New tank design with ATS in mind

I would like some feedback on this design I've just come up with.
This is all completely perfectly to scale.
The tank is 72"x24"x24" (6ft x 2ft x 2ft)
http://www.algaescrubber.net/img/wor...nk-design1.png
There is a central weir in the middle of the tank at the back, with combs around the top to stop things falling in.
There are two Durso standpipes inside the weir, to help stop rushing water noises and siphoning.
The water goes down these two pipes into one pipe then along through a 20" pipe/screen that becomes the algae scrubber (the green line is the screen from the side).
The scrubber is inside a small, thin tank (22" long x 4" wide x 18" tall) that is placed sideways across the tank, with a 12"x20" screen lit from both sides (lights not pictured, I may have to move it a bit further away from the sump).
the water then overflows through the pipe into the sump and then pumped back out into the tank through the central weir.
I'm looking at a 3500l/h pump, which ought to give 3000l/hour with the head it has to pump it back, giving 150l/h per inch (wow there's a mix of units!) = 40 us g/h per inch

Am I crazy? is there an easier way to fit the algae scrubber in to this design?
My other half is insisting that there are glass covers on the sump to stop condensation/wood rotting in the cabinet as it's solid pine.

Would it be easier to get rid of this first tank, move the sump over, have the algae scrubber screen just hanging over the first part of the sump and make the sump 22" wide??
I really want to stop any splashing or leaking

Just another note, the durso standpipes at 1.5" pipework, are rated to cope with 1500l/hour, so two work perfectly for this setup

Ok, I think I've come up with a more sensible idea... :D
http://www.algaescrubber.net/img/wor...nk-design2.png
There is now only one tank in the cabinet, no holes to drill in them either.
There is one set of lights inside the sump, but the area it is in is sealed off and dry, and angled so that there is easy access to the lights if needed.
The overall sump is now much larger at 36" long, 22" wide and 12" tall, but with two panels of glass to protect against splashing

I like where you are going with this idea. If it were mine I would keep the drains separet. That way if one clogs the other will take the load. If that should ever happen it will not be quite about it so you will know right off there is something wrong.

If however you do decide to keep it the way you have it I would make the section where the two pipes come together bigger. There will be a lot of turbulance there and could creat noise.

What does 1500 l/h make in us. 375-400GPH??

1500l/h = 400 us gal/h roughly

And here we go with another redesign...

http://www.algaescrubber.net/img/wor...nk-design4.png

With this design, the two drains are kept separate, with two screens. Because of this, the screens can be 10" wide each, giving the redundancy you suggested too. Also this brings the size of the sump down to 24" long by 12" wide by 18" tall.
The reason the tank is now in the middle is as my other half pointed out, the standard cabinet we're getting has drawers in the middle, where a lot of the support for the tank is held, the sump would also have to fit within a 30" double door area on the right:

http://www.bossaquariums.co.uk/images/tasmancutLW.jpg

The above is made by the same company that I'm ordering from, they bought up a pine furniture company a few years back and make some pretty nice looking tanks at a good price. Not to keen on the colour they have there though.

The only issue is that it's tricky to get to the lights (I'll probably have them on a wooden frame that can be pulled out, but I'd need to pull the whole sump out to do it.

Last issue with this design, how would you recommend we do some sort of mechanical (e.g. foam pads) filtration?

You could add some bubble traps just after the scrubbers. You are going to loose the ability to have pods go to the display. If you do the rock work right you could breed them up there.


I should add, I really like that design.

The twin screen is the way to go, since you are doing it from scratch. I see a little trouble getting the screen out of their for cleaning however.

I'd really use no foam pads at all. They defeat a major purpose of the scrubber (keeping food in the water). Remember that N and P will no longer be a problem; that's what most people used foam for before.

The two TS make more sense to me in the setup you show. SM has a good point, you will need to think about removing the screens in a completely hassle free manner. Not sure you have that covered yet.

Hassle free would be ideal, but I can't quite get the design for that yet lol.
My girlfriend pointed out that we could have the front panel on the sump only 12" high, leaving the top 6" exposed, and giving slightly easier access to the screens. Access in this way is similar to my current scrubber, and it is awkward. I normally cut the cable ties and let the whole screen slide down and pull it from underneath, which would work in this design too, but it's far from completely hassle free.

Can anyone else suggest a design for the two ATS that allows the lights to be close, but protected and eliminate splashing issues?
The other nice thing about the two ATS setup is that the screens will be the same size that mine currently is, hopefully, with more water flow!

Santamonica: Well I'm jumping in the deep end with this tank! I'm going to completely remove all other forms of filtration apart from liverock/sand, this should make a very interesting experiment. There will also be no skimmer from the start.

Don't worry it will run fine. Just keep your standard things nearby in case needed.

As far as screen size, over-size it now while you are in the design phase, by making each screen large enough to operate by itself. Also, giving each screen it's own feed (overflow), and drain, allows one screen to run continuously no matter what you are doing to the other one.

Why not make a slimline acrylic unit? A twin-screen verision of mine. I'm designing a twin now too, since I'm tired of my single filtering less after each cleaning. An acrylic unit would save you a lot of space, and would eliminate splashing, spraying, excess light, sound, etc. It would be 24" long, 12" deep, and 7" high. Leave the top on to eliminate cooling/evap, or take the top off and use a fan.