels. Which can be found for cheap on ebay. But they've had problems because the fans on the fixtures suck moisture into the fixture. That's why I'm going to try to go another route. Other guys I've seen just encase the leds inside or behind some acrylic kind of like what you're looking to do with this build to keep moisture away.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
If I did it again, I would build one like SantaMonica's out of sump version, with the acrylic box. I wouldn't have a problem mounting it outside the sump, and in fact, I am thinking about doing a rubbermaid version for myself soon.
 
dempseyjosh

dempseyjosh

Member
sorry to ask in here, but i didn't feel i needed to start a new thread for it, but where could I find instructions on building a typical turf scrubber. I'm considering building one now, as i've read up on them before, but i've come back to see how to make one and can't find the thread i've seen previously.
 
al&burke

al&burke

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by dempseyjosh http:///t/388643/new-algae-scrubber-design-prototype#post_3428855
sorry to ask in here, but i didn't feel i needed to start a new thread for it, but where could I find instructions on building a typical turf scrubber. I'm considering building one now, as i've read up on them before, but i've come back to see how to make one and can't find the thread i've seen previously.
I copied this from my good friend 2Quils reply to one of my threads.
Scrubber Quick Guideline:
0.5 actual (not equivalent) fluorescent watts per gallon MINIMUM [0.13 watts per liter].
1.0 actual (not equivalent) fluorescent watts per gallon for HIGH filtering [0.26 watts per liter].
1.0 square inches of screen per gallon, with bulbs on BOTH sides (10 x 10 = 100 square inches = 100 gal)
[1.64 square cm per liter]
2.0 square inches of screen per gallon, if vertical but lit on just ONE side. [3.28 square cm per liter]
4.0 square inches of screen per gallon, if HORIZONTAL [6.56 square cm per liter].
1.5 actual (not equivalent) fluorescent watts per gallon if HORIZONTAL [0.4 watts per liter].
18 hours of lights ON, and 6 hours of lights OFF, each day.
Flow is 24 hours, and is at least 35 gph per inch of width of screen, EVEN IF one sided [60 lph per cm].
Very rough screen made of roughed-up-like-a-cactus plastic canvas.
Clean algae off of screen every SEVEN (7) days NO MATTER WHAT YOU THINK.
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Al&Burke http:///t/388643/new-algae-scrubber-design-prototype#post_3428885
I copied this from my good friend 2Quils reply to one of my threads.
Scrubber Quick Guideline:
0.5 actual (not equivalent) fluorescent watts per gallon MINIMUM [0.13 watts per liter].
1.0 actual (not equivalent) fluorescent watts per gallon for HIGH filtering [0.26 watts per liter].
1.0 square inches of screen per gallon, with bulbs on BOTH sides (10 x 10 = 100 square inches = 100 gal)
[1.64 square cm per liter]
2.0 square inches of screen per gallon, if vertical but lit on just ONE side. [3.28 square cm per liter]
4.0 square inches of screen per gallon, if HORIZONTAL [6.56 square cm per liter].
1.5 actual (not equivalent) fluorescent watts per gallon if HORIZONTAL [0.4 watts per liter].
18 hours of lights ON, and 6 hours of lights OFF, each day.
Flow is 24 hours, and is at least 35 gph per inch of width of screen, EVEN IF one sided [60 lph per cm].
Very rough screen made of roughed-up-like-a-cactus plastic canvas.
Clean algae off of screen every SEVEN (7) days NO MATTER WHAT YOU THINK.
And to add to that these are the updated guidelines to lighting and feeding requirements pulled from the scrubber site...
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...
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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 1.5m: 0px; padding-left: 0px; " />
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.
 
al&burke

al&burke

Active Member
I changed a few things - I needed to get the lights and the plexi cover out completely in order to remove the screens.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Looks good!
I like the acrylic box design, just gotta make sure those lights are really close to the screen.
Also, just because the lights are mounted in an acrylic box, doesn't mean you shouldn't silicone the lights into the sockets. In fact, just tonight, one of my lights caught on fire tonight and tripped the GFCI just in time for me to put it out, because I didn't silicone the light into the socket.
 
travelerjp98

travelerjp98

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/388643/new-algae-scrubber-design-prototype#post_3428942
Looks good!
I like the acrylic box design, just gotta make sure those lights are really close to the screen.
Also, just because the lights are mounted in an acrylic box, doesn't mean you shouldn't silicone the lights into the sockets. In fact, just tonight, one of my lights caught on fire tonight and tripped the GFCI just in time for me to put it out, because I didn't silicone the light into the socket.

OH MY GOSH....... everything is alright I hope?
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Yup. My whole apartments electricity cut out and there was a blue flame under my tank and then I heard the GFCI click off and then what looked like candle light underneath my tank. I rushed over and put it out with my hand. Needless to say, I had to change my underwear. My heart is still pounding, and I'm still sweating. I keep thinking to myself... what if that happened when we weren't home??
So, for those of you who have a GFCI - it may save your life by cutting off the electricity, but it may not save your house from a fire. Just FYI. I re-checked the GFCI and it's still working properly. I'm going to replace the entire unit this next weekend.
 
travelerjp98

travelerjp98

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/388643/new-algae-scrubber-design-prototype#post_3428952
Yup. My whole apartments electricity cut out and there was a blue flame under my tank and then I heard the GFCI click off and then what looked like candle light underneath my tank. I rushed over and put it out with my hand. Needless to say, I had to change my underwear. My heart is still pounding, and I'm still sweating. I keep thinking to myself... what if that happened when we weren't home??
So, for those of you who have a GFCI - it may save your life by cutting off the electricity, but it may not save your house from a fire. Just FYI. I re-checked the GFCI and it's still working properly. I'm going to replace the entire unit this next weekend.
I'm not suprised that your feeling that way....... scary. Now I'm freaked out about my tank. Thanks a lot. lol.... just hopin' to relax ya a bit.
 
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