HOB Turf Scrubber + Fuge Combo

[Triggler]

Ok so After I saw Brian's ATS (Laffingcrow) and saw hhis awesome tank I decided to make my own ATS. Since everything is HOB on my 20 Gallon Nano I was kinda limited with what I could, especially since my CPR Aquafuge BakPak Skimmer Combo Takes up all of the space behind my tank.

After doing some research and talking with Biran, I decided to go the "floating ATS" route, which means I just have a screen laying horizontally on top of the water in my CPR aquafuge or as I like to cal it "HOB Sump" (Oxymoron I know...) since its so huge!!

My design is simple, I simply cut up some plastic screen material (which I got from Brian), then used a cheese grater to roughen it up and give the algae something to hold on to, then I put it on the surface of my Aquafuge and placed a Small Rio 200 behind it to add extra water flow on it! I'm using a home Depot clip on light and I'll have top get a second one to evenly cover the entire screen. The light covers the screen better than the pic show because my camera darkens some of the light.


This is the 2 sheets of plastic Screen Material I got from Brian (Laffingcrow)
http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx238/blairxsinclair/photo1.jpg

Top Video of the Entire thing - Note th light covers the screen better than the pic shows.
http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx238/blairxsinclair/photo.jpg


Small Rio 200 pump with nozzle that Fits perfectly into the Aquafuge, I had to play with a little to find the optimal position for the water to flow directly above the screen and towards the return.
http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx238/blairxsinclair/photo32.jpg

View of the Screen and whole ATS, as you can faintly see the screen IS ALREADY TURNING A LITTLE GREEN AFTER DAY 1 !
http://i759.photobucket.com/albums/xx238/blairxsinclair/photo5.jpg

[SHROOM]

If not too much to ask, please post before and after pics of your tank.
I have a setup with 20g and just CPR HOB fuge, no skimmer. I would be very interested in seeing if this ATS setup works.

[laffingcrow]

Looks good especially with that pump pushing the water.
How many square inches of total screen area did you end up with?
Also I would bet the algae sees just what the camera sees, your eyes can fool you when it comes to light intensity; you will however get good growth with that set up.
Great job,
Brian

[Triggler]

It's a little over 40 sq inches. And thanks for the power head idea it's having much better flow on top now that I added it on.
I'm going to buy another bulb but the only problem is I have no where to attach it to because there's a window behind it...Gonna have to figure something out, let me know if you have any ideas!

[NickSDC]

Awesome post. Can't wait to see the results!

[NickSDC]

I know it's a little early, but any updates? =)

[Triggler]

Got a combination of green and brown algae growing right now, Scraped the brown algae off as per laffingcrows directions. Will post pics soon, when I get some more growth!

[laffingcrow]

I know it's a little early, but any updates? =)
FYI... It is going to take three weeks from start date minimum for a decent amount of growth (three weekly harvests) before he will start to see nutrients gone. It may be up to eight weeks or so for a really mature "turf".
In the mean time it will go through different stages, brownish algae with some green, green algae with some red.
At this point it is important to keep any of the darker stuff rubbed off as it will shade the more efficient micro algae.
There may be a small amount of cyano bacteria in the tank which is common and is the last stage but will go away.
Once the last bit of cyano goes away (if any)... no more nutrients and no more nuisance algae; at that point even hair algae (if you have any) will start to go away completely.
Brian

[superman858mm]

how many hr of light per day? thanks

[SoCalBoo]

FYI... It is going to take three weeks from start date minimum for a decent amount of growth (three weekly harvests) before he will start to see nutrients gone. It may be up to eight weeks or so for a really mature "turf".
In the mean time it will go through different stages, brownish algae with some green, green algae with some red.
At this point it is important to keep any of the darker stuff rubbed off as it will shade the more efficient micro algae.
There may be a small amount of cyano bacteria in the tank which is common and is the last stage but will go away.
Once the last bit of cyano goes away (if any)... no more nutrients and no more nuisance algae; at that point even hair algae (if you have any) will start to go away completely.
Brian

Exactly my experience. Took about 3-4 weeks to get a good, thick pad of algae, even doing weekly scrapes to 1/2 of the screen. Took about 8 weeks total to cycle through different algae on screen and in tank, and now tank only has a little redish threads and some green hair algae. I had a TON of green hair algae in my experimental tank (hence the name of the tank), 15g acrylic (4x39 t5) before I did the algae scrubber and it is looking much, much better.

I started with a modified home depot 5g bucket with pure vertical flow and 32w PC bulb (PAR30 PC bulb from costco, roughly 3,000K). I did that for about a month, but the heat transfer was significant, and the evaporation was also troublesome if I put a fan on it to combat the transfer. I switched to a 16w (BR60 CF bulb from Costco, roughly 3,000K as well), and that cured heat transfer and need to throw fan on it.

I ran a sump instead and then ran the scrubber at more than 45 degrees to horizontal (ends up being roughly 30 degrees above horizontal). I am sure the extra water in the sump helped dilute the nitrates and phosphates, but the algae on the scrubber is growing much better. Bright green, gets thick quick (am now scrapping 1/2 about every 5 days to keep dead growth underneath to a minimum). Green hair algae way, way down, and looks to be on its way out.

Is it the new DSB, fuge, etc.? I don't know...I don't have the experience to compare. But my tank looks much better...

[pazhope]

I have a friend that saw my scrubber but he doesn't have sump space to put it, he was playing with the idea of doing a HOB ATS, will tell him about yours so he gets convince its possible,

[laffingcrow]

I checked out trigglers set up and here are some things I had him change to make it more efficient as he wasn't getting much growth on his screen.
1. he was using an 40 watt or so incandescent grow bulb (not good) instead of compact flourescent so it really was not bright enough and was wasted light energy.
... and if you notice in the picture the light intensity does not reach the end of the screen... so I suggested two clip on lights to cover the long screen.
2. He was still using chaeto in the fuge under the screen which was getting light from the tank lights as well as catching detritus which should remain in the tank as food... really important. as 50% of the success of an ATS is keeping more food in the tank for the corals. Detritus which is coverd with bacteria is awsome "reef snow" for the corals.
3. He was still skimming which means there were less nutrients available for algae growth due to food and poo being scrubbed out... so I had him shut if off. I know...:crazy:

Aslo...the little power head shooting water across the screen was a great idea and will help it to be more efficient since the screen is horizontal.
I had him leave some chaeto in for now and do water changes to keep nutrients in check until the screen has proper growth.
Once he gets good growth the chaeto has to go...:2cents:
Brian