[Franklin]

I was wondering if a 29g sump filled with live rock work as an effective filter for my 50g tank?

[Reefland]

Hi Franklin, Welcome to Reefland!

Adding live rock to a sump will definitely help with biological filtration, but it alone will not be enough. I like to recommend a good protein skimmer for every system which, in conjunction with the liverock, is a decent set up.

[Franklin]

Originally Posted by Reefland

Hi Franklin, Welcome to Reefland!

Adding live rock to a sump will definitely help with biological filtration, but it alone will not be enough. I like to recommend a good protein skimmer for every system which, in conjunction with the liverock, is a decent set up.

Alright thanks. What else can I do to make a better set up? Do you know anything about making an algal mat box out of window screens. If so, can you tell me if one of those would be worth the trouble of making? Also, I have $200 dollars to spend on a skimmer or possibly a bit more. What is the best I can get in that vicinity?
Thanks alot for your help.

[Reefland]

Fraklin,

I have never used the Algae Turf Scrubbers, you might want to direct a question towards Papa Doug, he has some experience with them, not sure about making them though. I'll drop him a PM with a link to this thread for you.

As far as a skimmer for $200, your much better off not limiting the funds you put towards your skimmer and getting something that is powerful and will work on a larger tank if you ever upgrade. You can get a My Reef Creations MR-1 with pump for around $300.

[Franklin]

Originally Posted by Reefland

Fraklin,

I have never used the Algae Turf Scrubbers, you might want to direct a question towards Papa Doug, he has some experience with them, not sure about making them though. I'll drop him a PM with a link to this thread for you.

As far as a skimmer for $200, your much better off not limiting the funds you put towards your skimmer and getting something that is powerful and will work on a larger tank if you ever upgrade. You can get a My Reef Creations MR-1 with pump for around $300.

Alrighty thanks alot

[Papa Doug]

Hi Franklin,
I use a turf scrubber. But its a large commercial made unit. Have a look at my new tank thread. There is a pic of the unit sitting on the tank. Also below, I added a pic of the scrubber screen.

Turf algaes are good at removing nutrients, more so than the longer calerpa type algae,s. Mine is lit with a pair of 55w power compacts and gets scraped once a week or more. I dont follow the turf scrubbing senario to the "T" though, as I also use a large skimmer. The scrubber helps keep phosphates and nitrates in check.

We had a nice long thread on RC, on Erics coral forum. It was just called ATS. I would post the link but it never works for me. {NSWWT}. Has several guys ideas for do it yourself type scrubbers.

[Franklin]

Originally Posted by Papa Doug

Hi Franklin,
I use a turf scrubber. But its a large commercial made unit. Have a look at my new tank thread. There is a pic of the unit sitting on the tank. Also below, I added a pic of the scrubber screen.

Turf algaes are good at removing nutrients, more so than the longer calerpa type algae,s. Mine is lit with a pair of 55w power compacts and gets scraped once a week or more. I dont follow the turf scrubbing senario to the "T" though, as I also use a large skimmer. The scrubber helps keep phosphates and nitrates in check.

We had a nice long thread on RC, on Erics coral forum. It was just called ATS. I would post the link but it never works for me. {NSWWT}. Has several guys ideas for do it yourself type scrubbers.

Alright, so how big of an area would i need for that to be effective in my 45g system? How deep would the container need to be, and how far from the surface and the lights should the screen be. Would it be possible to have multiple screen layers? Also, for lighting could i use regular non-aquarium power compact bulbs, or would it need something special like the corals do?
Thanks for your help

[Papa Doug]

My screen is 240 sq. in. Its rated for 250g, but I dont think thats close. I would make it as large as you have room for. The idea of turf algaes and the dump system is to have it exposed to air at times. How you would do this in a sump, is another story. Thats why I suggest looking at the thread I mentioned.

Perhaps Ninong will read this and link it from Eric,s forum on RC for us. I dont think multiple layers would work, unless they are all exposed direct to the light. My 110 watts of pc are about 8in. above the tray. I use 65K pc,s.

More later, I must run now.

[Franklin]

Originally Posted by Papa Doug

My screen is 240 sq. in. Its rated for 250g, but I dont think thats close. I would make it as large as you have room for. The idea of turf algaes and the dump system is to have it exposed to air at times. How you would do this in a sump, is another story. Thats why I suggest looking at the thread I mentioned.

Perhaps Ninong will read this and link it from Eric,s forum on RC for us. I dont think multiple layers would work, unless they are all exposed direct to the light. My 110 watts of pc are about 8in. above the tray. I use 65K pc,s.

More later, I must run now.

so on your filter, how and why is the algae exposed to air? Is the screen just on the surface? would a long shallow box with the screen raised around the water level work? I wasnt able to find the ats thread you mentioned.

[Papa Doug]

The algae is exposed to air after the dump cycle and during its refill. The dump also gives the algae and back and forth motion. All this adds to a better turf algae, better nutrient absorbtion and much more oxygen. One would have to read Adey,s book for the full explanation.

Hopefully the link I sent you to the thread will work. Lots of info there on turf scrubbing and we can go from there.