New to ATS, need some info.....

[nanomania]

I have a 30g system (might attach a new 25g tank)... after reading loads of threads and watching LA fish guys videos (jim himself is using 1 on his system), santamonica ATS and saw on youtube it being used by famous and really known breeders/coral farms/ famous hobbyist, im planning to setup for my system too. im confused between the air bubble up flow or water fall (water fall would be better as all ill have to do is just connect to my system)... The reason is, im planning on it is coz im having some algae issues not major but small ones like cotton candy algae, green turf & bubble algae (i got bubble due to a friend as i bought a coral attached to his LR and i know he had bubble algae never had this prob in 3yrs)... im using GFO, Carbon, cheato and skimmer as current filteration..

1)Can i use 1w warm white with plant grow led?
2)Can i go for bigger ATS then recomended (as im plannin on attachin a tank to my current setup)?
3)Does it help eliminating pest anemones?
4)i have cheato and skimmer, do i need to get rid of them?
5)im using GFO and Carbon, do i need them too?
6)Will it help geting rid of bubble algae that comes even if the nutrients are low-0?
7)How heavy can i go when it comes to feeding/Stock?
8)Im also facing a small issue of cotton candy and green turf... how long it takes to eliminate all these algae?
9) does it help pod population and plankton to increase?
10) Does it help in preventing/reducing diseases like ich?
11) Can i use UV ster. with it?
12)Iv read many posts that say it DOES NOT remove phosphates like cheato or GFO but gets rid of the DT algae...
13) It decreases potassium levels......?

[thatgrimguy]

I'll answer all that I can for you.

1.) Not Sure
2.) You can, just increase the feedings if you aren't getting enough growth.
3.) No, just makes the water cleaner but has nothing to do with majanos/aiptasia
4.) No, but you can if you want to. I used mine with both chaeto and a skimmer.. the chaeto didnt' last long and I removed it because it was pointless. Most find that a skimmer is no longer necessary but I still liked having both.
5.) You probably can drop the GFO, but carbon fills a totally different need so they don't really compete
6.) Yes. Cleaner water will help minimize even the most stubborn of algaes like bubble algae.
7.) Check the feeding guides.
8.) Depends on how much phosphate is locked in the rock that the turf algaes are growing on.. it can take a few months to clean the rocks of the phosphates locked in them
9.) It will cause your pod populations to EXPLODE!
10.) I believe it does. Cleaner water is less stressful for fish and gives you the ability to feed more and keep more of that food in circulation.. All good things for stopping infections like ich
11) UV sterilizer is a completely different function and has no benefit or competition so use it if you want
12.) Those posts are dead out wrong. It absolutely removes phosphate and does it better than biopellets/vodka IME
13.) Not sure



I answered all the ones I know

[Ace25]

1. Yes, but not recommended as you more than likely won't get any better growth than a CFL, just a lot more work to make the LED light.
2. Yes, to a point. Just don't make it something like 10x bigger than needed, but 2x isn't really an issue because the 'guidelines' for sizes are not scientific at all, just guesses.
3. No
4. Cheato will probably need to be taken out a month after you get the ATS going, skimmer you can leave on.
5. Keep both
6. No, but bubble algae is usually very easy to manually remove and the least invasive.
7. Depends on screen size, flow on screen, and lighting. You can go from no food to 10 cubes a day depending on the setup.
8. Depends on many factors, could be 30 days, could be 30 years, too many factors to say with any certainty.
9. Yes
10. No
11. Yes
12. I think it removes phosphates better than Cheato, but not as good as GFO, it is in the middle. Bio-pellets/carbon dosing removes phosphates and nitrates the best/quickest out of any method.
13. Debatable. If you have a tank full of corals and an ATS screen, who is to say it is not the corals consuming the potassium. Bottom line, it is not something most people need to worry about, and dosing potassium doesn't seem to be all that helpful, just slightly helpful. I wouldn't recommend the majority of reefers worry about potassium.

[SantaMonica]

1. Grow LEDS are best.
2. Size it according to feeding.
3. Yes
4. Yes, and up to you.
5. No
6. Yes
7. As heavy as you sized your scrubber.
8. Up to 6 months
9. Yes if you remove the skimmer.
10. Don't think so.
11. Yes
12. It removes plently of phosphate.
13. No. Iron, maybe.

[nanomania]

Kool, thanks guys........

[nanomania]

IM planning on 12"x5", should i go for 1w or 3w 660nm red? distance will be 2" max from the screen (on both the sides)..... Well CFL wont be possible coz i dont have space and it can also cause heat issues too...

[Ace25]

It depends on how much it cost you to get a 1w vs a 3w LED. If it cost you more to buy 1w, then get 3w. Red LEDs are really only 2w max anyway. 350mA = 1w, 700mA = 2w, 1050ma = 3w.. or pretty close to that. I have never seen a true 3w Red LED like you can get in blues and whites, they all top out at 700mA, but that is fine because there is really no need to go any higher. So if 3w LEDs are cheaper than 1w (which is usually the case now), you can get the 3w LEDs and if you only need them to run at 1w then you can use a 350mA constant current driver (and in turn the LEDs should last a lot longer, well over 5 years), otherwise you would use a 700mA driver to power them, which is what I use on mine, but my LEDs are 3-4" away.

[nanomania]

ok, will look on ebay again..... will post a link too.... so please do advise, as this is new for me. dint know about mA...

[SantaMonica]

Make sure to get 120 degree (or more) LEDs; not 60 or 90.

120 is also sometimes sold as Lambertian.

[nanomania]

LED & 120 lense:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/3W-RED-80lm-...item33697be9ba
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1x-High-Powe...item27b7adcfff
http://www.ebay.com/itm/1-pc-1W-Red-...item27bd4ec2bf
http://www.ebay.com/itm/wdm-10x-plan...item2a15e71350