BornToHula Posted September 25, 2015 Author Share Posted September 25, 2015 Got a new toy in today! Its an Algae Turf Scrubber from Santa Monica Filtration. I had been wanting to try a ATS, but never saw one that wasn't a DIY project. Found these and liked how they are a compact and clean package. I'm not looking for the scrubber to replace any of my current filtration, I just want it to act as an additional way to remove nutrients. (I'm tired of twice a week water changes!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 Curious as to your results once the unit is fully online. Keep us posted and take some good nutrient data for comparison purposes. Us nerds want to know the details![emoji6] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 Curious as to your results once the unit is fully online. Keep us posted and take some good nutrient data for comparison purposes. Us nerds want to know the details![emoji6] I must be a nerd, cuz I wanna know too ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BornToHula Posted September 25, 2015 Author Share Posted September 25, 2015 I'll definitely be keeping a log of the how it does. I'm really curious on how it will work as well. It seems some people look at algae scrubbers as the end all be all of filtration while others hate them with a passion. I just want and additional way to get nutrients out of my tank Unfortunately I don't have too much hard data to go on. Every test of Nitrate and Phosphate that I have done since I put bio-pellets online, around 6 months ago, has came back at 0.00 each time (except twice phosphate came back 0.05). If yall have any specific data you would like me to log I would be more than happy to do so in the name of science! My main goal with the ATS to to help fight my Cyano problem, which I currently combat by doing VERY frequent water changes. I refuse to use any chemicals to fight the cyano, last time I tried a product (using a half dose!) I killed all the snails, crabs, pods, starfish and peppermint shrimp in my system. Thank goodness my fire and pistol shrimp survived. I think the best way to judge if the ATS is working is the level of Cyano that is in the tank and the amount of water changes I have to do. If I can move to twice a month water changes I will consider it a huge success. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BornToHula Posted September 28, 2015 Author Share Posted September 28, 2015 I tried Coralife Salt for the first time yesterday - I like the way it mixes and the price is nice too. If anyone is wondering, my freshly mixed batch @ 1.026 salinity was: Alk: 8.68 dKH Ca: 475 ppm Mg: 1290 ppm With these levels I wont have to worry about anything spiking if I do a large water change, which is nice I also decided to remove some green star polyp from a rock that didn't have any corals on it. It was a man made rock so it made it a "little" easier. It still took 30 minutes with a wire bush, sharp ended tweezers and a scalpel. I hate this stuff. Before: After: Also while putting in the freshly cleaned rock I noticed GSP was growing on my main SPS rock! I didn't know it could go "airborne" and start growing in new places! Gah! In the picture you can see it behind the branching coral, creeping up to the superman monti: I'm going to have to attempt to remove it from this rock soon, or it will take everything out on it in a few months. I'm super worried because all the SPS is really encrusted on the rock. I need to figure out: Can I remove the rock without everything tumbling down? Can the SPS survive going in and out of water while I scrub the GPS off? How am I going to hold the rock and scrub it without breaking anything off? Will I even be able to scrub it off this rock? This one isn't man-made and is very porous. Did I mention I hate GSP? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 Glad the coralife salt is working for you. I've been using it for years with no issues... Doesn't hurt that it's cheap too. Can you just mix up since kalk paste and spread it over the GSP? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BornToHula Posted September 28, 2015 Author Share Posted September 28, 2015 Can you just mix up since kalk paste and spread it over the GSP? I have heard of this, but when I was looking online I really couldn't get a good idea on how to do it. I know with aiptasia you just shoot the kalk paste into it with a syringe. With GSP how would you spread the paste over it without the paste floating away (hopefully not to any other corals)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 The paste is thick and doesn't usually take off on you. Just make sure you turn off the pumps for a little bit and let it stew. It'll burn and kill it. Over time it should just dissolve and add an insignificant amount to your Ca/alk levels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BornToHula Posted September 28, 2015 Author Share Posted September 28, 2015 Oh ok, so the paste will actually stay on the surface of the GSP for a little while? Would I apply it with a syringe? Thanks for the help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 Apply it with a testing syringe, like your usual 10ml plastic syringe. It has the consistency of aiptasia X if you've ever used that before... very goopy. It should stay in place but just turn off the powerheads while applying. If you make it thick enough, once the GSP dies, you can just break it out and suck it up with a turkey baster so it doesn't add too much to your alk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckyuv Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 I have also seen people use that reef epoxy before that they use for bonding rocks together and just smush a layer over the gsp, not sure if that's any easier if it's a small area Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BornToHula Posted September 28, 2015 Author Share Posted September 28, 2015 Oh, that's a good idea too! Thanks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 I use the epoxy when it's just a small piece I want to kill but when its large sections, I use the kalk. You can get a whole bag of pickling lime at the store for under $5 and it'll make a ton of kalk paste. You buy a small stick of epoxy and its like $8. I'm cheap. :-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BornToHula Posted September 29, 2015 Author Share Posted September 29, 2015 I already have both epoxy and kalk on hand so no real money saving going on. I'm going to try kalk paste on the larger GSP colony at the front of my tank and use epoxy on the GSP near my SPS since it would be hard to get a syringe back there. In other news I found this little guy chowing down on one of my new frags: If you can tell from the pic its a tiny crab. He was impossible to shake or pry off the coral so I just had to kill it. I'm guessing he came in on one of the frags and the Coral RX dip didn't get him. To get an idea of his size, that's a toothpick that is going through him. Also, one of my new frags isn't doing to well. Its about a quarter dead and unfortunately I don't know what to do to improve its condition. All the water parameters are doing fine and have been consistent. Its also getting plenty of light and flow, but there is definitely something in my tank that it doesn't like. I did notice there are a few little fans type things pulsing in and out of it, they kind of look like barnacles. Not sure if this would be effecting its health or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 I wouldn't read into that mari not looking so good as a condition of your tank. I saw that one at RCA before you picked it up and it had a rough time during transit. That, and it appears to be a smooth skin acro and they are finicky as a general rule. The mini-barnacles are nothing to worry about as they are often found on maricultures. They'll usually slowly die out in our systems as there usually isn't enough planktonic food to support them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BornToHula Posted October 1, 2015 Author Share Posted October 1, 2015 I smell an upgrade coming... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 That's gotta be at least a 180 ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BornToHula Posted October 2, 2015 Author Share Posted October 2, 2015 240 gallons (~ 96" x 25.5" x 24"). Placing the order for it today. Lets hope I'm not jumping in too deep! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 Nice! Who is making it for you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BornToHula Posted October 2, 2015 Author Share Posted October 2, 2015 Planet Aquariums through Jake @ River City. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jolt Posted October 2, 2015 Share Posted October 2, 2015 Very nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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