Algae scrubber

[Christyef]

Can someone explain algae scrubber to me in a language I’ll understand? [emoji6]. I’ve tried to google it, but am still lost.

 

 

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[FarmerTy]

Can someone explain algae scrubber to me in a language I’ll understand? [emoji6]. I’ve tried to google it, but am still lost.
 
 
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Think of it as your own personal algae garden grown on a mesh screen that you can take out and harvest the algae. The high air/water ratio encourages specific quick growing algae to grow there which removes nutrients very quickly from your system. You harvest and throw the algae away, thereby, removing the nutrients from your system.

[Isaac]

it focuses your algae growth into one spot, as to avoid it everywhere else.

[Christyef]

Thank y’all! Sometimes these things need to be dumbed down for me. [emoji5] So, can be implemented as part of the sump or needs to be a new piece of equipment?


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[Isaac]

most have it separate, as it makes it easier to clean.  if its in the sump, you wont have it isolated for ease of cleaning.

[ShawnM]

The best way I can describe a algae scrubber is the wick of an old kerosene lantern. Some type of semi absorbent material suspended above the water with the bottom part touching the water to allow water to be absorbed by the material and have more air flow causing the algae to grow up the material


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[Christyef]

The best way I can describe a algae scrubber is the wick of an old kerosene lantern. Some type of semi absorbent material suspended above the water with the bottom part touching the water to allow water to be absorbed by the material and have more air flow causing the algae to grow up the material


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Interesting.... I can visualize that as my grandparents had those displayed in the dining room growing up. I’ll keep researching this bc I think I need to do it. Does anyone else use them?


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[jolt]

I use them,  I have the turbo's aquatics: http://www.turbosaquatics.com/

It's an enclosed, self-lit, downflow style.  Water goes in the top from my manifold and dribbles down the screen back into the sump.  It has red led lights that light the inside of the enclosure.  I run the lights opposite my normal lighting schedule to modulate ph swings.

 

[Paula]

Interesting.... I can visualize that as my grandparents had those displayed in the dining room growing up. I’ll keep researching this bc I think I need to do it. Does anyone else use them?


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I thought about trying a diy one. This is the video I watched. Very inexpensive. I'm already running chaeto in my refugium and my One Spot Foxface seems to be taking care of any extra algae in my DT so I may hold off trying.

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[Christyef]

I thought about trying a diy one. This is the video I watched. Very inexpensive. I'm already running chaeto in my refugium and my One Spot Foxface seems to be taking care of any extra algae in my DT so I may hold off trying.





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I too have a refugium with chaeto, a foxface, yellow tang, and various snails. I’ve always had the normal “film” you have to clean off every few days, but the past month or so it seems to be worse. And now it’s green and collecting more towards towards the bottom. And it’s harder to scrape off. I also have a GFO reactor which I thought was supposed to rectify unwanted algae. I did change from t5/MH combo to black box LED a few months ago. That’s the only change I’ve made to the tank that may have attributed to the new algae. Oh, and my own RODI system.


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[Christyef]

Whew! They aren’t cheap on BRS..... maybe they’ll have a Black Friday sale....


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[Christyef]

I use them,  I have the turbo's aquatics: http://www.turbosaquatics.com/
It's an enclosed, self-lit, downflow style.  Water goes in the top from my manifold and dribbles down the screen back into the sump.  It has red led lights that light the inside of the enclosure.  I run the lights opposite my normal lighting schedule to modulate ph swings.
 

This is how I run my refugium lights, opposite my DT. How often do you clean it to get all that algae out? I looked at his pictures, and that’s what I sometimes pull out of my overflow. Lol


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[jolt]

I clean mine about every two weeks

[Timfish]

15 hours ago, Christyef said:

. . .  Does anyone else use them?
 

Just use some cheato if you think you need it.  With all the research showing how detrimental the DOC produced by algae is to corals I would strongly advise against using an ATS.  Corals and algae are also competing for the same nutrients and stripping out PO4 and nitrates often just give algae the upper hand, see my thread on fixing nuisance algae. 

[Christyef]

Just use some cheato if you think you need it.  With all the research showing how detrimental the DOC produced by algae is to corals I would strongly advise against using an ATS.  Corals and algae are also competing for the same nutrients and stripping out PO4 and nitrates often just give algae the upper hand, see my thread on fixing nuisance algae. 

