Nutrient reduction- Algae scrubber OR DIY algae reactor OR media reactor

[elisa h]

I’m having some nutrient problems in my ~4 month old 90 gallon tank. My nitrates have been around 40 and I’m shooting for around 25 in my lps/softie reef. I have been doing 10% water changes weekly with minimal results. Would you guys recommend I add an algae scrubber like the clear water one on brs or a DIY algae reactor which would be much cheaper? Or would a media reactor be better with carbon/gfo? I already have some purigen coming in the mail and I was thinking about adding chemipure also. Or should I just leave everything alone and rely on water changes since my tank is new? The weird thing is, after the diatom bloom which only lasted a few days I haven’t had much algae at all in the tank except for this lime green algae on the rocks.

Anyways, any suggestions would be much appreciated [emoji5]

 

[reefpaddy]

Carbon/gfo reactors won’t do much for nitrates. Your tank is still quite new, so the denitrifying bacteria may not have fully established yet. You could try carbon dosing, or an algae reactors /fuge as opposed to going chemical. Small changes and be patient.

 

[leepink23]

The gfo was expensive to me and doesn't help with nitrates, carbon dosing works, I love my scrubber, I stopped gfo and carbon dosing and the aquarium looks great and less maintenance. Maybe someone can comment on a diy reactor.

 

[dansreef]

I have a 302 Aquatics Scrubber... and this thing works great. Not knowing more about your setup... if you have room in your sump area... I would recommend it. I feed very heavily now just to keep nitrates and phosphates from zeroing out....which long term is not good for corals. Give Joey at 302Aquatics a call... I think he had a sale on... or just wrapped one up. I bet he can put something together for you.

As for GFO or a reactor, and running all sorts of stuff... long term that stuff is a pia and can be quite costly.

 

[elisa h]

Thank you guys for replying. Leaning towards an algae scrubber. @dansreef I will check out 302 aquatics. @leepink23 what scrubber do you use? Anybody have experience with the clear water algae scrubbers on the BRS website?

 

[Josh@ClearWaterScrubbers]

Elisa, we are releasing a new model in January that will fit your tank better. The CW-100 will be oversized for your system. If you have any other questions please send me an email at sales@clearwaterscrubbers.

 

[LoneStarReef]

Why not wait it out? It doesn’t look all that bad in your pic. You may end up spending a lot of money on something a little patience might cure. Can you try some less expensive things first like upgrading your cleanup crew or maybe a basic refugium?

 

[elisa h]

@LoneStarReef I don’t mind the algae. I’m just worried about my nutrients being high. I have no room in my sump for a refugium so that’s why I was thinking about algae scrubbers. So I shouldn’t worry too much about nitrates and phosphates right now? Just ride it out?

 

[leepink23]

Thank you guys for replying. Leaning towards an algae scrubber. @dansreef I will check out 302 aquatics. @leepink23 what scrubber do you use? Anybody have experience with the clear water algae scrubbers on the BRS website?

I also have a 302 aquatics scrubber, great results with it but there are things I don' like about it. If you get the clear water I think you need to get something to help with the light bleed that it looks like it would have. If BRS carries it I would think its' quality built.

 

[Josh@ClearWaterScrubbers]

I also have a 302 aquatics scrubber, great results with it but there are things I don' like about it. If you get the clear water I think you need to get something to help with the light bleed that it looks like it would have. If BRS carries it I would think its' quality built.

We build light blocker for all of our units. BRS will be carrying them after the new year. If you decide to buy our unit before they have them up on the site, go to our website and you can buy them there.

 

[Daniel Waters]

My 2 cents.

Carbon is good to use, especially in a tank that will have softies / leathers. Carbon or purigen won't help with your nutrient issues.

GFO is okay if you are having very elevated phosphate issues you want to get under control, but I favor other methods versus GFO. If algae isn't taking over your tank, I suggest a sensible clean up crew and herbivore fish to keep the rock work free of algae.

If nitrates are your main concern, carbon dosing is an easy solution that will work. There are plenty of commercial products such as NoPox you can use, or you can use vodka (read in the forums for more details) Increasing water change volume may help a small amount, but 10% per week should be a good maintenance amount if you are feeding correctly and not overstocking your tank. If you don't have a protein skimmer, I would recommend getting one (especially if you carbon dose!)

Growing chaeto or other algae via either a refugium or algae scrubber or whatever will absolutely help with nitrates and phosphate. If you have room in your sump, a small ball of chaeto, and a strong 6500K daylight bulb can be a cheap way to go. The other products I'm sure are all viable solutions. I'm just providing general feedback. Hope that helps

 

[divewsharks]

I wouldn’t even sweat 40. Your tank is young.
Having said that, long term a algae scrubber or reactor would be a good addition; but that would also be based on your future bioload.

