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ocean rock
04-14-2009, 12:37 AM
hi guys just thought id say hello , followed SM tread on ultimate reef , for some time until he departed company i carn t fault him for that , anyway whats the latest version of the ATS as iam nearing completion of my tank . any help i would greatly appreciate , cheers OC

worley
04-14-2009, 03:06 AM
Hi OC, welcome to the site!
There's several different designs being trialed at the moment, e.g. with many high powered LEDs, or diagonal, space saving (height) designs that are lit from one side. Take a peek around the forums to get an idea of what's going on.
Tom.

SantaMonica
04-14-2009, 06:11 AM
Howdy Ocean...

I'd say the latest would be a dual-screen with lights on the ends and the middle, and with a splash/light shield along the pipe. The big decision would be an open-design in the sump, using CFL's (easy, cheap), or a closed design in acrylic, using T5HO's (more powerful, compact, but more expensive).

ocean rock
04-14-2009, 11:27 AM
i am in the process of building my sump going to feed the ats of the second down pipe ,would this work or should i use a pump.

SantaMonica
04-14-2009, 01:02 PM
How about a dual-screen scrubber, with each screen fed from one of the downpipes. That way you can turn one off and clean it, but still have all the overflow going through the other one (each overflow/downpipe/scrubber would need to be able to handle all the flow by itself). This is great backup too, because if you mess up one of the scrubbers somehow, you can divert all the water to the other one and still get full filtering while you fix/regrow the first one.

ocean rock
04-14-2009, 02:40 PM
so i would fit ball valves to each pipe and also the pipes 32mm should i use reducers to build the pressure up for the ats , should i run a skimmer , and what else should i put in the sump or will the ats be enough cheers oc

worley
04-14-2009, 05:27 PM
I wouldn't bother with reducers, the pipe with the cut should spread the water fairly evenly, adding reducers can only decrease flow which will probably be a bad thing.
As for a skimmer, if it's a new tank, don't get one, if it's currently setup, wait until the ATS is mature and turn it off after (about 4-6 weeks).
The ball valves are always handy if you need to turn flow off for cleaning etc. You should use a ball valve that is one size larger than the pipe you're using and use reducers on it, so that you don't restrict the flow of the water when the valves are fully open, unless you have some funky valves that don't need it.

ocean rock
04-18-2009, 05:47 AM
so let me get this right , iam running two screens of two down pipes , 3 lights ps what lighting should i use , what size should the screens be if the tanks about 128 gallons , "new tank so no skimmer " bigger ball valves than pipe to help with water flow , what else should i run in the sump off course a return pump , filter wool , miracle mud , dsb , or should i just leave all these things out , any help appreciated and last question whats the best thing to make the screen out of,?
know theres a lot of questions just wont to get it right first time .

worley
04-18-2009, 08:33 AM
Some sort of compact fluroescent bulbs would be a good and cheap lighting solution, just normal household 20-22W energy saving bulbs would do the job (don't use the daylight colour ones, the normal 3500k bulbs work better), obviously, try to make sure they don't get splashed, use reflectors where you can (you can make your own with tin foil for instance).
In my sump I just have the heaters and return pump plus the two return pipes that feed the skimmer + lights. Nothing else at the moment (no skimmer, foam, floss, DSB etc.)
As for the size, if you're lighting from both sides, roughly 1 square inch of screen per gallon of water, so a 12"x12" screen lit from both sides should be enough for a 128 gal tank, but this could vary depending on load on the tank (if you have lots of fish then you may want a larger screen or two).
It would be worth measuring how much water is actually flowing out of the return pipes (if you can get them to flow in a bucket, time how long it takes to fill it to work it out), take maybe 30% off that to get the flow you can expect when the slots are cut in the pipes. Using that rate, us it to calculate the width of the screen at 35 gal/hour per inch, e.g. 350gal/hour (after taking off 30%) would do a 10" wide screen, if you have two pipes, then you could have two 5" wide that are both 13-15" high. If height is a problem, then try and increase the flow so you can use a wider, but shorter screen.

Rumpy Pumpy
04-18-2009, 10:51 AM
hi guys just thought id say hello , followed SM tread on ultimate reef , for some time until he departed company i carn t fault him for that , anyway whats the latest version of the ATS as iam nearing completion of my tank . any help i would greatly appreciate , cheers OC


Just a quick hi.

Can't give you any advice myself as I'm a learner like yourself.

