Waterfall Turf Algea Filter: CHEAP and EASY to build

[tabwyo]

I have always wanted to expand my filtraton capabilities with a ATS but never had the room in my current 3 bedroom residence (2 kids). My wife and I are in the process of closing on a two story 5 bedroom house. 1 of the lower level rooms has be designated "my fish room". I can plumb through the wall and have my display tank in the living area and all the noisey stuff in the next room.

I want to run a ATS for the simple fact that I can, it won't harm my system and the fact that I'd derive some sick enjoyment out of building/mainaining it. If it helps control aglae in the display, all the better. If it helps provide live food to the display, great.

The idea is to run both return and drain pipes on my Oceanic 70TRR as drains. Route the overflow from the former "return line" to gravity feed to the ATS. Most likely a trough style lit with a standard 48" two bulb shop light with 6500k bulbs. Which will then dump to a 20g refugium. The refugium, lit with only ambient light, will drain to the return sump. By loose calculations I'd be processing about 40% of the display through the "biologic" side. The other 60% coming from the actual overflow will dump into an elevated 15g "skimmer" tank through a 100 micron filter sock. The skimmer tank will also house a two stage fluidized carbon filter. The skimmer tank will gravity feed to the return tank. The retrun tank will be baffled to recive the output from the bio-side and the mech-side at opposite ends. Standard weir setup to eliminate bubbles. The return compartment will be halved and each will house it's own return pump. The "segregation" baffle will be cut a 1/2 inch higher the operating, auto topoff maintained, running fluid level. With both pumps running the bio-side and mech-side filtered water won't mingle until in the display. If either pump craps out the fluid level will rise in that side and over to the working pumps side. Mech-side return will also pass through a UV unit. Both returns will run through their own OM 4way and be plumbed over the top of the aquarium through the wall.

Sounds a ton more complicate then how I have it planned out in my head.

 

[jauld]

here are some pics of the one I built. works like a charm =)

*edit* This scrubber was built from seeing Santa Monica's build thread on reefsanctuary message boards. Awesome guy and really knows his stuff about these filters

N and P have been 0 since installation. This is the only filtration I have on my aquarium and I do a 20% water change monthly. this one has been running for nearly 3 months now with 0 problems.

When I first set this model up, I accidentally used a metal nozzle (you can see it in one of the above pics) that released some bad metals into the aquarium and I lost a frogspawn. After that, I changed out the nozzle and did an 80% water change. been fine ever since.

Before I installed this, my tank was COMPLETELY filled with algae (almost no rock visible). I let this thing run and after about 6 weeks, the algae started to thin and die in the DT. Then, at 8 weeks, I took the rock out piece by piece and scrubbed all the remaining algae off. 0 algae growth since that in the DT, but the screen grows a TON. I have before and afters pics if you really want to see.

I found that the DT will start getting cloudy after about 2-3 weeks IF i don't scrub the algae off the screen every 7-10 days. This is because so much algae is growing on the screen that when it starts to get thick, the algae underneath doesn't get any light and starts to die, releasing the stuff that makes the water quality suffer. However, as long as I clean the screen 3 times a month (takes 3-5 min), the water stays clear as day. This thing is such low maint. and is the sole reason i'm still in this hobby. I was planning to quit since I couldnt get the algae growth under control.

 

[Zire]

Very cool, I see your tank is not spotless as far as algae grows, are you planning on adding more coral now?

 

[reeformadness]

very cool

 

[Diver Dan SD]

Are there any NICE tanks that run this?
Algae free tanks are great, but what I, and a lot of others, are looking for is SPS color that if held to some of these claims of zero phosphates, should rival zeovit and other ULN systems. I've seen a lot of buckets with lights in them, but no real results.
Make me a believer
Trever

 

[hottuna]

I wish this thread along with santamonica would continue to build here on r/c...but people got a little carried away and it got ugly...so a great idea is no longer being discussed here...

 

[vitz]

someone endlessly repeating that an idea is 'great' doesn't make it so

a question:

if the same resujlts or better (usually far better) can be acheived without all of that time and trouble, then why even bother ?

