ATS After 3 Weeks
It has finally happened. I have destroyed the Cyano in my Display, and i did so faster than Rome massacred Hannibal in Carthage. And you know what i owe it all to? This wonderful concept of an Algae Turf Scrubber. I have not even received tremendous growth on the screen yet, but it has sucked all my nutrients out of the tank like a tiny sponge, and here is how I did it.
The Process. Part 1
It all started with this awesome thread. It is full of amazing innovative ideas and many people have contributed to the concept. After much reading and basically reading all of the thread, i decided to jump the gun, grabbed my wallet and made one of those lengthy trips to Lowes. Here are the materials i bought with costs...
Piping
3/4" PVC pipe- 2.50
1" PVC pipe- 3
4 3/4" elbows- 1.50
3/4" T- 0.50
3/4" TRUE UNION ball valve- 5.50
1"-3/4" adapter- 0.30
1" coupling- 0.30
1" cap- 0.50
Lighting
Two small reflectors with socket- 7.00 each
Two 23w 2700k CFL bulbs
Misc
Metal hole saw- 7.00
PVC primer and cement- 8.00
White Plastic Canvas- 2.50
Now here is the build. I chose to pick a 48 sq in screen, making it 6"w x 8"h. I first cut the screen to size and roughed it up drastically. I remember Foaly said that after you are done roughing you should get a handful of plastic, and i thought he was exaggerating until i did it myself. Do not be shy with the hole saw, and do not be afraid to rough it so hard you teach it not smooth-en up again. Make it your son. Teach it who is boss. Then you will get a handful of plastic.
The PVC Cutting Slot. Part 2
This is the most pain in the butt part. I had to repeat it about 3 times before i got it right. My weapon of choice was a Hilti handheld circular saw. It was pretty tough to make it perfect and equal thickness throughout the slot. It was supposed to be 1/8" thick, which when i measured it it was basically the thickness of the line I drew with the Sharpie. I held the pipe with one hand, and the saw with the other and slowly lowered the saw to the cut. I made it exactly 6" wide so there is no spray of water not falling on the screen.
Again it took me three tries to finally master it, but i did it!! Dont be afraid, PVC is pretty cheap.
The Assembly. Part 3
This was quite easy and took me a couple of hours with measurements and cutting and gluing. Here are pictures of how i made it. First, here is the pipe from the return.
As you can see, i simply elbowed to a horizontal then to a T. The T continues to the ball valve, and the leg of the T goes up to my DT, allowing for absolute control over the scrubber flow.
Now another important part of the scrubber is the ability to level it. Keeping it level is the only way for there to be even flow throughout the scrubber. And here is how i did it.
My stand has a center beam on the top right underneath the center brace of the tank itself. I screwed a hook into the brace and took a 22 gauge wire and twisted a knot. The tighter i make the knot, the smaller the suspender becomes so it raises the scrubber. This is how i did it, with pictures!!
This has worked great for me, and it never comes loose because there is unbelievable amount of friction between wire. I have pulled it down with all my force and it did not come loose, so i think it will hold some algae.
Adjusting flow is easy, just with the ball valve. Even with it fully open, some water still goes to the tank.
IMHO opinion, this is the best setup for a scrubber, as it circulates water through your sump, makes sure all tan kwater goes through the scrubber, and it a good way to get flow to a LR section of the sump. It also admits very clean water back to the DT and whatever water makes it through the scrubber can come back through the scrubber again.
Finally, the lighting. This was the easiest part of the setup. Simply add the reflector to the tank, and put it on a timer for 18h a day at night while the tank light it off.
Clean the scrubber every week. I clean it every Wed, and the first two weeks clean with your fingers. The third week start using a credit card or something. Be patient, it is not magical, it will start to grow algae eventually.
An ATS does wonders for your tank. I have seen instant water clarity, as well as instant drop in nutrients in nitrate. I went from 30ppm to 5ppm in 3 weeks. But best of all, after one year of battle, MY CYANO IS GONE!!! It was a tough battle but i pulled it off with this great technique.
I can recommend an ATS for anyone, with any tank and any need. Even with a skimmer and a refugium, it is a great supplementary filter. No need for GFO and other media with an ATS however. I do run a skimmer, and the skimmer is still my main source of filtration with the ATS complimenting it. Dont be afraid to start this project. It is fun, easy and cheap!! it will cost less than a GFO reactor. Good luck!!!