Good luck.

ocean rock
04-27-2009, 11:21 AM
hi all could you tell me if these would be any good , thanks http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Energy-Saving-Lam ... 240%3A1318 (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Energy-Saving-Lamp-Compact-Fluorescent-2-pin-28W-3500K_W0QQitemZ120405546191QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_L ight_Bulbs?hash=item120405546191&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1683%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C 240%3A1318)
and also this http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PENN-PLAX-TANK-DI ... 240%3A1318 (http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/PENN-PLAX-TANK-DIVIDER-11-3-8-x-15-1-2_W0QQitemZ200261840183QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Pet_S upplies_Fish?hash=item200261840183&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1686%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C 240%3A1318) if not could you please give me a ebay link with thanks oc

worley
04-27-2009, 02:31 PM
Light looks fine, you'll need the correct fittings with a electronic ballast, as for the tank divider, this is what I got:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=160289459255
Cheap, large screen you could double up if you want, and good seller (same people I used)

ocean rock
04-28-2009, 02:00 AM
hi worley iam glad your on here you"ve been a great help to me so far ,
1/ why would i need balast for that light unit ,might try morrision been reading a tread on here and get a 30what bulb 2 for £7

2/ just test follow on tank filled a gallon bucket in less than 7 seconds ,

3/ how do i work out follow and lenth of screen ,

worley
04-28-2009, 04:51 AM
hi worley iam glad your on here you"ve been a great help to me so far
No problem, we're all here to help and get advice :D


1/ why would i need balast for that light unit
Because the voltage those bulbs run on is not direct 220V from the mains, so it needs a ballast to convert to the right voltage (and to DC I believe), it also does some strange things when starting up and has safety features.


might try morrision been reading a tread on here and get a 30what bulb 2 for £7
Good bet, it's a bargin if they're still doing them, let me know if they are, I may nip down to our local Morrison's and get a few. They're also compact fluorescent bulbs and they won't need any ballast/controllers, they just plug into a standard bayonette fitting (if Morrison's don't do it, then Wilkinson's do them really cheap (less than £1))


2/ just test follow on tank filled a gallon bucket in less than 7 seconds
Is this with a screen on, or just the flow out of the pipe, also, is this at the height that the scrubber is going to be situated?

This works out as...
60*60 (seconds per hour) = 3600
3600 / 7 = 514.3 Gal/hour (UK I presume) = 617.6 US gal/hour
This means if you're doing a double sided screen you can have it 17" wide. Now if that's just from the pipe, you can expect to probably half that flow, so expect maybe 9-10" wide.


3/ how do i work out follow and lenth of screen ,
As for the length, it can be as long as you can make it and still light it, my screen is around 30" long, but it's unusual as it's a diagonal one-sided design.
For 128 Gal, you'll be looking at around 130-150 square inches ideally for normal fish/feeding load. So for length you could go 10" wide and 15" long, lit on both sides.

ocean rock
04-28-2009, 10:02 AM
hi m8 thanks for that , it was just a test run straight from the down pipe straight into a 1 gallon container , i have two down pipe that i was going to run the two pipe method but now they will both have a scrubber fitted , so i will light it like this


light / scrubber \ light/ scrubber \ light , this should work out just fine
going to take your advise with the mesh , by the way found this thought it might be of intrest . http://www.algalturfscrubber.com/

ocean rock
05-24-2009, 12:50 AM
built the sump , and I've work out that the screen size will be 14in by 8in x 2 will this be enough for a 128 g UK tank " i believe so " also how much difference will it make if the lights are at the end of the tank but the tanks rapped in tin foil cheers oc ,

worley
05-24-2009, 03:43 AM
There is a huge difference if the lights are far away from the screen, the intensity of the light drops off exponentially the further you get away, so keep the lights as close as possible to the screen. The reflectors will help of course, but it won't make up for the distance loss.

ocean rock
05-24-2009, 04:50 AM
cheers m8 i wish i could show you my sump design just carnt get it to up load on photobucket , i think it might be vista as its a new lap top and its doing my head in .

worley
05-24-2009, 06:20 AM
Nah, Vista won't make any difference you can email me it if you want and I'll post it up? You can upload attachments on these messages you know? (just under the buttons there's an "Upload attachment" tab, select that, browse for the file and hit "Add the file" then you can insert it into your post

ocean rock
05-24-2009, 02:06 PM
hi worley how do i shrink the pictures so i can post , sorry iam a pc dummy?

worley
05-24-2009, 02:22 PM
hi worley how do i shrink the pictures so i can post , sorry iam a pc dummy?
haha, well, I'm posting from my iPhone on a bus at the moment. I hate buses, but it's the last one home and 30 min later than the train.
Anyhow, send me the photos by email ( look at my profile) and I'll resize and post them.

