Has anyone used an ATS?

[Cjtabares]

I am thinking about using an Algae Turf Scrubber, Has anyone ever used one? Someone I know from a different site seems be having great success with one. I will be putting it on an LPS tanks, mostly acans, that will be heavily feed and was hoping this could keep down the phosphates and nitrates down.

Here's a link to his success, hope it is ok that i post this.
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=229581

 

[Turbosnail]

I know there is another thread that this came up not to long ago.

 

[beckbrass]

It was talked about a little in a thread I started about hair algae

http://www.bostonreefers.org/forums...Massive-hair-algae-and-drastic-measures/page2

 

[jarrodsanborn]

if you dont mind looking on a different forum, there is a older, but huge thread on this topic on the reef club in the state above you. ask for a guy scott laman, he can help you out tons too.

ps, mods dont kill me, im not advertising, just trying to help

 

[Andy V]

If all of the claims I am reading on these are true, I am very mad I just bought a $300 skimmer...

 

[delta]

If all of the claims I am reading on these are true, I am very mad I just bought a $300 skimmer...

They are not very effective unless they are very large, same is true with a fuge many time they are just too small to be effective.

I wouldn't be too upset about the skimmer, this is an old idea returning from the dead.

 

[Cjtabares]

I would still be using a skimmer. I am just trying to figure out if it is worth trying this in the tank I will be setting up.

 

[Sean Irwin]

The idea originated from Dr. Addy at the Smithsonian, and has been around for about 20 years or so. (He's also often credited with the development of refugium's too.)
For a tank your size they're not really worth it. ATS' are very high maintenance (daily algae scrapping) and as others have stated, need to be very, very large to accomplish the kind of nutrient reduction needed in a reef tank. If you really want to explore the idea, I suggest borrowing a copy of his book Dynamic Aquaria from your local library or buying it. The ISBN for the latest edition is: 0123706416. That being said, even if you don't end up using an ATS, Addy's theories on setting up aquaria as complete ecosystems are worth a read anyways.

 

[Cjtabares]

Thanks a lot I will have to take a look at that book.

 

[mnavick]

Do a search on any web forum,lots of threads on these. I tinkered with one on my 90g DT/55g sump for a while a few years back. Even went the distance as to buying pre-seeded screens. Grew some amazing thick algae and yes have to clean A LOT. Really did not notice any difference in parameters. Dumped the ATS upgraded tank & skimmer, all is well.

 

[spamreefnew]

I use an ATS as my only filtration and love it. but that's just me

 

[bossreef]

I have a 14gal biocube with an ATS. I recently converted the 2nd chamber of the biocube into an ATS, but I have no idea if the ATS has been helping or not.

The biocube had been neglected and was completey infested with hair algae, similar to the photo in the other thread, but maybe even worse than that. There was literally a green field of hair algae on the back wall of the biocube as well as hair algae covering all of the rocks. The spaces between the rocks were even dark and full of hair algae.

I have had the ATS setup now for four weeks and the hair algae is almost completely gone, but unfortunately I don't know if the ATS helped much or if at all. The reason is, at the same time that I added the ATS, I also added 4 different types of macro algae into the tank. I probably went overboard on fixing my hair algae problem, but I didn't want to scrub or kill off the rocks.

After 4 weeks, the algae in the ATS finally starting to get some nice growth. I have been cleaning half of the screen once a week as recommended on the ATS forums. I was starting to think that the macro algae was starving out the ATS, but the hair algae that I used to seed my ATS screen is starting to grow back thicker each week.

I would guess that in a tank like my 14gal biocube, a big ball of chaeto would probably do better than an ATS in the 2nd chamber. I would like to go to just having an ATS, but I have grown fond of my macro algae test cube.

Skimmerless 14gal biocube: Previously a softie tank. Currently a macro algae/test tank. Inhabitants - 2 shrooms, 1 leather, about a dozen hermits, dozen snails, 3 pencil urchins, 3 brittle stars, 1 goby. Btw, the hair algae was so bad that all of these critters in the tank never dented it. The algae was getting worse even with all of the inhabitants until a week or so after I added the ATS and the macro algae.