Please critique my new setup

[Shia]

Hello all, was hoping for a critique of my ATS setup. So I am setting up a new 155 gallon in-wall bow front tank. The goal is to have a reef setup with mostly softies and LPS. I would like to make an ATS my primary mode of filtration. So I have two 1" bulkheads that will drain into a 55 gallon sump. I have both 1" bulkheads connecting to a tee fitting and merging into one pipe (24" long) that I will cut a slit into. Under the slit will be roughened mesh 12"x24". A portion of the mesh will be underwater and have a long airstone connected to it to function as an upflow style, while the upper part will be waterfall style. I have purchased two of these lights to fuel the ATS:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01F53LP46/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have a jaebo DCS 7000 return pump that will return water back to display tank.

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Soooo.... what do you guys think? What changes should I make? I have added pics of the entire setup, nothing is glued yet.

[SantaMonica]

Welcome.

It looks like you want to put the screen vertically, 12" wide, on that left part of the pipe. If you can get one of the lights on the back side, then go ahead and do that since you already have the lights.

What I would not do is put the screen 24" wide with both lights on the front. You definitely want a 2-sided screen. Do anything you can to get a light on both sides.

[Shia]

Interesting. Why would you recommend a 12" wide screen with one light on either side? Is it to assure the roots continue to get light after you get a healthy amount of growth on the screen? Would having a 24" wide screen with both lights on one side and reflectors on the back to bounce light back be as effective?

[SantaMonica]

Yes the roots. Doubles the growth time and hence the filtering power.

No reflectors will not be nearly as good. Too far of a cluttered path for the light to take. And a 24" wide screen is way way too big. Even 12" wide is too big, but it matches the lights and catches most of the light.

Cut the screen vertically in half, so you can clean half at a time.

[Shia]

I will definitely put a light on either side and keep the mesh 12"x12" rather than 24"x12". Anything else you would recommend changing?

[SantaMonica]

Well you could angle the pipe into the corner of the sump, which would allow easy placement of the lights at 90 degrees on the corner.

And you can box things in with white, to reflect light back in. And then paint/cover that with black, to keep light from getting through the white.

[Shia]

Here is a 1.5 month update. First couple of weeks was just red/black smile, so I turned off one of the lights and let it run 20 hours a day. I just did a mini harvest and this is what I pulled out today :-D

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2 pics of the harvest and 1 of the grow lights hitting the ATS from both sides. So far very content.

[SantaMonica]

Great to see.

[Shia]

Santamonica thank you for recommending lights on both sides. Once the HA starting growing on the mesh the light penetration decreased dramatically, but by turning the second one back on I could instantly tell the growth exploded.

Heres a question, can I dry out the algae then put it back in the tank as tang food, or will it leach too many nutrients back in?

[SantaMonica]

No need to dry it. Just feed it fresh.

[Shia]

So now that my ATS is established and growing all kind of nasty goodness, is there any negative of running the LEDs 24 hours? I read mixed things about giving the ATS a chance to respire during the off period.

[SantaMonica]

Algae does need a dark period to grow, but sometimes the self-shading provides enough shade time.

[Shia]

So after another 3.5 months of running the ATS with different schedules, and you were right about the dark period. Right now I have the lights on 11:00pm-3:30pm. Growth has been great. I have a large screen for the amount I am feeding, but every 2 weeks I am harvesting a large fist size amount of the nasty goodness. Couldn't be happier with the results from such a simple means of filtration.

I am still running two 45w led grow lights on either side of the mesh to maximize coverage. Was curious if I should add more lights immediately above the screen as well as on a 3rd side. At this stage is it possible to have too much light and impair growth? I want to get this beast at maximum growing capacity.

[SantaMonica]

If growth is very dark, you can add more light. When growth gets yellowish, some iron may help, or more flow, or more feeding, but generally you have too much light.