Reactor or turf scrubber ?

[Idech]

I need to decrease my phosphates (0,34 ppm) and nitrates (24 ppm). At first I though of getting a bigger skimmer, but I’ve tweaked the one I have now and it’s now skimming a little more.

After that I’ve been contemplating getting a turf scrubber (Ice cap pro - medium), but I have no experience with them at all.

Pro : decrease phosphates, nitrates and other undesirable elements
Pro : no need to buy continually buy media

Con : it would in be a really tight space in the sump and accessing it and the skimmer for maintenance would be made harder (but still doable).
Con : expensive (500$-600$)

Someone suggested I get a phosphate reactor instead. I have no experience with them either.

Pro : the sump won’t be as crowded
Pro : cost about 40% of what a turf scrubber would cost

Con : only takes care of phosphate, not nitrates
Con : I will need to buy media forever (around 200$-300$ per year ?)

My question : from your experience, which one would serve me better in the long run ?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

You are barely outside my suggested target zone, and I’d just use a little GFO in a bag in the sump.

Randy’s Thoughts on Nutrient Target Ranges

Thoughts on Nutrient Target Ranges by Randy Holmes-Farley Almost nothing in the world of reef aquarium chemistry causes as much discussion as selecting and maintaining ranges for nitrate and phosphate. Some aquarists want low targets, some want...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Idech]

You are barely outside my suggested target zone, and I’d just use a little GFO in a bag in the sump.

Randy’s Thoughts on Nutrient Target Ranges

Thoughts on Nutrient Target Ranges by Randy Holmes-Farley Almost nothing in the world of reef aquarium chemistry causes as much discussion as selecting and maintaining ranges for nitrate and phosphate. Some aquarists want low targets, some want...

www.reef2reef.com

Thank you ! I just put a bag of Phosguard in the sump yesterday and will be re-testing in 3 days. If it works, then I shouldn’t need anything else.

I had dinos for the first year (tank upgrade, so 3 years total of existence) and have been battling with red cyano for 2-3 months now. I am also trying to get rid of that.

My corals are not showing much growth at all and I can’t keep most of the new ones I buy. So I’ve stopped getting any new corals. My hope is to have an anemone soon, and growing corals.

 

[SrNapp]

Purchased and Testing a reactor that acts like a hybrid, being able to be configured as a turf scrubber, a chaeto reactor, or both when its submerged half way, its extremely slim which you could so how much space i had to play with in my sump

Adaptive Reef Blade Hybrid Refugium & Algae Turf Reactor 16 - Testing & Thoughts

Blade Hybrid Algae Reactor 16 • Purchased a turf scrubber to deal with a heavily polluted tank with nitrates of 55ppm and heavy hair algae. • Tank is 92g volume so I purchased the 16 version as headroom and the 10 inch might not benefit as well due to the tank being heavily stocked. Over the...

www.reef2reef.com

also suffering high phosphates/nitrates so i'm keeping an update on its progress to see if its a good product

 

[VintageReefer]

I need to decrease my phosphates (0,34 ppm) and nitrates (24 ppm). At first I though of getting a bigger skimmer, but I’ve tweaked the one I have now and it’s now skimming a little more.

After that I’ve been contemplating getting a turf scrubber (Ice cap pro - medium), but I have no experience with them at all.

Pro : decrease phosphates, nitrates and other undesirable elements
Pro : no need to buy continually buy media

Con : it would in be a really tight space in the sump and accessing it and the skimmer for maintenance would be made harder (but still doable).
Con : expensive (500$-600$)

Someone suggested I get a phosphate reactor instead. I have no experience with them either.

Pro : the sump won’t be as crowded
Pro : cost about 40% of what a turf scrubber would cost

Con : only takes care of phosphate, not nitrates
Con : I will need to buy media forever (around 200$-300$ per year ?)

My question : from your experience, which one would serve me better in the long run ?

Get a Santa Monica surf scrubber. I use the surf 2, it’s half the price, takes up only a small amount of space and floats in the sump. Easy to install and remove if needed, zero light spill, silent, zero chance of leaking, and the thing just works.

 

[GARRIGA]

Could diy a solution although levels might not be high enough and as Randy mentioned his solution simple enough although Refugium has added benefit of scrubbing co2 and home for pods. Just add some ChaetoGro as it will draw trace such as iron.

 

[Idech]

Get a Santa Monica surf scrubber. I use the surf 2, it’s half the price, takes up only a small amount of space and floats in the sump. Easy to install and remove if needed, zero light spill, silent, zero chance of leaking, and the thing just works.

It’s not available in Canada. I don’t know why.

