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Rossco
02-18-2010, 11:18 PM
Hi all,
This is just a small scale expeiment a the moment but I thought I would post my results so far. I hope to use what I have learned to aid in the design of my next tank and will post more as the idea develops.
I was looking for ways to use the wasted light and existing flow from my tank to power a scrubber. The green turf was growing well in my weir so I figured I might try something along those lines. I'll let the pictures explain.
http://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss357/rosscopeco/PC200093.jpghttp://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss357/rosscopeco/P1310001.jpg
These two are showing the light that is used on the tank and the screen that I roughed up by dragging a serated knife across it.
http://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss357/rosscopeco/P1310003.jpghttp://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss357/rosscopeco/P1310004.jpg
Before and after shots of the weir. Day 1.
http://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss357/rosscopeco/P2020007.jpghttp://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss357/rosscopeco/P2020005.jpg
Day 2.
http://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss357/rosscopeco/P2040040.jpghttp://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss357/rosscopeco/P2060061.jpg
Day 4.
http://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss357/rosscopeco/P2090070.jpghttp://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss357/rosscopeco/P2130141.jpg
The other things that take care of filtration in this setup. The weir with screen removed after two weeks.
http://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss357/rosscopeco/P2130143.jpghttp://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss357/rosscopeco/P2130143.jpg
Two weeks later. Not bad for an experiment. You can easily see how the turf prefers to grow on different parts of the screen.
http://i591.photobucket.com/albums/ss357/rosscopeco/P2130146.jpg
30 seconds under the tap and a good hard scrub with my tradies hands and the screen is back in for the next round.

Please feel free to leave your advice and critisisms. I have procured a second 3ft tank for the garage and will be going the ATS only option. This type of design will be used in a more refined form so that the main light will be the light source for the ATS as well as the corals.

SantaMonica
02-19-2010, 11:16 AM
Notice how the gha, which is what you want, is in the most turbulent area (where the waterfall hits the waterline).

I'm experimenting with this now in my acrylic, by adjusting the drain rate and vis-a-vis the waterline/turbulence at the bottom of the screen.

Rossco
02-19-2010, 01:27 PM
Too true. I'm thinking of maybe trying a screen at an angle with some creases to give it a terraced effect. Another idea would be to thread some heavy fishing line to create extra ridges on the screen. Just brainstorming here.
I also noted amazing GHA growth on the retaining spring I used to hold the screen in place. It had better growth over a small area than the screen and it had not been roughed up. I'll post some pics later.
With the weir built with an ATS in mind it would be easy to run a larger screen without too much effort or noise.