YHSublime January 7, 2014 Share January 7, 2014 Looking really good. Lots of work. Is that an algae scrubber on top of your sump? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worm5406 January 7, 2014 Author Share January 7, 2014 Why yes it is an algae scrubber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime January 7, 2014 Share January 7, 2014 Wow, looks like it's probably doing better than a ball of cheato, yeah? I recognized that DIY off RC, and I've been curious on how effective they are. Love the videos, keep them coming! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worm5406 January 7, 2014 Author Share January 7, 2014 The ATS is very effective. You would not believe what comes off in a short time. It is growing, so I know it is pulling out of the tank. It is not a set and forget item. It has to be harvested. With one it starts out slow. Once it starts to get a good layer you really need to scrub/clean the tank, not 100%. Just enough to migrate what is being absorbed from the rock/wall to the ATS. You will then see a bloom in growth. With there being less in the water column the scrubbed/cleaned algae area will not grow back. Basically you are re-directing where it is going to grow somewhere else in a controlled condition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime January 7, 2014 Share January 7, 2014 The ATS is very effective. You would not believe what comes off in a short time. It is growing, so I know it is pulling out of the tank. It is not a set and forget item. It has to be harvested. With one it starts out slow. Once it starts to get a good layer you really need to scrub/clean the tank, not 100%. Just enough to migrate what is being absorbed from the rock/wall to the ATS. You will then see a bloom in growth. With there being less in the water column the scrubbed/cleaned algae area will not grow back. Basically you are re-directing where it is going to grow somewhere else in a controlled condition. Yeah, no, I understand how they work in theory, I guess I should have worded my question a little bit better! So the idea behind cheato and other macros is the same thing, it needs to be harvested to remove the nutrients. If I remember correctly, you had a hair algae problem when you first started up. Did you find that the scrubber was the solution, or was that running when you had the issue already? In your experience, would you recommend a ATS over a fuge, or cheato? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worm5406 January 7, 2014 Author Share January 7, 2014 Ohhh... I get it... I tried cheato, with good light and everything. The cheato was being out competed by the GHA. The GHA started to migrate and cover EVERYTHING. I decided to get an ATS and it was delivered in May '13 I put it to service not long after getting it. I scrubbed and scrubbed huge sections. This increased the overall water column particles. The growth increased in the ATS and the growth decreased in the tank. SO... I got a sea hare to help with the cleaning. This saved my arms and tank from me being in the tank or moving rock around. The growth kept on in the ATS and I had to start to prune and harvest out of the scrubber. I think I have a video or maybe pictures from my first cleaning some where. Maybe on my youtube channel. A properly tuned tank and fuge can be self sufficient once levels are correct and leaching or over feeding is in control. I am heavy handed when feeding sometimes, so the ATS picks up a lot of the excess too. I would recommend someone to get an ATS to help get things manageable, then keep it on the side (not absorbing as much but still wet and active) and able to be increased/turned up. What I mean by this is, instead of 8-12+ hours of light maybe bring it down to 6. This will still grow some, that will need cleaning, but more importantly leave an active growth potential media on standby. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 January 7, 2014 Share January 7, 2014 That is awesome. Great video. I have been wanting to add an ATS and I really like the one you have. Tank is looking great too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sharkey18 January 7, 2014 Share January 7, 2014 (edited) Where did you get your ATS from? Oops, nevermind, just found the link…. Edited January 7, 2014 by Sharkey18 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worm5406 January 7, 2014 Author Share January 7, 2014 I got the L4 from him. That is the largest. The new versions have all the bells and whistles that I had to pay for. If you want or need some help or ideas on getting it 'primed' shoot me a message and I will help you out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worm5406 January 7, 2014 Author Share January 7, 2014 Ohhhhh YES I do keep my RC thread up to date with lots of video's and pictures. I get prob 10+ private messages a week asking all sorts of questions or people wanting to see something form a certain angle. That is why they are strange sometimes. I keep trying to update my stuff in here but I forget sometimes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime January 7, 2014 Share January 7, 2014 That was very helpful, thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worm5406 January 15, 2014 Author Share January 15, 2014 I figured I would start to make sure I put more updatres in here too, instead of just RC. SO I worked on my sump today: Water flow is left to right.... I am missing one piece of glass above the third baffle. It will be on tomorrow. If you follow the water it goes under, over, through (hard to explain) then into the large refugium section, then over and finally under to the pump(s). The second to the last baffle controls the height for the refugium section. the last baffle is only in the event that the pump is off I do not want anything floating over the baffles and into the pump area directly. The gap between each baffle is roughly 2 inches. This is the same setup I had my previous sump. It also included a cutout (third baffle) to allow the water to enter the refugium UNDER the water level. Baffle # 1 2 and 5 are 15.5 tall # 3 is 10.5 and 4.5 (4.5 is not on yet.) #4 is 13.5 #1 is 2 inches off the bottom #5 is 1.5 off the bottom This is the first three baffles, last glass marked but not in when pictures was taken) Last two baffles, the pumps will