Do Algae Reactors Work, And Worth It?

[Javier Leon]

I'm in the process of picking up all new equipment for a 180. I have a Trigger Systems 39 sump, but don't want loose chaeto if I use any at all. I was looking on BRS at their bigger Skimz Algae Reactor, which has a quartz sleeve placed off center to one side and it's an upflow, but the water exits through the bottom internally, almost like the inner workings of a regular reactor switched around. The problem is it's $329!!! Seems a bit much, but it also has tinted plastic.

Then there's the cheaper Marine Depot one which is an AquaMaxx reactor that you wrap LED's around with zip ties.

Does anyone have any experience with either of these? I'm not interested in a turf scrubber because it's more weekly maintenance. The Skimz is 8 x 8 x 20 inches tall. The Aquamaxx is much smaller.

The reviews seem positive except for an o-ring on the Skimz model that's a problem.

Just wanted to see if anyone is using these and how good they work.

I have a algae scrubber from Santa Monica hanging on my simp glass and since I put it my brown hair algae disappeared and has not come back since, honestly I don't do much maintenance to it until I see that the bubble hole is not sending air bubbles out and I can tell is time to clean it. Don't forget cheaper is not always good and very expensive is not always the best. The best is what really works for you and others without braking the bank.
Keep Reefing America

 

[Forsaken77]

I have a algae scrubber from Santa Monica hanging on my simp glass and since I put it my brown hair algae disappeared and has not come back since, honestly I don't do much maintenance to it until I see that the bubble hole is not sending air bubbles out and I can tell is time to clean it. Don't forget cheaper is not always good and very expensive is not always the best. The best is what really works for you and others without braking the bank.
Keep Reefing America

Very true. But I would need 2 of the biggest DROP versions of the one they sell. So that would be almost $600! They're pretty expensive for what they are. That's why I was looking into the reactor version because of the sheer quantity of nutrient export you can get versus a small box. An extra large reactor would feed a bunch more algae than the small ats's. Obviously not everyone has the same needs for their tank as I do. My brother-in-law just stopped using his Santa Monica DROP and was trying to sell it to me.

He ditched the ats and bio-pellets and went back to a Zeovit system, or just the Zeobak part.

 

[Forsaken77]

Aquafuge HOB is probably the best bet IMO if you have the room next to your sump

I actually thought about that before the reactor. But there's 2 issues. First off, it's more for a refugium setup. BRS just crammed it full of chaeto in their video, but that's not it's true purpose and the little bits were still getting out of it. You can see them hanging all over the output. They just shoved as much as possible in it with very little improvement in water conditions.

Secondly, the lighting isn't sufficient enough, nor is it 360 degrees around the chaeto, so it won't do as well as a reactor. Even if you got the large model, packed it full like BRS did, managed to contain the clippings to the Aquafuge, AND had an intense light source.... You'd still be depriving the bottom half of the algae of light. The pump is also extremely weak because it's meant to have substrate and pods, like a refugium.

Also with the large version, I wouldn't want all that weight pulling on my sump wall. I couldn't use it anyway because the sump is euro-braced and it won't fit euro-bracing. I would have to put it on a stand and they're expensive for the little good that it would do.

Like I said, it was my first option until I came across the reactor.

 

[Forsaken77]

Mines properly sized and needs harvesting every week. I run an Atlantis 2 on my 100 gallon and feed 3 times a day, that is what it's sized for.

Plus you can't sell that on eBay, lol.

 

[fishbox]

So who's got a good diy link?

 

[Forsaken77]

After looking at the Skimz reactor at Reefapalooza last weekend I decided I will be modding one to fit my needs. I want to run it off of a manifold vs the pump it comes with. I would love an Arid reactor but the price is nuts.

For my AIO in my living room I think I will go Aquamaxx DIY. I wonder how the black vinyl affects the LED since I'm assuming heat dissipation is gone?

Don't know if you read the reply I got from BRS about the Skimz reactor, but they say that there is no screen or pad to keep the clippings in. They said it's basically to keep the clump in, but the small bits get through. Also, the black acrylic doesn't prevent light bleed. And the O-ring is a pain. On the first page someone explains the O-ring issue, and they're in every review on BRS.

