OMG! I just saw an algae scrubber in action for the first time!

[Bruce Burnett]

My take on ATS. Yes they work and they do not strip your tank. If nutrients get to low then less algae grows. If you feed your tank frequently then you don't have to worry about levels getting to low. They help with cyano and diatoms. You can control them with amount of light and light duration. Some can be remote installed so it makes maintenance easier. I don't like anything that means I have to get under tank more than once a week, bad back. I always fed my tank at least 4 times a day and got rid of Gfo which I never liked and no carbon dosing. I did not do water changes either.

 

[Jordan Prather]

I just got mine hooked up last Wednesday starting to get some brown film on it shouldn't be to much longer before I start getting green growth

 

[ca1ore]

Interesting to see how popular the ATS has become. It’s come a long way from the dump bucket driven monstrosity I used to run in the 90s (based on Walter Adey’s original design).

 

[OREGONIC]

Love my scrubber. DIY’d using the useless top off reservoir on my red sea sump.

 

[Ef4life]

I just got mine hooked up last Wednesday starting to get some brown film on it shouldn't be to much longer before I start getting green growth

Nice mangrove grove you have growing

 

[Jordan Prather]

Nice mangrove grove you have growing

Thanks its probably a little over 3ft tall I really need to get new ballast for my t5s as it doesnt seem to like leds near as much.

 

[Hersheyb]

had a refugium since i started the hobby... finally made the switch about 6 months ago... n boy am I glad I did.. they work wayyyyyyyyyyy better than a fuge and maintenance is soooo much easier and cleaner

 

[Marlon C]

I really like mine and i make them myself

 

[samnaz]

I’m beginning to wonder if I need one of these...

 

[Feet4Fish]

You do

I’m beginning to wonder if I need one of these...

 

[jd371]

I really like mine and i make them myself

Hey! I recognize that set up...that's mine. Love the ATS and works like a champ. Thanks Marlon.

 

[Treefer32]

I have a Turbo Aquatics L4 ATS. It works amazingly well. I have it on a 350 gallon mixed reef with around 15 fish (10 of which are larger fish - 4-7"). I feed 1-2 times a day homemade frozen food with aminos and selcon mixed into it. I also feed nori a couple times a week. And The scrubber is maxed out in hair algae after 5-6 days and I still get some tufts of hair algae in the display. It usually dies off as the scrubber makes up for it.

For Filtration, in addition to the scrubber, I'm running a diablo skimmer fairly wet, I get 4-5 cups of pure yellow liquid out of the skimmer a week, and on top of that I've recently added a Nu-Clear 25 micron cartridge cannister filter, which I also run 500 ml of purigen in this as well.

In addition I do 10% water changes twice a month. Mainly to replace any trace elements and another way to export nutrients.

All of that said, about a month ago my nitrates were around 16 With a red sea pro test. For coral health I think nitrates in the 10-20 range is healthy. I'm kinda hoping that my cannister filter will have the unexpected impact of generating nitrates, which if the display runs low, will actually put some back in the display and give something to feed the ATS if nutrients run low as well. I question with this water volume if the ATS I have is large enough. But, I have it sitting on Rails that Turbo Aquatics provides over the skimmer section of my sump. The Cannister filter is a closed loop that is fed by my return pump and the cleaned water goes into my skimmer section as well.

I like where I'm at in nutrients. Have some hair algae that's slowly dieing off in the display. I think it was from over feeding my home made food when I was excited to see how the fish liked it.. They love it, but, I didn't realize how fast the fish would get full off of it.