Background: Due to some equipment failure, I changed my sump set up out and temporarily took my refugium offline. GHA took over my display and refugium while everything stabilized. My DT is now GHA free.
Problem Statement: GHA is established in refugium and out competed my chaeto. It comes loose and gets all over the place. It also actually also gets stuck in the sump’s bubble trap/wall teeth and changes the sump’s water level. This throws off my ATO.
(My) Solution: I know there are many fixes to this problem and a lot of them simpler and cheaper. However, if I was going so simple and cheap why be in the hobby at all. Part of the reason I like this hobby is the equipment and having never used an ATS, I thought it would be something to try out - I like the idea of promoting growth of algae in a contained area and I would use the existing refugium as a crypt space.
Why DIY? Initially I was going to just buy a second hand one to try it out. There wasn’t any for sale that fit my application. When I looked at new ones I was surprised/not surprised at the price. Knowing things are expensive in this hobby, I wasn’t shocked at the price tag but generally wasn’t impressed with the build quality. Also, oddly enough I had most of the plumbing parts already accumulated from previous builds. I decided to build my own. Attached were my initial high level sketchup plans. These were really only for dimensions.
Problem Statement: GHA is established in refugium and out competed my chaeto. It comes loose and gets all over the place. It also actually also gets stuck in the sump’s bubble trap/wall teeth and changes the sump’s water level. This throws off my ATO.
(My) Solution: I know there are many fixes to this problem and a lot of them simpler and cheaper. However, if I was going so simple and cheap why be in the hobby at all. Part of the reason I like this hobby is the equipment and having never used an ATS, I thought it would be something to try out - I like the idea of promoting growth of algae in a contained area and I would use the existing refugium as a crypt space.
Why DIY? Initially I was going to just buy a second hand one to try it out. There wasn’t any for sale that fit my application. When I looked at new ones I was surprised/not surprised at the price. Knowing things are expensive in this hobby, I wasn’t shocked at the price tag but generally wasn’t impressed with the build quality. Also, oddly enough I had most of the plumbing parts already accumulated from previous builds. I decided to build my own. Attached were my initial high level sketchup plans. These were really only for dimensions.
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