As far as the black vinyl and heat issues, there's still cool water on both sides of the LED's. Plus LED's don't give off much heat anyway. If you keep the reactor out of the sump then you wouldn't even need to block the light. Just put something between the sump and reactor.

 

[Forsaken77]

I bought the Aquamax reactor with the LED strip from MD. I don't know if that LED is not the right spectrum to grow cheato. I had it set up and the cheato was turning brown and white pretty much dieing on me. I was only running it 10 hours a day when my DT light were off. So I thought that I didn't have enough nutrients but after testing came up with 7-8ppm no3 and .005ppm po4. So I know that's not the problem. The light strip that it came with was a warm white light. Do you guys think I should try a different light with more red and blues vs just plain white light?

Here's the link for the proper lights rhat someone else used successfully. There's a post on page 1 of this thread of the waterproof plant led's that someone got off Amazon, but is using an old Aquamaxx gfo reactor. They're red and blue and grows a ton. The led's from MD are crap.

 

[Forsaken77]

So who's got a good diy link?

Check out the post from Cory on page 3. Has a diy YouTube video.

 

[dmw913]

I've been really happy with my reactor. Aquamaxx with Amazon grow lights.

 

[dodgerblew]

Awesome! I need to harvest again soon as the cylinder is full. Rik, how much chaeto do you leave inside the reactor after you harvest? I leave about 1/4 full.

Not even that much. I leave a 5-6" strip top and bottom which I then wrap barber pole style around the light tube.

 

[atoll]

Plus you can't sell that on eBay, lol.

Funny you should say that as I have just sold some Ulva on eBay from my ATS as it happens. It flew out plus I have sent some to friends. [emoji3]

 

[Forsaken77]

Funny you should say that as I have just sold some Ulva on eBay from my ATS as it happens. It flew out plus I have sent some to friends. [emoji3]

Ulva, definitely! Green snot, no way, lol. Didn't know you could put Ulva in an ats. I thought it always grew green hair algae. I was actually going to try Ulva by itself because it doesn't make a mess everywhere.

 

[atoll]

Ulva, definitely! Green snot, no way, lol. Didn't know you could put Ulva in an ats. I thought it always grew green hair algae. I was actually going to try Ulva by itself because it doesn't make a mess everywhere.

I currently have Ulva intestinalis growing on my ATS screen along with 3 other types of algae but predominately Ulva. My last harvest with 7 days growth yielded 338 grammes of algae mainly Ulva with some slime but my ATS is still maturing as it's only been on 6 weeks.

 

[ReefingwithO]

I have been running one on my 10 gallon nano for months now. It works so well that I don't need to do water changes on the tank even though my kids feed heavy. I used all the MarineDepot parts.

I empty it once a month, If don't then I start to see nutrients rise as the reactor is full.

Here's a quick vid - - go to about 2.30 to see the reactor being harvested.

 

[Roggio]

Fact #1. For a refugium to be effective it usually has to be as big as your display or bigger.
Fact#2. Algae scrubbers and Algae reactors are much more efficient than a refugium because they are concentrated with more intense light with no bleeding loss.
Fact #3. Algae scrubbers and algae reactors absolutely reduce nutrient loads depending on the size ratio to display tank

And no matter what some nay sayers throw around, there really is no down side to running one. Large public aquariums use algae scrubbers because its so much more efficient. Yes you can run a tank without them. But my goal is a natural running tank without having using chemicals like Carbon and GFO

Your #1 fact is not a fact. There are so many variables there I have no idea how you label that as a fact.

 

[Irsug1]

Diy here too. 22 inch tall reactor with 15 feet of waterproof grow led.

 

[ReefingwithO]

What Reactor and what LEDs are you using?

Diy here too. 22 inch tall reactor with 15 feet of waterproof grow led.

 

[Irsug1]

What Reactor and what LEDs are you using?

MRC reactor and Amazon leds from toogood for 22 dollars.

 

[Forsaken77]

MRC reactor and Amazon leds from toogood for 22 dollars.

Are your led's just the red & blue? Or do they have a white led also?

 

[Davy Jones]

This is awesome. I will likely run something like this in my tank when I reboot it.

Are you all running off your return pump or do you have a seperate pump for the reactor?