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My DIY algae scrubber

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by DanB, Nov 23, 2011.

  1. DanB Returning Reef Keeper

    49
    Marion, IA
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    +19 / 0 / -0
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TF8atvJHHOE&feature=youtube_gdata_player
     
  2. iaJim

    iaJim Inactive User

    775
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    +0 / 0 / -0
    Clever, but I don't know that I would trust a rotisserie motor to last through what an ATS is going to require.
     
  3. DanB Returning Reef Keeper

    49
    Marion, IA
    Ratings:
    +19 / 0 / -0
    The motor is a short term solution, but I wanted to see if the idea would work.
     
  4. iaJim

    iaJim Inactive User

    775
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    What's your long term idea? Is it working for you as you hoped?
     
  5. DanB Returning Reef Keeper

    49
    Marion, IA
    Ratings:
    +19 / 0 / -0
    It seems to be functioning fine so far, but it's only been up and running for a day now. I'm looking forward to see what kind of growth I get out of it. I have been running a more traditional scrubber for about a year now and wanted to try something new.
     
  6. Bela

    Bela Inactive User

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    Interesting. SO rather than having the water continuously flow over the mesh you are effectively dipping the mesh repeatedly over the day? Do you have any reason to believe this would work better than "traditional" setups? It sure looks like it takes up a lot more space.
     
  7. DanB Returning Reef Keeper

    49
    Marion, IA
    Ratings:
    +19 / 0 / -0
    It does take up more room but I think turning the screens sideways would save a lot of space. I could make the cam less aggresive and lower the whole unit. As far as will it function better, I don't know yet. I was just looking for a way to seperate the scrubber from the systems plumbing and some of the mantainance that goes with it. Instead of turning off my pump and waiting for the water to drain out I can just turn off the motor and unhook the screens.
     
  8. Bela

    Bela Inactive User

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    Pretty cool. Interested in seeing your results and comparison to your old setup.
     
  9. DanB Returning Reef Keeper

    49
    Marion, IA
    Ratings:
    +19 / 0 / -0
    Thanks Bela. I'll keep posting as I learn more.
     
  10. Bud Loves Bacon Website Team Board of Directors Leadership Team GIRS Member Vendor

    West Des Moines, IA
    Ratings:
    +1,814 / 14 / -0
    Wait until the next Santa Monica scrubber comes out in 2012. He has been telling me that it resolves many issues and concerns including the ones you mentioned, and I will be building them.

    Regarding your design, it will only work if it's extremely oversized, and I mean extremely, and the dipping motion would need to be much, much faster. What makes an algae scrubber work is rapid flow across the screen which penetrates the boundary layer - the microscopically close layer of water adjacent to the algae where the nutrient exchange occurs. The water movement at this point is almost zero, so fast thin flow is required to achieve adequate filtration, and this is pivotal to the success of an algae scrubber system. In the case of a vertical scrubber, a constant thin laminar high-speed flow breaches the boundary layer allowing nutrient exchange at it's maximum effectiveness. In the case of the horizontal dump-style scrubber, the rapid movement of water flow when the box dumps allows this nutrient exchange, and during the 'fill' period there is very little filtering, which is why these systems must be larger to be as effective. With yours, the only time the nutrient exchange is happening is right at the surface when the water that is clinging to the screen sheets off. Beyond that it is not filtering. Submerged screens do not work, that has been proven - even submerged screens with high flow across them do not work even a fraction as effectively as vertical waterfall screens.

    The reason I am saying this is because I am concerned that you think this system will adequately filter your system, and it definitely will not.

    Have you read up lately regarding sizing the screens based on the amount you feed versus the size of the tank? You can size your screen 12 square inches, lit on both sides, for each equivalent cube of food you feed per day. So if you feed 4 cubes per day you only need a 6 x 8 screen lit with one 23W CFL on each side. You can also double the wattage and halve the photoperiod and get better green growth and use your lamps longer.
     
  11. DanB Returning Reef Keeper

    49
    Marion, IA
    Ratings:
    +19 / 0 / -0
    Wow, my understanding of the mechanics of a scrubber is far more limited then I had thought. I was trying to replicate the boundry between land and water like what's found around a dock suport. The area that is left exposed at low tide has very high algae growth. What you are saying is that it is the constant action of the waves hitting the suport and then sheeting off. Thank you for your advice and I would very much like to hear about the santa monica scrubber you mentioned.
     
  12. Bud Loves Bacon Website Team Board of Directors Leadership Team GIRS Member Vendor

    West Des Moines, IA
    Ratings:
    +1,814 / 14 / -0
    Basically, yes. The waves hitting a pier create a very turbulent area. The more turbulence, then higher the breakdown of the boundary layer where nutrients are exchanged and thus the greater the algal growth. I'm not saying your idea won't work, I would just have the screens dipping in and out much faster and that would actually work pretty well, but yet again the key is at what point is filtering occurring, and that is only when the water and algae are moving quickly with respect to one another.

    I am curious myself to see what Bryan / SM has come up with. He's zipped his lip on this one until the patent issues are all taken care of. The only thing he has told me since April about it is that it will not be easy to DIY and will require acrylic fabrication skills beyond what the normal hobbyist is typically capable of. That and something about 'very small parts', and the fact that you don't need to turn the pump off to remove and clean the screen.
     
  13. Bela

    Bela Inactive User

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    Translation: expensive /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/biggrin.gif
     
  14. Bud Loves Bacon Website Team Board of Directors Leadership Team GIRS Member Vendor

    West Des Moines, IA
    Ratings:
    +1,814 / 14 / -0
    Actually it's supposed to be more affordable.
     
  15. Bela

    Bela Inactive User

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    I'm not sure I follow. It is more complicated to make than previous versions yet it's less expensive?
     
  16. Bud Loves Bacon Website Team Board of Directors Leadership Team GIRS Member Vendor

    West Des Moines, IA
    Ratings:
    +1,814 / 14 / -0
    I guess we should wait and find out, but the main issues that he was trying to overcome with scrubbers were the need to shut the pump/flow off for cleaning, the slot tube, and the cost. The new version is supposed to be highly efficient which means smaller. More difficult to build does not necessarily mean more expensive, just requires skill, which I guess could be translated to cost if one wanted to.
     

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