Do Algae Reactors Work, And Worth It?

[Forsaken77]

Here is mine
This thing grows cheato like I have never seen love it

Do you find the lights run hot? If you don't mind, can you post a link to them?

 

[Casey McSwain]

Would running an algae reactor alongside a uv sterilizer defeat the purpose of the algae reactor???

 

[Forsaken77]

Would running an algae reactor alongside a uv sterilizer defeat the purpose of the algae reactor???

Two completely different things. The algae reactor will remove excess Nitrate & Phosphate, steady overnight Ph, hopefully out-compete micro algae.

The UV will kill any algae spores in the water column, help clear bad bacteria in the tank, raise your ORP (oxidation reduction potential), and if run at a proper flow rate can kill pathogens and parasites.

If you're using a lower end UV whose main purpose is the algae control then you may not get as many benefits, but they would still complement each other as far as oxygenation of the tank water. The reactor can remove nutrients, a UV cannot. It can only deal with free floating algae spores, which is how you keep it from spreading, while the reactor will hopefully keep it from forming in the first place.

But no, one does not negate the other. I plan to run both on my new setup as well.

 

[Casey McSwain]

Two completely different things. The algae reactor will remove excess Nitrate & Phosphate, steady overnight Ph, hopefully out-compete micro algae.

The UV will kill any algae spores in the water column, help clear bad bacteria in the tank, raise your ORP (oxidation reduction potential), and if run at a proper flow rate can kill pathogens and parasites.

If you're using a lower end UV whose main purpose is the algae control then you may not get as many benefits, but they would still complement each other as far as oxygenation of the tank water. The reactor can remove nutrients, a UV cannot. It can only deal with free floating algae spores, which is how you keep it from spreading, while the reactor will hopefully keep it from forming in the first place.

But no, one does not negate the other. I plan to run both on my new setup as well.

Great info. I was misunderstanding where exactly the algae reactor process removed the nutrients. In the reactor or in the water column.

 

[SantaMonica]

Algae only absorbs nutrients at the cellular surface, which touches the water.

 

[Casey McSwain]

Realistically, what can I expect from adding this to my system? A 5 -10 ppm decrease maybe? Combined with an anaerobic bacteria reactor, possibly a 10-15 ppm reduction?

 

[Forsaken77]

Realistically, what can I expect from adding this to my system? A 5 -10 ppm decrease maybe? Combined with an anaerobic bacteria reactor, possibly a 10-15 ppm reduction?

I would suppose it's all contextual to your setup. If you run a small reactor compared to your tank size and bioload you're going to have a lot less of a reduction in nutrients. People are also running these to out compete micro algae, steady Ph overnight, and oxygenate the water. It also can replace having to run gfo. And it does all of these things naturally, not chemically.

The diy versions are still a learning curve because it's hard finding the correct lights that won't burn out or burn the reactor.

 

[roberthu526]

Just had mine setup.
Aquamaxx reactor
I have been having algae problem and I think it's due to my phosphate level being at 0.2-0.3. Running GFO doesn't seem to be very effective and it is also quite expensive.

 

[Forsaken77]

Just had mine setup.
Aquamaxx reactor
I have been having algae problem and I think it's due to my phosphate level being at 0.2-0.3. Running GFO doesn't seem to be very effective and it is also quite expensive.

Did you go with the AquaMaxx kit that comes with the Accel Aquatics lights?

GFO should definitely be effective with lowering phosphates, but is overly expensive. Were you running the correct amount and at the proper flow rate? Usually when you have high phosphate and you run gfo, it will lower the phosphates but will get used up pretty fast at first. You have to replace it often in the beginning until you're at a consistently low level. But who wants to spend all that money if there's a natural way.

I was going to contact Accel Aquatics to see about a longer led strip but I can't find any info on them at all. They don't have a webpage, no contact info, no warranty support info (according to Google). I couldn't find a parent company or anything. Because people seem to have good results with their lights and I don't think they run hot. They're just very short. But it's like they're a ghost. No info on the web at all.

 

[Forsaken77]

Just had mine setup.
Aquamaxx reactor
I have been having algae problem and I think it's due to my phosphate level being at 0.2-0.3. Running GFO doesn't seem to be very effective and it is also quite expensive.

GFO should be effe

Realistically, what can I expect from adding this to my system? A 5 -10 ppm decrease maybe? Combined with an anaerobic bacteria reactor, possibly a 10-15 ppm reduction?