I do have a refugium with chaeto that I run at night. Opposite my daytime light schedule. The algae I’m having isn’t hair algae. Just a soft green “fuzz” on the glass. I have 2 eels and think they have made meals of urchins I’ve tried in the past. A tuxedo and a pencil. [emoji51]. I did have a sea hare, but lost it after loaning it to a friend. Maybe I could try that again


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[Christyef]

I thought about trying a diy one. This is the video I watched. Very inexpensive. I'm already running chaeto in my refugium and my One Spot Foxface seems to be taking care of any extra algae in my DT so I may hold off trying.





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I finally had time to watch the video of the DIY algae scrubber. I’m going to try that. I’ll keep a weekly picture log to see if there’s any good/bad change


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[Christyef]

Ok... so I guess I should’ve ruled out other possibilities before looking for a “quick fix” (algae scrubber). I’ve seen one tank that’s running with an algae scrubber and it’s the clearest, “crispest” Water I’ve ever seen in a Reef. The corals in this tank grow SUPER fast and it’s a mixture of LPS and SPS. So, I thought it HAD to be the algae scrubber... bc that’s something I haven’t tried yet (mike frame[emoji23]).... Since, my refugium lights run opposite my tank, I rarely go in there unless it’s to do routine maintenance on something. So, today I notice my chaeto is kinda dying back. A couple months ago my fuge light died, so I jst put in an extra Kessil I had. I researched today and learned the kessil isn’t the best spectrum for macro algae... Also, found my tubing to my GFO clogged with gunk severely restricting flow. I’m going to fix these two problems and see if that helps my algae problem in the DT, instead of Jst looking for a quick fix and in actuality adding to my problem. Lol


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[Paula]

Isn't that how it goes!

3 hours ago, Christyef said:

... instead of Jst looking for a quick fix and in actuality adding to my problem. Lol

 

[Timfish]

On 11/17/2017 at 9:14 AM, Christyef said:

. . . The algae I’m having isn’t hair algae. Just a soft green “fuzz” on the glass. . . .

This technique using paper towels might help with algae films on glass.  I prefer the blue shop towels but any papaer towel that holds up to a little scrubbing when wet will work.  Each towel should be tossed after each swipe to minimize any algae getting back in the tank.   Some of it may be some type of turf or hair algae that will need a steel or plastic scraper to be removed.

 

 

[+Dogfish]

I purchased a Mighty Magnet and pad set. The regular pads are felt and work pretty good. For heavier stuff I really like their algae cutter pad/bag. It is safe for acrylic so it should be ok for glass. It is made out of some sort of plastic mesh. Never had it scratch my acrylic tank. They even have magnets that work on 4" thick tanks. Be careful not to let both halves get together on the stronger ones or you might not get them apart.

[+BobcatReefer]

3 hours ago, Timfish said:

This technique using paper towels might help with algae films on glass.

Wait, what?  You use a paper towel to wipe glass instead of a magnet?

[Timfish]

Yup.  Anybody who's seen my handtruck or the back door of my van knows I use magnets ans have quite a variety including DIY ones that put to shame anything commercially available. While I probably use them 98% of the time they don't physically remove much, the scrubbing action flushes most of the algae off and looking edgewise at the inside face of glass or acrylic it can be seen redepositing sometimes in just an hour or so.  Using paper towels as I outlined above does a pretty good job removing algae from the system.  

[Timfish]

This is my preferred paper towel.  "Multiusos" transliterates as "wipes algae off glass and acrylic aquariums" 

 

[Christyef]

@Timfish. I’ve noticed that before as well. The algae that’s scraped off tends to just float around and have the snow globe affect when in front of a powerhead. I just assumed the tang, foxface, or goby would eat what didn’t fall over the overflow and collect in the filter socks. I like the paper towel idea. One more thing: the idea of a algae scrubber (in my brain) seemed to “force” the algae to grow in one specific area instead of all over the place. Is this idea accurate?

 

 

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[Timfish]

Yes, Dr. Adey developed algae scrubbers specifically for that reason roughly 40 years ago.  By removing the algae that grows PO4 and Nitrate can be kept very low.   (One mistake Adey made was assuming reefs only had .003 mg/l PO4, in reality reefs on average have .13 mg/l or 40X higher than what Adey considered "typical".)   Cheato in a refugium will perform the same function and GFO will remove PO4.  What's overlooked is corals are competing with algae and aggressively removing inorganic and organic phosphate and inorganic and organic nitrogen.  Coupled with the research showing algae, particularly turf and macro algae, also promote increased heterotrophic microbial activity and microbial activity pathogenic to corals I would advise against setting up an ATS.