Atami - Ata Clean

A cleaner for irrigation systems that makes existing deposits soluble again. Binds calcium, magnesium, iron and manganese so crystals and flakes flush away with the water feed.

The curative one of the set

Most system cleaners are preventive: they travel with every feed and stop anything precipitating. Ata Clean is explicitly both, and it is the one you reach for when something is already there.

Atami explain the mechanism themselves and the reasoning is useful. Your base feed is full of water-soluble metal ions: iron, manganese, calcium and magnesium. Those are meant to be on their way to the plant, but some of them settle out in the line and form deposits, calcium and iron phosphate being the best known. The substances in Ata Clean bond with those metals and break the crystals and flakes apart, making them water-soluble again so they simply wash away with the flow. It handles algal deposits as well.

So the difference from a detergent is fundamental. A detergent keeps loose particles moving; this pulls solid deposits back into solution.

There is a high PK figure on the bottle and it is not feeding

This is the point that causes confusion and that Atami answer themselves. The label carries a relatively high PK value, and yet Ata Clean is not a fertiliser.

The reason is the dose. You use so little of it that the nutrients in it have very little effect on the plant. The phosphate and potassium are in there because they do the work, namely binding metal ions, not because you are feeding them. So do not count it in your schedule, but do know it is there if you read the label and get a surprise.

Add it last, after the reservoir has stood

Atami prescribe an order worth following, and it is the exact reverse of some other cleaners.

Mix your base nutrients first. Then correct the pH into the 5.5 to 6.5 range. Next let the reservoir stand for a while, so the feed has settled and the reactions have come to rest. Only then add Ata Clean, last, just before you water.

The dose is 1 ml per 10 litres of water. The product is specifically intended for use with tap water, which makes sense: hard mains water is the source of the calcium and magnesium it acts on. If you run reverse osmosis water there is far less for it to do.

Available sizes

Technical Specifications:

• Type: cleaning additive for irrigation systems
• Manufacturer: Atami
• Action: bonds metal ions and breaks crystals and flakes apart until they are water-soluble again
• Handles: calcium phosphate, iron phosphate and algal deposits
• Label: carries a relatively high PK value, but is not classed as a fertiliser
• Dose: 1 ml per 10 litres of water
• Order: mix nutrients, pH to 5.5 to 6.5, let the reservoir stand, then Ata Clean last
• Intended for: use with tap water
• Application: preventive and curative, all hydroponics and drip systems
• Packaging: 100% recyclable polyethylene, free of PVC and cadmium

Frequently asked questions

Why is there a PK value on it if it is not a feed?
The phosphate and potassium do the cleaning work. Atami state that the dose is so low that the nutrient value has very little effect on the plant.

Does it work on deposits that are already there?
Yes, and that is what sets it apart from the purely preventive cleaners. It makes existing deposits soluble again so they wash out.

When do I add it?
Last. Mix the feed, correct the pH, let the reservoir stand a while, and only then add Ata Clean.

Is it worth using on reverse osmosis water?
Less so. It is intended for tap water, because that is where the calcium and magnesium it acts on come from.

Can it go in with an enzyme product?
Yes. It is not an oxidiser, so it does not break enzymes down.