Algae scrubbers, who knew...

[JayStro81]

Anyone else running an algae scrubber with success? I've been using the Santa Monica drop 6x for a few months. It took a little while to get started but once it took off my nutrient levels are almost non existent. I have an overstocked 40 gallon (7 nano fish) and I've recently switched to bi weekly 10% water changes in an attempt to raise nitrates a little. I feed reef roids once a week, mysis/brine daily, and dose aminos every other day. I also cut back my skimming to 18hrs a day instead of 24hrs. This thing is incredible!!

 

[saltyfins]

Anyone else running an algae scrubber with success? I've been using the Santa Monica drop 6x for a few months. It took a little while to get started but once it took off my nutrient levels are almost non existent. I have an overstocked 40 gallon (7 nano fish) and I've recently switched to bi weekly 10% water changes in an attempt to raise nitrates a little. I feed reef roids once a week, mysis/brine daily, and dose aminos every other day. I also cut back my skimming to 18hrs a day instead of 24hrs. This thing is incredible!!

make sure you leave the essentials. sounds great though!

 

[homer1475]

The trick to a scrubber, is matching the lighting time to the amount of removed nutrients. IE growth = removed nutrients = amount of light the algae has to grow(photosynthesis).

So slow the growth down to keep some nutrients in the water, instead of turning your skimmer off periodically, or overfeeding just to feed the scrubber.

 

[sp1187]

ditch the skimmer.

 

[Gogol_frag]

Anyone else running an algae scrubber with success? I've been using the Santa Monica drop 6x for a few months. It took a little while to get started but once it took off my nutrient levels are almost non existent. I have an overstocked 40 gallon (7 nano fish) and I've recently switched to bi weekly 10% water changes in an attempt to raise nitrates a little. I feed reef roids once a week, mysis/brine daily, and dose aminos every other day. I also cut back my skimming to 18hrs a day instead of 24hrs. This thing is incredible!!

Hahaha! I have the same one. Works like a charm and it also doubles up as my in-tank refugium - lowering Co2, using nutrients, pods nest - you name it. I am actually considering adding some rubble inside it, to see if hair algae will grow on that rubble - Boom Tang Treat!!

I absolutely love my Drop 1.6x. The support from SantaMonica is also rock solid!! Very easy recommendation.

 

[JayStro81]

The trick to a scrubber, is matching the lighting time to the amount of removed nutrients. IE growth = removed nutrients = amount of light the algae has to grow(photosynthesis).

So slow the growth down to keep some nutrients in the water, instead of turning your skimmer off periodically, or overfeeding just to feed the scrubber.

I'm currently running it 18hrs a day. My current nitrate level is 10 and phosphate is .01. Corals seem happy so I'm gonna try to hold steady at these levels. Great advice tho, I may cut the light schedule for the scrubber a bit if I struggle to keep the nutrient level stable

 

[JayStro81]

Hahaha! I have the same one. Works like a charm and it also doubles up as my in-tank refugium - lowering Co2, using nutrients, pods nest - you name it. I am actually considering adding some rubble inside it, to see if hair algae will grow on that rubble - Boom Tang Treat!!

I absolutely love my Drop 1.6x. The support from SantaMonica is also rock solid!! Very easy recommendation.

Same, lol. My scrubber is crawling with pods. Totally agree about the customer service from SantaMonica.

 

[Gogol_frag]

I'm currently running it 18hrs a day. My current nitrate level is 10 and phosphate is .01. Corals seem happy so I'm gonna try to hold steady at these levels. Great advice tho, I may cut the light schedule for the scrubber a bit if I struggle to keep the nutrient level stable

I run it 24×7 (atleast for now)... my tank is new, and I am scared to death of the ugly-phase. So far nothing. But it's early days still.

I seperately grow pods and keep releasing them to my DT, every other-day.

 

[LRT]

I have 2 diy ats still being broken in.
I've seen 0 reduction in Nitrates however I am dosing phosphates daily to keep them around .1 ish. Just 2 days away on a trip I came home to almost 0 phosphates. Totally insane.
When does the reduction in Nitrates start happening?

 

[Bpb]

I run a Turbos Aquatics L4 scrubber on a rock curing 40b packed with about 100 pounds of rock. It’s been running 2 years. Filled with unwashed and unrinsed pukani and Fiji rock. Zero fish. Fed roughly 2-3 tablespoons of pellet food 2-3 times a week.

