Supporting scrubber via the drains

I don't see a problem with that, but I'm having a hard time picturing it.

 

done!

 

Yeah that looks like it will work pretty well! The only thing that might cause an issue is the amount of vertical drop and being able to control the flow and tune the drain to a siphon with the valve. Let me know if you have any problems getting that dialed in. If I need to call/skype/facetime we can do that

 

Micro bubbles will abate over time. When you have a brand new screen, that allows a lot of air to get mixed in as the water passes over it. When you start to get algae growth, this will slow down. Once you get a good base of algae on the screen, you may never get any bubbles.

If you are able to tune the drain such that the water level on the inside of the Growth Chamber is even, then you should not have any issues with air getting sucked under the false bottom from the edges.

When I say "even"...this is hard to explain, which is why I need a video. The water will "pile up" on the false bottom (usually about 1/4" to 1/2" or so). Then at the ends of the false bottom, it drops off and goes under the false bottom toward the drain. This is the air entrainment point. If you valve the drain back until the water level on either side of the false bottom is roughly equal to the level on top of the false bottom (hence, even) then this is your sweet spot. If you can tune the drain to that point, you're good to go for the long term.

If you can't, that means that the weight of the water column pushing down on the valve flap is too much - but I don't see that being the case. Let me know if it is though.

 

Yes - knock the lights back to the 6 o'clock position (knob straight down), you don't want to run full-bore right out of the gate, that will typically result in photosaturation = no growth. 15 hours/day at ~50% intensity is a good starting point. It's in the manual I linked you to on the support site. I really really need to re-write that thing!!

LED Fixture operation and settings

Full flow with the Rio 1100 for yours is probably good. You have a bit more vertical head so I would estimate you are probably running right around 210-220 GPH. I flow tested at 13" of vertical head and got 240 GPH, but it's been a while since I ran a set of flow tests.

I also need to write a section on the screen break-in and cleaning, the short of it is don't scrub it with a brush for a while

 

@iced98lx I just saw your RC post, did you lose the screen pin? it's a 1/4" diameter 2" long ABS rod that you use for holding the screen in place, I see you are using a zip tie...

 

So that's 7 days, right?

Could do a palm swipe and quick rinse, then back in, or let it grow for a few more days.

I wrote this Quick Start guide up yesterday that covers a few things

QUICK START GUIDE