turf scrubbers
- Thread starter d-man
- Start date
J
jstdv8
Guest
D-man,
make this into a build thread so we can see pics of it and help you out with any questions.
For the screen i went to jo-ann fabrics and got thier plastic mesh screen, they had two different sizes, one has small holes and one has bigger holes, ive seen both used with success.
I have the screen with the smaller holes.
The real key to the screen is getting it really roughed up. you want it to feel just like a cactus. To do this take a hole saw and scrpae it around on both sides of the screen for a long time until you get every inch of the screen really rough.
This is the most labor intesnive opart of the project by far. took me about 20 minutes or so per side. also do it on something you can clean off becasue you will have little piles of plastic all over when you are done. i did it on a piece of plywood in my living room while I watched TV
If you havn't done so allready be sure to check on what screen size is neccesary for your size tank and start there.
make this into a build thread so we can see pics of it and help you out with any questions.
For the screen i went to jo-ann fabrics and got thier plastic mesh screen, they had two different sizes, one has small holes and one has bigger holes, ive seen both used with success.
I have the screen with the smaller holes.
The real key to the screen is getting it really roughed up. you want it to feel just like a cactus. To do this take a hole saw and scrpae it around on both sides of the screen for a long time until you get every inch of the screen really rough.
This is the most labor intesnive opart of the project by far. took me about 20 minutes or so per side. also do it on something you can clean off becasue you will have little piles of plastic all over when you are done. i did it on a piece of plywood in my living room while I watched TV
If you havn't done so allready be sure to check on what screen size is neccesary for your size tank and start there.
al&burke
Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by d-man http:///forum/thread/382073/turf-scrubbers#post_3332051
AI&Burke sent me a great link, but as far as I know we are not allowed to post links? so if your inerested in making your own pm me and I will share the link with you. Thanks for the info AI&Burke.
Thank Jstdv8 he sent it to me, but you are welcome
Originally Posted by d-man http:///forum/thread/382073/turf-scrubbers#post_3332051
AI&Burke sent me a great link, but as far as I know we are not allowed to post links? so if your inerested in making your own pm me and I will share the link with you. Thanks for the info AI&Burke.
Thank Jstdv8 he sent it to me, but you are welcome
J
jstdv8
Guest
D-man, how far is Santa cruz from Santa Monica?
The poster who made these updated scrubbers DIY and popular is named santamonica and he lives there. maybe if he's close you guys could get together His tank looks really cool, got some nice corals, his setup is apparently just a test environment for dosing and his scrubbers he's built. Would be pretty cool to see them in person.
The poster who made these updated scrubbers DIY and popular is named santamonica and he lives there. maybe if he's close you guys could get together
His tank looks really cool, got some nice corals, his setup is apparently just a test environment for dosing and his scrubbers he's built. Would be pretty cool to see them in person.
d-man
Member
I'm thinking about making it have the light in the middle and 1 screen on each side. I would like to keep the watts as low as I can seeing as it runs 18hrs a day. Think a caralife 50/50 20w would work? I know it's a little low on the wattage, but I was hoping that doing the light in the middle method would help with that. I'm going to try to make it out of plexiglass so that it looks nice, and just because it seems that the more capable you are with plexi the more capable you are in this hobby.
J
jstdv8
Guest
that would be fine. I'd put a mirror on the backside of each screen then if you can.
And yes, the 20w is a little weak, plus the actinic won't do much.
All you really need is a twirly compact bulb from home depot, those coralife bulbs are expensive and you should have something like a 26 or 27 watt for best results.
The more light you have the more growth you get.
So the light will hang down from the top I take it?
And yes, the 20w is a little weak, plus the actinic won't do much.
All you really need is a twirly compact bulb from home depot, those coralife bulbs are expensive and you should have something like a 26 or 27 watt for best results.
The more light you have the more growth you get.
So the light will hang down from the top I take it?
J
jstdv8
Guest
If you're making out of plexi you could get the plexi with the mirrors built into one side, that would be nice as well.
J
jstdv8
Guest
I saw a picture on the website of a guy who had his hanging in from the top and he encased it in a glass jar. not sure how it dealt with the heat, but it would be sweet to keep the water off if there were any spray.
