algea scrubber or refugum ?

[brookers]

hi all,

i have a compartment in my sump that is 15x20 and am either going to set it up as a fuge or algea scrubber. does anyone know which is better for helping with nitrate control/algea control ?

 

[Rockys_Pride]

For purely no3/po4 control, ATS. However you can add the benefits of a DSB in your fug, which will also work to control no3/po4. Really the choice is up to you

 

[zhewitt04]

Algae scrubber is the best option. Cost is what turned me away from the scrubber. Bulb replacement is expensive. The LED fixtures are also costly. I tore down my ats after about a year. I instead, do more water changes with a DSB and chaeto. I have not seen a difference. I don't feed as much obviously as I did with the ATS but..o well. Just my two cents.

 

[brookers]

how is it more expensive to run an ats over a fuge ? i didnt think a special light source was required for an ats, thought i could just use a normal household bulb, where as in a fuge where you are growing cheato you need something more in line with what you would use to put over your tank ?

thanks for the replies.

 

[screamingibis]

if you can do both, that's the best. is there a way to drip water from ATS into the fuge? I've seen setups like this before.

 

[TimeConsumer]

how is it more expensive to run an ats over a fuge ? i didnt think a special light source was required for an ats, thought i could just use a normal household bulb, where as in a fuge where you are growing cheato you need something more in line with what you would use to put over your tank?

They both use the same kind of bulb (CFL). However SantaMonica's (the person who came up with the waterfall algae scrubber) instructions state you need to change out the bulb every 3 months. I don't know why, but people don't do the same over their refugiums. I still change my refugium bulb every 3 months.

 

[brookers]

if you can do both, that's the best. is there a way to drip water from ATS into the fuge? I've seen setups like this before.

no i dont think there is room for both. my sump is a 4x2x15" tank, one end has a trickle tower which takes up 10 inches of the length. then i am going to bunch up my skimmer and return right after that to leave about 20"x15" footprint for fuge or ATS.

i could do both in the future as i plan to add 50kgs of live rock to the 30kgs i already have then get rid of the tower but that wont be for i while i think.

 

[6Speed]

I'm not sure that running both is going to be needed because a properly set up ATS will out compete cheato for nutrients and the cheato will eventually shrivel up.

 

[brookers]

^ that makes sense, thanks 6speed.

 

[zhewitt04]

6 speed is correct. Also the cfl scrubbers don't do as well as t5s and by the time you pay for fixtures and bulb replacement every 3 months it gets pricey! Also I can grow my cheato with a 13 watt cfl and is was using two 32 watt cfl's and it wasn't enough light for the growth I was needing in order to have zero nitrates and po3(on the ats)