@LoneStarReef I don’t mind the algae. I’m just worried about my nutrients being high. I have no room in my sump for a refugium so that’s why I was thinking about algae scrubbers. So I shouldn’t worry too much about nitrates and phosphates right now? Just ride it out?

 

[LoneStarReef]

@LoneStarReef I don’t mind the algae. I’m just worried about my nutrients being high. I have no room in my sump for a refugium so that’s why I was thinking about algae scrubbers. So I shouldn’t worry too much about nitrates and phosphates right now? Just ride it out?

Gotcha. I will defer to other more experienced reefers as to your nutrient level! I’m a noob....my tank is only 3 mos old.

 

[elisa h]

We build light blocker for all of our units. BRS will be carrying them after the new year. If you decide to buy our unit before they have them up on the site, go to our website and you can buy them there.

Would there be any great benefit to waiting for the smaller model? I don’t mind spending the extra money on the 100 now and being able to use it on future upgrade tanks. Also I was wondering what pump you guys recommend to feed the scrubber

 

[rockstarta78]

@elisa h since this is a newer tank, and from the looks of it, I am assuming you are using dry rock. Dry rock gets that green coating before coraline takes over. So using GFO or ATS might not help with that. From my personal experience, I'd say let nature take it's time and reduce NO3 naturally. As your rocks (tank) mature it will be able to manage nutrient better. FWIW, I'd say stick to your 10% WC, run a good skimmer, and use chaeto in sump, AND keep your sump relatively clean. Everything else will fall in place over time. I'd try to stay away from GFO, or any meds that's quick fix. Just my 2 cents.

 

[elisa h]

@elisa h since this is a newer tank, and from the looks of it, I am assuming you are using dry rock. Dry rock gets that green coating before coraline takes over. So using GFO or ATS might not help with that. From my personal experience, I'd say let nature take it's time and reduce NO3 naturally. As your rocks (tank) mature it will be able to manage nutrient better. FWIW, I'd say stick to your 10% WC, run a good skimmer, and use chaeto in sump, AND keep your sump relatively clean. Everything else will fall in place over time. I'd try to stay away from GFO, or any meds that's quick fix. Just my 2 cents.

Thank you for the advice! I think I am going to stay away from GFO and those kinds of additives for now as you said. My tank is new and I want it to establish balance on its own. But that’s awesome how coralline is starting to grow so early! I’ll take that as a good sign. I wish I had room in my sump for a refugium but I’m pretty cramped for space down there so that’s why I’m thinking of going the algae scrubber route. Plus, I would have it to use on future tanks

 

[Roggio]

IMO water changes are a poor way to control nutrients unless you’re able to change a lot at one time. Honestly, I wouldn’t sweat the nitrates for now. If you want you can start carbon dosing with vodka. It’s cheap, really effective, and boosts your bacteria population.

If it were me, and my phosphates were under control I wouldn’t worry about it. When you start adding soft corals they’ll actually absorb a lot of the nutrients.

 

[rockstarta78]

Thank you for the advice! I think I am going to stay away from GFO and those kinds of additives for now as you said. My tank is new and I want it to establish balance on its own. But that’s awesome how coralline is starting to grow so early! I’ll take that as a good sign. I wish I had room in my sump for a refugium but I’m pretty cramped for space down there so that’s why I’m thinking of going the algae scrubber route. Plus, I would have it to use on future tanks

I have battled all sorts of thing this year. In all honesty, this has been a bad year for my tank. Lately, I have decided I am done with additives (except for kalkwasser, which I don't consider as additive) and just rely on skimmer, WC and chaeto. Since you are cramped for space, ATS is an excellent option, also look at Chaeto reactor. I believe there are some designs you can just hang on the outside of your sump or even in the sump which might work for you. Sorry,I am biased towards chaeto, I think it's excellent at absorbing NO3 and PO4.

 

[Rakie]

I run a full blown SPS reef, my no3 is around 40 and my po4 is around 0.80 (not a typo) -- I have no problems, great growth, and great color.

Just food for thought.

 

[brandon429]

question

how does a sandbed impact your nutrients here

is there one? if so, and if it clouds upon disturbance, to me you must correct your nitrates from the bottom of the tank upwards.

Rakie's post is neat bc I too don't manage nitrates directly. I simply keep a clean bed and whatever results in the topwater above the tank adapts to.

we have a sand rinse thread/skip cycle lose nothing if we need to make it cloudless.