Turf Algae scrubber?

[hobbyfish]

Has anyone ever made or used one of these? I want to get you guys and gals opinions on this. I'm thinking about making one for my tank and needed real input.

 

[gannmann9876]

saltydogg has one. he swears by it. he also said he had a tank up for 8 months with no water change and no algae outbreak. i have read a little about them it makes sense.

 

[poolkeeper1]

The Aquatic Critter had a store display tank 180Gal that ran off a Turf scrubber, They are old tech and have been around for years. They do work when properly set up and maintained on a regular basis. I think the maintenance part is what made them fade away over time.
Bill

 

[sal-t-dawg]

I made on for one of my past DTs. I had it set up for over a year and never did one water change on it and maintained low to no nitrates and etc. No skimmer and no mechanical filtration what so ever. It was very effective. I am currently putting together a more powerful one and am planning on using it for my 175.

 

[poolkeeper1]

FYI, Water changes replace important trace elements that are essential to coral and fish health. There are no magic bullets to avoid doing them if you want to have a successful reef tank. Keeping low No3/Po4 is only part of the equation. IMHO
Bill

 

[AdrianBryce]

Unless you dose. but then again, dosing minute amounts of some of the elements can be more of a hassle than changing water imo.

 

[Pickupman66]

I ran a reef without a water change in over a year. to replace the trace elements I used a Sealab #28 cube. it worked very well for me when I wasnt lazy and forgot to buy more after I used them all.

 

[hobbyfish]

cool. thanks for the input guys. I don't suppose anyone has a small powerhead for sale eh?

 

[zef004]

I had one on my Fish only tank 20yrs ago.(wow that make me feel old) Jmo I wouldn't put it in your stand you'll have salt creep every where. And it's a pain to keep clean. I had mine running next to my 75gal tank in a 13gal trash can.

 

[sal-t-dawg]

check out this link.

http://forum.marinedepot.com/FindPost110723.aspx

 

[zef004]

Here is more good info.
http://www.algaescrubber.net/forums...&start=0&sid=2114ba9164d7babc30fb95b601d534ed