Food is left in there to deliberately break down and decay to keep the bacteria churning. Never done a water change on it in 2 years. Nitrate and phosphate are undetectable. Scrubber fills with full 3D growth every 3-4 weeks roughly

 

[Water Dog]

Took my Turbo’s L2 ATS offline for awhile as my tank was new and struggling to keep any detectable nutrients. It was running too efficiently for my newer tank. I stupidly sold it. As my tank matured, I really regretted that decision and needed it back. Picked up a used one and just put it back online. Can’t wait for this thing to fill in again.

Growth from my old Turbo’s Aquatics L2 Rev 4 ATS...

 

[JayStro81]

I have 2 diy ats still being broken in.
I've seen 0 reduction in Nitrates however I am dosing phosphates daily to keep them around .1 ish. Just 2 days away on a trip I came home to almost 0 phosphates. Totally insane.
When does the reduction in Nitrates start happening?

I noticed the reduction when the hair algae started taking off in the scrubber. It was a slow crawl to get it started tho. It took weeks for just a little dusting to appear. The trick was to clean off the scrubber when you start seeing some growth. Each time I cleaned it the growth was greater the next time I cleaned it.

 

[JayStro81]

Took my Turbo’s L2 ATS offline for awhile as my tank was new and struggling to keep any detectable nutrients. It was running too efficiently for my newer tank. I stupidly sold it. As my tank matured, I really regretted that decision and needed it back. Picked up a used one and just put it back online. Can’t wait for this thing to fill in again.

Growth from my old Turbo’s Aquatics L2 Rev 4 ATS...

I'd say it worked pretty well, lol

 

[LRT]

I noticed the reduction when the hair algae started taking off in the scrubber. It was a slow crawl to get it started tho. It took weeks for just a little dusting to appear. The trick was to clean off the scrubber when you start seeing some growth. Each time I cleaned it the growth was greater the next time I cleaned it.

Man what i wouldn't do for some Gha lol Mines growing tons of Brown maybe its the green that likes Nitrates I guess

 

[Water Dog]

I'd say it worked pretty well, lol

Just be mindful, especially for newer tanks, that once it fills in, it can almost work too well and strip your tank of nutrients as mine did. This time around, I will be more diligent with not overdoing my ATS lighting intensity (Turbo’s ATSs have dimmable lights) and photoperiod.

 

[ca1ore]

Who knew LOL ...... ?

Dr. Walter Adey knew, back in 1987 when he wrote his seminal book .... still a good read if you can find it. Bunch of us suspected in the 1990s .... though they were noisy and messy. I think it may have been the Santa Monica chap that came up with the waterfall design in the early 2000s, so apparently he knew also. I don't think I have run a reef tank in the last 30 years that didn't employ some form of ATS. Hurt my shoulder patting myself on the back because, of course, I knew. Fell out of favor somewhat in the 2000s, but back to being the greatest thing ever now apparently ..... until of course, they're not again.

BTW, I get that the question may have been intended to be rhetorical, but where's the fun in that!

 

[JayStro81]

Just be mindful, especially for newer tanks, that once it fills in, it can almost work too well and strip your tank of nutrients as mine did. This time around, I will be more diligent with not overdoing my ATS lighting intensity (Turbo’s ATSs have dimmable lights) and photoperiod.

I have mine on a timer, I'll adjust if needed. The tank is about 13 months old, so it's pretty established

 

[dzolot]

I’ve been running one for over two years now and it is amazing!!
New users, PLEASE be careful and do not run 24/7. I did this in the beginning and stripped my tank of all nutrients and killed a bunch of corals. These things are powerful, so just take it slow.

i heard that there was some sort of patent on them that recently expired and that’s why they weren’t widely used before the last couple years. No idea if that’s true - I’m sure someone can verify...

 

[Ef4life]

I made a passive scrubber using a penguin 200 hob filter and lit by my display led light. It’s been up 4-5 weeks now, So far it’s been growing, but I think it’s too small to make a real difference, but I don’t have issues with high nutrients either.

here’s it today, I did clean the screen on Saturday though

 

[Gogol_frag]

I’ve been running one for over two years now and it is amazing!!
New users, PLEASE be careful and do not run 24/7. I did this in the beginning and stripped my tank of all nutrients and killed a bunch of corals. These things are powerful, so just take it slow.

i heard that there was some sort of patent on them that recently expired and that’s why they weren’t widely used before the last couple years. No idea if that’s true - I’m sure someone can verify...

Thank you dzolot! Great advise w.r.t. not going 24×7 with algae scrubber. My phosphates are at .24ppm and Nitrates are at 0.18 ppm. I try to keep a watchful eye as much as possible, but as you said, one can't be too careful.

Not a big fan of my skimmer (Deltec). I am hoping that having it is like having a fire-extinguisher at the house. For now, it stays off 95% of the time.