As the title states? I'm setting up a new system and want to try a scrubber rather than a chaeto fuge like I have in the past. I want one chamber to be a cryptic zone so light spill from the scrubber is a concern.
ATS with least amount of light spill.
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Devaji
5000 Club Member
my top two choices would be the turbo aquatics ( if you can find one)
or
the icecap pro. the one that stands in the sump. that is what I am going with.
I have seen people either spray it black to reduce any light spill. not sure where i saw that but it was some where around the reef.
I am basically doing the same adding the ATS to the skimmer chamber so the fuge can be LS and rock cryptic zone.
or
the icecap pro. the one that stands in the sump. that is what I am going with.
I have seen people either spray it black to reduce any light spill. not sure where i saw that but it was some where around the reef.
I am basically doing the same adding the ATS to the skimmer chamber so the fuge can be LS and rock cryptic zone.
OP
OP
Thanks. The icecap looks like it may not have too much light spill compared to others I've seen. I also love the attached pump. I looked at the Santa Monica ones but really don't want to have to find a pump with the correct flow rate and I sure don't want an air pump humming in the living room like some of the other SM ones use.
Devaji
5000 Club Member
I know not sure why they dont make em' in black right.
from the pics I seen online and talking to reefers it's not bad. but it you are looking for zero then maybe the product for you.
VintageReefer
2500 Club Member
The ice caps have terrible light spill
You are basically making my setup. An ats with a cryptic zone.
Here are photos of my cabinet open, with my scrubber on. Zero light spill unless I open the lid.
This is the Santa Monica surf 2. It floats in my middle sump chamber. I have live rock under and beside it packed in along with a 3” sandbed. There is no water pump needed and no risk of leaking or overflowing. It’s silent when you close the lid. There is an air pump but if you buy a decent one they are nearly silent also.
My tank thread has all the info on this setup. I would highly recommend it
You are basically making my setup. An ats with a cryptic zone.
Here are photos of my cabinet open, with my scrubber on. Zero light spill unless I open the lid.
This is the Santa Monica surf 2. It floats in my middle sump chamber. I have live rock under and beside it packed in along with a 3” sandbed. There is no water pump needed and no risk of leaking or overflowing. It’s silent when you close the lid. There is an air pump but if you buy a decent one they are nearly silent also.
My tank thread has all the info on this setup. I would highly recommend it
OP
OP
The ice caps have terrible light spill
You are basically making my setup. An ats with a cryptic zone.
Here are photos of my cabinet open, with my scrubber on. Zero light spill unless I open the lid.
This is the Santa Monica surf 2. It floats in my middle sump chamber. I have live rock under and beside it packed in along with a 3” sandbed. There is no water pump needed and no risk of leaking or overflowing. It’s silent when you close the lid. There is an air pump but if you buy a decent one they are nearly silent also.
My tank thread has all the info on this setup. I would highly recommend it
Thanks for chiming in. That rain 2 looks like it would be perfect for a cryptic zone set up. Floating will allow a lot more space for rock and such. Your system shows that they grow algae even though it's impossible for a scrubber to prevent algae from growing in the display
Sorry, I followed a couple of the threads where the naysayers were arguing that is impossible tho some had not even used a scrubber. I'll go dig through my box of pumps from my freshwater days and see if I have one that isn't too noisy.
VintageReefer
2500 Club Member
OP
OP
Ya I've been running chaeto fuges in my 3 tanks from the begining. IMO it's useless for anything except providing a place for little life forms to grow which is exactly why I keep chaeto fuges. Definatly not for nutrient reduction, at least they've never done much of that for me. I figure the same life forms can thrive in a cryptic zone. This is a new build and I like to do something different when I start a new system which is why I'm considering the scrubber.
VintageReefer
2500 Club Member
That’s exactly how I ended up here
I use large pieces of live rock, rock rubble and live sand in my sump for pods and worms and sponges. There may be a gorilla crab still alive that was captured and banished to the cryptic prison.
With no light the sump does not grow algae. The scrubber is in here also and grows algae inside it
Shon
Well-Known Member
It's a low flow area with no light that allows sponges and other non photosynthetic faunas a place to thrive.
An example:
Sorry guys. I had to move all my images out of Photobucket.
Here it is on top, so it can be gravity fed. It has black vinyl on all sides, and a black top. The front panel is removable.
It only had two air stones for movement.
A good post of info:
From what I've seen cryptic sponges are ubiquitous in marine systems. They are essential recyclers and feed off the labile DOC released into the system by all the organisms, coral and algae and process DOC 1000X faster than bacterioplankton. Unfortunately sponges process DOC from algae differently than from corals and feedback loops that benefit algae to the detriment of corals is a risk. Here's some links:
BActeria and Sponges
Maintenance of Coral Reef Health (refferences at the end)
Element cycling on tropical coral reefs.
