agae scrubber

[gwrulzmylife]

Anyone using an algae scrubber instead/or with a protein skimmer? Inland Aquatics swear by them. Any advice?

[gwrulzmylife]

What is an Algae Scrubber?
Like a refugium, a certain portion of the water is drained from the tank into a trough which has a mat of algae growing in it. The trough then turns upside down and creates a wave into a shallow tank area.

[gwrulzmylife]

also called a Algal Turf Scrubbers

[gwrulzmylife]

a link!

http://www.reefs.org/library/talklog/m_lidster_100498.html

[gwrulzmylife]

TRU VU ALGAE SCRUBBER anyone have any experience with these?

[asmodeus]

i have seen them in the working they are awesome. PM Doug Lowey on here or go to www.canreef.com
hes a moderator ask him there .he know lots about them...

later Mike

[David MC Lee]

I have used one for the past 4 years on my 125. Mine is from Inland. I have had mixed results. My pumps got shut off once and the bright lights baked all the turf algae. After that I could not get the turf algae to take off and re-grow. If you install one you MUST be sure to scrape it and flush it with fresh water. If you don’t pods will eat it clean in a few weeks. I’m not sold on the ATS system. I still think it is a much work as a skimmer. I spend as much time cleaning the ATS as I did cleaning a skimmer. Do you get better results? Yea Inland has very nice looking tanks but I have seen skimmer tanks that look just a good. (some better). I have had several problems over the years with my tank (its my first reef) its hard to say how well my tank would have don’t with a skimmer instead of an ATS. For the last 6 months I have been running both.

[greg s]

what type of algea is used for this?

i guess i have made my own type of scrubber i have
3 baffles full of chato. each is 9" tall by 2" wide...
and full to the top...every bit of water passes over
the algea but at over 2000 gph so i dont know how
much this is work, or at all but...the algea grows very
quick and a prune about 2 handfuls a week...i also
have a "normal" fuge w/ a ton of chato. in there also...
this is greg's ATS!! LOL...

[gwrulzmylife]

you have any pics of yours? I'm trying to use a "flush" style, but can't get the darn thing to flush. It just fills the tank then lifts the flapper enough to match the water flow!

[RedEyeReef]

Around 1993 or 94 I set up 2 different Algea Scrubbers, one on a reef and one on a fish only. (I wish I could remember the name of the company, I know their web site is very hard to get around and they make Surge 2000 & 4000) I guess they worked OK but I now prefer a quailty skimmer and a refugium.

[gwrulzmylife]

I made a new one, pics in gallery or you can link to the DIY forum and read about it.

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=2219286#post2219286

[gwrulzmylife]

works good so far