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how many strings per sq. in.?
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No particular number. More strings will handle slime better, but not GHA.
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What is the footprint of one for a tank my size?
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Use the feeding guidelines, modified with your rock, to determine size.
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Any ideas on saving life in the GHA?
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Could have a tang grow-out tank and feed it to them.
That one seems like a good low cost starting point. They are probably being run at 1/2 watt
each.
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ATS the same thing as an algae scrubber?
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Yes, ATS is a registered trademark owned by Hydromentia.
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Is the algae production and nutrient consumption of an UAS slower therefore the
filtering capacity is less or different than a waterfall ATS?
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Theoretically the upflowing bubbles will remove the boundary layers around the algae and allow
faster growth. And they won't mat down, killing the lower layers, like a waterfall will.
Practically for most people, the decision is space, cost, and if you want to dis-assemble
things to harvest.
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I cannot find any empirical evidence of how much more inefficient they are or how much
bigger a UAS should be to considered equivalent to a waterfall ATS
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There is none. The people with the money to do such studies are working on reef ecology,
biofuels, and wastewater. Not aquariums.
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I've seen far more people complain about lack of growth on upflow scrubbers
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Because the installed user base of upflows is probably much larger. And, the typical upflow
user wants plug-n-play with no tinkering (and no reading instructions).
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I have a drop up flow ATS in one tank that grows like mad and a waterfall in another
that's meh. I think it's mostly related to lighting though.
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Could be lighting, flow, bubbles, reflective white surfaces, etc.
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What's if any are the downsides to an ATS?
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Fish/snails can eat your filter
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do they strip the water of too much nutrients
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No, they can't. They use the same biological function as the corals, so they are the same
power.
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Do they yellow up the water
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No, that comes from letting growth get too thick on waterfall scrubbers, which kills the
bottom layers which then turn to hey (yellow). Upflows don't do this because they are always
swishing around in water/bubbles.
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do they neg affect the hard corals
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No, they let corals live in the same environment as a real reef: more carbs, vitamin c, and
less nutrients. And if you don't mechanical filter, more food particles too.
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I'm hoping this will allow me to feed and get the nutrient export. Skimmers dont do
enough.
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Skimmers remove the food you are feeding. And they remove the fish poop, which would have been
coral food too. Unfortunatly they don't remove nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, CO2, or ammonia.
Seems like a new-year re-post of the important Marine Biology Basics videos would be good
here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfMaBeLwiO4 - Ocean Productivity
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7d96F0ak4uY - Photosynthesis part 1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTBlq3gUv5Y - Food Chains vs. Food Webs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwZDIU6sM_4& - Nutrients and Primary Production
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SnlCx7mVcZ4 - Chlorophyll
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LtZ75KW2t-U - Zooplankton and Primary Production
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quH4x640Jgs - Bacteria
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdIjMQATQks - Food Webs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bc_fGWjmNeI - Microbial Food Web
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pQaE0e0iD3s - Trophic Pyramids
And lastly, the worlds of 3D printing and aquariums have now come together completely; 3D printed screens (see pics)