Lowest cost way to eliminate green hair, bubble, turf and slime algae

[KerryL.]

You will have some small growth in other places in the same vicinity of the light but, the majority is on the screen. About once a month I clean the container my scrubber is in. It accumulates like it does on your DT glass when you dont clean it every week or two.

[Srusso]

Soo...many....contradictions.

 

How can ats be Able to treat chaeto as nuissance algae and kill it, yet the totm you linked says they need to cut the chaeto back regularly bc it grows so quickly.

 

How is cleaning that tangled looking screen easier than dumping a skimmer cup, and maybe once a year rinsing it out; dropping in some gfo and forgetting about it for weeks at a time,etc

 

Also, to the smartass who danced around my previous question... Why would you want all this crap when you can use attractive macros to do the exact same thing for cheaper.

 

I will try to keep this simple for you... First your should actually read that TOTM post... I have been following it since the beginning. ITs actually a really cool build that run off sun light!

 

Second thing you should realize and the OP, he is not running a standard algae scrubber. Many things he is doing is not considered effective, the major one being its a single sided, horizontal, glass algae scrubber.... glass doesn't hold algae very well...

 

Third is that any algae scrubbing that is done on this tank is doing so as a secondary filter, as in not primary.... thats how he pulls a chaeto out like he does... its not built as the primary, it wouldn't run like one...

 

Fourth, I am not this smart ass you seek but I can tell you... You should test it for yourself before you say so much, your macros can not do that same, and are not cheaper.... smart ass....

[adinsxq]

we gonna do this again?

[brandon429]

If 4 post posters get this thread closed we'll never reach the thousand + pages I predicted. Let's please people keep this thread restricted to non ATS users criticizing the system in favor of their own method.

[Ansphire]

 

Never made a waterchange, never ran skimmer, gfo, carbon.

 

Saved a ton of money in salt, ro water, useless chemicals and equipment.

 

Better yet, i spend 5 mins a week cleaning a screen. 10 yrs of reef keeping and my only regreat is not finding the algae scrubber sooner.

[Floyd R Turbo]

Got a pic of the scrubber?

[KerryL.]

 

Never made a waterchange, never ran skimmer, gfo, carbon.

 

Saved a ton of money in salt, ro water, useless chemicals and equipment.

 

Better yet, i spend 5 mins a week cleaning a screen. 10 yrs of reef keeping and my only regreat is not finding the algae scrubber sooner.

Amen to that!!! All I do is clean the screen, top off Kalk, Ca., and Mg. Thats a nice tank you have.

[patback]

I will try to keep this simple for you... First your should actually read that TOTM post... I have been following it since the beginning. ITs actually a really cool build that run off sun light!

 

Second thing you should realize and the OP, he is not running a standard algae scrubber. Many things he is doing is not considered effective, the major one being its a single sided, horizontal, glass algae scrubber.... glass doesn't hold algae very well...

 

Third is that any algae scrubbing that is done on this tank is doing so as a secondary filter, as in not primary.... thats how he pulls a chaeto out like he does... its not built as the primary, it wouldn't run like one...

 

Fourth, I am not this smart ass you seek but I can tell you... You should test it for yourself before you say so much, your macros can not do that same, and are not cheaper.... smart ass....

 

I skimmed it.... Was pretty neat.

 

Point being, it makes the argument for an ats a very, very weak one when supporters are grasping at straws and claiming that the totm has a high falutin' ats.... And then when asked why totm still has so much chaeto; " well, that's not a REAL ats".And if your not the smartass I seek, why mention it? Any of your concern?

 

Amphibrion... I read your response and thought for a second, wow, sounds interesting and worth some poking and prodding if I ever have a larger system, and thought that way mostly because the concept wasn't being forced down our throats. After that, I realized that it was because you are an actual member here and presumably care about the nr community... Not just signing up to troll.

 

Ansphire; 10 years, huh? Since you are telling us about no water changes in 10 years, I'm guessing that magnificent, albeit, overstocked tank is older than the 1 year I am guessing based on the size of your colonies?

[KerryL.]

He said in his 10 years of reefing he wishes he had learned about it sooner. He did not say he was not doing water changes for 10 years.

The TOTM posted does use a horizontal scrubber lit by the sun. Pretty neat but, its still not being used to its full potential. If is was running to its full potential the chaeto would die.

[patback]

If is was running to its full potential the chaeto would die.

If my aunt had balls, she would be my uncle. There are a lot of "ifs" in the world.

 

I still don't understand how one person can use chaeto to drive nuissance algae out, and another use nuissance algae to drive chaeto out. How do you make adjustments on the levels you want to keep? Corals do need Some' trates and 'phates to live.

[brandon429]

Ansphire the tank is nice and no doubt what some would consider overstocked w fish, so its a valid bioload test for the screen ATS that's for sure. The display is very free of bad growth and I bet the action in person makes for a nice look

But, the validity of the tank for the ats argument is better stated with tank age than anything else in my opinion. The corals haven't base plated/self locked onto the substrate they are where they were placed as frags, and still growing nicely clearly, but until we can see years of growth using that many fish its not more helpful than a great full tank shot that uses a gfo reactor in the background

[HecticDialectics]

If my aunt had balls, she would be my uncle. There are a lot of "ifs" in the world.

 

[KerryL.]

If my aunt had balls, she would be my uncle. There are a lot of "ifs" in the world.

