ATS help please

[crister13]

Ok, my tank stats are in my sig. I have a reef octopus NW200 and my trates are high. I'm going to replace my Rodi filters but want something else as filtration. I have no room for an upright ATS, so I want to a horizontal one. My fuge section is about 22x12. Could I just cover the entire top of the fuge with that clear canvas? It would be in water about .5-1" deep. Would that work? I could move my macro to my 20........ I would be using 2 CFL bulb. Can I do anything to make it more affective? Air stone underneath? Any help at all would be appreciated.

 

[Hondatek]

How will you be powering the screen? Are you going to plumb it into your overflow or use a pump and have it a separate unit ? How big of a screen are you planning and what size light fixtures? .5 to 1 inch underwater isn't bad but keep it as much out of the water as you can.

 

[crister13]

It's going to be horizontal just in the sump. It will be powered by the flow through the sump. Most of the flow is at the surface. Should I get an air pump and bubble wand to increase water movement under the screen?

 

[Hondatek]

You need water running down the screen . How will you achieve that?

 

[crister13]

That's what I'm asking. Is if it would be ok laying in the water with some flow around it. Any other ideas on a horizontal build? That wouldnt cost a lot!

 

[Hondatek]

Lol no it's not going to do anything . How many pipes are coming from your overflow to the sump? What I did was turn one of my overflow pipes into a scrubber pipe and did it that way. Or you can get a pump and have a PVC pipes shaped like a upside down L and you will have your water go up and over and then it would flow down the screen.

 

[crister13]

Can you post a pic of yours???? I would love to see it. I'm contemplating the pump idea and also the overflow..... Hmm....... I would need to use pvc for the overflow fed scrubber correct? How would I do thisv

 

[Hondatek]

Yea I'll make a quick video for you. You need a union before the slotted pipe so you can remove it for cleaning .

 

[crister13]

What's a union? Sorry I'm no good with plumbing lol.

 

[Hondatek]

It's a 3 piece plumbing part the you use to attach pipes you'll see it in the video

 

[crister13]

Thanks. How do I secure it onto te bulkhead?

 

[Hondatek]

You probably have pipe cemented in your existing bulkhead right? If so just cut the pipe and add a union and plumb your scrubber in there. Just make sure the slot pipe is supported because the screen gets heavy .

 

[crister13]

How do you support it????? I have flex hose so it's not cemented...... How would I attach PVC? Do you know?

 

[Hondatek]

I'm using the top frame and cross brace to support mine . That's how I designed it . I'm sure there is something in home depot you can find to adapt the flex hose to PVC but I'm not sure. I used PVC cement on all my plumbing. Put a few pics of your setup and plumbing so I can see what your working with.

 

[crister13]

If I adapted the flex hose to the PVC it wouldn't have any support and would just fall...... I guess I have to see what size my bulkhead is and then get PVC to fit it? I don't want to screw anything up if I do this.

 

[crister13]

Is it just as effective with a pump? I would rather do that so I don't mess anything up lol. would I do that the same way just use a pump? How strong should the pump be and how big a screen?

 

[Hondatek]

It's just as effective with a pump . If you want to do it that way get an adjustable pump and read the algae scrubber basics thread in the DIY section . It will tell you how to figure the gph and screen size. Still will need some support bracing to hold it up. You can use the top of the tank or PVC to make the support I stumbled on a few pics of a standup pump design online.Also make sure you can get lights on both sides of the screen about 4-6 inches away. So if you have a 10by10 screen you need 2 10 inch reflectors with 2 3200 k cfl ( I think you said that's the lighting you are planning) one on each side of course . Just take some time to look at your sump make sure you have the room .

 

[crister13]

How strong should the pump be?

 

[crister13]

35 gph per inch of width....... So a 450-500 gph pump should be good for a 10 inch screen after head loss. Right?

 

[Hondatek]

Sounds about right . I would look at the marineland adjustable pumps . There is a model that is 300- 700gph . That would be perfect