algae turf scrubber question

[nightfire76]

so guys i know i can read up on it more on the thread talking about it, but honestly that thread is getting very long in the tooth to say the least lol anyways my question for now is can i get away with just using one light for the screen and which turf scrubber has been very successful if there is such a thing or have they all worked bout the same? im making a new stand for my 55 and will have a 29g sump/fuge.....i thought i'd give the scrubber a try to maybe minimize the crud in the fuge....anyways thanks guys

 

[DaveK]

A turf scrubber will work just fine with the light from one side only.

However, two are recommended because it will be almost twice as effective.

I don't think you can expect an algae scrubber to "...minimize the crud in the fuge". Like any other filtration system they have their good and bad points. The things algae scrubbing does well is removing nitrates and phosphates. They really are not mechanical filters.

 

[nightfire76]

thanks dave....like i said i thought i'd try it out

 

[nightfire76]

has there been a better way of cleaning it or just leave it for a few days and barely clean it

 

[DaveK]

The idea behind a turf scrubber is that you never want to clean it way down to nothing, but you do want to harvest the algae from it regularly. That is one way it exports nutrients. They sometimes take a little while to get going, but once you get decent growth you should be fine.

While we are on the subject, keep in mind that unlike others, I don't consider algae turf scrubbing to be the be all end all in reef filtration. I recommend that you think of it more or less the same way as a refugium. IMO it's a valuable addition, but not something you must have. Use it for what it does best, and use more conventional filtration also.

 

[knapp870]

+1 on what Dave said. I have thoroughly read the long winded forums all over the net about turf scrubbers. I was fairly convinced for awhile that I was going to try one, but decided against it.

 

[nightfire76]

well being that i will also have a media reactor runing on the 29 g sump i dont have the space for a turf scrubber really so ill stick with what i have already which works good for me with a simple 10 gallon sump so with a 29 it should be great

 

[DaveK]

... I have thoroughly read the long winded forums all over the net about turf scrubbers. ...

You were brave to do this. (grin) I don't think I could manage it myself, especially since the information gets very repetitive after awhile.

 

[yankieman]

ok I have a ATS so far im just getting started iT HAS BEEN GROWING BROWN ALGEA? or diatoms ?not sure but im cleaning it once a week so far,, and the DT is staying pretty clean,, this is an experiment for me so I hope it works out if you go to my tank journal there is a pic of it , now some and i stress some and they are my old live rock i had in a 55 gal for about 5 years but has been sitting jst in water for about 9 months getting brown/diatoms algea? on them and none of the rest of my new rocks are so I did some reading and it said that the scrubber was pulling the phosphates outa the rocks tha is why just the few rocks was showing those sighns so I guess its a good thing but the jury is still out I will try and let you know how it goes ,, if you want some pics let me know and ill take some ,,,I also think I need 2 more lights for it to be the perfect system or at least according to the web site i got the info from idea of perfect LOL

 

[baitbucket]

Yank; Drill a hole or two in your problem rocks like your making a hole to put a frag peg in and put it back in the tank. Phosphate will pull right out of those suckers provided your phosphate up take is greater than input via your ATS. Dont ask me how i know this and your mileage may vary.

 

[SantaMonica]

2-sided scrubbers are twice as effective for the same number of watts. Or, four times as effective if you put a bulb on the other side.

Brown screen: Post some pics; it's usually a result of weak lighting.