R.Weller
Active Member
There are several great DIY algae turf scrubbers here on the forum, so I figured I would share what has worked for our system.
An important note at the start...we have a large system that is lightly stocked, but I do expect this to scale as the system matures.
Our sump is located behind the wall from the display tank so we do not have the spatial constraints that are common for someone attempting to utilize the space under the stand. Even so, if your sump has a return chamber with an open top, you might consider this option. This project was started to support our 220gal display & evolved as we learned from mistakes & made other improvements to the system.
We started with a rough design plan:
The goal was to create a backup means for nutrient export & gas exchange using the waterfall.
Here were the supplies:
Add to this a return pump & LED grow bulbs. We re-used a Jebao DCP-2500 running at 50% (15 watts) & LED plant lights from our refugium. Excluding the pump, all of this was less than $30. The light was $15. The plastic mesh can be found a local craft store around $.50 / sheet.
Next we built a prototype:
The height turned out to be absurd, but the concept was good. The plan was to fit the ATS into the return chamber. At the time, we had a 4 chamber custom sump using a standard 75gal & it while very tall, it worked.
Here's the fitting & testing before installing the mesh.
We used a dremmel to cut a channel in the PVC. The mesh is then notched & pushed into the crack (lots of examples of this on YouTube). The mesh was secured using zip ties.
The first day of Build 1:
After 7 days of Build #1:
Here's what the first build looked like when it was installed.
And three months later:
Observe that we learned it was important to put a cover of the top & sides of the waterfall. As algae builds, it will cause the water to spray vs. a constant flow over the screens. We found the sump area wet a few times.
We then upgraded the refugium in the system using a 50gal Rubbermaid stock tank & removed the 4th chamber in the sump. This provided a great space to relocate the waterfall into the refugium.
Build 2 was derived from all the same parts, but we cut down the unit to 22" to fit in the space under the stairs. We discovered that most of the zip ties were not necessary & actually made it harder to scrape.
Day 1 of Build 2:
Day 7 of Build 2 again shows decent growth on the screens:
Finally, here's a pic of Build 2 in the refugium (the cord mess was corrected):
We then upgraded the display to 300gal, & took the opportunity to create Build #3 of the waterfall ATS to better utilize space in the refugium. Here's a picture of the system today:
While it has a smaller exposed surface area, we still achieve great growth.
Here is 12 days of growth:
After scrapping the screens & turning back on the pump, small algae pieces fall into the refugium, which is like a Thanksgiving feast for the various Pods that are harvesting there. It's an amazing thing to watch.
I appreciate there are many styles of ATS available, but after 1 year, the most important factor is that nutrients remain 0, corals are thriving & it can be adapted to fit whatever space might be available. It's very cheap & effective running on approx 40 watts.
Enjoy!
An important note at the start...we have a large system that is lightly stocked, but I do expect this to scale as the system matures.
Our sump is located behind the wall from the display tank so we do not have the spatial constraints that are common for someone attempting to utilize the space under the stand. Even so, if your sump has a return chamber with an open top, you might consider this option. This project was started to support our 220gal display & evolved as we learned from mistakes & made other improvements to the system.
We started with a rough design plan:
The goal was to create a backup means for nutrient export & gas exchange using the waterfall.
Here were the supplies:
Add to this a return pump & LED grow bulbs. We re-used a Jebao DCP-2500 running at 50% (15 watts) & LED plant lights from our refugium. Excluding the pump, all of this was less than $30. The light was $15. The plastic mesh can be found a local craft store around $.50 / sheet.
Next we built a prototype:
The height turned out to be absurd, but the concept was good. The plan was to fit the ATS into the return chamber. At the time, we had a 4 chamber custom sump using a standard 75gal & it while very tall, it worked.
Here's the fitting & testing before installing the mesh.
We used a dremmel to cut a channel in the PVC. The mesh is then notched & pushed into the crack (lots of examples of this on YouTube). The mesh was secured using zip ties.
The first day of Build 1:
After 7 days of Build #1:
Here's what the first build looked like when it was installed.
And three months later:
Observe that we learned it was important to put a cover of the top & sides of the waterfall. As algae builds, it will cause the water to spray vs. a constant flow over the screens. We found the sump area wet a few times.
We then upgraded the refugium in the system using a 50gal Rubbermaid stock tank & removed the 4th chamber in the sump. This provided a great space to relocate the waterfall into the refugium.
Build 2 was derived from all the same parts, but we cut down the unit to 22" to fit in the space under the stairs. We discovered that most of the zip ties were not necessary & actually made it harder to scrape.
Day 1 of Build 2:
Day 7 of Build 2 again shows decent growth on the screens:
Finally, here's a pic of Build 2 in the refugium (the cord mess was corrected):
We then upgraded the display to 300gal, & took the opportunity to create Build #3 of the waterfall ATS to better utilize space in the refugium. Here's a picture of the system today:
While it has a smaller exposed surface area, we still achieve great growth.
Here is 12 days of growth:
After scrapping the screens & turning back on the pump, small algae pieces fall into the refugium, which is like a Thanksgiving feast for the various Pods that are harvesting there. It's an amazing thing to watch.
I appreciate there are many styles of ATS available, but after 1 year, the most important factor is that nutrients remain 0, corals are thriving & it can be adapted to fit whatever space might be available. It's very cheap & effective running on approx 40 watts.
Enjoy!
