My DIY "algae scrubber" prototype attempt

Roy, thanks for commenting. I think this contraption is helping my tank for sure. I have no new brown algae anymore and have noticed much less algae on the tank glass. As far as I can tell, my plants are growing well in the display tank. I do about 1 ml of liquid CO2 a day for this 34 G tank. I have again increased my lighting from the LEDs by over driving them to about 17 volts instead of 12. It's so much brighter than 12 volts. I could go to 24, but I think I will fry my LEDs with that; plus above 18 volts it was not much brighter.

Here's what it looks like today. I call it my primordial soup in a box! It's just a mass of green stuff. It's amazing how much growth is in here.

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I'm not sure how the crypt is doing down there but I'm going to make this into a better algae scrubber. I guess it will be called the uplift scrubber. Air bubbles and roughed up plastic thingy that algae will grow on. And I will reconfigure the light to shine upwards from the bottom of the box. Hopefully nothing will be seen from the front of the tank. I plan to cover the entire box with foil to contain all the light also. So, I will SAVE the crypt and put in my new QT tank. I'll just have this fine fluffy algae growing in my scrubber. Should have it done next week.

The only thing I'm worried about is this algae escaping from this box and into my DT tank. I'd hate for it to attach and grow in there. The algae is growing in the discharge shoot of the box, it's just a matter of time that some will detach and flow in my DT tank. I also see a few snails in the box, I really hate snails and don't want them in the DT tank either....

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Well, I've completely cleaned out my box due to explosion of snails. Snail eggs were everywhere and I want zero snails my DT. So I'm moving to a more conventional scrubber using the plastic thingy and bubbles. This is what it looks like now.

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And I've reconfigured the lighting. I didn't like the light box on top, so now it shines from the bottom. It's a much cleaner look and I don't think it will matter because it's just going to grow algae.

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I did save some of the algae that was growing previously and used that to seed this version. Just hoping there aren't any baby snails on the algae..

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Let's see how this setup works. The air is supposed to make the algae really grow. Air was the element that was missing from the first prototype.

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by brown algae are you referring to Diatom - brown algae(not really an algae as diatoms are actually animals).. it is common in new glass tanks or substrate that may have silicate in it..once used up it tend to go away...most glass tanks suffer from 'new' tank syndrome ...after a few weeks / months it is usually not an issue..

but I see you are getting descent results with your TDS..
 
I've always been a bit skeptical about the glass leaching silia/silicates that fuels diatoms. Glass is very inert, otherwise we wouldn't be using it for aquariums. Same goes for silica based sand...that technically shouldn't be releasing anything either, although quality of many types will vary depending on the source and sometimes you never know what's in a bag of sand.

As for why they are so common in newer tanks, I'm not sure if there is another definitive answer. Somehow it is part of the ebb and flow of aquariums as it matures. People have had them pop up at various times as well when the tank isn't exactly newer either. In general, I find that algae aren't quite as selective as people sometimes make them out to be, whereas people live by the rules that algae X must occur because of nutrient/condition Y. When we're talking about glass boxes, inoculation plays a big role...if you get a certain spore or fragment and it happens to like the conditions, you'll get further growth. Add in the fact that most people aren't experts on IDing algae ("green filamentous algae" is very vague) and it gets more complicated.
 
I'll try to post a pic of this brown stuff that grew on my plants and ornaments. It's not as bad now but there are spots that have not cleared yet. I do believe between this contraption and liquid CO2, my tank looks much better. I'm just curious if algae will grow well in this box. If not I'll look into other plant options suggested previously.
 
Ok, here are couple of pictures of the "brown" algae that was growing on my plants and ornaments. I don't see much new growth now with this scrubber going which is great. Are these diatoms?

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And after just 5 days, this is what my scrubber looks like. It's really taking off now. Couple days ago, I put in 2 more sheets in there for a total of 4. I think that gives it pretty good square inches of area for a small box.

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That looks more like BGA to me. Honestly, I would just trim off all affected leaves.
 
I left it for my SAE to but as he has bigger he has developed the taste for flaked food and doesn't seem to go at this stuff as much. So yeah, I might as trim them. Tank would look much nicer without them. Thanks!
 
You are trying to induce algae growth by increasing light, reducing nutrients, and reducing co2 in your "srubber". Logic dictates doing the opposite in your tank would help reduce algae. Small changes and patience. I would reduce your light to 6-7 hours a day and maintain a consistent fert and co2 dosing routine. Make sure you do regular water changes as well. From there just leave it alone for 6-8 weeks. Sit back and observe then change ONE thing at a time. Easier said than done as hobbyists we like to constantly change things around.
 
Thanks for your input. My goal is to reduce nutrients that algae need to grow, yet have enough nutrients, CO2, and light for my plants to grow nicely. It's that balance I'm trying to reach. I was maintaining a regimen for about 2 months but I was still getting this "brown" algae growing on my ornaments and plants. (API Liquid CO2 has the last change). Ferts are monthly root tabs and weekly API leaf zone. What I did notice with CO2 was better plant growth but no change in algal growth. So that's when I started looking into the "scrubber". I think the better term is algae nutrient sink.

The point of this contraption is to create an environment that enables explosive algal growth (lots of light and oxygen). This would cause the algae in this box to consume lots of nutrients from the display tank and thus stop or reduce algal growth in the DT. In the month that I have used this scrubber, I have noticed reduced "brown" algae growth in the DT. So I think this is working for me and my plants continue to grow well.

So if this will allow me to keep my photo period the same length, keep my lighting at this intensity (very high I think), and feeding schedule the same AND reduce algae growth, I think I'm at balance (most may not agree I know).
(I like 8 hours and lots of bright LED lighting).

Also, I don't think this is BGA. I had that problem and treated it with Chemiclean. BGA cleared up fantastically but had no affect on this "brown" algae.
 
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