turf scrubbers

gill again68

gill again68

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by spanko http:///forum/thread/382073/turf-scrubbers/80#post_3334227
a fuge does the same dilly, its prettier and you can sell the algea out of it......
Nuff said, carry on.
LOL. I cant help but try it due to the DIY factor. I like building things. Now if it does 3/4 of what people claim and reduces water changes then I see benefit of that. I know some have posted that they dont do water changes anyway. Thing is I am half stupid and half smart. I think the stupid half feeds the tank and the smart half does the DIY?
I like my fuge so that wont be going away. As far as the electric bill well we will see. More pods, I will take em. I want a scooter blenny to go with my mandarin anyway. I do like the idea of eliminating my skimmer. I read post all the time that people dont use skimmers anyway. So with all that said, I guess this is just for fun for me.
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
Yeah I'm kind of currious to see what they can do, myself. There's been enough hype about them anyway to get me to want to give it a shot. I'd still probably count on doing bi-weekly water changes as well as running a skimmer. However I don't think the skimmer would necissarily need to be as powerfull from the way it sounds. Still keep a fuge with sandbed and rock rubble. Just replace the macro with the scrubber. If you set it up right then they really don't sound like much maintenance at all. At least not anymore than cleaning out a skimmer cup from what I've seen and heard as long as you can build the screen to where it's easily removable.
 
gill again68

gill again68

Active Member
Thats what Im doing Corey. I am even going to leave the macro (cheato) in the fuge. I see no point in taking any of that down. Now I will shut the skimmer off at some point and start testing water parameters.
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
Haha
I left my cheato in the tank and after the cscreen grew in it all died. I think yuo can guess why.
It didn't wilt and die or anything it just slowy receded until there was none left.
As far as power consumption, its no more power consuming than a skimmer, actually less so if you use your overflow from your tank to feed it instead of a seperate pump like I do.
Now SantaMonica totes it as never having to do water changes again and all that. And he really hasn't done once since 2008 jsut doses to replenish trace and calcium and stuff.
I'm not all about that, I still do WC 10% a week, but at least i know if i went on vacation for a month or soemthing that my system would be okie dokie if I could find someone to clean the screen for me.
Now I'm thinking of making one for my frag tank because I'm having phos problems in there and my SPS is not doing well, at least a 10g it won't need much for water flow or light.
I think you guys are probably a little skeptical just like I was and rightfully so, but i think if you stick to the guidlines you are going to be really pleased. At least I hope so other wise you might not let me talk to you all anymore LOL
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
Also, for those of you just starting your systems. Keep a log and pictures. give us some water parameters if you are starting off with nitrates and phos that is high. And show us some pics of your tank (especially if it has lots of hair algae)
Its fun to see the results and show everyone.
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
the dremel blade I think is 1/8" wide
I used a tabel saw, which I beleive is also 1/8"
Don't ask me how I used a table saw and still kept all my finders, i will not tell you!
 
2quills

2quills

Well-Known Member
I want to see someone try it by holding the pipe and one hand and using a recip saw in the other.
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
If I knew where the blade was for my dremel I'd glady use that next time.
I broke 2 pipes and shot 1 of them out the back of the tablesaw past my head and into teh side of a 100g acrylic tank I had sitting back there about 8 feet (thankfully no damage)
Don't use the table saw, I don't think it was the smartest thing Ive ever did.
 
btwk12

btwk12

Member
UPDATE i spent all night getting a 29 gal under my stand. i had to take the whole front off the stand, and also re work one of the supports inside the stand for it to fit. but i got it in there!!! now i have to go get all the tubing tommorow to run the return line. i have water mixing right now to fill the 29 up 5-6 inches or enough for the return. i dont really have a plan yet i'm just going to tinker with it tommorow until i figure it out.
 
btwk12

btwk12

Member
i didn't put any baffles in the sump, because i figured if this scrubber works as good as it says it does, then when i get my new skimmer, i will just put it in there next to the scrubber and fill the water to the desired height for the skimmer. i am running a hob skimmer right now and since i started dosing kalkwasser it has been pumping more gunk than i have ever seen, but i still want a new skimmer so i can hide it under the stand.i also have another light for the other side of the screen, but i have too much stuff plugged in right now. my uncle is coming this tuesday to put in 2 more outlets behind the tank and make it a little safer! (he's a licsensed electrician) he's probably gonna kill me for what i have goin on right now. also when is the first time i should clean my screen? my light is prob 4-5 inches away from screen.
 
btwk12

btwk12

Member
it actually does have a light film of brown algae like diatoms on it already. but i have my lights set a lot better now that it's under the tank.
 
al&burke

al&burke

Active Member
I was looking at my HOB fuge/skimmer bubble remover DIY thing I built, we are on the subject of ATS, I looked at the chut going back into the DT and there is algae growing on it, it gets plenty of light, I am going to put a piece of the knitting mesh on it to see if I can get more algae to grow, it is about 4 inches wide - I guess it wouldn't hurt to try. What do you guys think.
 
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