3d ats

[Joel_155]

So I've been thinking about an ATS design that could be incorporated into a sump design instead of being a separate piece. I've got an idea and it raised a question.

Can the screen for the ATS br completely submerged? I would route the water to flow " down" the screen with a baffle. Do the screens need to be fed by a tube of some sort that directs water down the screen?

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[jimrawr]

I would imagine that lighting would become a problem. How would you get the lights pointed at the middle of the screen if its under water?

 

[Joel_155]

I was thinking of just narrowing that section of the sump to allow for CFL lights on both sides. Im not sure how much penetration that you would get though.

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[JSeymour]

Running your screen underwater would have various drawbacks, the largest being CO2 levels. Being exposed to air, the algae has an unlimited amount of CO2 available to them, thus they can absorb more nutrients and reproduce faster. There is a way to do it though. Basically you create an extension of the pump chamber across the entire back of the sump. Depending on the sumps' exact setup, you may be only able to light one side, through the back pane of glass. Luckily with this design you could potentially have a screen as long as the sump and as tall as the water line to the top of the sump. If I had did this on a 29 gallon sump of mine, I could have up to a 29 x 9 inch screen, and lit from both sides. That's huge! I'll draw up a sketch tomorrow in my free time to help explain better. It's pretty late... :hmm5:

 

[JSeymour]

So I got that sketch done. It's based off of one of my sumps but could easily be changed to fit most designs.

Even if you only lit the ATS from the back, it would still be big enough for a 130 gallon system, going off my design. Hope this helps.