Algae Scrubbers

[Aaarrrggg]

I've been thinking of setting up a 90g and researching what to "put under the hood." I came across Santa Monica's thread(s!) on algae scrubbers and wondered what peoples opinions on them were.

His theory sounds good to me; algae scrubbers leave in detritus and instead remove the smaller Amm, Na, Phos etc. Compared to a protein skimmer that just removes the detritus but can't pull out the smaller chemicals that actually cause the problems. (His FAQ here: http://www.algaescru...ic.php?f=9&t=68)

I saw that some Austinites were trying some scrubbers out (http://www.austinree...rubber-thoughts) but I didn't want to drag up such an old thread. So here's a new one! How are they working out? What's everyone's opinions of them? I'm tempted to just set up my 90 with a sump/refuge + scrubber and see how it does. Is that a good idea or am I being silly...?

[Timfish]

I've not ever tried setting up and maintaining one but Sprung and Delbeek in "The Reef Aquarium" Vol III Ch. 6 goes into detail on the pro's and con's of them. Reef systems can be quite successful using them but Delbeek also points out in a article he wrote in Nov/Dec 2010 issue of "Coral" in reference to the Smithsonian ATS "the scrubbers were so efficient they out-competed the corals for nitrogen and phosphorous"

I would point out that there's plenty of documentation corals pull ammonia, nitrate and phosphorus from the water to feed their zooxanthellae. (See Sprung and Delbeek's "Reef Aquarium" Vol I & III for starters.) Having maintained reef systems for years with a variety of methodologies the most consistant problem I see (outside of heat) is an accumilation of phosphates from the food. (next in line is probably corals killing each other . ) Using a "mud" product (and it's associated iron component) in a sump or refugium or GFO are both good ways to deal with this phosphate buildup. In my experience if a reef system is properly maintained ammonia and nitrates are not an issue irregardless of the methodology.

I've only set up one system with a cryptic refugium and can't say I've seen a difference from other systems. If we accept though the axiom that the more diverse an ecosystem is the more stable it is then Tyree's zonal system with lighted and cryptic refugiums combined with Jaubert's system is arguably the way to go. To offset this you have have Lee Chin Eng's system using only air bubbles for circulation and no external filtration, notably used by Richard Perrin of Tropicorum to grow corals on a commercial scale. What it boils down to is use what you will enjoy maintaining, Mother Nature doesn't care about technology.

[Aaarrrggg]

Well that was some very interesting Googling I had to do to keep up with all of that! Thanks so much for your input, those are some really interesting systems. I wonder if the level of cryptic organisms would increase utilizing an algae scrubber instead of a skimmer? That's a good point about corals competing with the algae too. I'd never even considered that corals might like some ammonia, nitrate and phosphorus.

Hmmm well I think I might give the algae scrubber a try. If I was aiming for SPS I'd be hesitant, but I recon RBTAs would enjoy it. I will keep an eye on their color though and make sure the zooxanthellae aren't suffering. If it starts going south I can always swap in a skimmer and/or DSB. I'll let you all know how it goes!