T5HO lamps and Reflectors

T5HO lamps are inherently superior to CFLs. They spread the light out more evenly than CFLs, and they can be placed closer to the screen without overpowering the algae. Notice in this picture below how use of T5HO can result in almost perfectly even light coverage:



With that factor alone, bare T5HO...

Linear CFL

Linear CFL lamps are commonly referred to as twin, triple, or quad tube, etc. They are similar in nature to Power Compacts in that the lamp is in a “U” shape, but commonly have an integrated ballast like a CFL. They are usually higher wattage than standard CFLs, are more intense, and can run hotter. However, since they use the screw-in base just like CFLs, they are easy to use and I have recently looked at a couple of nice builds using them, so I thought it was worth...

Big Basic Change #2 – Alternative High-Intensity Lighting

Around the same time that the screen sizing method was changed, another suggestion was made: you can use twice the wattage of lighting and cut the photoperiod in half. This has a couple of advantages:

The first and primary advantage is the fact that more intense light promotes greener growth faster. This is especially useful in systems that have an initially high nutrient load, or systems that are overrun with...

Screen Dimensions

So now that you know your actual flow rate AND the necessary size of your screen (dimensional area), now you are ready to figure out your dimensions.

You want the flow to be a minimum of 35 GPH per inch of screen width. You can get by with a lower flow rate, but your Algae Scrubber may not be strong enough depending on your bio-load. You can have higher flow also, which is generally not a problem as long as your screen is rough enough and you aren’t...

Planning your Algae Scrubber

There are 2 basic ways of supplying flow to an Algae Scrubber: directly from the overflow, or from a dedicated pump.



The above diagram does not illustrate the top-of-tank Algae Scrubber, which would apply to someone running a sumpless system, however this is just a modification of the pump-driven...