set to the right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worm5406 January 15, 2014 Author Share January 15, 2014 Some thoughts and copy from another poster. I am thinking about setting this up to do water change daily or even 4 times a day maybe... What do you think?? I am putting this here as a note to my self and to illicit other opinions and ideas. I'm working on setting up an automated water change at 1% per day (for me about 2 gallons) Ref: I'm referencing "Water Changes in Reef Aquaria" by Randy Holmes-Farley see link here http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-10/rhf/ Since my display tank is not on an exterior wall I've laid 3 lines of 1/4" tubing from my garage to my display tank thru the attic (each run is about 35 feet) Two of these lines go up to the top of my canopy (one carries ATO and the other carries the fresh saltwater). The 3rd line goes to my sump and will be the suction line for old DT water. The continuous water change will be implemented using a double-head Stenner pump (100DM4 model). It has an adjustable output of up to 35gal/day/head. I'll be running this thru my apex and figured I would stagger it 6 times a day for 14 min/run. Here are some pics This is the double head Stenner pump.. (100dm4) Top head is freshwater from barrel to the top of the canopy bottom head is old water pulled from tank and then sent to a drain pipe in my attic If I set this up I can do a little water change each day and not have to worry about a weekly change and chemical changes associated with a sudden influx of NSW. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkiboy January 15, 2014 Share January 15, 2014 read up in this thread for the ups and downs and redundancy options of making this potentially work: http://www.reef2reef.com/forums/do-yourself-diy/141619-automatic-water-changes-doesnt-get-any-better-then.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallor January 15, 2014 Share January 15, 2014 Here is a clam that I just got from Rozzens in Maryland. Sorry for being late to the party, but I'm just catching up on your thread. I really love this time-lapse. I'm exciting about making a similar one myself on of these days. I'd like to get a good camera position figured out so I can do a long-term coral growth time-lapse as well. Thanks for sharing! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monkiboy January 15, 2014 Share January 15, 2014 worm - just seeing this time lapse for the first time too. i'm looking to do one of the sunset/sunrise of my LED lighting and was trying to figure out the best way to do so. how did you make the above clam acclimation video? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worm5406 January 15, 2014 Author Share January 15, 2014 It is funny.... if you watch that video closely you can see the hermits get tossed off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worm5406 January 15, 2014 Author Share January 15, 2014 read up in this thread for the ups and downs and redundancy options of making this potentially work: http://www.reef2reef.com/forums/do-yourself-diy/141619-automatic-water-changes-doesnt-get-any-better-then.html I did. It was good reading. Almost the same one in RC, just different wording in a few spots. I am leaning toward the Stenner. I was looking at the 5-100 gpd instead of the 3.5-65gpd one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoozilla January 17, 2014 Share January 17, 2014 I did. It was good reading. Almost the same one in RC, just different wording in a few spots. I am leaning toward the Stenner. I was looking at the 5-100 gpd instead of the 3.5-65gpd one. The Stenner is a pretty solid pump though a bit noisy. I have the 100DMP5 model set up for auto water change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worm5406 January 17, 2014 Author Share January 17, 2014 I ended up ordering the Stenner 170DM5 double head Specs: Adjustable Output (GPD): 8.5 - 170.0 RPM: 44 Motor HP: 1/30 6' power cord attached Shipping Weight is 9 pounds Dimensions are 12.7" x 6" x 5.3" Same stats as the 100 but higher GPD. I will have 350 gal roughly combined in one water system, not separate. At 10% a week that puts it at 35 a week or about 5 a day. Very easy to do with that pump. I could set the ratio up if i wanted to do a larger water change over an extended time frame instead of doing it manually too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoozilla January 18, 2014 Share January 18, 2014 I ended up ordering the Stenner 170DM5 double head Specs: Adjustable Output (GPD): 8.5 - 170.0 RPM: 44 Motor HP: 1/30 6' power cord attached Shipping Weight is 9 pounds Dimensions are 12.7" x 6" x 5.3" Same stats as the 100 but higher GPD. I will have 350 gal roughly combined in one water system, not separate. At 10% a week that puts it at 35 a week or about 5 a day. Very easy to do with that pump. I could set the ratio up if i wanted to do a larger water change over an extended time frame instead of doing it manually too. Sweet! You'll love that Stenner. I have mine set for 10% (3x/day or ~20 gallons/week). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worm5406 January 18, 2014 Author Share January 18, 2014 I am going to do about 10% a week. Most likely I am going to do 6 times a day about every 4 hours. Only for a bit of time will get me my ~5 gallons a day. So basically ~1.25g each cycle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoozilla January 18, 2014 Share January 18, 2014 Are you planning to install a float switch in the FW reservoir to shut down the Stenner just in case it runs dry? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worm5406 January 21, 2014 Author Share January 21, 2014 Yes I am going to have a float in the SW and one in the RODI That way I can tell on both. While the RODI will have a float switch to auto top it off, too, just in case. I would really like to find a good one that has a long cable and that I could put in the bottom of a 200 gallon container. This is exactly what I am going to do: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
worm5406 January 21, 2014 Author Share January 21, 2014 Here is a video of the items I got on Sunday: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
.jpg.7bfaca13382600fc0d1da29d2e298192.jpg)
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now