My DIY "algae scrubber" prototype attempt
- Thread starter FishFanMan
- Start date
Just FYI, I began with minimal ferts and no CO2 but my plants weren't growing well. So I slowly began ferts and saw my plants grow better then added CO2 and got better results which I am happy with. At the same time, algae grew on my ornaments and plants and thus I am on this path to see if I can stop the algae. And it's been working well so far. I think I am at a good fert level and do not wish to decrease that.
The second reason I'm keeping this going is something I totally did not expect or think about. That is the impact on TDS. I maintain my TDS in the range of 140 to 180 and when it hits 180 I do a WC to get it down. It used to take about 2 to 3 weeks to increase to 180. But with this scrubber going it has greatly decreased the rate of climb which is fantastic! Because my params (3 basics) are great this mean I don't have to do a WC as often. Maybe monthly to clean the bottom and reduce the TDS. Now if I create a batch of 140 TDS topoff water, I may be able to create a very stable TDS environment.
The second reason I'm keeping this going is something I totally did not expect or think about. That is the impact on TDS. I maintain my TDS in the range of 140 to 180 and when it hits 180 I do a WC to get it down. It used to take about 2 to 3 weeks to increase to 180. But with this scrubber going it has greatly decreased the rate of climb which is fantastic! Because my params (3 basics) are great this mean I don't have to do a WC as often. Maybe monthly to clean the bottom and reduce the TDS. Now if I create a batch of 140 TDS topoff water, I may be able to create a very stable TDS environment.
