ATS completed box
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[FONT="]With front cover removed[/FONT]
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[FONT="]How it goes on[/FONT]
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[FONT="]Edge support for sitting on the tank (40 breeder)[/FONT]
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[FONT="]The slot where the plumbing goes through[/FONT]
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[FONT="]Bulkhead to drain into the sump[/FONT]
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[FONT="]So I’m guessing that unless you follow the mega-thread on Reef Sanctuary about these, this is probably new to you. The concept is 20 years old but no designs were really effective until 2 years ago when that thread was started. The advent of T5HO and CFL lighting, along with some creativity and innovation, has brought this into the limelight.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The overflow feeds into the horizontal pipe, where the water cascades down the screen. The screen is lit on both sides, and algae then grows on the screen. The algae, normally the enemy of the aquarium, becomes it’s best friend. As the algae grows (and it grows FAST) it removes all contaminants out of the water column (including heavy metals, phosphate, nitrate, ammonia, nitrite, silicates, pretty much everything). You then remove the screen weekly (or more) and scrape the algae off of one side under fresh water and replace it. That’s it. No water changes (at least not for the purpose of reduction of nitrate, etc). This works for all aquarium systems (FW or SW) with the exception of planted tanks, and Xenias (which need Phosphate and Nitrate, apparently). So the Xenias will probably be going bye-bye.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The big positive is pods. Pods grow like crazy on the screen, so the Scooter Blenny will have plenty of food. Pods are also one reason you rinse the screen in FW while cleaning, to kill them off (they grow back fast) because they will eat at the algae and cause it to break loose and make it into the DT. You can swish the screen in the sump before cleaning to release them. Never a shortage of pods.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The other major positive is that since all the algae grow on the screen, no nuisance algae will grow in the DT. Cyano may have a short burst, but over time it will get choked off and go away. You are left with a clear, clean tank than needs little to no maintenance, short of dosing CA/ALK/trace. Of course you can do your bi-weekly 10% for trace if you want, which is probably not a bad idea.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The biggest debate item is in reference to Protein Skimmers. This part of the debate seems to be the biggest sore point for most, because they are no longer needed and it seems people have a really hard time believing that. But the research has shown that skimming only removes about 30% of what it says it does, and more research has turned up that what it does remove ends up being the very thing your corals like. So switching to this system boosts coral growth in a big way and eliminates an expensive piece of equipment, and as it turns out in this tank, the piece of equipment that raises the tank temp by at least 5 degrees. Right now they are only running the skimmer every other night (when the top of the DT and sump are uncovered) and the temp has dropped from usually 82-83 to 76-80 during the day.[/FONT]
[FONT="]The way I design this system, the screen can be serviced without shutting the pump down, you just open the bypass valve and get going, then close it when you’re done.[/FONT]
[FONT="]So the next couple steps involve taking out the old sump so I can dry-fit the PVC with the new sump in place, then putting the old system back on, and then gluing the pipe. I have to attach the light fixtures to the acrylic, then wire up the lighting to the ballast and mount the ballast on a heat sink, and put it all together for a test-fire up. I might need to add some up/down baffles into the sump to take care of microbubbles also.[/FONT]
