<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9083538#post9083538 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chris melb
Mr Wilson how does Xenia complement it? Are you only refferring to Xenias mechanical filtration possibilities? You meniton that they are different cogs on the same filtration machine?
From reading Shimek's article (above link) it appears that Xenia is able to absorb more Ammonia Nitrogen, but there is a huge variation (SSD), but with respect to this variation it could just mean that there was no or little Ammonia Nitrogen present at certain times limiting its export.
Both Macro (Caulerpa) and Xenia absorb Nitrate, Nitirite, & Ammonia. However little Nitrate, Nitirite is absorbed by Xenia, and Xenia has more potential to absorb ammonia, is this what you are refferring to as the different cog on the same filtration machine?
What I meant by my comments is that you don't need to abandon one technology or methodology just because another appears to be more effective. Xenia should be used in conjunction with macro-algae for better over-all performance.
Steve Tyree and Leng Sy have discontinued the use of protein skimmers in the belief that their systems (Cryptic Zone & Magic Mud respectively) are superior. It is foolish to give up one useful tool for another when you can have both. If you're marketing a new idea, there's a clear motive to convincing people that they only need your product to have a successful reef aquarium.
I tried losing the protein skimmer when I started using refugiums with macro-algae. What I learned later on, is that protein skimmers remove the toxins generated by macro-algae, and served as a back-up system for the dark period when macro-algae leaks and returns it's bound organics back into the water.
It appeared that the original question of the value of xenia, may turn into an over-simplified belief that it isn't worth the trouble if you already have a refugium in place.
We cannot fully control the biological processes in our aquariums, so having a series of zones is more effective than relying on one solid method, such as protein skimming.
I think of it as an assembly line. Each zone is working to the same end, but achieving it in a unique way. As you stated, one method will remove more ammonia, while another may remove more nitrate or detritus. A method that removes ammonia (without residual nitrate) is more valuable than simple nitrate removal, but they are both necessary.
Dr. Ron Shimeks findings were that each of the three methods were efficient methods of export, and that each one had a slightly different composition to the yield. My point was that all three methods (cogs) compliment each other and work in synchronicity (as part of the filtration machine).
, here are some links on xenia fuge, with posts of the people, who already tried this: 
