Algae scrubber vs Chaeto in a refugium
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Ron Reefman
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Tampa Bay Reef Keepers
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IMHO the answer is yes and no. They both help remove nitrate and phosphate from your water. That's what we all want.
The algae scrubber takes up less room and maybe requires a bit more maintenance... maybe. And if room is at a premium, that's a big deal in favor of a scrubber.
A refugium can house other things along with macro algae, like live rock, marine blocks, copepods, other inverts, other filtration. They can also allow for more drainage from the DT if the power or return pump ever fail. I also keep a few new corals on a small rack in the fuge until I find time to make room for them in my DT.
My fuge is where my filter sock is. I have a mix of macro algae. There are 2 urchins and 2 emerald crabs as well. Oh, and a few weeks ago I found a small frag of a bright green leather coral growing on the bottom when I was harvesting algae.
The algae scrubber takes up less room and maybe requires a bit more maintenance... maybe. And if room is at a premium, that's a big deal in favor of a scrubber.
A refugium can house other things along with macro algae, like live rock, marine blocks, copepods, other inverts, other filtration. They can also allow for more drainage from the DT if the power or return pump ever fail. I also keep a few new corals on a small rack in the fuge until I find time to make room for them in my DT.
My fuge is where my filter sock is. I have a mix of macro algae. There are 2 urchins and 2 emerald crabs as well. Oh, and a few weeks ago I found a small frag of a bright green leather coral growing on the bottom when I was harvesting algae.
Aardvark1134
Well-Known Member
You left out the 3rd option of a cheato reactor.
I see them like this for order they should be considered in:
1) Refugium if you have enough space for it
2) Cheator reator if your tank can be done with 1 as you don't want to have like 5 of them, also has more maint
3) Algae scubber last resort if nothing else will work. Good ones are terribly expensive, take as much room as a QT tank, usually have to be higher than your sump to drain into it, and maint is a pain. The one you need is about 2-3 times bigger than the one you think you need.
I see them like this for order they should be considered in:
1) Refugium if you have enough space for it
2) Cheator reator if your tank can be done with 1 as you don't want to have like 5 of them, also has more maint
3) Algae scubber last resort if nothing else will work. Good ones are terribly expensive, take as much room as a QT tank, usually have to be higher than your sump to drain into it, and maint is a pain. The one you need is about 2-3 times bigger than the one you think you need.
laverda
2500 Club Member
An ATS is the most efficient at nutrient export in my experience. One can be fit to almost any system and does not need to be expensive or take up a lot of room if your a little creative. Check out my DYI thread on inexpensive ATS in the DIY forum.
I myself have both. A Refugium offers other benefits as mentioned above. My ATSs can easily remove enough nutrients to starve out the cheeto if I run them to many hours a day.
I myself have both. A Refugium offers other benefits as mentioned above. My ATSs can easily remove enough nutrients to starve out the cheeto if I run them to many hours a day.
ChrisQ0904
Valuable Member
I personally haven't had much luck with refugiums or chaeto reactors. I mean, I would get good algae growth but it would eventually strip the water too clean and die off. I went the route of a DIY algae scrubber and absolutely love it. Maintenance is not a big deal at all and I get great growth from it. I also believe it is the main reason why I am able to feed many times a day with maintaining little N03 and P04. My levels are actually so low that I'm going to trying dosing N03 and/or turning my skimmer off at night.
I ran an algae scrubber for about 6 months. It cleaned my water to the point it was to clean. I didn’t know that was a thing. My coral all started to look bad, couldn’t find the problem at first. So I started testing and asking questions. My nitrates where zero to 1 my phosphates where almost 0. Then I shut it off for about a month. Everything started looking better and better. Now my algae scrubber is in a box in my garage. So personally I will never run one again.
Aardvark1134
Well-Known Member
You could have just run it less time per day or with less flow. Anything you do too much of is bad... too much light, too much carbon, too much skimming...everything must be at the right amount in a reef. Scrubbers are no different.
I was only running it 4 hours a day. All my other tanks before my current one I had issues keeping nitrates down. This tank seems like I could add cube after cube of food and never see any. This tank has been an experience.
Aardvark1134
Well-Known Member
Do you by chance have a pile of marine pure or seachem pond matrix in there? That will crash your nitrates like a rock
laverda
2500 Club Member
I had the same problem when I first set mine up and was running them 24/7. My nutrients dropped to zero corals lost color and my cheeto died. I cut the lighting back to 8 hours and nutrients climbed back up. By regulating my ATSs light schedule I can control my nutrient levels to where I want them to be.
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