Hi all, new member here but I've read a bunch and built my Scrubber off of this sites specs! I have a 6" slot, a 5.5"X11" screen and a 250gph sheik pump that I tested to have 220 gph actual flow. My system has been up about 2 months but I'm not getting any hair algae. I do have an even dark green covering that I clear off every 3-4 days but even after leaving it 10 days the algae is no different.
"Eheim" not Sheik, My question is do I stay the course or is this "Black Algae" I want the bright green hair algae and the best possible filter. I have 15 ppm Nitrate with this filter. I have discus and I feed a lot of beef heart. Not sure of the cube count but I feed about 2 ounces (volume not weight) every day Thanks for any replys
Definitely not "black algae" that is actually pretty rare, it's like a film that flakes off & you have to scrub it to get it off, leaves the screen stark white under it With FW you will grow different algae - much finer and hairlike. Don't expect to get the bright green mass like you see SW folks posting, you're not going to get that. How long are you running the lights? At this point in the maturity of your screen, you should probably be running 24/7 What is their listed wattage? How close are they to the screen? Looks like 6-8", I think they can be closer (FW algae needs a LOT of intensity) but do this cautiously - 1" at a time, then wait for verification. Hint: remove the reflector domes. They are doing nothing positive; they are trapping heat. These are only for use with incandescent or spiral CFLs really Lastly, NICE discus tank man!!!!
Thanks Turbo! Glad to know the algae is the healthy kind. I was running the lights for 18hrs but I'll go 24/7. The two lights are 24W LEDs TaoTronics Plant Grow Lights TT-GL22 I had them at 3" away from the screen when I started but I think it was burning because the center of the screen wouldn't grow any algae, now that there's consistent growth I'll move them in 1" every few days and see what happens. The reflector domes are now gone! Thanks for the complement on the tank!!! These guy's are 2 1/2 years old and pretty much done growing. I used to change a lot of water, 75% daily and had no substrate. Now that they're older and don't need as clean of water I added sand and am changing less water, but now I need to think about nitrates so I'm giving a FW Algae scrubber a try! Thanks again and I'll post updates