I bought a Lifeguard side flow scrubber but it arrived broken in 3 pieces. I’m waiting for a refund and I’ll decide what I do. I bought a phosphate reactor so not sure I have room anymore.

 

[UncommonSense]

It’s not available in Canada. I don’t know why.

I bought a Lifeguard side flow scrubber but it arrived broken in 3 pieces. I’m waiting for a refund and I’ll decide what I do. I bought a phosphate reactor so not sure I have room anymore.

Have you considered building your own DIY algae scrubber?

Here’s a double lit rain style scrubber I built nearly a decade ago that worked almost too well on a 50g system! — it cost me around $40 including CFL lights; minus the pump of course!

I should add; this scrubber was lit on a reverse photoperiod to the display, which helped significantly with day/night PH swings, and made hair algae prefer to grow on the scrubber vs. the display!

 

[Idech]

Have you considered building your own DIY algae scrubber?

Here’s a double lit rain style scrubber I built nearly a decade ago that worked almost too well on a 50g system! — it cost me around $40 including CFL lights; minus the pump of course!

I should add; this scrubber was lit on a reverse photoperiod to the display, which helped significantly with day/night PH swings, and made hair algae prefer to grow on the scrubber vs. the display!

I suck at DIY. I also cannot stand any gurgling or water sound. Is yours silent ?

 

[FUNGI]

IMO External Reactor....set and forgot (at least for a couple of weeks)......I had a Icecap scrubber....just too much fiddling/cleaning around with it.....I have a reactor now and just needs monthly disconnect, cull and re-start.....

 

[Idech]

IMO External Reactor....set and forgot (at least for a couple of weeks)......I had a Icecap scrubber....just too much fiddling/cleaning around with it.....I have a reactor now and just needs monthly disconnect, cull and re-start.....

What kind of reactor ?

 

[UncommonSense]

I suck at DIY. I also cannot stand any gurgling or water sound. Is yours silent ?

It was fairly silent, yes (I do plan to update it significantly now that I’m familiar with plastic and glass fabrication though)… The roughed up #7 knitting mesh screen made water fall from the ~3/16” wide slit in that pipe in a laminar sheet; the bottom 1/2” or so of the screen was submerged in the sump!

 

[FUNGI]

What kind of reactor ?

I have this one: but there are others available....including one that IMO is overpriced...(Pax Ballum)
You should be able to buy one like mine for 150/200 USD

 

[BryanM]

Sad if you cannot get Santa Monica products in Canada - Their ATSes are great. With the right air pump they are pretty quiet, but I would not say silent.

The big pro in your case is they deal with nitrates and phosphates.

If you buy in to the idea that they out-compete the display tank for growing algae then that is another pro. I can tell you first hand that the algae on my DT glass has changed to something extremely light and easy to remove, and there's virtually no other algae present.

Another pro, if your fish like it, as that you can feed the turf algae back to tangs, herbivores, etc. Mine don't seem to have a taste for it, but other members fish love the stuff.

 

[FUNGI]

IMO, the biggest pro is facebook marketplace....lots of used one's that I sure people will ship.....and Reef Octo has the same thing

 

[56longroof]

I've been eyeing this one. https://ebay.us/m/xwkvaM

 

[FUNGI]

I've been eyeing this one. https://ebay.us/m/xwkvaM

Nice.....in sump one...if you have the space

 

[vetteguy53081]

I need to decrease my phosphates (0,34 ppm) and nitrates (24 ppm). At first I though of getting a bigger skimmer, but I’ve tweaked the one I have now and it’s now skimming a little more.

After that I’ve been contemplating getting a turf scrubber (Ice cap pro - medium), but I have no experience with them at all.

Pro : decrease phosphates, nitrates and other undesirable elements
Pro : no need to buy continually buy media

Con : it would in be a really tight space in the sump and accessing it and the skimmer for maintenance would be made harder (but still doable).
Con : expensive (500$-600$)

Someone suggested I get a phosphate reactor instead. I have no experience with them either.

Pro : the sump won’t be as crowded
Pro : cost about 40% of what a turf scrubber would cost

Con : only takes care of phosphate, not nitrates
Con : I will need to buy media forever (around 200$-300$ per year ?)

My question : from your experience, which one would serve me better in the long run ?

My turf scrubber does a great job but also consider what Randy posted

 

[VintageReefer]

It’s not available in Canada. I don’t know why.

I bought a Lifeguard side flow scrubber but it arrived broken in 3 pieces. I’m waiting for a refund and I’ll decide what I do. I bought a phosphate reactor so not sure I have room anymore.

You buy from Santa Monica website they can ship to any country

 

[56longroof]

Nice.....in sump one...if you have the space

I dont have the space in my sump at all.