tangreef68
New member
This question may be kind of vague, and i am sure that it has been asked before, but are their any major manufacturers of Algae Turf Scrubbers (A.T.S.)?
Thank You
Thank You
Turf Scrubbers
- Thread starter tangreef68
- Start date
reefnewbie54321
In Memoriam
There are a few,
Inland Aquatics made the ATScrubber 100, 250, 250 Shuttle and various other models but they aren't produced anymore due to patent issues between Inland and Dr. Adey. although you can contact Morgan of Inland and he will sell you a refurbished ATScrubber or you could hunt one down in the Selling Forums here like I did,
Aquatic Engineers makes the Eco-Wheel which is an air driven Algae Scrubber Wheel but the only down side is they are all hand built and cost around 3k. If I had the money I would definitely buy one of these.
There is also a raceway type ATS by a company that I cant think of right now BUT the company itself got a lot of negative feedback and is a pain and the neck to deal with and the ATS's they made were very ineffective at growing Turf algae because it didn't have a constant exposure to air then exposure to water cycle. As far as I know the company that sold them is out of business and even if you did find one I wouldn't recommend it.
You could also go the DIY route and by Dr. Addeys book about ATS's and his patent and try to copy it (which is illegal but people do it anyway) as long as you are not trying to sell the home made unts.
Inland Aquatics made the ATScrubber 100, 250, 250 Shuttle and various other models but they aren't produced anymore due to patent issues between Inland and Dr. Adey. although you can contact Morgan of Inland and he will sell you a refurbished ATScrubber or you could hunt one down in the Selling Forums here like I did,
Aquatic Engineers makes the Eco-Wheel which is an air driven Algae Scrubber Wheel but the only down side is they are all hand built and cost around 3k. If I had the money I would definitely buy one of these.
There is also a raceway type ATS by a company that I cant think of right now BUT the company itself got a lot of negative feedback and is a pain and the neck to deal with and the ATS's they made were very ineffective at growing Turf algae because it didn't have a constant exposure to air then exposure to water cycle. As far as I know the company that sold them is out of business and even if you did find one I wouldn't recommend it.
You could also go the DIY route and by Dr. Addeys book about ATS's and his patent and try to copy it (which is illegal but people do it anyway) as long as you are not trying to sell the home made unts.
reefnewbie54321
In Memoriam
two options,
Just run your unit without seeding it and let algae grow on its own. When scraping your screens scrape off all other forms of algae growing on it but leave any turf algae until it out competes everything and is the dominant algae.
Buy a seeded screen from Inland Aquatics for 9.99
Its important that you get turf algae growing and not other forms of algae. Turf algae is the #1 algae at removing nutrient so to get optimal performance its necessary.
Just run your unit without seeding it and let algae grow on its own. When scraping your screens scrape off all other forms of algae growing on it but leave any turf algae until it out competes everything and is the dominant algae.
Buy a seeded screen from Inland Aquatics for 9.99
Its important that you get turf algae growing and not other forms of algae. Turf algae is the #1 algae at removing nutrient so to get optimal performance its necessary.
Flatlander
Premium Member
They seem to have gone the way of the do-do bird. :lol: I still have some pics in my gallery. Several long ATS threads here, on Eric Borneman,s old forum, one in the advanced forum and at least one I remember in the reef forum.
Adam
New member
Hi all,
While I agree with Flatlander that commercially made ATS units have sort of died out, I wanted to state my firm opinion that they are a great technology.
I would chalk the failure of ATS units up to the misapplication of large scale units (see the history of the Smithsonian reef exhibit and the old Pittsburgh "aquazoo" for painful examples) as well as the outrageously high cost of commercially made hobbyist units.
I love my ATS and am planning a large DIY unit for my next tank. Bob Nell is a Pittsburgh local who's 450 was an RC tank of the month. Bob gets some of the best growth I have ever seen and uses ATS units on all of his tanks.
DIY options can be quite simple and inexpensive to assemble. A simple shallow tray or tub with some coarse screen (I like the stuff sold in craft stores for needlepoint type work) in the bottom and a compact fluorescent spotlight works very well.
Adam
While I agree with Flatlander that commercially made ATS units have sort of died out, I wanted to state my firm opinion that they are a great technology.
I would chalk the failure of ATS units up to the misapplication of large scale units (see the history of the Smithsonian reef exhibit and the old Pittsburgh "aquazoo" for painful examples) as well as the outrageously high cost of commercially made hobbyist units.
I love my ATS and am planning a large DIY unit for my next tank. Bob Nell is a Pittsburgh local who's 450 was an RC tank of the month. Bob gets some of the best growth I have ever seen and uses ATS units on all of his tanks.
DIY options can be quite simple and inexpensive to assemble. A simple shallow tray or tub with some coarse screen (I like the stuff sold in craft stores for needlepoint type work) in the bottom and a compact fluorescent spotlight works very well.
Adam
Flatlander
Premium Member
Hi Adam,
I read his TOTM thread again. He uses a large skimmer, along with his ATS unit. Thats the problem I talked about in the many threads we had on this topic. I always had to go back to my beckett,s also.
I have long searched for some nice aquariums running them alone. But alas, not much comes up and the ones I find have long since shut them down. Thats the part that makes me wonder.
Is Bob,s units still running?
Adam
New member
Flatlander,
Bob has moved, but his systems are set back up a the new place running scrubbers and skimmers.
I also run a skimmer on my system with a scrubber. I personally don't believe that a scrubber or refugium can eliminate the need for a skimmer, but rather the scrubber is an adjunct. It seems unlikely that the algae will remove the same stuff that a skimmer will and vice versa.
As an aside... I have found ATS units to be much more foolproof than refugia and at least as effective for nutrient elimination and plankton generation.
Adam
Bob has moved, but his systems are set back up a the new place running scrubbers and skimmers.
I also run a skimmer on my system with a scrubber. I personally don't believe that a scrubber or refugium can eliminate the need for a skimmer, but rather the scrubber is an adjunct. It seems unlikely that the algae will remove the same stuff that a skimmer will and vice versa.
As an aside... I have found ATS units to be much more foolproof than refugia and at least as effective for nutrient elimination and plankton generation.
Adam
Flatlander
Premium Member
Thanks Adam and I agree.
I believe you are speaking of MMFI. The people with the most convoluted website known to mankind.
I owned one of their raceways back in the mid/late 90's. It worked fair but wasn't anything to write home about. It did however make for an awesome pod factory. They're surge box was a much better idea IMO.
As for the EcoWheel I currently own one and have been quite happy with it. Unfortunately, while it was cutting edge in 1995, it's kinda been passed by with all the new advances in the hobby these past few years. My personal opinion is it works quite well for a softie tank, but the flow just isn't there for a serious SPS setup. Then again, very few could have known a decade ago that 50x-75x would be relatively common among SPS aficionados.
Brett
Steven Pro
New member
Plus all the legal wrangling.
Flatlander
Premium Member
Yes Steven, that semed to be the show stopper. Up until then, besides the several of us using scrubbers, we could chat with Morgan here at RC, regarding them.
Or at least the dump tray version of turf scrubbers.
Or at least the dump tray version of turf scrubbers.
SantaMonica
Well-known member
Bucket Turf Filter
Bucket Turf Filter
Here is a DIY turf filter I made in a bucket... brought N and P to zero in a week:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=12931276#post12931276
Bucket Turf Filter
Here is a DIY turf filter I made in a bucket... brought N and P to zero in a week:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=12931276#post12931276
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