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L2 algae scrubber on its way (1 Viewer)

Leicester56

Leicester56

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So, I am pretty sold on the idea of incorporating an ATS into my system. I was really impressed with the engineering and continual refinement of the scrubbers built by Bud Carlson at Turbo Aquatics. I have an L2 model scrubber on its way and will hopefully be installing it in the next week or two. I don't know if any of you have purchased or used one of his scrubbers before but I will keep everyone updated on its performance. For those of you using scrubbers, any recommendations on phasing out my Refugium with Chaeto versus leaving it as an add on? I also plan on continuing to use my skimmer. I suppose once the ATS matures, it may outcompete my undersized Chaeto Refugium.
 
David Grigor has a few threads on his ATS builds. Lots of info in there.

The chaeto will be out-competed, but depending on how effective the chaeto is it may hinder the scrubber getting started.
 
Steve ( DataLoss ) ran one before he got out of the hobby. He has a thread on it if you do a search.

Not sure what if any changes to the design since his version is probably a couple of years old.


I never ran a refugium with scrubber so I have no basis. However if this were me, I'd stop the refugium. If refugium is full stocked, it will take longer and probably harder to get the ATS screen to fully seed. So I'd do one or the other not both.
 
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I am totally following this thread - I have questions on if any of the ATS you can buy stack up anywehere near a DIY
 
I bought a man L2 as well and will be installing it when I finally set it up.


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Looks like I'll be the 3rd here in getting the L2 from Bud. I'll keep you all posted after installing and giving it ample time to seed. I am still undecided if I will keep the skimmer going for a time at the start until things begin to pick up with the ATS, run a skimmer in tandem with the ATS, or if I will pull the skimmer cold-turkey.
 
Look forward to seeing this in action!
His website is full of info, but is also pretty busy. It looks like scrubber size is based more on what you feed than tank size. Hard to tell from looking at his site. There is great info on how to DIY your own scrubber.
 
I have unboxed mine and become familiar with it, but I am still trying to decide how and where to hook it up (limited space under the tank so I will have to reroute some of my plumbing to make it work.
 
After i unboxed mine, it became clear that i needed a taller stand. Let me know what you figure out in terms of plumbing as i will need to figure that out as well.
 
I had the same issue with my DIY! You need a lot of clearance. I also did everything I could to gain a couple inches of clearance under the stand.
 
Worst case scenario, I may build a shelf on the side of my stand, set it up there and have it drain back into the sump area.
 
You can gain a few inches by using pvc pipe to make the braces out of that hold it over your sump tank. For example, my 2nd compartment is only about 6" in water depth. I will be using 1/2 pvc pipe with a few 90degree elbows to make an upside down U on the ends to drop it's height a few inches under the lip of the sump to make sure it has enough room; then I'm zip-tying egg crate across the pvc to cover the units bottom (minus the drain plumbing of course). I only have the minimum recommended space available myself, but I realized that with the L2 unit being shorter in length than the width of the 20L sump tank and the shallower depth of water I have in one compartment that I can gain some much needed real estate this way.
 
Finally have figured out how to hook the L2 scrubber up to my sump. Using 3/4 inch PCV bracket to mount it on the rim of my 20 long sump (completed today). Hooking to my drain, though possible, would require a huge plumbing revamp and retooling of my entire sump lay-out. I opted not to go that route for now. Instead, the unit will be driven by a tetra pond pump (325gph) with both the pump and the drainage from the unit occurring in the "return pump" chamber of my sump. Since all nutrients and protein will hit my skimmer and then my undersized Chaeto Refugium, we will see how long the screen takes to seed. plan is to remove the Chaeto from the Fuge if I don't see growth in a month or so.

Anyway, the system will be started up on Tuesday. Wish me luck as it is a tight fit in the cabinet!
 
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ironhedd said:
You can gain a few inches by using pvc pipe to make the braces out of that hold it over your sump tank. For example, my 2nd compartment is only about 6" in water depth. I will be using 1/2 pvc pipe with a few 90degree elbows to make an upside down U on the ends to drop it's height a few inches under the lip of the sump to make sure it has enough room; then I'm zip-tying egg crate across the pvc to cover the units bottom (minus the drain plumbing of course). I only have the minimum recommended space available myself, but I realized that with the L2 unit being shorter in length than the width of the 20L sump tank and the shallower depth of water I have in one compartment that I can gain some much needed real estate this way.
Click to expand...

Leicester56 said:
Finally have figured out how to hook the L2 scrubber up to my sump. Using 3/4 inch PCV bracket to mount it on the rim of my 20 long sump (completed today). Hooking to my drain, though possible, would require a huge plumbing revamp and retooling of my entire sump lay-out. I opted not to go that route for now. Instead, the unit will be driven by a tetra pond pump (325gph) with both the pump and the drainage from the unit occurring in the "return pump" chamber of my sump. Since all nutrients and protein will hit my skimmer and then my undersized Chaeto Refugium, we will see how long the screen takes to seed. plan is to remove the Chaeto from the Fuge if I don't see growth in a month or so.

Anyway, the system will be started up on Tuesday. Wish me luck as it is a tight fit in the cabinet!
Click to expand...


Can you guys share some pics when you have a chance - I am having a hard time picturing....
 
To be fair though, I didn't use a "U" shaped design like Ironhedd is describing because I wanted the fixture to be further from the water level and I have enough vertical height above the rim of my 20L sump that I didn't have to. My PVC bracket holds the L2 unit so that its base is 1" above the rim an gives me 4.5 inches of space above the top of the unit for screen maintenance.
 
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I'll get a couple pics when I get it online. I may even re-design what I have planned, and simply make a pvc box for the unit to sit on top of while sitting in the sump compartment, (fast and easy, but not pretty). As long as there is clearance over the waterline after a power outage or the return shut off I am happy. I plan on tilting the unit from a vertical to a horizontal position and then removing the entire unit for cleaning, as I won't have enough room over the unit to be able to simply remove the screen.
 
ironhedd said:
I'll get a couple pics when I get it online. I may even re-design what I have planned, and simply make a pvc box for the unit to sit on top of while sitting in the sump compartment, (fast and easy, but not pretty). As long as there is clearance over the waterline after a power outage or the return shut off I am happy. I plan on tilting the unit from a vertical to a horizontal position and then removing the entire unit for cleaning, as I won't have enough room over the unit to be able to simply remove the screen.
Click to expand...

Are you connecting it to your DT drain, return, or a separate pump/powerhead?
 
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