Elos 120 - ATS only

Bob Nell said:
Very nice tank.

I'd like to offer some feedback on long term experience with a scubber as I have 3 systems in use two of which have been for over 10 years. I have always used skimmers though. The longest setup, a 120 gal without sump, originally had a very small skimmer, since upgraded to a MCE 600 Deltec in 2009.

All have been great for 2-4 years or so. Then issues, which I narrowed down to phosphate build up.

Bottom line: I still think nutrients must be monitored. The scrubber will handle the majority, but any excess will be absorbed in the system somehow.

Good luck and happy reefing.
Click to expand...

An issue with ATS is if you dont have enough nitrates, your phoshpates will slowly creep up. Nitrates are actually the limiting factor in ATS filtration. This can be a problem if you have a deep sand bed or some other nitrate removal system (that does not also remove phosphates), its actually quite possible that you running a skimmer was what was causing your ATS to function at a subpar level.

Seems a bit crazy, but the fix is actually to remove other means of filtration and/or to dose nitrates.
 
Scrubber

Scrubber

Possible, but scrubber designed to maintain zero nitrate, which mine does. I still need to use gfo. I really don't want to add nitrate to see if phos goes down. Fwiw, two tanks are bb.
 
It can happen from anything that removes nitrates or just food that has a higher phosphate than nitrate content.

Anything that will lower the phosphate is fine I am sure. It seems funny to "treat" your tank with a splash of ammonia. However, as long as you dont over do it, its a totally legitimate thing to do with a scrubber.
 
Almost didn't buy it, but I've been running an ATS with a remote deep sand bed for a while, couldn't get my phosphates below 0.06. Removed the remote DSB, and one week later my phosphates are 0.00. Thanks a million.


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Thanks for the help. Phosphates are holding strong at 0.00 and corals are coloring up beautifully. Can't believe I just had to remove my DSB.


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hey maglofster

Any updates ?Are u still running the ATS -OZOn compilation?What are ur thoughts on the ATS and skimmer-less setups now that you running the system for quite a while?
 
I'm still running it. I have made some adjustements though. Ozon is only used when needed (when introducing new livestock or if any tinting of the water has occured) because I think that the Ozon might oxidize beneficial trace elements and such if used all the time. I have also tried on and off with my skimmer in combination with the ATS. After about a year without a skimmer i had some mulm building up on the bottom and areas with less cirkulation. This does not happen when I also run the skimmer, but I guess I could correct it by also adding more streamer pumps in the tank. But I dont think everything gets caught in the ATS.

Right now I'm running both ATS and skimmer (skimmer dialed down though, emptying skimmer cup perhaps once every four weeks).

ATS has matured to only bright green har algae, very fast growing, I MUST clean media every 7 days or it grows to much and clogs up the drain.
 
maglofster said:
I'm still running it. I have made some adjustements though. Ozon is only used when needed (when introducing new livestock or if any tinting of the water has occured) because I think that the Ozon might oxidize beneficial trace elements and such if used all the time. I have also tried on and off with my skimmer in combination with the ATS. After about a year without a skimmer i had some mulm building up on the bottom and areas with less cirkulation. This does not happen when I also run the skimmer, but I guess I could correct it by also adding more streamer pumps in the tank. But I dont think everything gets caught in the ATS.

Right now I'm running both ATS and skimmer (skimmer dialed down though, emptying skimmer cup perhaps once every four weeks).

ATS has matured to only bright green har algae, very fast growing, I MUST clean media every 7 days or it grows to much and clogs up the drain.
Click to expand...

Thanks very much for your answers!

So you don't believe in the skimmerless systems?
Do you run the same way your second tank?

What king of adjustment have u made?

Any new photos of your beautiful system?
 
thanks for the helpful information you sent on all posts.
On your first DIY led you mentioned:
The leds are: 2x50W 10K + 20x10W 16K

can you specify whre you bought them??
Can you send me a PM?

Thanks
 
Hey, sorry for no updates. The ATS has been moved to a 160 gallon cube. I do believe in skimmerless systems, I ended up taking away the skimmer again in the end. And my newer 160 gallon is now completely skimmerless.

This tank however has gone into extensive remodeling. I will update with pics as soon as it starting to look ok. :)
 
Nice to see the ATS tank storys. What are you finding when running a skimmer with the scrubber. What is swaying you to want to run without the skimmer?
 
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