DIY waterfall algae Scrubber

Discussion in 'I made this!' started by epsilon, Jan 24, 2013.

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  1. epsilon

    epsilon Feather Star

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    Honestly I'm guessing these may be a bit redundant and unnecessary with a large enough and properly set up fuge. Where these really shine is in tight space situations as you can build them to plumb into your system. There were things I could have done to improve my fuge but it looked like a cool idea so I thought wth. Plus I think they might be quicker than a fuge in catching up with a problematic tank. Again because of the inherent efficiency of the system.
     
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  3. Blue Falcon

    Blue Falcon Fire Goby

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    I have ran pellet reactors on my tank at home as well as several tanks at work. I have also had a successful refugium before I took it down to install my algae turf scrubber. Heres my two cents on the three options I have tried.

    -Bio pellets. Never again. I will never use these ever again. ever.
    -Refugium. kept nitrates low and provided a GREAT place to breed pods. I did find that after water changes while nitrates were low, cyano wanted to grow on the chaeto.
    -ATS. Absolutely wonderful, I will NEVER setup another tank without one. They remove nitrates VERY quickly. Downside is having to clean the screen about every 10 days (or longer if you are lazy like me). Another downside is making sure you have the right size screen, the right amount of flow, and the right kelvin and intensity lighting to hit that "sweet spot" for the best algae growth. Another downside is algae growing in your sump due to the light spilling. It can also be tricky to fit these in your sump. And lastly, it is crucial in my opinion to build an acrylic box housing the screen to limit splashing.

    I know I listed several downsides to the ATS, but thats because its not something you can go to marine depot and purchase. you have to make it yourself and with any DIY project, sometimes you have to ghetto rig it. But I still stand behind what I said. I absolutely LOVE this piece of equipment and if I had to choose between an ATS or a skimmer, I would choose the ATS. (I run both BTW)


    ***edit***
    p.s. I would only run one type of nitrate removal. Dont run a fuge AND a ATS because both will be starving each other out for nutrients and with an ATS sometimes you actually have to feed MORE to get the algae to start growing on it.

    So basically it comes down to what you want. If you like doing water changes and worrying about nitrates, then just run a skimmer. lol
    If you want lots of pods and decent nitrate removal go with a fuge
    if you want ferocious nitrate consumption and want to know you can feed as much as you want without worrying about nitrates, then go with an ATS
     
    Last edited: Jan 27, 2013
  4. epsilon

    epsilon Feather Star

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    Thanks for the input Falcon. I'm glad to see this thread gaining some attention here, seems like there's a ton of info on these out there but if you're like me and until recently spent most my time on 3reef for some reason I haven't seen much on these here.

    Definitely agree with the advantages of an acrylic enclosure. Two reasons I haven't done it yet. One is money, even though it wouldn't take much I didn't want to waste it on something that I didn't like. Secondly, this really is version 1.0 for me. I may very well build a better enclosed one down the line.

    That said, I don't believe I'm getting s whole lot of creep from the ats. Trick is to get the water flowing evenly down the sheet all the way into the water and nor drop/fall into it. Like I mentioned lay night I am getting a room of spray from my return for some reason probably because it's slightly restricted now. I've also noticed my evaporation has increased considerably. An enclosure I would imagine would cut this back down to about normal. I dare say its almost doubled which for me is a bit of a deal as I have to bring my water in. We have a well which would take about $3k worth of filtration equipment to get it to a point where I'd could put it through an ro/di and not have to worry about replacing the filters every month.
     
    Last edited: Jan 28, 2013
  5. epsilon

    epsilon Feather Star

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    On a slightly different topic. Do you think that a properly tunned and sized ats can alone replace the skimmer? I've been reading that well established mangroves may be able to but never heard it mentioned for just a straight ats. In fact I love the look of mangroves so been thinking about plumbing a mangrove display into my system with the intention of growing them to about 6-7' tall. Plus it would give me a nice place to throw in an eel. :)
     
  6. FatBastad

    FatBastad Zoanthid

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    Good job on the ATS. I've been keeping an eye on this thread.

    I can't wait to build one soon. I'm leaning towards just ordering a large sheet of quality black acrylic and doing it right from the start. Making a "closed" type box with a drain underneath a false floor, an emergency overflow on the side, removeable top. I'd like to do custom LEDs but then the project price starts to jump significantly. It may be worth doing it right the first time so the initial $ will probably pay off in the long run as far as tank maintenance...
     
  7. epsilon

    epsilon Feather Star

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    Well then I expect to see another ats diy build soon here on 3reef. Please include links to where you get your acrylic. You know it just occurred to me... I just had a local water treatment company come out and do a free inspection of our well water, it wasn't good... That said, the equipment he outlined which would take care of the 30 parts per 1,000,000 sulfur content basically consisted of a chemical pump, mixing tank, and large carbon/sediment filter. Maybe I should start another diy thread...
     
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  9. epsilon

    epsilon Feather Star

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    Well here we are today... going to go ahead and clean this off and see if I can come up with a light shield at the top.

    [​IMG]
     
  10. jbraslins

    jbraslins Teardrop Maxima Clam

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    New to hobby, quick Q: How come you ran this of your return line? Why not divert some from your drain into scrubber? Would not that bring more nutrient rich water to algae?
     
  11. Jodah

    Jodah Feather Duster

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    Usually these are run on their own pump. They're not usually run on the drain to prevent the chance of a clog.
     
  12. epsilon

    epsilon Feather Star

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    All that said I did intend to say drain. I don't see this clogging up especially once I get the light shield in place. Even if it does it simply goes out the other outlet, all be it at a faster rate...