icedearth15324
Active Member
I'm currently looking into getting either the Santa Monica Filtration RAIN2, or the Tunze 3181. Does anyone have any experience with either of these two? And if so, which do you prefer?
Chaeto Reactor or Alge Turf Scrubber
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NS Mike D
In the arena.
skimmers and macro algae remove different things and neither is 100% effective,
Also, carbon dosing can lower NO3 to levels so low it can trigger other problems like cyano and even worse. So never just start doing something for the sake of doing. Adding equipment or products into your tank should be done to address a concern, carbon dosing should be done with caution, testing ensuring that PO4 is not left without NO3 for the corals, other wise the bad stuff will find other sources of nitrogen to synthesize with that PO4.
macro algae is a self regulating nutrient uptake/export method. Lost of NO3 and PO4, it should grow aggressively. Nutrients drop, growth slows.
Also, carbon dosing can lower NO3 to levels so low it can trigger other problems like cyano and even worse. So never just start doing something for the sake of doing. Adding equipment or products into your tank should be done to address a concern, carbon dosing should be done with caution, testing ensuring that PO4 is not left without NO3 for the corals, other wise the bad stuff will find other sources of nitrogen to synthesize with that PO4.
macro algae is a self regulating nutrient uptake/export method. Lost of NO3 and PO4, it should grow aggressively. Nutrients drop, growth slows.
NS Mike D
In the arena.
the other two are space savers. i used an ATS but I stupidly broke the motherboard on the LED controller, so i went back to the fuge.
The ATS offered nothing that I would consider less KISS than macro in the fuge.
jerrod
Active Member
I have the Santa Monica rain 2 and like it. I always had issues growing cheato but the scrubber was always able to grow hair algae and others where before the cheato would eventually die. I ran a low nutrient system and wouldn't dose nitrates. Pros and Cons- They are easy to use only real downside is the size and placement where a reactor you can set outside of the sump the Santa Monica scrubbers have to be above the sump due to the way its built. You will have some copepods amphipods etc in a scrubber but definitely more in a reactor.
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icedearth15324
Active Member
I guess I should have also added in, that unless I do some major modifications to my sump, I don't have room to just run macro algae. My cabinet also does not have space for something outside of the sump.
jerrod
Active Member
Chaeto reactor would probably be the best as it is small and can be placed anywhere. With a scrubber you are limited and with the Rain ATS you need 7-8 additional inches just to get the top off.
You can place the reactor in the sump with everything else.
You can place the reactor in the sump with everything else.
NS Mike D
In the arena.
the tunze is outside the sump
the ATS needs room above the sump (which should be available in a typical cabinet
if you have neither space an air pump ATS (I think Santa Monica has these too, my was DIY) takes little room
NS Mike D
In the arena.
the manual of the reactor he mentioned instructs the user to set it up outside the sump
can you recommend submersible reactors?
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icedearth15324
Active Member
I could have sworn I read the Tunze can be installed in sump as well, maybe I was looking at the wrong one then.
NS Mike D
In the arena.
I think you are correct. The instructions use the word "cabinet filter " which I think means sump. There is a picture that looks like and acrylic sump. but to help the confusion it's dry.
That's gotta be a sump.
The Arid N18 could go in sump. I just set one up recently. Works great but I think you would want to remove it often to clean it. Having it in a sump might be a mess, though the quick disconnect valves could help.
Funny, my tank could never grow microalgae after years of trying a scrubber but the chaeto has exploded in the Arid reactor. As long as you find what works for your tank I guess.
Funny, my tank could never grow microalgae after years of trying a scrubber but the chaeto has exploded in the Arid reactor. As long as you find what works for your tank I guess.
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I have the Tunze algae reactor and I love it. I’m doing the Triton method and my sump wasn’t setup to have a refugium so this satisfies that. I get really great growth of my Chaetomorpha and harvest every 2 weeks roughly softball size. I have a Reefer 170 (34g) and feed fairly heavy to keep my fish fat and happy. I also spot feed Reefroids twice a week. My nitrates are around 2ppm and phosphates at 0.12ppm. The rotation is not always easy to achieve and to be honest isn’t necessary as it grows very well either way. I used to have an algae scrubber and it certainly grew gha quite fast however I find this much easier to maintain. I use an acrylic scraper to clean up the inside and run the output hose through my filter floss for the small algae particles and then move it back next to the skimmer. The pump allows flow control via the dc control. I’m very happy with it.
https://share.icloud.com/photos/08DsWbSGgDsmjaCGI-KJPgHmQ#Clearview
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Mikeltee
Valuable Member
11 years with 150gal total mixed reef with only a skimmer. Never dosed a thing, 5gal water change every other week when I vacuum sand, and 5gal topoff EOW running through Kalk stirrer. You dont need any of this junk... its nature. The more you mess with it the more harm you do. Mother nature doesnt like competition. I dont care what Billy Bob's numbers say. My corals grow fine and my fish die of old age.... I spend 45min a month on maintenance.
NS Mike D
In the arena.
I totally get that there are different ways to be successful and have nothing but respect your 11 years of experience, but (and say this with tremendous appreciation of your 11 years),
1. Macro algae and protein skimmers remove different things and neither is 100% efficient. But they both do the same thing, remove the nutrients that are created because we feed our fish in closed systems.
2. Macro Algae is nature and certainly part of a reef ecosystem. It's also naturally self regulating. Feeding fish more than the coral can uptake the converted waste? The macro algae grows fast. Less waste, growth slows. A fuge, ATS, algae reacto, skimmer or top off running through kalk are no different. You won't find any of them in a reef and they are all man-made to replace what mother nature does that wont occur in our artificial constructs.
3. Mother nature is cruelly in favor of competition. Competition is the foundation of any ecosystem and its evolution.
I would 100% agree with you, with the more you mess with a tank the more harm you do. There is a tendency to add equipment or chemicals, even bacteria to our tanks because that's what forum said to do without really knowing why and not really knowing one's own tank. All you need to do is see posts in the algae threads. Folks make post after post with all sorts of things things to do to remove NO3 and PO4 when the problem is the refeer drove these levels down too much to screw up the balance in the first place. Post one the reefer will say something like my cyano has overrun my tank and I am out if ideas, my NO3 is zero and my PO4 is .02. Immediately you will see, you need to bring your nutrients down, dose this magic formula or run this product in a reactor etc.
fwiw, I pulled my skimmer from my tank years ago and I stopped putting kalk in my ATO.
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icedearth15324
Active Member
Good to hear. I ended up buying this due to the price and size, so hopefully it works well for my system.
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