Turf scrubber without hair algae

[davidwillis]

This may be a strange question, but I have a tank that never had any live rock, or anything in it that has introduced hair algae. My nitrates and phosphates are high (nitrates 40, phosphates over 2.5), so my glass gets dirty very fast, and everything else is covered in a layer of algae.

I don't want to introduce hair algae (I have had tanks where I had to fight it), but I was thinking about adding a turf scrubber to help with nitrates and phosphates. Will it even work without the verities of algae on live rock, etc?

 

[DeniseAndy]

@SantaMonica

 

[davidwillis]

I was hoping someone had tried a turf scrubber on a tank without any hair algae. I would hate to spend that much money just to learn it won't work without adding hair algae to my tank.

 

[Turbo's Aquatics]

Algae is present in pretty much every salt mix, as well as in the air...it's everywhere, it's pretty much impossible to keep it out of a tank.

Variety is definitely a plus, but what it's really about is biodiversity in general. IMO/E a scrubber works best in an established tank with a diversity of life.

 

[G Santana]

I was hoping someone had tried a turf scrubber on a tank without any hair algae. I would hate to spend that much money just to learn it won't work without adding hair algae to my tank.

Build your own for roughly $30.
You don't have anything to lose.
I have a DIY and it's a beast.
You may have most of the components already.

 

[davidwillis]

Algae is present in pretty much every salt mix, as well as in the air...it's everywhere, it's pretty much impossible to keep it out of a tank.

Variety is definitely a plus, but what it's really about is biodiversity in general. IMO/E a scrubber works best in an established tank with a diversity of life.

Thanks for getting back to me. Your scrubber is the one I am most interested in, but I am not sure how long it would take to get one. Could you givel me an estimate on how long it would be to get one?

So are you saying algae that is good for a turf scrubber (such as hair algae) is everywhere, and impossible to keep it out of the tank?

I know I have heard this before, but it does not seem to go along with what I have seen. My current tank has been up for a year, and has nitrates at 40 (was around 150 for a while), and phosphates are off the chart (my hanna checker maxes out at 2.5). I also run some bright lights (three kessil 360 lights) , so I would think if there were hair algae in the tank I would see it. I defiantly have some film algae that coats all my fake coral, glass, and gravel, but I don't see any hair algae.

Do you think If I setup a turf scrubber it would work with the low diversity of algae in my tank? Under the more ideal condition in the scrubber, would it grow larger than just a thin film? Would you suggest seeding it with some algae? I kind of like not having hair algae in the tank, so I am not sure if I would want to do that.

 

[davidwillis]

Build your own for roughly $30.
You don't have anything to lose.
I have a DIY and it's a beast.
You may have most of the components already.

I have thought about it... I have actually build one years ago, and know it is not too hard. However I run a business, and am so busy that I just don't have time to put one together right now. Plus if it does not work, I will always wonder if it was because my lights weren't good enough, or they were too powerful, not powerful enough, too close, etc. At this point it is worth the money just to have one made right, and one that I know will work.

 

[Turbo's Aquatics]

I've been trying to start digging into my waiting list for months and I just keep getting thrown curve balls. I got your email, will get back to you on that.

 

[davidwillis]

I've been trying to start digging into my waiting list for months and I just keep getting thrown curve balls. I got your email, will get back to you on that.

I understand. It seems like there is no way to guess the next thing that will get thrown at you.

From what I mentioned earlier, do you think a turf scrubber would work good in my tank, or do you think I would be better off with a macro algae reactor or refugium, since I don't have a very diverse algae population?

 

[Turbo's Aquatics]

Chances are a scrubber would work better that a reactor, that's just in general (chaeto reactors are hit or miss, based on experience of others that I've seen).

Refugium spaces need to be large in relation to the size of a scrubber in order to handle the same bioload, and refugia must be pruned regularly.

You can run a scrubber on a new or non-diverse tank, it just might take time to ramp up. This is where the ability to dim the lights really makes a difference.

 

[davidwillis]

Chances are a scrubber would work better that a reactor, that's just in general (chaeto reactors are hit or miss, based on experience of others that I've seen).

Refugium spaces need to be large in relation to the size of a scrubber in order to handle the same bioload, and refugia must be pruned regularly.

You can run a scrubber on a new or non-diverse tank, it just might take time to ramp up. This is where the ability to dim the lights really makes a difference.

Thanks!

I just put my name on your list for the L4. Hopefully the wait it not too long

 

[TheDragonsReef]

You dont have to introduce the hair algae for a scrubber. It just grows naturally when the conditions are right. And by providing the algae a perfect environment for growth it out competes algaes growing in the tank and youll see a noticeable reduction of nutrient and algae in the tank

 

[DeniseAndy]

I love my algae scrubbers. I have tried the reactors and I was one of those that it never took off. My scrubbers are all very effective and right now I am building larger ones as mine seem to fill in a day or two. I may just do more rather than larger. We will see.

 

[davidwillis]

I love my algae scrubbers. I have tried the reactors and I was one of those that it never took off. My scrubbers are all very effective and right now I am building larger ones as mine seem to fill in a day or two. I may just do more rather than larger. We will see.

Now I can't wait to get one and see how it does. I had one years ago, but at the time I was fighting hair algae, and it did not seem to do much. But I don't think mine was as good as what we have now (lighting was just a shop light).

 

[davidwillis]

Chances are a scrubber would work better that a reactor, that's just in general (chaeto reactors are hit or miss, based on experience of others that I've seen).

Refugium spaces need to be large in relation to the size of a scrubber in order to handle the same bioload, and refugia must be pruned regularly.

You can run a scrubber on a new or non-diverse tank, it just might take time to ramp up. This is where the ability to dim the lights really makes a difference.

Any idea how long it will take to get one? I have been on the list since Sep. 8.

 

[Azedenkae]

This may be a strange question, but I have a tank that never had any live rock, or anything in it that has introduced hair algae. My nitrates and phosphates are high (nitrates 40, phosphates over 2.5), so my glass gets dirty very fast, and everything else is covered in a layer of algae.

I don't want to introduce hair algae (I have had tanks where I had to fight it), but I was thinking about adding a turf scrubber to help with nitrates and phosphates. Will it even work without the verities of algae on live rock, etc?

I set up an ATS before without hair algae. I just provided a variety of surfaces to allow whatever type of algae to grow on, and it worked like a charm. As parameters may change, different types of algae came and went. Didn't matter which type honestly, they all grew when they had the chance, and I would manually remove them over time, leaving about a third behind to continue growing.