1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

Richiero's Tank & Scrubber

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Richiero, Jan 10, 2014.

Welcome to Algae Scrubbing Join our community today
  1. Turbo

    Turbo Does not really look like Johnny Carson Staff Member Site Owner Multiple Units! Customer

    Sorry, been slammed at work & home. On the slot pipe, let me get back to you later this week. On the photoperiod, you could probably bump it up a few hours and see how that goes. As long as you don't start to get bare spots or thinner growth in front of the LEDs, that's fine. I would adjust no more than 2 hours/day each week.
     
  2. here is my growth after 1 and a half weeks when should i clean the screen? and is there anything you can suggest to from the two pics? thank you.
     

    Attached Files:

  3. Turbo

    Turbo Does not really look like Johnny Carson Staff Member Site Owner Multiple Units! Customer

    You might just try making a pass over the screen with your fingertips in a shallow pan of tank water, or maybe just give it a good shake and whatever stays on leave on. Just don't scrape hard or scrub. That's the most I would do. Usually when you remove the screen or stop the flow then start it again, you will have some algae break free. So generally whenever you remove the screen, you want to at least rinse it briefly. Just for future reference. I should probably put that in the basics.

    Richiero I might go ahead and break all your posts related to your scrubber off into another thread. Continue to post here until I do, just FYI
     
  4. ok no problem will do that. let me know about slot pipe pricing... thx
     
  5. Hey Floyd any word on that slot pipe?
     
  6. and i am still getting that brown slime like growth and not a green growth its been 3 weeks should i just let it do its thing ?
     
  7. Turbo

    Turbo Does not really look like Johnny Carson Staff Member Site Owner Multiple Units! Customer

    Sorry, I just got over being sick in time to hit my 3rd deadline in 2 weeks, 2 more to hit by Wednesday then I can breathe a bit

    I would say just brush off once a week lightly and whatever stays attached, leave it on, but at some point you will want to scrape with a credit card and just leave whatever stays in the holes in place. Pic?
     
  8. sorry to hear you been sick hope you feel better , i will get in touch on thurs.
     
  9. Turbo

    Turbo Does not really look like Johnny Carson Staff Member Site Owner Multiple Units! Customer

    Definitely better...but 4 more deadlines to hit before Wednesday
     
  10. Whats up Floyd, i am still only getting that brown slimy brown growth on my scrubber screen with only some green growth 14 hrs of light. any suggestions? and anything on that slot pipe? thank you again
     
  11. Turbo

    Turbo Does not really look like Johnny Carson Staff Member Site Owner Multiple Units! Customer

    Deadlines hit...wife hit with strep, out cold 100% flat on back for 4 days, so it's been me + work + kids

    Take a pic of it with water still running on it and post. Are you running a single continuous photoperiod? 14 hrs straight? Post pic first before changing anything, I want to see exactly what it looks like
     
  12. Sorry to hear about the wife its never good when the mom goes down, hope she is feeling better. I break up the photo period with four 3 hr periods and one two hr period. Here is a video hope it helps let me know if you need a better one, the scrubber is perpendicular to the side walls of the sump so its hard for me to get a good video without either taking off the slash guards or turning the whole unit which is tough b/c is such a tight space. Thank you again for the help.

     
  13. Turbo

    Turbo Does not really look like Johnny Carson Staff Member Site Owner Multiple Units! Customer

    Sorry to ask but would you be able to take that video again and use a flashlight to light up the screen with white light? I was trying to get a feel for the look and color and I can't quite see it in that video.
     
  14. Is this video better?
     
  15. Turbo

    Turbo Does not really look like Johnny Carson Staff Member Site Owner Multiple Units! Customer

    MUCH better!!

    I see very thin stringy green hair algae around the edges of the screen, furthest away from the light. Then as you go progressively more towards the middle it looks like it turns into the type of brown growth that disintegrates as soon as you touch it - no volume to it at all, meaning you can't really scrape it and 'squeeze' all the water out to get a ball of algae. If this is the case, I would say that you are burning (or rather photo-saturating) the screen. I believe this is the case.

    The solution is to back off the intensity of the light by placing a diffuser in front of the fixtures. I would also reduce the photoperiod down to 10 hours/day. What I would also do is alternate which fixture is on throughout the cycle so that you only have one fixture on at a time. This means that each fixture will only be on a total of 5 hours/day.

    I just scrolled through the thread to see where you increased the photoperiod and I think it was after I mentioned adding 1-2 hours to the daily cycle and seeing how it goes. I might have not communicated that well, I'll blame it on the rash of sickness in our house combined with crazy work schedules.

    You really should not increase the photoperiod unless you have good, consistent, harvestable growth and a fully mature screen. That is goal #1 and if you aren't there, adding more time (especially with strong LEDs) will prevent that goal from being attained. What you need to do is encourage the growth to fill in and "baby" it until it does. So in your case I'm saying now that you need to cut WAY back because your lights are way too intense for the little growth you have. Adding the diffuser might do the trick alone, but alternating fixtures was what did the trick on one of the first LED scrubbers I ever built, which used the e-Shine grow bars (see Spotter's thread on RC, large tanks, the old thread - he is building a new tank "low country reef" - I think he links to the prior one) and those light were way overkill and this situation rings strongly of familiarity with that. The alternating light method, used on a newer screen, will allow enough light to bleed through to the growth in the middle and other side of the screen, then the other fixture takes over and bleeds light through to the other side.

    Run it this way for several weeks and post pics and video and post here. I'm pretty sure this will put you on track and I do have you in the cue for a slot pipe still!!!
     
  16. OK i will put the photo period back to 10 hrs, put a diffuser on the lights and alternate the fixtures, how long of a break in between alternating the photo period with the fixtures should there be? And for the diffuser what should i use i know some use stockings i was thinking of using the plastic that you use to cover house hold florescent fixtures the bumpy cloudy plastic stuff. Thank you for helping and i hope the wife is feeling better. Looking forward to the slot pipe.
     
  17. Turbo

    Turbo Does not really look like Johnny Carson Staff Member Site Owner Multiple Units! Customer

    The diffuser material should be the kind like is in the ceiling of a 2x4 recessed fluorescent fixture. The bumpy stuff is correct. You can find this at Lowe's in the ceiling tile section, htere will be a few kinds but the one by Plaskolite (green and white label) is what you want, or something similar. Nothing frosted. Cut it with the smooth side down with a utility knife while you have it on a piece of wood. Make several passes with gentle pressure (a straightedge/level helps) and eventually you will make a clean cut. Don't try to score & snap, you will end up with shards everywhere, and don't try cutting with a hacksaw it will shatter. bumpy side toward the light, just tape it in place or use zip ties.

    Don't do the stocking thing, too many types of stockings plus i don't know how those will react to heat of the fixture (melt possibility)
     
  18. Difusser check I attached them with Velcro , just wonder now that I am alternating the lights how long should I wait before the other one comes on ?


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     
  19. Turbo

    Turbo Does not really look like Johnny Carson Staff Member Site Owner Multiple Units! Customer

    you can have a little cross-over if you want. So you might just alternate one per hour for 10 hours, or leave time in between, I don't think that the length of the gap matters a lot.
     
  20. Ok sounds good I will leave 1/2 gap in between, I will keep you posted, just let me know about the slot pipe, have a great weekend. And thank you for all the help.


    Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
     

Share This Page