This is Jasper de Geoij's ground breaking research on reef sponges. (The introduction is in Dutch but the content is in English.)
Sponge symbionts and the marine P cycle
Sponge symbionts and the marine P cycle
Marine sponges are ubiquitous colonizers of shallow, clear-water environments in the oceans (1, 2). Sponges have emerged as significant mediators of biogeochemical fluxes in coastal zones by virtue of respiring organic matter and facilitating both the consumption and release of nutrients (3, 4)...www.pnas.org
Phosphorus sequestration in the form of polyphosphate by microbial symbionts in marine sponges
Phosphorus sequestration in the form of polyphosphate by microbial symbionts in marine sponges
Coral reefs are highly productive ecosystems that raise a conundrum called “Darwin’s paradox”: How can high production flourish in low-nutrient conditions? We show here that in three abundant Caribbean sponges, the granules that have been commonly observed in sponge tissue for decades are...
Differential recycling of coral and algal dissolved organic matter via the sponge loop.
Sponges treat DOC from algae differently than DOC from corals
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besjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
A Vicious Circle? Altered Carbon and Nutrient Cycling May Explain the Low Resilience of Caribbean Coral Reefs
A Vicious Circle? Altered Carbon and Nutrient Cycling May Explain the Low Resilience of Caribbean Coral Reefs
Coral reefs are economically important ecosystems that have suffered unprecedented losses of corals in the recent past. Why have Caribbean reefs in particuacademic.oup.com
Surviving in a Marine Desert The Sponge Loop Retains Resources Within Coral Reefs
Dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen are quickly processed by sponges and released back into the reef food web in hours as carbon and nitrogen rich detritus.
(PDF) 2013 deGoeij Science Sponge loop
PDF | On Jun 23, 2015, Jasper M de Goeij and others published 2013 deGoeij Science Sponge loop | Find, read and cite all the research you need on ResearchGatewww.researchgate.net
Natural Diet of Coral-Excavating Sponges Consists Mainly of Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC)
Natural Diet of Coral-Excavating Sponges Consists Mainly of Dissolved Organic Carbon (DOC)
Coral-excavating sponges are the most important bioeroders on Caribbean reefs and increase in abundance throughout the region. This increase is commonly attributed to a concomitant increase in food availability due to eutrophication and pollution. We ...www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
The Role of Marine Sponges in Carbon and Nitrogen Cycles of COral Reefs and Nearshore Environments.
The role of marine sponges in carbon and nitrogen cycles of coral reef and nearshore environments - ProQuest
Explore millions of resources from scholarly journals, books, newspapers, videos and more, on the ProQuest Platform.search.proquest.com
OP
OP
Going to get started on one soon. I'm thinking sand on bottom with some rubble on top. More rubble in containers and as much rock as I can fit. Sound ok to you? Only reason for rubble in containers is because I like to be able to grab a container full if I need it to seed a new tank and I store my frag plugs on there also.
VintageReefer
2500 Club Member
That’s what I do except for the containers. Sand, some big rocks, rubble, frag plugs from anything that doesnt survive, coral skeletons etc
And my scrubber floats above the rubble and is surrounded by the bigger rocks
Devaji
5000 Club Member
nice! made I man a upflow ATS yeas ago it did a pretty good job.The ice caps have terrible light spill
You are basically making my setup. An ats with a cryptic zone.
Here are photos of my cabinet open, with my scrubber on. Zero light spill unless I open the lid.
This is the Santa Monica surf 2. It floats in my middle sump chamber. I have live rock under and beside it packed in along with a 3” sandbed. There is no water pump needed and no risk of leaking or overflowing. It’s silent when you close the lid. There is an air pump but if you buy a decent one they are nearly silent also.
My tank thread has all the info on this setup. I would highly recommend it
for some reason I am not a fan of the Santa Monica scrubbers. I know they can work just the form factor I dont like.
but i am a huge fan of ATS and your tank is a great example of that.
VintageReefer
2500 Club Member
Thank you!
How can the form factor get better than the surf lol it floats in my sump
Wow maybe I should clean this sump. dang flash now made me aware how dirty it is
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Devaji
5000 Club Member
well on the plus side your DT looks very on point. so we can forgive a mess sump.
I hear ya. but something about it just does not set well with me. I love the idea and i prob. would use one if SM gave me one. but I dont thing I would buy it. IDK guess I am crazy.
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