Huma's DIY Turf scrubber

[huma-huma]

wellthe time has come, im tired of the constant algae and the such over running my beautiful 125.. after stumbling across turf scrubbers, or algae scrubbers, i realized that they are fairly simple and easy to diy. before i start building though i must give credit to Floyd R Turbo, for his threads on diy scrubbers is providing me with 95% of the info needed to accomplish this. i have 2 goals id like to accomplish, 1) completely spotless tank with no skimmer, and 2) keep this as low cost as possible to show that a little bit of work and handiness can produce cost effective products. i already have the tools needed to carry out this build, so they wont be factored into the total cost. i also have some pvc piping laying around so it too may offset the price a tad. I went out and bought the screen today from a fabric store, 13x28 sheet for $1.30. oh and im gonna keep a running tally of cost. tonight i am planning on getting all calculations out of the way, (flowrate, screen size, lighting, etc) and also prepare/clean the screen for duty. for anyone wishing to research and understand what exactly turf scrubbers are, heres a link

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f20/algae-scrubber-basics-163817.html

more info and pics soon!!

 

[coffeetwitch]

sorry i watch too much tosh.0

whats the plastic screen called? and if i walk in and ask for the stuff, they wont look at me like im stupid will they?

 

[huma-huma]

nope at all jesse, its called mesh #7 but if you ask someone at a fabric store, just tell them you need plastic artists canvas #7 clear, im gonna upload pics but im in the middle of figuring out all the numbers. some already sad news though, it seems as though 1 single overflow is pushing 180 gph...thats absolutely pathetic, im gonna take 10 minutes and see if i cant use my skimmer pump and run 2 return pumps...as it stands right now, id have to make a sheet 5.15in wide and 24in tall... i wont be able to fit it comfortably into the stand, so only way to shorten the height of the sheet is to increase flowrate so i can make the sheet wider. im going into this fully accepting im not cutting corners on effeciency so i either have to run 2 pumps or buy a bigger one...which isnt an option. back in a bit

 

[huma-huma]

oh and another relavent note, my overflow flow is soo low due to pump, its nowhere near topping out. it wasnt even using half the pipe while draining...

 

[coffeetwitch]

180 gph? i thought your return pump was more than that.

 

[huma-huma]

it [mod edit] well better be, you do have to take into account it does t off to go to opposite ends of the tank, but i checked the other drain pipe and its barely even draining (due to the tank not being 100% level, darn settling!!) but im having a hard time looking up the spec because theres no manufacturer or specs on the pump. info is listed as below

E160713
8c99
Model 5

if youre bored and would like to help research id greatly appreciate it. just need to know gph.

 

[huma-huma]

found it, went out on the limb and typed mag 5 pump into google images....thats it. 500 gph MAX, which ill jist go ahead and say that its cut considerably due to the T-split... gonna go attempt to run both pumps because my other one is rated at 650...1150gph combined should do the job..be back

 

[coffeetwitch]

model 5 is danner mag drive or pond master

8c99 looks like how danner date codes them.

conclution.... danner mag drive. 500gph at 0feet . after all your pipe i would say 180 is close to what it should be.

 

[coffeetwitch]

ha never mind

 

[huma-huma]

lmao good researching though, yeah i took off the t and connected just one side of the return jets and wow is it kicking out water on that side...now if only i can get the old piping off the second pump id be good...

 

[huma-huma]

got both running now, no t split, just one pump feeding each side. ) this guys plenty excited and happy! guess i shoulda cleaned the excessive algae outta the return piping....being that each hose now has 500-650 gph flowing through it, it decided to forcibly clean itself by blowing chunks of algae ALL OVER the tank lol. my fish were sooo confused.. gonna top off the sump then prob get ready for bed. gonna try to get a good bit done tomorrow. by adding another 650gph return pump i more than doubled the flowrate so if i plug that into the equation, it comes out to a sheet size of 10.28w and 12.15h....thats lightyears better than a 24in tall sheet.... i can live with that... well off to finish up now. again thanks jesse

 

[coffeetwitch]

dont know what i did, but your welcome. keep the info and progress coming brent.

 

[huma-huma]

i swear, if i cant find one more tool...this is the hardest part of building anything in my house... i wanna be upset with my 4 yr old son but i truly cant because he likes playing with my tools.

 

[coffeetwitch]

yep yep... when i was his age i liked tools too. by the time i was 6 i could take apart drills. never could seem to get them back together and work. still cant.

 

[huma-huma]

yep yep... when i was his age i liked tools too. by the time i was 6 i could take apart drills. never could seem to get them back together and work. still cant.

soooo what youre telling me in at some point (prob within a few years) i can expect my son to not only take my tools, but dismantle them and lose parts?!? i think im officially signing off of the whole parent duty... thats too much for me. i can handle middle of the night wake ups and random messes around the house, but dismantled tools...thats wrong

 

[SwimsWithFish]

soooo what youre telling me in at some point (prob within a few years) i can expect my son to not only take my tools, but dismantle them and lose parts?!? i think im officially signing off of the whole parent duty... thats too much for me. i can handle middle of the night wake ups and random messes around the house, but dismantled tools...thats wrong

Well spoken.

 

[coffeetwitch]

updates?

 

[huma-huma]

That's scary...I was just getting on to post an update...
Just got back from lowes, now have 2 5' sections of 3/4" tubing for the frame. (Was supposed to be 3 but I somehow grabbed a 1/2" one that was mixed in... took my current 3/4 tubing out from under the tank, used a piece to make the waterfall arm, which I also learned that my grandfather can't cut a straight line in pvc ti save his life. Gonna build as much of the frame as possible and get the screen cut to length and roughed up...off to test the flow of the waterfall pipe

 

[coffeetwitch]

lol good info to know. i have to mark 360 on the pipe to get close.

pictures if you can.

 

[huma-huma]

def have 6-7 pics which im attempting to upload...but while i do that ive got a bit of bad news, but alot of good!! i figured since i now didnt have enough to build the entire frame, i mineaswell cut the legs, size the screen and rough it, and loose fit test it to see what happened...well the slot alone performed pretty decent, except the water doesnt drop straight out it kinda angles out (v2.0 fix i promise). so i finished up the screen and ziptied it on... again works great except the water angles slightly and doesnt hit 100% of the screen, prob hits 90%. so i take it off and bond the endcap on... now heres the bad news...im scrapping this design and heres why. i was planning on building a frame which consisted of 4 legs then a square ontop..then securing the slot tube to the top of it...so the screen hung down the middle. well 1) it doesnt hold it high enough for the lighting and 2) its just too much excess work.. now the good news. i noticed that there are 2 horizontal braces, they split the length of the tank into 3rds.. and i just so happened to realize that if i use metal c-clamps w/screws, a pipe would sit perfectly overtop the return bin and about 4inches from the bottom glass...PERFECT HEIGHT!!!! so i cantunfortunately get any further tonight than centering and screwing the 2 c-clamps on, but come tomorrow night, after about an hour i should have a functioning scrubber!!! now please keep in mind this is gonna be a basic no frills scrubber and it most likely wont be the most effecient, but the whole point of this is to build one, then work to improve ok now that im done ranting and raving...ill work on the pics..