Can algae scrubbers outcompete algae?

[VintageReefer]

But we do. If you can get something to eat them in the display, filefish or something they will just grow somewhere else, like in the overflow. Then someone else will come along and say growing and feeding aiptasia in the overflow stops them growing in the display, sell you some poorly designed overpriced stuff to get the aiptasia in the overflow growing like mad, voila, aiptasia scrubber, simples. The next stage would be to market it, oh I dunno, some blurb about competitive advantage should befuddle folk.

Berghia will get them from the display, then move to the overflow, your pipes/tubing, and then the sump

 

[Garf]

Berghia will get them from the display, then move to the overflow, your pipes/tubing, and then the sump

Yep, same thing happens to algae scrubbers, if you let herbivores get to them.

 

[VintageReefer]

Yep, same thing happens to algae scrubbers, if you let herbivores get to them.

my ats gets rid of algae that herbivores don’t touch.

 

[JoJosReef]

But we do. If you can get something to eat them in the display, filefish or something they will just grow somewhere else, like in the overflow. Then someone else will come along and say growing and feeding aiptasia in the overflow stops them growing in the display, sell you some poorly designed overpriced stuff to get the aiptasia in the overflow growing like mad, voila, aiptasia scrubber, simples. The next stage would be to market it, oh I dunno, some blurb about competitive advantage should befuddle folk.

Just tell me how much you want for that aiptasia scrubber overflow!!

 

[JoJosReef]

Berghia will get them from the display, then move to the overflow, your pipes/tubing, and then the sump

:)

Not if my wrasses get them first

 

[VintageReefer]

:)

Not if my wrasses get them first

Can you rehome them in another tank for a few weeks

 

[VintageReefer]

Just tell me how much you want for that aiptasia scrubber overflow!!

Oh you need the algae mower vac. Kills gha AND aiptasia AND prunes sps

 

[VintageReefer]

Oh you need the algae mower vac. Kills gha AND aiptasia AND prunes sps

Good ole long drill bit in a tube rigged to a powerhead impeller with a sponge/filter sock. ALGAE MOWER VAC FTW!

 

[JoJosReef]

Good ole long drill bit in a tube rigged to a powerhead impeller with a sponge/filter sock. ALGAE MOWER VAC FTW!

Have you ever seen the video of the guy using large metal boba straws and siphon tubing to suck out invasive palys? I was just thinking today of trying that on the Aiptasia.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Glad this thread came up as I'm super interested.

Your comment about competitive advantage resonates with me. If we can make a zone more advantageous for algae to grow, that's less opportunity for algae to grow elsewhere. Possibly because the flow within the tank moving whatever nutrient or resource is the limiting agent - making it harder for algae to establish in less favorable areas.

In theory that sounds nice, but it does not hold water unless the ATS is depleting something from the water that makes algae not able to grow in the display. No other explanation is possible.

We are not trying to explain why algae might grow better in the ats than in the display. We are trying to explain why algae slows down in the display when the ats is added.

The question then becomes what is depleted, whether that depletion always happens (such as when actively dosing trace elements), and whether that depletion causes any negative impacts on the display organisms other than algae.

One critical but frequent claim is that nothing but algae in the display is reduced in growth. Is that true? Is it even plausible?

 

[rishma]

@Vintage reefer do you dose trace elements? I think you mentioned iron and manganese but what about others? Do you ever do an ICP?

 

[BryanM]

I tried 2 styles over the years, both were a hassle to me, but that is really just an opinion. I have developed an exceptionally low appetite for equipment maintenance:), but it greatly increases my enjoyment of reefing. Dumping skimmer cup and placing it back on the skimmer weekly is acceptable…more than that better be a 2x per year activity. I don’t use filter socks mostly because of the hassle. I should write a thread on how to be a lazy feeder.

A well designed scrubber where you can just lift out the screen, scrape it off, and reinstall is actually quite responsible but managing nutrients via dosing is soooo much easier for me. I refill the containers a couple times year.

I'm 100% with you on equipment maintenance... Oddly that is one reason I went down the ATS road.

The Surf units from Santa Monica require you to lift the lid once a week, remove a couple handfuls of algae, toss (or some people feed their tangs with it), and replace the lid.

What I was worried about is the algae would be slimy and nasty, but it isn't.

Besides filter socks, which will cease to exist in my tank once I stop vacuuming sand due to dinos, this is the only thing running in my tank for nutrient export/filtration.

As for DT algae, the theory I've heard goes like this... They are so efficient at growing algae that it basically all grows in the ATS unit. Do I buy it?? 60/40?, but I can say my DT doesn't seem to have any algae issues, except these straight from hell dinos.

 

[Seansea]

my theory is the spores move around your tank looking for the best spot to take hold and always come to the scrubber because the red lighting shallow water and heavy flow on the screen are favorable.

I put one on this dislay tank day 1 with 10lbs of live rock and 50lbs of dead rock with a shrimp rotting in it for a week. Threw in some fritz turbo start and 2 clowns and let the scrubber operate. Harvested my first algae of scrubber about 4 weeks in. Never had an ugly phase. No hair algae, briopsis , diatoms only some cyano and a little bubble algae. The dead rock never got hair algae. 2 and a half years later and never had any of it. Corals grow just fine and allows you to feed alot heavier then you normally could. I have alot of fish a a 75g tank.

And no tangs dont eat it. I have tried it on my nori clip a few times and they just swim up to it and swim away. When i put sheets of nori on its gone in 10 mins.