 

I still don't understand how one person can use chaeto to drive nuissance algae out, and another use nuissance algae to drive chaeto out. How do you make adjustments on the levels you want to keep? Corals do need Some' trates and 'phates to live.

Before I ran a scrubber I was unable to get my chaeto to drive out the algae hair in the DT. When I decided to run a scrubber the chaeto died out after a month and a half or so. I have never tried to run a weak scrubber so I could run chaeto as well, this just didnt make much sense to me. The same as trying to have plants in a scrubber tank, if the scrubber is working as intended the plants would die. As far as keeping corals I feed very heavy so there will be nutrients in the tank but the scrubber exports them pretty fast. They say there are softies and such coral that you cant keep in a scrubber tank but mine seem to do just fine. I have found that I cant keep lobo's or Long tentacle plate corals in my scrubber tank, although my pineapple brain does great.??? Here is pic off of my phone of some softies in my 40G scrubber tank.

[JamesHL88]

As a non bias party (never used an ats but is interested in the concept), i find it odd that in all the pages of this thread nobody has said that they used an ats and hated it. Its all people defending the equipment they use on both sides of the argument. Now i have to assume that the ats supporters have experience with skimmers and macros. Because ats is something most people new to reefing dont attempt. But skimmers are one of the first pieces of equipment the new reef keepers are introduced to. I know that most of the ats bashers are experienced reefers from their extensive involvement in this comunity. My point is why is this such a personal debate? Aside from the offensively long original post, i just dont see

why everyone cares so passionately how other people are trying to filter their aquariums.

Im planning on building a large reef in a year or so. Im going to use a 55 gallon tank as a sump. I was planning on a skimmer section, fuge section, and return. But this upstream model is compact and cheap enough that i might just add one to the fuge. The idea being if the ats beats the macros then i will keep it and use the fuge for pod population and frag racks. If the skimmer and macros beat the ats then i will remove it and im not out much money.

[patback]

As a non bias party (never used an ats but is interested in the concept), i find it odd that in all the pages of this thread nobody has said that they used an ats and hated it. Its all people defending the equipment they use on both sides of the argument. Now i have to assume that the ats supporters have experience with skimmers and macros. Because ats is something most people new to reefing dont attempt. But skimmers are one of the first pieces of equipment the new reef keepers are introduced to. I know that most of the ats bashers are experienced reefers from their extensive involvement in this comunity. My point is why is this such a personal debate? Aside from the offensively long original post, i just dont see

why everyone cares so passionately how other people are trying to filter their aquariums.

Im planning on building a large reef in a year or so. Im going to use a 55 gallon tank as a sump. I was planning on a skimmer section, fuge section, and return. But this upstream model is compact and cheap enough that i might just add one to the fuge. The idea being if the ats beats the macros then i will keep it and use the fuge for pod population and frag racks. If the skimmer and macros beat the ats then i will remove it and im not out much money.

 

 

Honestly, it's pretty much bc both sides refuse to admit the the there is right. An ats probably would be pretty good in a large system in place of macros, but still alongside a skimmer. On the other hand, these advocates refuse to admit to us that it is silly, unnecessary added equipment when it comes to a nano tank. Why use this when a pretty plant and cheap, easy wc eliminate nutrients and the need for dosing all at once? It's basically just tit for tat.

[JamesHL88]

On the other hand, these advocates refuse to admit to us that it is silly, unnecessary added equipment when it comes to a nano tank. Why use this when a pretty plant and cheap, easy wc eliminate nutrients and the need for dosing all at once?

 

Thats right i forgot the beef was about nanos. Lol i havent seen this thread in a while and i felt like i was on the bashers side last time i just didnt feel like rereading all this to find out what i said.

[KerryL.]

I have three nanos with ATS's on them. This is my next Nano build to make it more slim line, it will be the UAS type scrubber.

[JamieSheffield]

Can you provide links to threads about doing algae scrubbers using an HOB...

 

J

 

I have three nanos with ATS's on them. This is my next Nano build to make it more slim line, it will be the UAS type scrubber.

[KerryL.]

I have not built this one yet so I dont have any pics yet. This is a relatively new concept in using a HOB for a Scrubber. I have built (well thrown together) a HOB for my 150G. Check the pics I will post. This one is LED powered and uses the air venturi instead of an air stone. This is a test model I decide to use before I put any money into a custom made unit. These where just parts I had not being used.

[Tyron]

Thank you for posting your hob scrubber ideas! How long have they been running?

[KerryL.]

The large one has been up for about 3-4 weeks. The screens on it are 5x5. The tank is just as old so theres not much in it yet, I am waiting for frags to grow out and buying more fish to put in it. I am not feeding enough to support two screens so as of Saturday I am running only one. This adjustment should get me growing green algae pretty quick.

My others have been running for a couple years.

[Tyron]

Well I went ahead and pulled the trigger on one of those marina s15 filters for my 10g. It was cheap enough so I just hope the pump works. But ill be using bulbs instead of leds at first. Wish me luck. KerryL what air stone are you using?

[KerryL.]

For that one I was going to use some little blue ones I got from the local. They are only about an inch-ish long. I am only going to be using two of the screen compartments for this 10G nano build. I am going to put little pvc covers over them with a slot for the screen to fit into. I hope this will keep the light off the air stone and the screen will be right over the bubbles. I also thought about trying to inject air into the flow after the pump and that way maybe I can get away without using the air stone. Be sure to post up some pics Sir.

[SantaMonica]

The new Hang-On-Glass UAS with bubble remover:

 

[Tyron]

Ohhhhhh snap!