ATS: Pushing the Limits...

[chrisfraser05]

cool

[srusso]

Amazing! Nice work, keep the updates coming. I think you should cover the front and sides of the tank, to prevent sun light from entering. Thanks for posting.

[SeaTurtle]

yeah i'll do that. thanks!

[SeaTurtle]

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...


the tank: i scraped off some of the algae on the tank wall...


and the water turned green... :lol:


screen growth: it's not as thick as before and i noticed that my light isn't as bright as before. perhaps that's one of the reasons why the little growth...


question: can ats make the water crystal clear?

[SeaTurtle]

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 readings: this reading was taken a day after the clean up. ammonia was darker than 8.0 but i wasn't able to do the dilution test because i ran out of salt mix. nitrate also showed an increase and marked at around 20 - 40. no changes for the rest...


the tank: a day after the clean up...


screen growth (a day after the clean up): i've noticed that the growth was darker somehow and less than the before...


...'til next log. :wink:

[SeaTurtle]

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):


the tank: filtering the water with filter foam...


ATS online once again...


algae growth:

[SeaTurtle]

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.


the tank:




screen growth: under a week of poor lighting, you can barely notice the growth.

[Floyd R Turbo]

Are you sure your test kit is reading ammonia? Could it be something else in the fertilizer throwing the test kit off? That's a lot of ammonia and zero algae growth. Light isn't the issue IMO - you're using T5HO, right?

[SeaTurtle]

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...

[chrisfraser05]

I'm going with the idea that the algae doesn't actually use ammonia but encourages the bacteria and obviously uses the nitrate quickly.

I think you had alot of BB converting the ammo until you cleaned the glass and you've removed it all.

just a thought obviously!