Talk me into, or out of, an algae reactor

footballcs12 · 05/28/2019, 03:30 PM

Kind of on the fence about using an algae reactor or just continuing my gfo,gac reactors. I constantly run just a small amount of gfo due to my busy work and family life for a little more wiggle room with maintenance. Setup is a standard 75 gallon tank, 20 long sump, with a nyos 120 skimmer. Only a clownfish in the tank with a mixture of lps and sps, nothing crazy.

So I guess the question is, do I keep things the way they are, or get rid of the gfo and change that portion to an algae reactor?

ryeguyy84 · 05/28/2019, 03:54 PM

Is what you're doing now working?

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tdhnry · 05/28/2019, 03:58 PM

What's your PO4 at now?

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footballcs12 · 05/28/2019, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryeguyy84

Is what you're doing now working?

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Seems to be to an extent. Theres a newer kind of algae than what I've had before showing up that I'm posting for an ID tonight as well though

footballcs12 · 05/28/2019, 06:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tdhnry

what's your po4 at now?

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.04

footballcs12 · 05/29/2019, 07:40 PM

Bump

bshow24 · 05/30/2019, 03:36 AM

I've run both, and both do work, just depends on your husbandry capabilities and what you want to do.

The reason I chose macro over GFO in my current tank - natural vs chemical filtration, and it also gives my pods a place to be since I'm running bare bottom for the first time and don't really have a refugium.

With either, you're going to need to clean or change out every few weeks, so that process doesn't change. But with macro, there's not really an "expiration" of it, whereas GFO if you don't keep up with changes it can cause some issues for your tank.

footballcs12 · 05/30/2019, 08:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bshow24

I've run both, and both do work, just depends on your husbandry capabilities and what you want to do.

The reason I chose macro over GFO in my current tank - natural vs chemical filtration, and it also gives my pods a place to be since I'm running bare bottom for the first time and don't really have a refugium.

With either, you're going to need to clean or change out every few weeks, so that process doesn't change. But with macro, there's not really an "expiration" of it, whereas GFO if you don't keep up with changes it can cause some issues for your tank.

Yeah the gfo seems to have more of a process to change it out too. Remove reactor. Open up, clean out, measure, rinse, make sure its air tight, put back. Whereas the algae is more just open up, take some out, close. Right?

bshow24 · 05/30/2019, 11:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by footballcs12

Yeah the gfo seems to have more of a process to change it out too. Remove reactor. Open up, clean out, measure, rinse, make sure its air tight, put back. Whereas the algae is more just open up, take some out, close. Right?

You do want to clean the algae of detritus. I usually take mine out and dip it and slosh it around in the water buckets from my water change. Overall, probably a little less time but not by much.

ClownReef® · 05/30/2019, 05:04 PM

Algae scrubber IMO

Crusinjimbo · 06/02/2019, 05:28 AM

I used several configurations of ATS over the years and each out performed GFO or whatever other NO3/PO4 extraction technique I’ve ever tried. It takes a bit of time to get it dialed in but once configured the only recurring cost is, ah, almost nothing compared to a container of rust (GFO). ��

05/28/2019, 03:30 PM	#1
footballcs12 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 256	Talk me into, or out of, an algae reactor Kind of on the fence about using an algae reactor or just continuing my gfo,gac reactors. I constantly run just a small amount of gfo due to my busy work and family life for a little more wiggle room with maintenance. Setup is a standard 75 gallon tank, 20 long sump, with a nyos 120 skimmer. Only a clownfish in the tank with a mixture of lps and sps, nothing crazy. So I guess the question is, do I keep things the way they are, or get rid of the gfo and change that portion to an algae reactor?

05/28/2019, 03:54 PM	#2
ryeguyy84 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: New Jersey Posts: 2,753	Is what you're doing now working? Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk __________________ Current tank: 90G mixed reef. Current Tank Info: 90 gallon

05/28/2019, 03:58 PM	#3
tdhnry Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: New York Posts: 289	What's your PO4 at now? Sent from my SM-G973U using Tapatalk __________________ 3x250w HQI's, 1/4hp Chiller, Tunze Wavebox, Tunze 6100, Reefkeeper 2 and RKL, Litermeter III w/PM Kalkreactor, PM Carbon Reactor, Mag 12, SWC xtreme 180 Skimmer Current Tank Info: 125gal reef tank

05/30/2019, 03:36 AM	#7
bshow24 Registered Member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Thousand Oaks, CA Posts: 584	I've run both, and both do work, just depends on your husbandry capabilities and what you want to do. The reason I chose macro over GFO in my current tank - natural vs chemical filtration, and it also gives my pods a place to be since I'm running bare bottom for the first time and don't really have a refugium. With either, you're going to need to clean or change out every few weeks, so that process doesn't change. But with macro, there's not really an "expiration" of it, whereas GFO if you don't keep up with changes it can cause some issues for your tank. __________________ Tank: Reefer XL 525 Reef Tank Equipment: 2x Radion XR15 Pro, Radion XR30 Pro, Vectra M1 Return, 2x MP40 Powerhead

05/30/2019, 05:04 PM	#10
ClownReef® Bubbletrousing Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: San Antonio, Texas Posts: 1,872	Algae scrubber IMO __________________ Waterbox Peninsula 5526 l Ecotech Radion XR30w G4 l Ecotech Vectra M1 l MP40QDW l Vertex Omega 180i l Tunze ATO l Apex Fusion l DOS l Trident l Ice Cap Scrubber

05/29/2019, 07:40 PM	#6
footballcs12 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Posts: 256	Bump

06/02/2019, 05:28 AM	#11
Crusinjimbo Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Wesley Chapel FL Posts: 751	I used several configurations of ATS over the years and each out performed GFO or whatever other NO3/PO4 extraction technique I’ve ever tried. It takes a bit of time to get it dialed in but once configured the only recurring cost is, ah, almost nothing compared to a container of rust (GFO). �� __________________ Jimbo 13.5G EVO