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

I think it is a great idea. That is my opinion. I built my own and am designing 2 others. I haven't read all of this thread, but I don't really need to, it's just the same as all the other threads.

As for the 'time and trouble' I really fail to see that point, and I've seen it on many posts on many forums by many people. Since I installed by first one, the ONLY thing I've done to it is clean the screen once a week and it takes 20-25 minutes. I've got some modifications and tweaks to make, but I expected that being my first attempt.

This is my scrubber

And this is what my screen looks like every week before I clean it.

And that's only 4 weeks old. 20-25 minutes from pump off to pump on.

I see all the threads started 8/08 and ending a month later and I think it's sad. Sad because Santa Monica didn't do a good job at responding to people in a way that didn't inflame them to fight back and maybe shift his methodology of communicating his ideas, and sad because so many people seem to be completely closed-minded to the idea, or maybe ticked off at his personality to the point where there was no way they were going to try it and find out how well it actually works.

 

[erics3000]

Why dont you guys open a new thread about up and running turf filters and blow off the bs..

 

[digitalchrisg]

This is my scrubber

That looks great, I am trying to plan mine out right now and test how it works. Just trying to figure out what I want to do size wise. Do you have much salt creep with this system?

 

[celano]

Hows the stink factor? Is this the kinda setup you could put under your stand or do you need a dedicated room in your house for this type of setup?

 

[matt & pam]

My scrubber is an eco-wheel, and it sits next to the tank. Aroma is not an issue, assuming regular harvesting.

 

[miwoodar]

I think it is a great idea. That is my opinion. I built my own and am designing 2 others. I haven't read all of this thread, but I don't really need to, it's just the same as all the other threads.

...

I see all the threads started 8/08 and ending a month later and I think it's sad. Sad because Santa Monica didn't do a good job at responding to people in a way that didn't inflame them to fight back and maybe shift his methodology of communicating his ideas, and sad because so many people seem to be completely closed-minded to the idea, or maybe ticked off at his personality to the point where there was no way they were going to try it and find out how well it actually works.

If you would have read the thread rather than skip to the photos, you might have noticed that a lot of those 'closed-minded' people had tried ATS systems in the past.

He spammed the internet with dozens of copies of this thread - that's one of the other reasons people got angry.

I learned a lot from my ATS days. I'm sure you will too. When you take a photo of the screen, feel free to include a shot of the tank as well.

 

[Jstdv8]

I have a scrubber on my tank going on 4 months now without a skimmer, everything is better than its ever been.
Loads of copepods
PH is steady day and night at 8.3-8.4
nitrates and phos have been undetectable for the last 2 months.
All the hair algae in my DT is all gone
And I feed alot because I can now.
IMO Its the single greatest piece of equipment I have in my tank.

 

[herring_fish]

I certainly understand that your pH stays steady but what keeps it high? Are you dosing or is that uptake of CO2 keeping it elevated by it self?

 

[widmer]

Yes this thread is full of :uzi::blown::mtool::thumbdown

And there seem to be algae scrubber threads sprinkled around the forum.

The good news is that we have an ATS thread going in the DIY forum with some really high quality commentary and more of a :beer: but not necessarily :love1: tone:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1925996

 

[miwoodar]

The good news is that we have an ATS thread going in the DIY forum with some really high quality commentary and more of a :beer: but not necessarily :love1: tone:

:beer: Glad to hear.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

Hows the stink factor? Is this the kinda setup you could put under your stand or do you need a dedicated room in your house for this type of setup?

There is no smell at all. Even when I take it out to clean it, I smell nothing. When I actually start scraping the algae off - that's when you smell it. It's no more rank than skimmate though.

I'll tell you that it was a lot smellier when I had the seed screen from Inland Aquatics attached to it. I got a 10x1 seed screen of red turf and that stuff was way, was gross smelling. After I got it, I was advised that I didn't even need it. I left it attached for a few weeks but the posted pic is the week after I took it off.

 

[chrissu]

IMO Its the single greatest piece of equipment I have in my tank.

Agreed.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

This subject now has a sticky here:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1977420