thinking of going marine

[Eclip]

Hi guys ive been mulling over the board now for a few weeks reading up on all there is. I was going to get into marine a few years ago but with some research i thort at the time that it was far too expensive to setup the tank. with the advent of the algae scrubber system and its proven effectivness this seams not only cheaper but more hands on. Coming form a science background i am very interested in this system and the chemical filtering ability of the algae in genneral. I have a largish garden breeding pond atm thats filtered with plants of certain types to create a nice biodiversity such that the fish only need food approximatly once a week and eat alot of the plants.

As far as i can tell the ATS system if built to approiate sizes can replace a skimmer and mechanical filtration,bio balls etc etc which reduces the cost to start up a marine system making it more affordable to pursue this wonderful hobby.

This is great and the prototypes that people are using are looking great.

I have a few questions though,

1. While the pods that form in the algae bed are suppose to be good for fish to eat etc do they cause problems with pumps or do they actually hurt the fish at all if they are in large populations(still researching on what fish i would like)?

2. Since algae scrubbers work so well the only downside i could see to widespread popularity is cleaning the outter layers of alge every week or so. I have no experience with skimmers so how does this compare in a maintance way compared to skimmers etc so they also need regular maintance as in how long does a 2L (approx .5gal) bottle last for instance?

I look foward to experimenting with this system and just another quick question aimed at SantaMonica, the ATS system he designed and is now selling can that be used on the top of the tank to feed directly into the top of the tank or is it designed to be in a sump system. looking at it its quite wide so i would assume for top of the tank but am just making sure.

Thanks in advance for any replies

[Rumpy Pumpy]

Hi fella.

I've recently switch from FW myself. Go for it! You won't regret it.

I won't give you specific advice on scrubbers as I'm a novice myself but I do think that these are the way to go.

My tank is swarming with pods, water quality is excellent and, as long as you disgn it right it's a lot less hassle cleaning a screen once a week than changing a load of water (mine take maybe 5 minutes)

[SantaMonica]

can that be used on the top of the tank to feed directly into the top of the tank or is it designed to be in a sump system.

Either one

[Eclip]

ok another quick question i have then and thanks for the replies is i get that the more you scrape it and the rougher the substrate is the better it will stick. But is there any every problems especially with overtank scrubbers that alge falls off the screen and into the tank?

i guess this isnt so bad as most fish will eat alage and some love it but bad for algae settling in the tak with all the heavy metals etc? or is this not a problem to worry about as the fish eat it??

thanks for the replies already

[SantaMonica]

If algae falls off, you will lose your filtering, and your water will turn cloudy. Make the screen rough:

http://www.radio-media.com/fish/ScreenHoleSaw.jpg


http://www.radio-media.com/fish/CanvasCompare.jpg

[Rumpy Pumpy]

ok another quick question i have then and thanks for the replies is i get that the more you scrape it and the rougher the substrate is the better it will stick. But is there any every problems especially with overtank scrubbers that alge falls off the screen and into the tank?


I snip or scrape a little bit of algae off mine every day and let it wash into the tank

My Yellow Tang is very grateful. He pounces on it as soon as it appears.

[Eclip]

Thanks i was planning on roughing but just wondered abotu random alage hairs dropping in the tank as i read about that its bad coz the metals and nitrates go back into the system essentially but then its free food for all the herbavores in teh tank aswell so it cant be all that bad. cheers for all the comments guys will definatly be giving this a go when i find some time.

I plan on using LED lighting and testing etc. From my own research i have found that for LED's the 6500k lighting will work the best for algae as its got equal amounts relavivly of the blue and red spectrums which is uses

[sklywag]

When I first saw the SM100. I too thought it was very long. Until I saw a picture of someone holding it and discovered it was only like 20-24 inches long.

[Eclip]

Thanks for the replies i have a couple of last minute questions before i start giving this a try.

Most reef tanks require between 10-20X the water be circulated every hour around the tank for proper circulation. i assuming this is mostly for the corals as opposed to fish. Example the SM100 uses 800gph so for a reef tank between 50-80 gal would this be sufficient or is this genneral rule more about circulating water within the tank for dispersion of food particles and pods, etc within the tank and thus the scrubber flow needs to be supplimented with a circulation pump??

For overtank setups which i am planning, do people run the collection tube for the pump to the bottom of the tank or do they only run it approx 6 inches below the surface to reduce the effective head and gain more flow for the same pump?

thanks for the help so far guys/girls

[SantaMonica]

Circulation only matters in the display, i.e., how much water touches the corals, and how fast. More the better. Mine is 60X. This delivers more food to the corals.

Moving the tube for the pump does not change the head or pressure. All that matters is how high the scrubber is above the water level of the display.

[Eclip]

Thanks for the explination of head since most of the diagrams i have seen put head as the distance from suction to output (vertically) but this makes sense since moving water inside the bulk liquid would requre very little energy. much appriciated.

Thanks about the water circulation since i will be starting off with fish and live rock then moving to corals at a latter stage.

Thanks alot guys great forum group.

[rygh]

Note that the way you do the plumbing can make a big difference.
All sorts of fancy calculations on wall friction in pipe and momentum loss at bends.
But a small pipe with lots of bends can cause FEET of lost head.
There are lots of articles on that on the major normal reef forums.
And don't forget the input strainer. Especially as it gets covered in crud.

Simple way is to use 1 size larger than on the pump itself, and never use 90 degree angles. Flex-pipe is great.
(Well, simple to understand, but can be a pain)

BTW: Be careful what kind of fish and how many you buy if you plan on corals later.

You do not need nearly the circulation and lighting with a fish only tank. Good way to start!