Algae scrubber

[jboone82590]

So I'm thinking of doing an algae scrubber on my 75 gallon tank and got a few questions.
Good idea or bad idea what are the pros and cons?
Will it hurt the snails on the tank that eat the algae?
Will it hurt anything else?

 

[ReeferBob]

Algae turf scrubbers are the best natural method to control algae. They create an environment with ideal conditions for the algae which then consume almost all of the resources in the tank so algae only grows on the ATS. They act as a sort of nitrate/phosphate sponge. Most snails are opportunistic consumers that eat anything that comes their way. Since mine has been in operation I have not lost any snails. I have mostly Nassarious but also some Ceriths. I also have an urchin that is fine too although I occasionally spot feed it with a small piece of nori.

Since I put mine in around 6 months ago it has consumed all of my nitrates and phosphates and I no longer get algae growth anywhere in the tank, including the ATS! Initially algae grew like crazy on it but has dwindled to the point where it is barely green.

As a side-effect, after the hair "green" algae was gone, I got a cyano outbreak (purple/red). This I combated by upping water changes and reducing the light schedule. I have it down to just a light purple haze on the substrate which is rapidly disappearing.

 

[rjl45]

+1 on everything ReeferBob had to say. I had the exact same exerience. After first 3 months, nitrate and phosphate fell to near zero, and have basically stayed there for the last 5 months. I documented my first 3 months here:
https://www.reef2reef.com/index.php?threads/240710/

Pros: basically free to operate after initial build/startup. Fairly cheap to build. Natural method of managing nutrients. Clean my glass 1 time a week
Only Con: must be maintained and cleaned on regular basis. ATS are not for lazy reefers. For me, I have to clean it every 7 days minimum, sometimes more. I get hair algae breaking off and getting back into the DT if i slack off.

 

[jboone82590]

Thanks for taking the time to respond guys and I'm going to do a display fuge on my 75 gallon tank and maybe do an algae scrubber on my smaller tank

 

[DaveRaz]

Since adding a diy 3 months ago I've been able to take the gfo reactor offline. I've also seen a big reduction of bubble algae in the display. I remove the screen/algae every week or two depending on how much algae is attached.

 

[jboone82590]

Since adding a diy 3 months ago I've been able to take the gfo reactor offline. I've also seen a big reduction of bubble algae in the display. I remove the screen/algae every week or two depending on how much algae is attached.

Sweet thank you If I can do that I'll find something else to run in my reactor maybe calcium

 

[idisc]

I have a 90G system that I have been running an ATS off my return manifold for about 2 months. First month I was using a single bulb on one side...took about a month to have decent algae on screen. Added a 2nd bulb to the other side and OMG did it explode. After scraping I need to clean once every 1.5 weeks... ATS all the way - NO3 =, PO4 = 0.003