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DIY Drop Algae Scrubber

Trio91

Trio91

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i am thinking about doing a DIY version of a drop algae scrubber and i am looking for some advice....mainly on waterproofing or purchasing a water proof led. in case you do not know, here is what a drop scrubber will look like.

drop6laidout-cart.jpg


something like this should happen

UasAmwassilOnAS-2.5.jpg


this particular item, ranges from about $60 and up.....so overall i would like to keep my budget under that if possible, if not, i will just purchase one of these
 
Trio91

Trio91

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so now that you know....here is where i am with this....

for the housing, i was thinking about using my refractometer case...it's solid dark and should fit into my rear chamber

Antifreeze%20Refractometer.JPG
 
Trio91

Trio91

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now here are the questions....mainly waterproofing

1. Led, is there a water proof LED i can use for this? if not what options are out there?
2. i will need to weigh this down, so i doesn't float when i ass bubbles to it, what can use as "safe" weight that won't corrode in the salt water and what can i use to seal the weight in the container? can i use magnets?

aside from that, i am going to try best to mimic what is done in the 1st photo.....drill holes in the top and bottom, run the airline behind the mesh...glue it and that should be it (unless i am missing something)

in case let me know, thanx guys
 
Trio91

Trio91

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any ideas on what to use for that firm, rough mesh? (like what's in the 1st pic)
 
Ls2Goat

Ls2Goat

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This is my DIY scrubber, cost less than $50 in parts.
 

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Trio91

Trio91

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Anybody have any idea on how to mount/install the light? There is a radio shack not far from me, if there anything I can get from there that will work?
 
Ls2Goat

Ls2Goat

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trio91 said:
Anybody have any idea on how to mount/install the light? There is a radio shack not far from me, if there anything I can get from there that will work?
Click to expand...

Could try a submersible led, but the scrubbers work best when fully lit from both sides.

If you have a biocube you need the InTank media and refugium racks, the fuge rack allows you to grow chaeto with the use of a submersible led.
IMO that's your best bet!
 
Trio91

Trio91

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Moderator
Ls2Goat said:
Could try a submersible led, but the scrubbers work best when fully lit from both sides.

If you have a biocube you need the InTank media and refugium racks, the fuge rack allows you to grow chaeto with the use of a submersible led.
IMO that's your best bet!
Click to expand...
I do have the rack, (thank god) and currently it's being used with a bunch of filters n media. I am also running a tunze skimmer in the rear as well. I still have some room in the rear to drop it in. The 1st pic, has only one light Installed on it facing inward....a red one....I am sure I can do it, I am just not sure about LED's and I need to wire this thing. Do you have a link to the submersible LED? Or know of something at radio shack that i can get?
 
Ls2Goat

Ls2Goat

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trio91 said:
I do have the rack, (thank god) and currently it's being used with a bunch of filters n media. I am also running a tunze skimmer in the rear as well. I still have some room in the rear to drop it in. The 1st pic, has only one light Installed on it facing inward....a red one....I am sure I can do it, I am just not sure about LED's and I need to wire this thing. Do you have a link to the submersible LED? Or know of something at radio shack that i can get?
Click to expand...

What cube do you have?
I started this hobby with cubes, and still have a 14 going strong.
In my experience the skimmers small enough to fit inside the cubes where particularly useless, I only had success with HOB ones.

I have this
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00Q2W4X76?pc_redir=T1&refRID=0CBFRVPF2QBE5SWYZ6HE

I also have the JBJ nano-Glo, but if you have the older cubes you have to scrape the paint away.

I use this site for my nano goods
BioCube - inTank, LLC
 
Trio91

Trio91

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Ls2Goat said:
What cube do you have?
I started this hobby with cubes, and still have a 14 going strong.
In my experience the skimmers small enough to fit inside the cubes where particularly useless, I only had success with HOB ones.

I have this
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00Q2W4X76?pc_redir=T1&refRID=0CBFRVPF2QBE5SWYZ6HE

I also have the JBJ nano-Glo, but if you have the older cubes you have to scrape the paint away.

I use this site for my nano goods
BioCube - inTank, LLC
Click to expand...
my cube is doing fine, i have just been feeding really heavy lately so i am getting some GHA in the rear. a simple solution would be to reduce amount at feedings, up water changes and manually remove the GHA, but i want to keep the life fat and healthy (including the corals) which is why i wanted to explore the drop algae scrubber. sure it won't be an end all fix, but if it pulls algae like whats in the photos then that's a "win-win" for me

right now my tank is only stocked with 5 fish (lubbock wrasse, green chromis, oc. clown, yellow goby, and a fire fish) the rest is CUC and corals
 
Ls2Goat

Ls2Goat

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Looking good, when you said cube I assumed biocube the Red Sea has bigger rear chambers so the tunze is perfect.
I'm still not convinced a scrubber would fit, maybe an upstream scrubber. I'd still attempt a fuge first.
 
Trio91

Trio91

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yea i thought about a fuge, but i didn't want the additional plumbing and what not...worse case i can drop it into the tank on the side but this is all just an experiment...it's all going to boil down to if i can DIY this thing, if not i will have to see what the dimensions are for the other manufactured unit

the upstream is basically what this is (the 1st pic with the black box)....my version (the blue box) is what i am looking to mimic

the main issue is the light, im not very tech savvy so that's where i am stuck at....i don't want to destroy my refractometer case if i don't have to)

here is a video that i found....so you can understand my madness
 
njtiger24 aquariums

njtiger24 aquariums

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They look like they would work. Got to let me know how it works out for you. I been thinking of doing something like that as well but got to many unfinished projects going on right now lol
 
Trio91

Trio91

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im going to get it this weekend along with something else i need for my RODI unit (need 2 "T's" to make a flush valve)...being that it will be so hot out, i might as well give myself something to do

my concern on this will be of course $$...this is $25 so that's almost half of my budget already.
 
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