I've actually had my best growth with the full spectrum bulbs from home depot with a shop light type reflector around the backside. The only problem is I've went through several bulbs allready becasue they keep getting too hot where the base is, which I'm guessing is because of the reflector. So right now I've just got 2x 2700k outdoor flood lights with the curly bulbs inside.
These work really well because they have a reflector built into them and they are encased in glass so the spray can't get on the curly bulb itself.
Only downside it I havnt found any in the 26-27 watt range I'd like to have, these are 23w each. They work allright, but could be alot better witht he higher wattage.
I've actually had my best growth with the full spectrum bulbs from home depot with a shop light type reflector around the backside. The only problem is I've went through several bulbs allready becasue they keep getting too hot where the base is, which I'm guessing is because of the reflector. So right now I've just got 2x 2700k outdoor flood lights with the curly bulbs inside.
These work really well because they have a reflector built into them and they are encased in glass so the spray can't get on the curly bulb itself.
Only downside it I havnt found any in the 26-27 watt range I'd like to have, these are 23w each. They work allright, but could be alot better witht he higher wattage.
d-man
Member
If I really like it and want more light power I might end up building a different one with leds on the out side and one screen in the middle, so that I can keep my watts down. Space is a issue for me so I'm going to look for the longer loop style instead of the curly ones. At this point I'm sorta thinking about trying to make 2 boxes that connect into one at the bottom, 1 for each screen. I'll used some extra thin acrylic or something like that for the part that faces the light. Then the light will not get wet and can get air while still giving good coverage. I might have to clean the light side, but I can do that with a tooth brush when I clean the screen every week because I'm planning on being able to take the hole thing to the sink instead of taking a dripping screen to the sink.
J
jstdv8
Guest
I see,
1.) I don't think anyone has figured out an LED build that has grown algae yet. As a matter of fact my new LED light on my tank doesnt seem to grow algae either, and I've left it on a few times way longer than needed. That's on my frag tank with just a sponge filter for filtration.
2.) The two box thing would be easy to do, I don't mind bringing the screen to the sink, I just put a towel under it. Of course my sink is only a few feet away from my fish room.
3.) only thing I worry about with the weak light is that it will not grow in correctly, especially since the screens are one sided. I had weak lights in mine at first and it took two months for it to grow in and even then it wasnt all that great until I put better lights in.
It was still working, just not nearly as good as it does witht he better lights. IMO the light is the most important factor.
1.) I don't think anyone has figured out an LED build that has grown algae yet. As a matter of fact my new LED light on my tank doesnt seem to grow algae either, and I've left it on a few times way longer than needed. That's on my frag tank with just a sponge filter for filtration.
2.) The two box thing would be easy to do, I don't mind bringing the screen to the sink, I just put a towel under it. Of course my sink is only a few feet away from my fish room.
3.) only thing I worry about with the weak light is that it will not grow in correctly, especially since the screens are one sided. I had weak lights in mine at first and it took two months for it to grow in and even then it wasnt all that great until I put better lights in.
It was still working, just not nearly as good as it does witht he better lights. IMO the light is the most important factor.
J
jstdv8
Guest
How big of a scrubber do I need?
A: Start with one square inch (6.25 square cm) of screen, with a light on both sides, for every U.S. gallon (3.8 liters) of water in your display tank. Thus, a 100 gallon display tank would need a screen 10 inches by 10 inches (100 square inches), with a light on both sides. If you can only put a light on one side, then you need to double the screen area, and also double the lighting on the one side. You don't need to include the volume of the sump, unless it also has livestock in it that you feed.
A: Start with one square inch (6.25 square cm) of screen, with a light on both sides, for every U.S. gallon (3.8 liters) of water in your display tank. Thus, a 100 gallon display tank would need a screen 10 inches by 10 inches (100 square inches), with a light on both sides. If you can only put a light on one side, then you need to double the screen area, and also double the lighting on the one side. You don't need to include the volume of the sump, unless it also has livestock in it that you feed.
J
jstdv8
Guest
I think one light will be just fine as long as its a good sized one. I've seen several scubbers on the site with the two screens and one light in the middle.
I don't think heat will be much of a problem as long as the screens are the semi enclosed part and the light is in the unenclsed section. Are you thinking of doing it in a trash can or tub like the original scrubber shows?
I don't think heat will be much of a problem as long as the screens are the semi enclosed part and the light is in the unenclsed section. Are you thinking of doing it in a trash can or tub like the original scrubber shows?