Sounds like it was carbon-limited and the fans simply improved air circulation/delivery of CO2. That may very well be a limiting factor in tightly enclosed models...
Ace's ATS Build
- Thread starter Ace25
- Start date
Hello Ace, This may be one of the most informational DIY projects I have seen very nice build. I am attempting a FW version of an algae scrubber and one question I have is how to get ABS plastic to bond to a glass sump?
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maxx
How is the ATS doing? Do you get any algae in the main display?
I grow some cheto in the sump, but it has been dormant for a while now. I still have some algae in the main display, mostly growing on the glass. I added some KNO3 and iron chelate to hopefully get growing again. What do you think?
I grow some cheto in the sump, but it has been dormant for a while now. I still have some algae in the main display, mostly growing on the glass. I added some KNO3 and iron chelate to hopefully get growing again. What do you think?
ATS is going great, better than a SM100 scrubber could do because I am using better lights. Unfortunately that means I have to clean it ever 3 days because it works so well.
The display on the other hand.. disaster. Right now there is just fish in it, no rocks or corals. Tank was over run with aiptasia to the point the only recourse was to take everything out, boil it for 30 minutes, let sit outside to dry out for a week, then recure it in another tank, which is where I am at now. Seriously, 1000's of aiptasia. I still need to remove the fish and sand, scrub the tank and sump clean (because their is aiptasia in my closed loop frame and all over the sandbed), and pretty much start over. My 55G is the tank that is doing good right now.
The display on the other hand.. disaster. Right now there is just fish in it, no rocks or corals. Tank was over run with aiptasia to the point the only recourse was to take everything out, boil it for 30 minutes, let sit outside to dry out for a week, then recure it in another tank, which is where I am at now. Seriously, 1000's of aiptasia. I still need to remove the fish and sand, scrub the tank and sump clean (because their is aiptasia in my closed loop frame and all over the sandbed), and pretty much start over. My 55G is the tank that is doing good right now.
So I read through this whole thread and basically wondering if this would replace a protein skimmer and also keeps the DT clear of algae. Is that correct? Or am I missing something else. I want to build one because I love to DIY things and was wondering if it would be worth trying?
Yes and no to the answer of replacing a protein skimmer. Yes, it can replace one and do a lot of the same work, but not ALL of the same work. There is still some benefit to a skimmer than an algae scrubber will not do, but to me is it not worth the cost of a skimmer for the little benefit it does provide. My 55G tank is run with only an ATS (my 75G has a good skimmer + GFO reactor), no other means of filtration, and my SPS corals have some of the best coloring they have had in years (part of which I contribute because I am leaving more food in the water for the corals to feed off of instead of removing the food via skimming). I think it will help remove algae from the display MUCH better than a protein skimmer ever could.
Just my opinion, but the algae scrubber is by far the best method for filtration today with the current information that Santa Monica has painstakingly figured out on his own in the last several years (flow/light/screen size requirements) and shared with the hobby. No other person I feel has helped the progress with Algae Scrubbers more than Santa Monica. Right now I am just trying to do my part just in regards to light source/spectrum. I feel there is still a lot of room for improvement in that one aspect, but all other aspects I feel that Santa Monica has nailed down pretty precisely.
Just my opinion, but the algae scrubber is by far the best method for filtration today with the current information that Santa Monica has painstakingly figured out on his own in the last several years (flow/light/screen size requirements) and shared with the hobby. No other person I feel has helped the progress with Algae Scrubbers more than Santa Monica. Right now I am just trying to do my part just in regards to light source/spectrum. I feel there is still a lot of room for improvement in that one aspect, but all other aspects I feel that Santa Monica has nailed down pretty precisely.
It does nothing, positive or negative, in regards to bubble algae. It won't get rid of it out of a tank, nor will it make it grow any faster than normal. Bubble algae is usually very easy to take care of.. take the rock out of the tank and use a pick/sharp pointy object of some type and pry them off. They come off pretty easily. Bigger ones you can just twist with your fingers and remove without popping them. Just don't pop them inside the tank or new ones will grow other places.
