i see. if what we want to have in our ATS's are the GHA, and considering that ATS units are more compact than a fuge, is it right to assume(?) that GHA are superior than other algae, say caulerpa?
Type: Posts; User: SeaTurtle
i see. if what we want to have in our ATS's are the GHA, and considering that ATS units are more compact than a fuge, is it right to assume(?) that GHA are superior than other algae, say caulerpa?
nice article mr. floyd and hope to read the second part sooner. one thought though, how did you come up with the 12 sq in : 1 cube of frozen food/day ratio? thanks!
i read somewhere (not sure if it's on this site) that activated carbon works well with ATS(?). perhaps it would be cool to have a compartment (at the drain chamber maybe?) where you could place GACs.
...that makes the two of us. ;)
NOV 09/11: Dilution test
i did a 1:1 dilution test for nitrate and phosphate and it seems i made an error with the NOV 06/11 reading. nitrate marked at 80 so...
NOV 06/11
API Readings: ammonia and nitrite seem stable. nitrate drop to 80 from 160 last week and pH increased a bit. phosphate however is still darker than 10.0 reading......
OCT 29/11
API Readings: i'm guessing that the nitrate, phosphate are much higher than the max reading since it's not showing any change despite the algae growth compared to way back when the ats...
OCT 22/11
API Readings: still the same...
http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/ff419/SeaTurtleDesign/ATS%20IP/OCT22A.jpg
the tank:...
OCT 19/11
API Readings: readings are still the same...
http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/ff419/SeaTurtleDesign/ATS%20IP/OCT19A.jpg
the tank:...
hmm... i'm not really sure what to make out of it. but i can only assume that the fertilizer chemicals are dropping since the nitrite reading turned to its normal reading again. perhaps the reading...
no i did not. the last thing i did was change the screen and that's it. i was also wondering why the spike...
OCT 17/11
API Readings: readings went wild! ammonia dropped to zero while nitrate and phosphate soared beyond the ceiling! :lol: good thing is, the nitrite showed a normal reading of zero. could...
sounds like a mess. i'll take note of that. thanks!
i'll do this next time i set up a tank.
...do they leave something like residue or byproducts in the water?
you're probably right. actually, this experiment is about the ats's capabilities to treat polluted waters and not just tank water.
i think the fertilizer byproducts are hard to treat. that's...
OCT 09/11
API Readings: readings were the same. i'm getting the feeling that system has come to a stall... perhaps due to flow issues and toxicity....
unrelated perhaps... but not entirely. as the title suggested, we're trying to go further as to how far the ats could perform.
no i really put it there. this is actually an experiment how the ats will work against heavily polluted waters.
most probably because of the 50 grams of fertilizer that i've put about a month ago. it even reached 20 :shock:
OCT 07/11
API Readings: ammonia's color is now closer to 4 than 8...
http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/ff419/SeaTurtleDesign/ATS%20IP/OCT07A.jpg
the tank:...
OCT 05/11
API Readings: ammonia is between 4 & 8 but the color is closer to 8. nitrate is now at 5... everything else stayed the same......
OCT 02/11
API readings: since algae started kicking in again, ammonia is dropping slowly and so as nitrate. phosphate was at 0......
SEP 30/11
API readings: ammonia reading is slightly lighter than 8.0 and PO4's @ 1.0. everything else stayed the same....
i see... do they also affect pH directly? because i noticed when we did the second experiment (50 grams of fertilizer) the pH dropped from 8.4 to 7.4 instantly.
Oh yeah, your lighting is very low, this could be part of it....[/quote]
i changed the bulbs last sunday and i'm noticing growth already. one question though, is ammonium more toxic than ammonia?
hmm... i'm not really sure. but yeah, it seems there's something in the fertilizer that's reacting with the test kit. we'll see what happens next.
oh btw, i'm using 4 8-watt t5 NO's only...
SEP 25/11
API readings: ammonia's stuck at 8.0+ probably due to poor algae growth caused by poor lighting. PO4 had a slight increase and NO3 is at around 10-20....
SEP 20/11
after mechanically filtering the algae debris for 2 days, i turned the ats on again...
API readings (before turning the ats on): ...
SEP 18/11
delayed update: i cleaned off the algae that grew on the tank glass last saturday and disconnected the ats for the meantime to mechanically filter the floating algae debris...
API...
SEP 16/11
API readings: ammonia is still @ 8.0 but i have a feeling that it's more than that so i'll do the dilution test again later......
yeah i'll do that. thanks!
SEP 13/11
API readings: none of the readings changed except for a slight drop of NO3...
http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/ff419/SeaTurtleDesign/ATS%20IP/SEP13A.jpg
the tank: the algae...
for some reasons, i couldn't get log in to the site so...
here are the delayed updates:
Delayed Update: SEP 10/11
readings: algae growth stopped for a couple of days so ammonia was stuck at...
hmm... that could be the only logical conclusion to this. we'll see what happens in the next few days...
SEP 06/11
API readings: ammonia was somewhat lighter now than 8.0 so i didn't do the dilution test anymore. but nitrite showed a weird reading... the color of the fluid was the same as PO4 2.0....
yep i have it all noted down.
SEP 04/11
API readings: ammonia is off the chart again and pH continues to drop...
http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/ff419/SeaTurtleDesign/ATS%20IP/SEP04A.jpg
i did the 2 sets of dilution...
yes i'll probbaly do that. i'll post the readings tomorrow.
SEP 01/11
a day after the fertilizer reboot, i tested the water to see what's what...
API readings: ammonia rose to 8. there was also an increase in phosphate while pH had a significant drop......
...yes that would be fine sir.
ok i'll try to do that. thanks!
i see... that would probably be it. thanks!
AUG 31
since i wasn't really convinced of the readings yesterday despite of testing it twice, i did another test today...
readings: ammonia is still 0 so as nitrite. but nitrate rose by 5ppm....
...no problem. that way we can compare results. thanks!
hmm... i've never thought of that. so what do you think i should do now?
AUG 30/11
readings: something happened... ammonia dropped to 0! i had my doubts so i did a retest and still got the same reading. NO2, NO3, PO4 showed a consistent drop even though the screen...
haha! that would be the centerpiece! :twisted:
since i can have more space by not putting too much lr's, i think i'll put in one of those castles in my tank next time. :lol:
AUG 28/11
readings: ammonia still the same but there are noticeable decrease in NO2, NO3, and PO4 readings...
http://i1234.photobucket.com/albums/ff419/SeaTurtleDesign/ATS%20IP/AUG28A.jpg
the...
and the ammonia will be converted directly to plant matter instead of turning into nitrite then nitrate, right? but let's say the ammonia along with nitrite, nitrate and phosphate dropped to 0, what...
That guy in the picture and the system behind him looks a lot like the guy in this video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OebPtG6J-dg[/quote]
yep... it's him. great vid!