Do you think I can turn this into an algae scrubber? I would have to drill some holes in the glass but I'm not a stranger to drilling glass. This is the ATO that came with the RedSea Reefer 170. The dimensions are 9Lx4.5Wx9H. My display is 34g (24x20x20) and sump is roughly 9 gallons. Total volume is 43 gallons.
You could, yes. For an enclosure though I find thinner is better, so 2" instead of 4.5" dim. Promotes 3D type growth.
Should I just make one out of acrylic? it has to be 4.5" wide because that is how the bracing fits in the sump. I could make the top, bottom, front, and back out of back acrylic. The longer sides would be out of clear. What sized screen would I need for my tank. The display is 34g and sump is 9g. I plan on doing all sps and would love to feed my fish well.
You're probably talking a pretty small scrubber for 40-45g total volume. I kind of default to 2 cube/day as a minimum because most off-the-shelf lights fit that profile well. But you could do 3x3, 4x3, 5x3, etc and probably still be OK as long as the light and flow are right. 4x6 or even 6x6 would probably work too but I wouldn't go much over that.
What kind of flow should I shoot for? I could plumb it from main overflow drain or from a separate pump, it doesn't matter. I was just wondering how much flow for say a 3x3 or 4x3 screen. What do you mean when you say off the shelf lights? Any examples?