worley
05-25-2009, 06:55 AM
Here's Ocean Rock's Sump:
[attachment=0:kqoapge2]sump.jpg[/attachment:kqoapge2]

ocean rock
05-26-2009, 11:42 AM
thank you for posting my pic WORLEY " let me try and explain my idea please advise me in any way you can and also any comments ,
the ats"es will be run from two 32mm down pipes , these will be my only means of filtration , so iam hopping this works , the sump will have two ledges yet to be build the reason for this iam going to be able to slide the scrubbers out for cleaning , this will also course a waterfall effect to help oxygenate the water , the bubbles will be stopped by a bubble trap , the water will be returned to the tank by a ocean 6500 , that's set up as a reef flush , the screens will be lite on both sides by 60what fluorescent low energy bulbs , the scrubbers will be 14in by 8in x2 which should be fine for a 128 UK gallon tank , " i hope "
1/ question am i going to get a toilet flushing sound from the two down pipes or will i be able to adjust so they both run silent ,
thanks oc

worley
05-26-2009, 05:25 PM
Ok, you're going to need to draw a diagram and post the picture (or email me it and I'll do it lol).
As for the pipes, it depends how you do it, I presume these would be the drains from one or two overflows/weirs in the main tank?
What you want is a Durso Standpipe: http://www.dursostandpipes.com/ Got all the instructions there how to build one (or see the thread on my tank for some more pictures of mine). You'll be better off with two separate weir chambers rather than one with this design of standpipe, as it can sometimes be a bit tricky to problem solve when you have two (not a huge issue really on my tank, for some reason it's been trouble free and silent).
If you don't use something similar, you'll get noisy "toilet" like sounds as air and water get sucked down the pipes, or water falls down 20+" of weir.
I'm not sure if that's what you meant by waterfall, or did you mean these ledges?
You want the bottom of the screen to just dip into the water, that'll minimise the noise/splashing and air bubbles.
Anyhow, draw a diagram!

ocean rock
06-01-2009, 10:22 AM
hi worley were did you get your lights from as iam going to use the on my design cheers oc

worley
06-02-2009, 04:18 AM
hi worley were did you get your lights from as iam going to use the on my design cheers oc
Eyre & Elliston electrical wholesalers down the road from me, any electrical wholesaler should stock them or be able to order them in.
The bulbs themselves are only a few pounds each, the controllers (for two bulbs) are around 15 pounds each. The stiff wire you need for it can be tricky to find, I had to get it ordered in.

ocean rock
06-02-2009, 10:27 AM
cheers for the info m8

ocean rock
06-06-2009, 12:48 AM
just thought id post a picture of the fish that will be moving into the new tank when its settled and the scrubbers are mature , and also to prove to worley i can post pics LOL, " figured it out mate picture size set to large on camera , "
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh210/recoilphotos/tankphotos6609017.jpg

ocean rock
06-09-2009, 09:47 AM
should the ats screen be tight or slack?

SantaMonica
06-09-2009, 11:37 AM
Nice fish!

Screen should be tight

ocean rock
06-10-2009, 12:29 PM
iam going to run 2 pipes one longer than the other in the weir section , Ive sorted the ball valves so there now 32mm internal bore, iam just wondering if my ocean runner 6500 will cope with the flow , one pipe will be open full and the other just adjust back slightly , this will stop the flushing sound. there's going to be a lot off water running into the sump hopefully the Ats will slow it down a bit ,

does anyone no a free program for drawing and posting onto net

ocean rock
06-12-2009, 11:21 AM
just thought id post a few pics hope iam on the right track? the sumps 20in high 20in wide and 30 inches long the three glass chambers are splash guards , just the scrubbers to build now .
please advice.
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh210/recoilphotos/sumppics120609006.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh210/recoilphotos/sumppics120609007.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh210/recoilphotos/sumppics120609010.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh210/recoilphotos/sumppics120609013.jpg

SantaMonica
06-12-2009, 01:43 PM
Neat idea. What's the power and K of those bulbs? They will be a good start, and you can double them for higher power.

Be sure to put a reflector on the outside of the sump, to keep the light in.

ocean rock
06-13-2009, 12:05 AM
hi sm the bulbs are 18w each 3500k, going to rap it in diamond foil which is what there using now in hydroponics, should help with the grow rate of the algae, filled the sump with water today ,NOT A LEAK , cheeking to see if the sump would handle the water from the weir if there was a power cut .

ocean rock
06-13-2009, 07:54 AM
got the sump drilled
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh210/recoilphotos/001.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh210/recoilphotos/002.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh210/recoilphotos/003.jpg

ocean rock
07-02-2009, 11:19 AM
iam nearly on the end run , Ive just got the stand to build picked the board up yesterday so hoping to make the stand on Saturday, anyway back to the scrubber , just thought id set it up in the shed and get some water running over it , when is under the display tank it will be grave fed .
heres some pics , please let me no what you think ?
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh210/recoilphotos/sumppics2709006.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh210/recoilphotos/sumppics2709001.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh210/recoilphotos/sumppics2709004.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh210/recoilphotos/sumppics2709013.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh210/recoilphotos/sumppics2709020.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh210/recoilphotos/sumppics2709023.jpg
http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh210/recoilphotos/sumppics2709005.jpg