Just out of curiosity, what type of anaerobic bacteria reactor are you running? A fluidized sand filter?

 

[roberthu526]

Did you go with the AquaMaxx kit that comes with the Accel Aquatics lights?

GFO should definitely be effective with lowering phosphates, but is overly expensive. Were you running the correct amount and at the proper flow rate? Usually when you have high phosphate and you run gfo, it will lower the phosphates but will get used up pretty fast at first. You have to replace it often in the beginning until you're at a consistently low level. But who wants to spend all that money if there's a natural way.

I was going to contact Accel Aquatics to see about a longer led strip but I can't find any info on them at all. They don't have a webpage, no contact info, no warranty support info (according to Google). I couldn't find a parent company or anything. Because people seem to have good results with their lights and I don't think they run hot. They're just very short. But it's like they're a ghost. No info on the web at all.

I do think I need to replace the GFO because I stared with a small amount as suggested by many people. But it is very expensive on the long run.

I had to turn off the LED lights I bought on Amazon posted in this thread a few days ago because it got so hot that when I touched it I thought I got burnt. The AC/DC power adapter also got extremely hot and made me worry. Maybe this is a good setup when the weather is colder.

I do have the accel light from MD but it is kind short so I didn't use it. I will test it out to see how hot it gets. If it stays relative cool I will give it a shot on the smaller reactor. I have both the big and small ones. I will keep updating until I find a solution lol

 

[jerl77]

Do you find the lights run hot? If you don't mind, can you post a link to them?

They get warm yes hot not really
I got them off eBay if I remember correct

 

[Forsaken77]

I do think I need to replace the GFO because I stared with a small amount as suggested by many people. But it is very expensive on the long run.

I had to turn off the LED lights I bought on Amazon posted in this thread a few days ago because it got so hot that when I touched it I thought I got burnt. The AC/DC power adapter also got extremely hot and made me worry. Maybe this is a good setup when the weather is colder.

I do have the accel light from MD but it is kind short so I didn't use it. I will test it out to see how hot it gets. If it stays relative cool I will give it a shot on the smaller reactor. I have both the big and small ones. I will keep updating until I find a solution lol

No, it's not a cold weather thing. It's the lights. They aren't the proper ones. They shouldn't get hot like that. It's just the Amazon lights seem to be hit or miss. I bet the Accel lights won't get hot like that.

 

[roberthu526]

No, it's not a cold weather thing. It's the lights. They aren't the proper ones. They shouldn't get hot like that. It's just the Amazon lights seem to be hit or miss. I bet the Accel lights won't get hot like that.

Just found out that the accel light does not work anymore... it's only been a couple of weeks and I only tested it once for like 30 seconds. Contacted MD. Let's see what they say.

 

[jerl77]

My first removal after 7 days
This thing is amazing

 

[jerl77]

 

[Oldreefer44]

Read an interesting article (believe it was in Politico, but not sure) that demonstrated that artificially grown algae is actually detrimental to the growth of healthy Zooplankton. It seems artificially grown algae does not contain the same nutrient levels that naturally grown algae does so that eventually the zooplankton starve. To me that makes the case for an algae reactor versus sump grown algae but remains to be seen if there is further evidence of what they found.

 

[jerl77]

Was thinking about trying to run the led lights
3 hours on
1 hour off
For a 24 hour period
Do you think this will have and benefits?????

 

[JoshKReef]

Since building mine, I have started seeing pods all over the place, I've never seen pods crawling on my glass. They're all over the place now.

 

[Forsaken77]

Read an interesting article (believe it was in Politico, but not sure) that demonstrated that artificially grown algae is actually detrimental to the growth of healthy Zooplankton. It seems artificially grown algae does not contain the same nutrient levels that naturally grown algae does so that eventually the zooplankton starve. To me that makes the case for an algae reactor versus sump grown algae but remains to be seen if there is further evidence of what they found.

How would it be any different though, the sump grown vs reactor grown? It sounds like algae that forms naturally wouldn't be the artificially grown variety. You're still growing algae with an artificial light source and letting your tank water flow through it in both situations.

Some Pods also eat detritus and whatnot. I have pods in my sump without a stitch of algae down there for over a year. Lots of rock rubble though.

But that's very interesting because you would think the algae is uptaking nutrients faster in an artificial setting.