Above tank FX5 powerd Algae scrubber build (pics)

[How About That]

thanks for updating! did you end up using the same bulbs you started with?

 

[Err]

very cool any chance we can get a current pic of the scrubber?

absalutely, its hard to get light in on the scrubber without the reflection bleaching it out. Next time I pull it out I'll take a good pic, but here it is a quickie I snaped. Also I fixed the plumbing, so I added a pic of that as well.

 

[Err]

thanks for updating! did you end up using the same bulbs you started with?

No prob! But I did end up switching one of the 6700k bulbs for a pink "color max" bulb. I figured it would give the algae a wider range of light to work with, and with a 6700k bulb now over the tank it brightened it up. So now both the tank and scrubber both have a 6700k and "color max" bulb.

 

[Griller]

So there you have it folks, its working! How well is to be seen but its doing pretty good so far.

That is great work Err. I'm impressed. Nitrate readings that low are the holy grail!

How heavily stocked is your tank???

 

[mssassysan2000]

Nice set up.

 

[I<3fish]

That is great work Err. I'm impressed. Nitrate readings that low are the holy grail!

How heavily stocked is your tank???

Go to page 1 and look at his pictures to find out : P.

And as for the OP, I absolutely LOVE this idea of having a monster algae scrubber on top of the tank. I want to do this on a 300 gallon so expect something of epic proportions coming up in the next 6-8 months, hehe. How much was the cost of the acrylic for this project if you don't mind sharing, and I am sure many others would enjoy knowing this as well. Can I know the dimensions of this thing?

 

[Err]

That is great work Err. I'm impressed. Nitrate readings that low are the holy grail!
How heavily stocked is your tank???

Thanks! I have 2 5-6" Longfin Oscars, 1 5" Royal pleco and a 8" silver aro in a 48"x18x24 90gal But they will be in a 240wide by march so im not too worried about running out of space.

Nice set up.

Thanks

Go to page 1 and look at his pictures to find out : P.

And as for the OP, I absolutely LOVE this idea of having a monster algae scrubber on top of the tank. I want to do this on a 300 gallon so expect something of epic proportions coming up in the next 6-8 months, hehe. How much was the cost of the acrylic for this project if you don't mind sharing, and I am sure many others would enjoy knowing this as well. Can I know the dimensions of this thing?

Thank you, now somthing you could put on a 300gal could definately be powerd by an FX5 . The dimentions of this are 49"Lx4.5"Wx5"H. I got the 49x36" sheet of 1/4" acrylic at a local plastics company for 80 bucks, they wanted like 150 for it at a generic glass company though. I went to home depot and got some silicone made for "acrylic and other plastics" for like 3 bucks,dont get it, it sucks, and im eventyally going to have to redo the seals on this thing (butcher it to make a huge one for my 240?). Other than that it was free, I used my moms wetsaw to make all the cuts and a dremel tool to cut the hole for the 10$ bulkhead. I allredy had all the other stuff like the lights and mag350 to power it. I spent about 100 bucks and a weekend putting it all together. The only downside to this set up is that it dose block light over what ever part of the tank it covers, not completely but it gets very dim.

 

[Jgray152]

I have been wanting to do something like that as well. Nice going. You gave me some ideas. I need an algae scrubber on my tank. My water changes are around once a month or two.

 

[I<3fish]

How about instead of that acryllic you used to grow algae on-what about lava rock? It is extremely rough, porous, and bacteria could colonize it so you could add some extra filtration if you may think you are underfiltered. You could add a bit throughout the whole thing. I think it would work better than roughed up acryllic as the algae would have a good place to hold it's roots.

 

[Fishman0]

How about instead of that acryllic you used to grow algae on-what about lava rock? It is extremely rough, porous, and bacteria could colonize it so you could add some extra filtration if you may think you are underfiltered. You could add a bit throughout the whole thing. I think it would work better than roughed up acryllic as the algae would have a good place to hold it's roots.

after a while, the algae needs to be removed. am i correct?

therefore the acrylic allows easy removal as lava rock would be a pita